MISERY LOVES CO
YOUR VISION WAS NEVER MINE TO SHARE
ALBUM EARACHE RELEASE: MARCH 6, 2000 REVIEW: FEBRUARY 25, 2000


The marriage of samplers and heavy rock has sparred so many awful bands it almost makes me wish that Ministry had never recorded “The Land of Rape and Honey”. Take a band like Swedish Misery Loves Co. Although using elements of what is often lazily called “industrial” music, i e some distorted samples and a drum loop here and there, they end up sounding like an adolescently gothic version of those American metal bands with silly little beards and way too many piercings.
On this, their third album, Misery Loves Co have lost every trace of originality. “Your Vision Was Never Mine to Share” is a mesh of stiff metal, gloomy post punk and pathetic lyrics. A clumsy cover of The Cure’s suicidal classic “The Drowning Man” doesn’t help things up either.
Considering that Misery Loves Co’s debut album had it’s fairly listenable moments and that programmer Örjan Örnklo was involved in Wire member Graham Lewis’ electro project H.A.L.O. there has to be some sort of potential hidden in this band.
But hearing this album it’s hard to believe they will ever their will ever find their way back to that again.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN