THIS MISERY GARDEN
Another Great Day On Earth
(ProgRock Records)

Even back in the day Sweden had bands of high quality. When I got into heavy metal in the 80s it didn't take long before I discovered the second wave of Swedish heavy metal with bands like Heavy Load, Torch etc. As great as these bands were I never thought I?d see a day when the rest of the world would take influence from little old Sweden. But times changed. Swedish metal, death especially, became a major player and even to this day foreign bands cite Swedish as a major influence. Which leads us to Swiss This Misery Garden. There?s no mistaking who they're influenced by. Katatonia, anybody? And not a bad band to take cues from, if you ask me. Latter day Katatonia intrigues in a way that put most followers to shame. This Misery Garden hasn't made it easy for themselves. They
could have chosen an easier influence to follow. Having said that, they do succeed to some extent. To fully capture Katatonia's melancholy you have to be Swedish but TMG add a Swiss touch to it that reek of urban enclosure and modern day confusion.

-Anders Ekdahl