Misery Signals is an American-Canadian melodic metalcore band formed in Mil… Read Full Bio ↴Misery Signals is an American-Canadian melodic metalcore band formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2002. The sound of their music is defined by bright melodies backed up by odd time signatures, chugging riffs, and breakdowns.

History

Formation (2002–2003)

Misery Signals was formed after the disbandment of several bands, including 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Hamartia and Compromise. Having played briefly with 7 Angels 7 Plagues, former Compromise vocalist Jesse Zaraska was approached by Ryan Morgan and Kyle Johnson for a new project, which would become Misery Signals. Jeff Aust from Hamartia joined on as second guitar, and Ryan Morgan's brother Branden joined as the bands drummer. Aust soon left the band and has since gone on to join With Honor, he was replaced by Stu Ross - a friend of Jesse Zaraska's from St. Albert, Alberta.

Signing to Ferret Music (2004–2009)

The band eventually signed to New Jersey's Ferret Music, releasing their first full-length album, Of Malice and the Magnum Heart. After extensive touring, Zaraska decided to leave the band to focus on a smaller, less aggressive project named Sleeping Girl, at which point the rest of the band decided to put up an instrumental song on their MySpace page, encouraging anyone who wanted to take over the spot of vocalist to record their own voice over the instrumental and e-mail it to the band. This was the way they found new vocalist Karl Schubach, with whom they recorded the album, Mirrors. In July 2008 Misery Signals released their third full-length entitled Controller. After extensive touring in support of Controller in early 2009, members of Misery Signals wanted to pursue other musical directions outside of their band.

Focus on side projects (2009–2010)

Schubach is involved in a heavy metal side project called Solace. He is the sole member of the band, recording guitar, bass and vocals in a D.I.Y.-fashioned home studio. The drums are added in digitally, through the use of a program on his Macbook.
The hardcore/punk band Burning Empires consists of members from Misery Signals, Fall Out Boy and 7 Angels 7 Plagues. Ryan Morgan does the vocals, Kyle Johnson plays bass, Stu Ross and Matthew Mixon play guitar, while Andy Hurley plays the drums. Andy Hurley is an avid supporter of the Wisconsin hardcore scene. The quintet also have a clothing line/record label called Fuck City. In October 2010, Kyle Johnson also announced his departure from the band.
There is also a pop punk/hardcore band named Lowtalker that consists of Branden Morgan and Stuart Ross of Misery Signals. They team up with Casey Hjelmberg and Matt Keil of Comeback Kid to complete the four piece project. Lowtalker are set to release their EP People Worry About Everything in the spring of 2010 through FC records.
In 2010, Stuart Ross became the frontman of a pop-punk band from Vancouver, B.C. named Living with Lions. Ross officially left Misery Signals on September 25, 2010 to put his focus on this new project, and was reportedly tired of performing heavy metal.

New album (2011)
After an extended period of inactivity with a heavy focus on side projects, Misery Signals made an official statement about the state of the band in November 2010. The press release addressed the loss of Ross and Johnson, and also announced that the band had not, in fact, broken up.[3] Ryan Morgan commented that, "In the next few months, we'll group back up and return."[3] Despite losing two of the founding members of Misery Signals, the remaining members did not consider changing the name of the group. On maintaining the continuity of the band's style and keeping the same name, Morgan said, "Stu and Kyle made awesome contributions, but the trajectory of the band remains the same in their absence. If the time came that our sound took a drastically different course, then it wouldn't be Misery Signals anymore, and we wouldn't pretend that it was.

On October 19, 2016, rumours of an original lineup reunion tour and album were confirmed by vocalist Jesse Zaraska. When reached for comment by Nic Huber of www.metalinjection.net, Zaraska had the following to say: "It is the truth, sir. We are in the midst of writing new material together and will be playing some show over the coming year. It has been very cool thus far. We will definitely be doing a proper US tour in 2017."

On March 24, 2018, at the event Midwest Meltdown in Iowa City, Iowa; Misery Signals frontman Jesse Zaraska, announced the band had been holed up on Boise, Idaho over the previous few weeks. He stated that they are, indeed, working on a new album. Zaraska stated on stage, that he believes their newest album "will be the BEST Misery Signals album yet." When asked about the style of the new album, Zaraska replied "It will probably be a lot like of Malice."

On the "Death to False Metalcore Tour 2019" with Darkest Hour and Unearth, the band played a song titled "Sunlifter" from their Absent Light B-Side vinyl release. Zaraska also stated November 2019 as the release date for their new album.

On May 8, 2020, a 26 second fixed-camera video of ocean waves, with only the date "05.15.2020" appearing center screen at the end of the video, was posted to Misery Signals’ social media accounts, suggesting that new music, or a new album, is set to be announced, and/or released, on that date.

On May 14, 2020, Misery Signals announced their upcoming fifth studio album, Ultraviolet, to be released on August 7, 2020, along with the release of the single “The Tempest”

Members

CURRENT LINE-UP:
Ryan Morgan – lead guitar, backing vocals (2002–present)
Branden Morgan – drums (2002–present)
Jesse Zaraska – vocals (2002–2006, 2014–present)
Kyle Johnson – bass guitar (2002–2010, 2013–present)
Stu Ross – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–2010, 2014–present)

Former Members:
Jeff Aust – guitar (2002)
Karl Schubach – vocals (2006–2014)
Gregory Thomas – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2011–2014)
Kent Wren – bass guitar (2011–2013)

Discography

Studio albums:
Of Malice and the Magnum Heart (2004)
Mirrors (2006)
Controller (2008)
Absent Light (2013)
Ultraviolet (2020)

EPs:
Misery Signals (2003)

Set In Motion
Misery Signals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Our fears ring true
We're on a march towards the end
Cover my eyes
But I still hear the deafening drums of war
Onward every twisted spoke

Let's make history
Let's make history stop

When there's nothing left
We'll be fed our father's dreams

And I find every time I face this skyline
I picture it in ruins
It's not going to stop

Our fears ring true
We are numbered with the dead
When I finally come apart
Every piece will melt holes into the streets
Onward every twisted spoke

Let's make history
Let's make history stop
When there's nothing left
We'll be fed our father's dreams

We can't let it happen like this
Burn it down

Burn it to the fucking ground
It's not going to stop

Overall Meaning

The song "Set In Motion" by Misery Signals is a powerful commentary on the destructive nature of war and the fear that it instills in people. The lyrics begin by acknowledging the reality of our fears and the fact that we are marching towards an inevitable end. Despite the desire to cover one's eyes and avoid the deafening sounds of war, the twisted spokes of conflict continue onward.

The chorus calls for making history stop and rejecting the cycle of violence and destruction that has plagued humanity for centuries. The line "We'll be fed our father's dreams" speaks to the fact that many people are indoctrinated from a young age to believe in the glory of war and the necessity of sacrificing oneself for a cause or a nation.

The second verse continues to paint a bleak picture of the reality of war, with the image of every piece of oneself melting holes into the streets when one finally comes apart. The final chorus is a call to action, a plea to not let history continue to repeat itself and to burn down the systems that perpetuate violence and destruction.

Overall, "Set In Motion" is a powerful anti-war anthem that speaks to the fear and destruction that war brings, and the urgent need to break the cycle of violence.

Line by Line Meaning

Our fears ring true
We are indeed terrified of the impending doom ahead

We're on a march towards the end
We are heading towards the end with no way to turn back

Cover my eyes
Shield me from seeing the horrors that are about to unfold before me

But I still hear the deafening drums of war
The war is so close and terrifying that I can hear it even when I close my eyes

Onward every twisted spoke
We march forward on every twisted turn, with no escape

Let's make history
Let's do something that will be remembered forever

Let's make history stop
Let's put an end to the catastrophic events that are playing out

When there's nothing left
When everything is lost and destroyed

We'll be fed our father's dreams
Our previous generations' hopes and dreams will become our only sustenance

And I find every time I face this skyline
Every time I look out into the horizon

I picture it in ruins
I envision it destroyed and in shambles