Misery Index choosing quality over quantity

Misery Index, Baltimore's death/grindcore heroes, have been bludgeoning eardrums with their own homegrown brutality since 2001. And while I don't imagine they will be slowing down any time soon, they also have earned the right to pick and choose when, where and with whom they to play.

Next month, Misery Index heads out on tour with Cannibal Corpse (for the second time this year) and Hour of Penance (a band some have called the Italian Behemoth). On December 1, this tour comes to Washington, DC's Rock and Roll Hotel.

From Aug. 19, 2012 Ottobar show.

Misery Index has had an exciting 2012 with successful tours abroad in places like Brazil and across Europe and even Tel Aviv! They also had to construct a DIY tour when this summer's inaugural Shockwave Festival tour, which was supposed to go across North America, fell apart in a matter of days. I was able to catch up with bassist Jason Netherton and guitarist Mark  Kloeppel via email.

Here's a quick Q & A.

This was an eventful and confusing summer for you guys? What happened with the Shockwave Festival? And how did the mini tour go?

The Shockwave experience was certainly interesting to say the least. Nothing like that has ever happened to us before, but it does happen. Gojira had to pull some dates together after Randy Blythe went to jail in Czech, for example. Luckily, we know those Fear Factory guys. So, we got a call from them saying it was canned before we travelled too far out. Our guitar player, Mark Kloeppel, on the other hand, was filling in on bass on the Canadian dates for Cattle Decapitation. Their bass player couldn't do those dates for whatever reason, and Mark had been flown out to the west coast to jam with them. They ended up flying him back home. As of right now, we have a mountain of merch we have to sell online and on tour. It was a bad situation, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Special thanks goes out to our fans that made our last East Coast run a blast. Without you, we can't do what we do. Keep grinding!

You mentioned a live album in your email. What date range of live shows will that include?

The live album is from one show in Munich from the European tour we did in February with Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth. A friend of ours, who happens to be an engineer, recorded the set from the board and with room mics. We thought it came out great. and so did the label. So, we are releasing it. We really love that something so spontaneous came out that well. Hearing it really made us feel good about our playing ability in adverse conditions. Because, let me tell you, monitors were completely non-existent on that tour. The hired crew for that tour were great, but just weren't experienced enough with gear they were given to use.

Will that album be released on your own label or through Season of Mist?

Yes, Season of Mist will be releasing the live album and our next full-length.

What other plans do you have for the rest of the year? How about 2013?

Misery Index will be direct support for Cannibal Corpse this November with Hour of Penance on the bill. This includes a "boat-show" up in NYC, and a stop at Rock and Roll Hotel down in DC. Later next summer, we may be included in some festivals that are yet to be announced. In the meantime, we are preparing to record the next record.

Your drummer Adam Jarvis plays in a gazillion other bands. I have seen him in Pig Destroyer, Strong Intention, Asthma Castle and now read that he is also in a band called Fulgora. How do you manage that? 

Misery Index has reserved itself to only do worthwhile events. Let me explain that further so people don't get feelings hurt. We've been heavily pounding the pavement since the inception of the band. We used to play 180 shows a year, which is taxing on your body and your home-life. We simply don't want to do that anymore. We love what we do and the music, and we just don't want to get burnt out. We want Misery Index to last.

Misery Index being more selective about its events freed up a lot of time to pursue other interests. Adam loves drumming, and people love Adam's drumming. He is an amazing drummer, and he only takes on projects he is genuinely interested in. To answer the question, I'd say we all just prioritize and communicate about our engagements.

What other projects are the other members of Misery Index involved in?

Asthma Castle, Strong Intention, Quills, Cast the Stone, Clenched Fist (tribute to Sepultura), Pig Destroyer, various guest vocal spots, etc. One of us is writing a book, but details about that cannot be released at this time.

I love the limited edition Baltimore T-shirt design on your merch page.  (I ordered one!) How important has Baltimore been to your existence and/or success?

Baltimore is our home-base. It's rough-around-the-edges character has an impact on all the music that comes out of that area. There's a genre-wide singularity about it you can't put you're finger on. You don't really notice regional auditory cross-pollination in your and your peers' music until you begin to travel a lot. Bands like us, Dying Fetus, Next Step Up, Bet the Devil, Visceral Disgorge, etc. have a distinct Baltimore style of sound. It's slightly different from bands of the the same ilk from different places.

Aside from that, the scene there has really supported us through the years; all the people with Maryland Deathfest, Ottobar, Sidebar, Orion (Sound Studios), Wrightway Studios, etc. have had a major impact on the way the band has evolved, and has been allowed to evolve. It's a big city with a small town vibe, and they seem to like us there. We certainly like them.

Anything else you want people to know about Misery Index?

Jason Netherton started Misery Index in 2001 with Kevin Talley and Mike Harrison. In 2005, Mark Kloeppel got Misery Index a full endorsement by ESP Guitars before actually knowing if he was in the band. Darin Morris is also a skilled sound-engineer and has played a part in some major label releases.
And according to Blake Harrison of Pig Destroyer, Adam Jarvis is afraid of ghosts!

****Well, know we all know how to scare Adam on Halloween.
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Here's a track from the last Misery Index full-length recording:

This track is a little slower but one of my personal favorites:

Grindcore 101 with Pig Destroyer's Blake Harrison

When it comes to music, my opinion is based on a binary system: either I like it or I don't. Pig Destroyer is a band labeled as grindcore that I had heard many people mention, but I had never checked them out. I didn't know if I liked them or not.

As far as grindcore goes, Misery Index, Napalm Death, Godflesh, Bolt Thrower, and As I Lay Dying are all bands labeled by someone as grindcore, and all bands that I have been caught listening to between long stretches of death and black metal.  And I love Dillinger Escape Plan, but I am not sure they are grindcore. They are core-something though.

In my world (that is, this made up world of blogging about music), genres and subgenres matter. I appreciate the not-so-subtle differences between melodic death metal, technical death metal and blackened death. But grindcore? I wasn't sure. So I asked the experts. 

Blake Harrison provides "noise" (read: sound samples) and some vocals for Pig Destroyer. He's been providing the band with appropriately disturbing sound bites since 2006. Blake schooled me on the dark ways of grindcore , discussed their new recording, Book Burner, set to drop on Oct. 22 and talked about the short story included in the liner notes called, The Atheist, written by vocalist J.R. Hayes.

I was fortunate enough to preview Book Burner in its entirety. Even though grindcore is not my go-to subgenre of metal, there are several of the 19 songs included in the standard edition that I really liked and had to play repeatedly to appreciate the full impact of. I mention a few of my favorites below.

If you buy the deluxe edition of the recording, you also get seven more tracks: all covers of songs by seminal punk bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat and Negative Approach. I love punk, so I am curious to hear those.

Here's my email Q&A with Blake Harrison. Enjoy!

I have listened to Book Burner and several of the songs are real stand outs for me ("The Diplomat," "Iron Drunk," "The Bug," and "Baltimore Strangler," for example). But grindcore is a subgenre of music that I probably know the least about. How do you describe grindcore and what about it do you think people (some people) find so appealing? Why does it appeal to you?
B- Grindcore is subversive, it's the extreme of the extreme, it borrows from both extreme metal and hardcore punk. It appeals to us because it's something we grew up on, we love grind and play it because we love it.

Grindcore seems pretty challenging both thematically and structurally to write. Any writer will tell you that it is HARDER to get your point across in a short story or article. How do the typical earmarks of this subgenre (short songs, haiku like lyrics) affect how you compose the songs? How difficult is it to write lyrics for this type of music? What is written first: the music or the words?

B- The music, it's not done intentionally, I mean when we dig into a riff and feel that when it's time to be done, it's time to be done. The songs aren't short because of any reason per se, it's just we feel we've said what we've said.

What is the message that you want people to take away from your lyrics?

B-Desolation, loneliness, isolation, despair, you know upbeat, fun themes like that.

Why was J.R.’s The Atheist included with this release?
B- JR approached us with the story as a companion piece for the record. We read it and thought it was amazing. It's not a part of a greater whole for example there's not really a "theme" to the record.

When I began reading The Atheist, I first thought that it was going to be a personal essay. I quickly realized it was a work of fiction, a fantasy. But what can you tell me about how much J.R. (or any of you) identify personally with the protagonist? I know that I did. I have felt and thought these things about religion many times.
B- I can't speak for everyone in the band, but sometimes yes. Religion is a personal thing and can get to the core of many people and one of the things about this, is it strikes that chord in me. I'm sure there's SOME part of JR that identifies with it, I mean, he wrote it, but I can't speak personally for him. Personally, I think that religion is responsible for most of society's ills.

Will The Atheist story continue?
B- Hahaha, who knows, we just finished the record so we don't really have too much in the way of what we're going to do in the future. I can say that if JR feels he wants to continue the story, he will.

What does Adam Jarvis (also drummer in Misery Index) bring to Pig Destroyer’s performances and to this recording? He is among the fastest drummers I have ever witnessed!
B- Adam is an amazing talent and a great guy. He really stepped up to the plate and brought his "A game" on this release. I think he brings a great energy to the band and makes us faster and more fierce.

All of you seem to be involved in multiple projects. How do you manage that, and how does it impact Pig Destroyer?
B- It can be a juggling act at times, but we don't do the band full time, I mean we all have jobs, relationships, families etc. It takes some careful timing and a lot of communication to get all of this together and make sure that we have the time to do what we do.

Why has it taken nearly four years to put out this new recording since Phantom Limb and Natasha?
B- We had a lot going on, it may seem like we weren't up to much, but we built a studio and practice space, we took some time to play some shows and support Phantom Limb, we had to work in a new drummer. I know to a lot of people it seems like we were being lazy, but we were working.

You’ve got a slot for Maryland Deathfest! While you are there, what other bands playing are you hoping to see? What do you think of the additional punk/hardcore stage scheduled for Baltimore Soundstage?
B- There's a lot, Infest, Asthma Castle, Integrity, Loss, Necropsy, Repulsion, TOOH, Down, Ilsa, Iron Lung, Magrudergrind, Rotten Sound, Weekend Nachos. I think the addition of the other stage is great. I just hope I can get to see everyone that I want too.

I am looking forward to the Oct. 19 show at The Ottobar. What specific items will you have for sale there?

B- Hopefully our new record hahaha, new shirts, some hoodies, new cds, hats you know, normal stuff.

After the Ottobar you are headed to the UK. What is the grindcore scene like there and in Europe in general? How do people react at your shows?

B- The grind scene in Europe is hit or miss, much like the states, but we've gotten great reception in the UK. Most people only come out if they are fans. It's really great, and the outpouring of support has been amazing.

What else do you want people to know or understand about your new recording or anything else at all?
B- We just hope that people like it and understand it, I mean ultimately, we do this for us, but it's nice when people get it. I'd also like to say thanks to the fans for bearing with us, it's been a long road, but we're here and back again, and the fact that people still want us to be is incredible.

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Pig Destroyer's Facebook page.

Buy tickets to Pig Destroyer's Oct. 19 CD release show with Ilsa here.

Check out the title track from Pig Destroyer's new album, Book Burner below: