Let me explain something to you; I like my music loud! [And I like it louder!! -- Gino] There have been lots of shows that I have been to in the past that I have exited with my ears ringing, almost screaming to jump off my head and roll over dead. Case in point, 1992's Campaign For Musical Destruction with Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, etc... Having attended Foundations Forum in Los Angeles, I was in the presence of the loudest fuckin' band that I think I have ever heard live; Sweden's industrial/techno/metal outfit, Misery loves Co. Having just had a few hours to recover from their showcase the night before (a mere 10 hours later), I was sitting in Earache Records' suite at the Burbank Hilton, talking very softly with thrashing duo Patrik Wiren (PW) and Orjan Orukloo (OO) about the show the previous night when the chat just began:

CoC: So this being your North American debut at 1995's Foundations Forum, how did it feel, and will you be touring more Stateside?

PW: "The show was pretty good for us. We played hard and loud. It is important for us to start somewhere like here (at Foundations Forum), and then we will tour in some parts of the eastern United States before heading back home. We won't be back here until next year, but we really want to tour more here."

CoC: Even before the release of your self-titled debut, there was a lot of press and a buzz going on about the band. To what do you credit the word of mouth that spoke so much and so strongly of the band?

PW: "We definitely got a lot of exposure in Europe by playing there a lot and we did very well in England thanks especially to mags such as Kerrang and Germany's Metal Hammer. They helped a lot in getting people interested in us. Also MTV in Europe helped us by showing our video six or seven times a day. I guess you can say the combination of media and playing live has helped people become interested in Misery Loves Co."

CoC: Was it initially hard to get the band off onto the road and live up to the buzz that came with your beginning?

PW: "For us it was tough in the beginning, but it only took six or seven months to get a following. We have been lucky."

OO: "It never really got to the point where we didn't want to do this. We knew we would be able to get off the ground, it just took awhile."

CoC: Why do you think it is that Misery loves Co. appeals to a large number of music fans?

OO: "I think people like the album because of the variety and mixture of songs found within - the different music styles that we incorporate. A lot of the music varies from a hard, loud sound to a soft, melodic sound, and I think people like that. We like playing music that way."

CoC: Will this type of music be the way of the future for Misery Loves Co.? Do you believe that people will still respond, as they have recently, a few years down the road?

OO: "We aren't even thinking about any direction with the next LP. Most of the music of our newer stuff is written. The way I see it is, in order to go forward you can't create a totally different music genre. You have to use the available ones and create something new out of that. And that is why there is a lot of the computerized metal in the new music. People are experimenting and using what they can get their hands onto. We are doing what we want to do with our music because it is the way we feel comfortable. It is the way we like to hear and make music."

CoC: Just where does this band fit in? Industrial? Metal? The choices are many regardless of the two obvious ones. Whatever the case may be, how does the band want to go about their writing of music and songs; under their own guidance, or in someone else's footsteps?

PW: "I think we want to create our own pathway."

OO: "We don't listen or follow anybody. Our music just happens."

CoC: How would you describe your debut album?

OO: "I don't know, how would you describe it?" he asks me.

CoC: Loud. Abrasive. On the money. I think it is something that people want to hear.

OO: Responds with some enthusiasm, "works for me."

::: NOTE: If you like H-E-A-V-Y music, then check out Misery Loves Co. when they hit your town, but be sure to take two sets of ear plugs.