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PATRIK WIREN
Hello Patrik. So glad to be catching up with you. Thank you for taking the time and spending it with Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
 
PATRIK WIREN: Thank you, I appreciate your support. 

MPAP: Misery Loves Co., is an industrial metal band that was very successful during the early 90s music scene. Today unfortunately, because the Misery Loves Co. disbanded in late 2000, some people might not have heard of your music before. Are you ready to get back out there and gain some new fans, and of course feed the thirst of the diehard ones as well? 

PATRIK: We are more than ready to get back out there. Can't wait to do more shows, release new songs etc. 

MPAP: Has the social media helped in any way reviving the heartbeat Misery Loves Co. once had? 

PATRIK: Social media is a good way of staying it contact with the friends of misery and that's how I like to look at it. As a platform for us all to meet.  

MPAP: What happened during that year that brought Misery Loves Co. to an end in late 2000? You had just released Your Vision Was Never Mine To Share and had gone out on a European tour with Kill II This?
 
PATRIK: Yeah, we did a European tour with Kill II This and Earthtone 9 as support. After that we went back to Sweden and did a few last festivals before we decide to take a break that happened to last for about 16 years...

MPAP: Was it something you had wanted to do and there was no way out of it? 

PATRIK: At the time I really liked the idea of breaking up the band. We had been around for a while and at the time I felt I wanted to have a closer look at the outside world. The world outside of Misery. But now I have crawled back in again.
  
MPAP: After Misery Loves Co., you would form a band called Alpha Safari in 2001? What else were you up to during this time? Other than that, did you put the guitar and microphone down for a while to focus on other things in your life?
 
PATRIK: Yes, me and Uffe Cederlund (Disfear, Entombed) formed the band in 2001 and did some shows + recorded an album before we split-up in 2004-2005. I focused on other things, sure, but I always loved singing and being on stage more than anything else in the world. So I took every oppurtunity and guested different bands on stage and in the studio.  

MPAP: In 2016 it was announced Misery Loves Co. was getting back together again. Did you just feel the time was right and it needed to be done? 

PATRIK: Well me and Örjan started writing songs together again in 2005 so...it was definitly time to do this! 

MPAP: Did you miss Misery Loves Co. during the 16-year hiatus? 

PATRIK: I missed it a lot, from time to time. Misery will always been a big part of my life and that didn't change during the hiatus.
 
MPAP: Did it just all come together overnight, or was this something that was slowly building up over the weeks and months, or even years before the actual announcement of getting back together? 

PATRIK: It was something that had been growing on us ever since we got back together in the studio again in 2005. I honestly don't know what took us so long... 

MPAP: How did it feel to make the announcement and then be able to play your first show? 

PATRIK: Wonderful. I din't know what to expect but the reaction was overwhelming. And playing live was just the most natural thing in the world. As if we had been doing it all the time... 

MPAP: During the hiatus, did you perform any Misery Loves Co. material? Did you have to go back and learn any certain songs again, or have to try to remember the lyrics to a particular song? 

PATRIK: No, I have never performed any of our songs outside of Misery. I actually remembered the lyrics to every song. We played them live so many times in the past so I guess they are tatooed on the inside of my skin forever. The only songs I needed to learn was the new ones.  

MPAP: Let’s go back to when it all began in 1992/1993. You were previously in a band called Midas Touch correct? You were the lead vocals for a couple years from 1987-1989? 

PATRIK: I believe we split up in 1990, but yeah that's right. I was a teenager thrown into the world of thrash metal.
  
MPAP: After Midas Touch, what inspired you, or made you want to form Misery Loves Co.?  

PATRIK: Me and Örjan met at a bar in our home town of Uppsala and started talking. That was what inspired us. We were just at the same place in life at the same time and started writing songs straight away.  

MPAP: Were there any bands that had influenced you and the music style of Misery Loves Co. when you first began forming? 

PATRIK: So many bands...I guess Ministry more than anyone else. But we listened to so much music together. If you take closer look at our first album you can hear influences from all over the place. 

MPAP: Godflesh, Ministry, Pitch Shifter, or early Fear Factory was in your genre. Did any of these bands influence you? 

PATRIK: Yes, all of them alongside a lot of other bands.  

MPAP: You would end up working again with Örjan Örnkloo, who helped form Misery Loves Co. in 2005? You obviously both stayed friends? 

PATRIK: We didn't have that much contact 2000-2005 but there were never any hard feelings between us.
  
MPAP: What put the final piece together to reform Misery Loves Co.

PATRIK: Just the fact that we had all these great songs + were dying to play live again.  

MPAP: Can you give us a taste of what the new material may sound like? 

PATRIK: We will release a new song, 'Would You?', on June 2nd, so...soon you can decide for yourself. With that said I think the diversity was always a big thing for us so I can't really say that the song is typical for our new material...but I hope you'll like it! 

MPAP: Do you have a lot of material to choose and pick from since you have been making music with Örjan since 2005? 

PATRIK: Yeah, we have something like 7-8 songs that are ready and we hope to continue releasing songs and hopefully put out an album. 

MPAP: Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to the Metal Pulp And Paper readers and your fans out there? 

PATRIK: Just thank you for your interest in the band + hope to see you somewhere sometime. 

MPAP: On behalf of myself and Metal Pulp And Paper, I would like to thank you Patrik for taking the time to be with us. Thank you for letting us get to know you and your band a little bit more. Look forward to what the rest of 2017 and beyond brings for Misery Loves Co. 

PATRIK: So do I...

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