Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Mother Misery
Title
grandiosity
Type
LP/EP
Company
Greyhate Music
YOR
2004
Style
Traditional
4/6/2004 - Review by: Frank Hill
Mother Misery - grandiosity - 2004 - Greyhate Music - Reviewed by: Nailer

Track Listing
1. My enemy
2. Breaking free
3. Allright with me
4. Get it right
5. Black holes
6. It comes again
7. Payride
8. Dead end
9. F.U. forever
10. 1000 suns
11. On the outside
12. Be a god
Ever get that taken aback feeling when the music you sample is very different than what you expected? Then you find yourself smiling at how greatly it surpasses your initial anticipation? Mother Misery did just that to me.

Based on the dark, skull-emblazed cover for their new CD "grandiosity" and the fact that these guys--John Hermansen (vocals/guitars), Thomas Piehl (guitars), Örjan Baudin (bass), Jens Wide (drums)--are from Sweden, I expected a melodic death metal sound. My misconceptions were thrown aside by the fantastic hard rock on their debut. How did these Swedes get into this kind of sound?!

The 12 tracks on "grandiosity" don't get in your face and scream "pay attention and love me!!!" the way L.A. hard rock does, they just draw you in with an American Midwest attitude that invites you to climb in and ride along. With the fuzzy guitars of Monster Magnet, some Soundgarden inspired riffs and the spirit of Steppenwolf, it's an approach that is simplistic, yet entirely effective recalling the days before accountants ran the record companies, DJs played what they wanted and a good riff was all a song needed.

From the stuttering drums and the of the opener "My Enemy" to the closing distortion of "Be A God", each song is a laid back, muscle car, hemi-trip down the highway lookin for the devil's ass to kick. John Hermansen even sounds like he's from Detroit or St. Louis. Probably the only drawback I could write, is that some of the mid-paced numbers do tend to blend together like the choruses were reworded and reused, so a couple pedal-to-the-metal songs would have rounded it out more.

Mother Misery's debut is too cool; not trendy, mullethead-cool, but cool on it's own like a sunset ride in a '69 Pontiac Firebird.

Best songs: My Enemy, Allright With Me, It Comes Again, Dead end

Rating: 9 of 10


--Nailer 04.07.04


Note: After a couple of months of listening, I've decided to raise my score of this one from an 8.5 to a 9. Little nuances in the music--a background guitar lick or a vocal harmony--become appearent making it more enjoyable with each subsequent listen. They really know when and when not to play. Also, it's one of the few CDs I've heard for quite a while that feels like it has a philosophy behind it. I got from it--if you're not happy with where you're at in life, move on until you find what you want.
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    N/A :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: MOTHER MISERY
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
All Eyes On You
2006
Daredevil
Frank Hill12/19/2007
3.5
For the Crows
2006
Daredevil
Frank Hill4/22/2006
-
grandiosity
2004
Greyhate Music
Frank Hill4/6/2004
-
Megalodon
2018
Transubstans
Eric Compton4/10/2018
4

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: MOTHER MISERY
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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