Biography
The melodic metalcore group Misery Signals fuses intricate math rock elements such as complex time-signature changes and dense guitar lines with the visceral force of post-hardcore and the expansive atmospheric scope of post-rock, yielding a style marked by deeper emotional resonance than the first influence yet greater tonal variety than the second. From their 2004 introduction via the Devin Townsend-produced Of Malice and the Magnum Heart onward, the Wisconsin-formed ensemble has delivered a series of versatile and widely praised full-lengths, among them Controller (2008) and Ultraviolet (2020), that have positioned them among the genre’s more distinctive and impactful voices.
Misery Signals came together in Wisconsin during 2003, drawing members from several local hardcore and emo acts. Vocalist Jesse Zaraska arrived with the broadest prior recognition through his time in 7 Angels 7 Plagues and the Canadian hardcore band Compromise, which dissolved in 2002 after two members died in a car crash. Guitarist Jeff Aust previously played in Hamartia, while guitarist Ryan Morgan, bassist Kyle Johnson, and drummer Branden Morgan (Ryan’s brother) completed the initial roster. After issuing their self-titled six-track EP in 2003, Aust departed and Stuart Ross joined on guitar. The updated lineup then signed with New Jersey’s Ferret Records and put out the Townsend-produced Of Malice and the Magnum Heart in June 2004.
Following extensive touring behind that debut album, Zaraska decided to exit and return to his native Edmonton, Alberta, where he joined the acoustic post-rock project Sleeping Girl alongside other former Compromise members. In a modern parallel to 1980s bands seeking recruits through MTV, the remaining Misery Signals members uploaded an instrumental track to their social media platform and solicited vocal and lyric submissions from listeners. Karl Schubach won the open call and entered the fold. He first appeared on record with the 2006 follow-up Mirrors. Reuniting with Townsend in the studio, the band issued Controller in 2008, their strongest commercial performer to that point.
After nonstop road work in support of the album, Misery Signals opted for a hiatus the next year, freeing members to pursue separate endeavors. Schubach launched the solo D.I.Y. project Solace, Ryan Morgan and Kyle Johnson collaborated with Fall Out Boy associates on the hardcore punk outfit Burning Empires, and Branden Morgan and Stuart Ross joined Comeback Kid members in the punk and post-hardcore group Lowtalker. In 2010, Ross and Johnson formally stepped away from Misery Signals, the former assuming lead vocals for Vancouver pop-punk band Living with Lions.
The ensemble resurfaced in 2011 with a rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them” featured on the Homefront video game soundtrack. They resumed touring with a refreshed configuration before reassembling most of the earlier lineup—Schubach, Johnson, the Morgan brothers, and new guitarist Greg Thomas—for the 2013 fourth album Absent Light. Schubach later exited, clearing the way for original singer Jesse Zaraska’s return; together with Stu Ross, he contributed to the band’s fifth release, Ultraviolet.
Misery Signals came together in Wisconsin during 2003, drawing members from several local hardcore and emo acts. Vocalist Jesse Zaraska arrived with the broadest prior recognition through his time in 7 Angels 7 Plagues and the Canadian hardcore band Compromise, which dissolved in 2002 after two members died in a car crash. Guitarist Jeff Aust previously played in Hamartia, while guitarist Ryan Morgan, bassist Kyle Johnson, and drummer Branden Morgan (Ryan’s brother) completed the initial roster. After issuing their self-titled six-track EP in 2003, Aust departed and Stuart Ross joined on guitar. The updated lineup then signed with New Jersey’s Ferret Records and put out the Townsend-produced Of Malice and the Magnum Heart in June 2004.
Following extensive touring behind that debut album, Zaraska decided to exit and return to his native Edmonton, Alberta, where he joined the acoustic post-rock project Sleeping Girl alongside other former Compromise members. In a modern parallel to 1980s bands seeking recruits through MTV, the remaining Misery Signals members uploaded an instrumental track to their social media platform and solicited vocal and lyric submissions from listeners. Karl Schubach won the open call and entered the fold. He first appeared on record with the 2006 follow-up Mirrors. Reuniting with Townsend in the studio, the band issued Controller in 2008, their strongest commercial performer to that point.
After nonstop road work in support of the album, Misery Signals opted for a hiatus the next year, freeing members to pursue separate endeavors. Schubach launched the solo D.I.Y. project Solace, Ryan Morgan and Kyle Johnson collaborated with Fall Out Boy associates on the hardcore punk outfit Burning Empires, and Branden Morgan and Stuart Ross joined Comeback Kid members in the punk and post-hardcore group Lowtalker. In 2010, Ross and Johnson formally stepped away from Misery Signals, the former assuming lead vocals for Vancouver pop-punk band Living with Lions.
The ensemble resurfaced in 2011 with a rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them” featured on the Homefront video game soundtrack. They resumed touring with a refreshed configuration before reassembling most of the earlier lineup—Schubach, Johnson, the Morgan brothers, and new guitarist Greg Thomas—for the 2013 fourth album Absent Light. Schubach later exited, clearing the way for original singer Jesse Zaraska’s return; together with Stu Ross, he contributed to the band’s fifth release, Ultraviolet.
Albums
