Mister Misery - Ballad of the Headless Horseman

What is in the water in Northern Europe that makes them so good at making metal music, honestly? Is it the fact it's dark all the time? Does the cold drive people indoors with only their instruments and a goat's head until the snowdrifts aren't blocking the door anymore? They've got the formula down to an almost unfair degree and Swedish band Mister Misery are masterfully continuing the long legacy of kickassery the region has sculpted.

They're a fairly recent entry to the fold, forming in 2018 as a four piece of "unalive creatures", their words not mine. They play a fast-paced mix of modern metal and soaring choruses that tickle my ears in just the right way, and they do it with some style, too. I love a band that both don't take themselves too seriously, but also play like they mean it and Mister Misery are one of the best examples I've heard recently. Their musicianship and ability is phenomenal, and they can twang the stringed things and hit the flat noisy things as well as anyone.

But, they're juggling that with campy lyrics and themes about ghouls and things that go bump in the night that wouldn't sound out of place on the Ghost Train at a carnival (bar all the effing and Jeffing, obviously).

What it all comes together as in the big boiling pot of glorious music is a frenetic and fun bombard of screeching guitars and double kicks that just about blew my headphones off the first time I heard them. They are more than a worthy candidate for their spot on this week's Rock Song of the Week with a track from their newest album, Ballad of the Headless Horseman, which smashes face and blares out catchy sing-a-longs in equal measure. If you don't play this as loud as possible, you're not having any dessert. I mean it, you'll sit at your speaker until you've finished the whole thing!