Today is the one year anniversary of our 7th album ‘A Southern Revelation’ which we released as a FREE (digital only) DOWNLOAD and gift to fans on December 7th, 2011. To celebrate our special day we would like to thank all those who have taken the time to download a copy and donate to our band this past year continuing to keep the spirit of independence alive through our music and art, by releasing this new version of the song ‘Seventh Sacrament’ which was recorded live at the Scala in London, England on our Southern Revelation Tour 2012.
SEVENTH SACRAMENT ★ FREE DOWNLOAD (((click above link to download song)))
[Photo by J. Stooksbury]
Mick, Luciano and I have recently finished mastering our new album at which we will be revealing the name, cover art & details for in January 2013. We recorded album #8 a few months back at Soundtrack Black Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee with our good friend and co producer Joel Stooksbury who worked with us on ‘A Southern Revelation’. To check out behind the scenes photos from our time in the studio, click the following link:
Thanks again to everyone for your continued rock love and support of our band and music. Enjoy the live track and share it with your friends. We’re looking forward to the New Year and unveiling something...
Mick and I would like to thank music journalist Morley Seaver of AntiMusic.Com for taking the time to speak with us about the making of our album 'A Southern Revelation' and what we are currently working on in and around My Ruin. Morley is a longtime supporter of our band and it's always a pleasure speaking to him about our music. Below you will find the interview which we have re-posted from www.antimusic.com
xo
Mrs M
"It often seems like no other band has experienced more turbulence in their career than My Ruin. The list of infamous events is quite amazing. Consider this when you hear the next artiste complain about the backstage catering. Over the course of their 12 year career the band has dealt with: band members who have quit on the eve of recording sessions; a near-death experience during another recording session; labels signing and then turning their back the band; hired musicians who flip out on their employers during overseas tours; visa problems getting into and out of countries on tour and during recording; backlash from press regarding many matters unrelated to the actual product…. It goes on and on. Yeah, I know. All bands have encountered one or more of these setbacks. However try rolling them all together in one long string and also splitting all the heavy lifting between two people. There's no entourage, manager or record company families to help shoulder the burden. The latest nightmare came in the form of their record contract with Tiefdruck Musik for the record Ghosts & Good Stories in 2010. After enthusiastically courting the band, the label owner promptly changed gears and became Hyde to his previous Jekyll character, essentially "stealing" the band's album and leaving them high and dry.
As sure as the sun coming up in the morning, there was only one alternative, the band sighed once again, dusted themselves off and merely went about the business of funneling their anger into what I consider to be their greatest outing yet. A Southern Revelation has been almost universally acknowledged by the rock press as a whoppingly savage yet brilliant piece of work.It's always a thrill and a pleasure to get to speak to my friends Tairrie B Murphy and Mick Murphy. We got together recently to talk about the crazy situation they had just come through as well as exciting plans for the future. I can't think of anybody I respect more in the music biz. As well as being one of my favorite bands, these are talented individuals who work incredibly hard despite often having the odds stacked against them. Other bands would have laid down and died. They keep fighting. You can still download A Southern Revelation for freeHERE"
- Morley Seaver
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antiMusic: By this point, everybody knows what happened with your former label. How familiar were you with Tiefdruck Musik when you signed with them?
Tairrie: We didn't know much about the label. We did some research after they approached us but apparently it wasn't enough because shortly following the announcement of our signing we were contacted by an old friend [Shaun Glass of Soil & Dirge Within] who warned us not to trust the label owner Daniel Heerdmann based on his previous business dealings with him. Unfortunately it was too late as our album Ghosts and Good Stories was about to be delivered. We were concerned about what we were told and openly addressed it with Daniel who at the time seemed to have many well-oiled answers for all of our questions. He portrayed himself as professional and was very convincing in his act so we believed him. We've always believed that you get to know someone based on how they treat you, not rumors or gossip because we would like for people to do the same when it comes to us. In the beginning Daniel seemed like a cool guy and being that he was a former musician himself, he made it a point to relate to us and was very supportive of our band from all our Skype conversations and emails. He said he had been a fan of mine since he first saw me in Manhole when we toured Germany with Fear Factory back in 1996 and was excited about the album and working together. We were looking forward to meeting him and everyone at Tiefdruck when we went to Europe in the coming months for the tour we were planning at the time. Unfortunately we had no idea the little warning we had been given from Shaun about the man was indicative of what was to come with us but on a much bigger level.
antiMusic: Can you describe the chain of events that led to what you say was a breakdown in promises by the label boss? What were his reasons for not following through? Was this purely a personal vendetta and if so, why?
Tairrie: We have no idea what happened. There was no reason for him to have a personal vendetta against us but it certainly began to feel like he did as time progressed. Things were fine during the recording process and the relationship was great but as soon as we delivered our album artwork everything got weird. We quickly began to realize the guy was a total con artist and he seemed to have a split personality that was Jekyll & Hyde level scary. We've had to deal with some bizarre behavior over the course of our career but Daniel Heerdmann was by far the worst.
His long time in house press officer Mona Miluski [vocalist of the German-based rock band A Million Miles] also left the label around this time. She was aware of everything behind the scenes and did not trust him or agree with the way he was conducting himself and treating his artists. It got to the point where we had to have our attorney step in to deal with him because his emails were so disrespectful and outrageous. On top of this, his lies had begun to affect our tour for which advance tickets had already started selling. This ultimately forced us to cancel our dates due to circumstances beyond our control and this was the turning point when put our band, career and reputation in jeopardy. We let our attorney know we were done and he agreed with our decision. We wanted nothing more to do with the label so we ended the relationship and stopped all communication with Daniel. He was a cancer that needed to be cut out.We continued to work with Mona who after leaving the label, started her own independent publicity company called Platinum PR. Mona helped me handle all the press for Ghosts and Good Stories on our own without Tiefdruck as well as the press on A Southern Revelation. Had Mona not had our backs they way she did at the time everything went down, G&GS would have been completely dead on arrival so we're very grateful for her loyalty to us as a friend and publicist. She's an amazingly strong woman as well as vocalist in her own band A Million Miles.
antiMusic: What was your reaction when things began to unfold with the label as they did? Describe the mixed emotion that you must have felt after delivering what I feel was your strongest work to that point and then, with the turn of events, wanting it to do well but not wanting it to financially benefit the label.
Mick: We felt betrayed and extremely angry because of the realization that we were working with just another liar. The music industry is full of them. It's impossible not to take it personally when you put so much of your life into your band while the label that has agreed to help support your new record and tour breaks their promises causing months of hard work and planning to go down the drain at the last minute. Our reaction was to start writing music and lyrics for what would soon become our 7th album A Southern Revelation.
Tairrie: We invested a great deal of time and trust into what we were being led to believe was a real label run by a decent guy. We were fooled on both counts and we were angry. We had a right to be and we still are. Ghosts and Good Stories is one of our finest albums and we were very passionate about those recordings. It sickens us that it was given to this label to do nothing with and that so many people have not had the chance to hear it because he made such a mess of everything. My Ruin was not the first band Daniel Heerdmann manipulated into believing his lies and we were not the last from what we have heard. We are simply the first to go public with what he did rather than keep quiet like most bands do when this type of thing happens. Once we announced we would be releasing another album and offering it as a free download it was time to let our story out and the truth be told. This was when we were contacted by other artists who had been signed to his label sharing similar horror stories and some asking us for advice on what they should do in their current situations. The amount of bands this man has wronged is truly shocking. Apparently he also owes money to many people on other sides of the industry as well from what we've been told by editors and writers we've done interviews with.
antiMusic: Was this a one record deal?
Mick: It was a two record deal but we weren't about to give the label another album after all we had just gone through.
antiMusic: How did the idea of offering the record for free come up?
Tairrie: It was my idea. It came to me one evening while we were in Knoxville recording. I shared the idea with Mick and our co producer Joel to see how they felt about it and when they both liked the idea so I ran it by our attorney and press officer and everyone agreed it was the best way to release it. Simply put, it was our gift to the fans and our middle finger to Tiefdruck Musik.
antiMusic: What has been the response to this method?
Mick: It's been great. I think a lot of our fans were initially surprised that we chose to do this but we really had no other choice at the time. We're happy with our decision.
Tairrie: When we released it many people began writing us asking if they could pay for it or donate towards our band in some way which was a nice surprise so we decided to create a donate button via pay pal on our site at www.myruin.net. Being that we do this all ourselves with no label it was great to feel that type of love and support. We truly appreciate it and our fans.
antiMusic: Have you heard from the label since the release of your new album and do you think Daniel has heard it?
Tairrie: Yes, we know he has heard it but no we have not heard from Daniel. We're not interested in anything he has to say at this point. Apparently Tiefdruck Musik is no longer functioning as a label. Ironically all the staff quit shortly after our album came out and the office in Hamburg, Germany has officially closed down. The label website is defunct as well. The link to it now goes directly to a store where he seems to be selling off the last of Tiefdruck's albums from his home address. It's a pretty sad state of affairs. He fooled so many bands into believing his bullshit over the years and seems to have no remorse or self respect. The music industry is a dirty world and it's rare that you deal with someone who is actually in it for the right reasons. There are a lot of Devils and deceitful people behind the scenes.
antiMusic: When you started writing the music, did you know that the songs would be addressing the situation with your former label? If so, did that affect the mood or direction of the music?
Mick: Yes. The mood of our albums usually comes from what we're feeling at the time. I was channeling my rage and frustration into the songs and Tairrie was doing the same thing in a letter which would eventually inspire many of the lyrics and song titles on the album.
antiMusic: At what point did the idea of an open letter or retribution record start to take shape in your mind?
Tairrie: We never planned on writing, much less recording another record so soon after releasing G&GS. It just happened naturally because of the situation we were going through at the time. We felt helpless and needed to vent so we did what we do best and wrote. The first song, which was "Reckoning" just sort of poured out of me like an open letter because much of it was initially written as one.
antiMusic: Where was the bulk of the music written, LA or Knoxville where you recorded the album?
Mick: The music was written and the pre-pro demos were made entirely at home in LA. Tairrie wrote the lyrics in both LA and Knoxville. She didn't demo anything with me beforehand; her first vocals were recorded in Knoxville and are on the album.
antiMusic: How did Knoxville influence the songs, if at all?
Mick: Knoxville influenced the overall vibe of the record in many ways. You can feel East Tennessee all through it, not to mention a cold chill that came with our recording in the dead of winter.
antiMusic: Usually I get you to break down the songs of a new record but in this case the material is pretty self-explanatory. Clearly songs like "The Soulless Beast" and "Highly Explosive" take direct aim at the label. What was the song that started it all for you and did you ever feel the need to have to rein in your venom?
Mick: "Reckoning" was the song that started the ball rolling. Some of the riffs were in a song that didn't get used during The Brutal Language era. I reworked it, played it for Tairrie and it came together very quickly.
Tairrie: I've never really felt the need to rein in my venom because it's usually well deserved when delivered with an intended message. I've learned over the years to be as thoughtful as possible when it comes to my lyrical content because a song is timeless and I want the emotion of the words I write to stand the test of time no matter how many years pass from when I first recorded them. Sometimes a song comes easily but other times you have to work at it and dig deeper to find the right words to fit the story you are trying to tell. "Soulless Beast" is one of my favorite tracks on the new album because the music is very doom-laden and epic. It evoked a haunting feeling that spoke to me immediately when I heard it. I found myself drawn to the idea of wanting to paint a vivid lyrical portrait and describe a very dark side of a man and the evil that he was capable of which I felt we were experiencing first hand. The idea for this song came to me one evening in Knoxville while reading the Book of Revelation in the Bible. It sums up the album as a whole and the story behind why we felt the need to record it. "Highly Explosive" was actually based on one of many freaky emails which Daniel Heerdmann had sent to our attorney using this term to describe me. I couldn't resist throwing it back in his face because we found it so funny.
antiMusic: "The Soulless Beast" channels the essence of Mr. Iommi. Did you have his sound in your head while writing this one, Mick?
Mick: Yes, I was thinking about vintage Sabbath on that one with a nod to classic Aerosmith as well.
antiMusic: Tairrie, Mick has come up with some material that is a slight change up from your back catalog, in particular "Walk of Shame" and the intro to "Vultures" (which sounds like it was taken from The LVRS). Were these songs more of a challenge for you to fit your lyrics to / vocals over and were you surprised that because of your mood that the music Mick came up with wasn't quite as heavy as your last record?
Tairrie: I agree with your thoughts on "Vultures". It does have a LVRS vibe to it although that wasn't the intent. "Walk of Shame" was a slight challenge but "Vultures" came very easy for me to write and record because of the spoken word style delivery which I have always tried to incorporate into my vocals. My only difficulty with this song came from the subject matter itself.
antiMusic: "Vultures" has some pretty pointed declarations about friends. I assume it is at least partially directed to your former best friend (telling by the line "The sky is far and wide to London from LA"), among others, including former band members. At this point, considering you write that "every friend is a future enemy", are you now gun-shy with regards to personal and professional relationships?
Tairrie: Both "Vultures" and 'Tennessee Elegy' which was a eulogy for the death of a friendship, were inspired by the same person. There are no songs directed at former band members on this album and yes, we are extremely gun-shy in regards to all relationships we enter into these days whether business or personal, for good reason.
antiMusic: My favorite track on the record is "Walk of Shame". Tell us how that riff came to you and why you felt it fit in with the rest of the record.
Mick: That riff came from me just walking around the house playing guitar. We like to incorporate elements of classic rock in our music and "Walk of Shame" is one of those songs.
Tairrie: I have no idea. It just sort of presented itself as an idea one evening and although the lyrical content of this particular track really does not fit the overall theme of the album, the song seems to feel right at home.
antiMusic: Musically speaking, the material is not as lumbering as say Throat Full of Heart. Did you purposefully set out to take your foot of the gas pedal, so to speak?
Mick: Not necessarily. Those were the songs that came out of me at the time. I feel that ASR is very riff based and guitar oriented.
antiMusic: You guys do a wicked cover of "Mean Street" and it fits the record perfectly. What else was on your short list of covers and why did you settle on this one?
Mick: There was no short list. "Mean Street" was it.
antiMusic: You've started incorporating these cool little breaks in your songs that depart from the rest of the song like in "Walk of Shame", "Tennessee Elegy", and "The Soulless Beast". Thinking about it, this goes back for the first time to your little bass solo in "Cold Hands, Warm Heart", which admittedly is not quite the same. But when do you know what song would benefit from one of these segments?
Mick: Some songs just call for a "middle jam" or "departure section". I know when I'm arranging a tune what will work and what won't. We try to use a dynamic approach to our music with a few unexpected twists and turns to keep it interesting.
antiMusic: How did you come to record the songs with Joel Stooksbury in his studio?
Mick: Joel is a friend from the early 90's Knoxville, Tennessee music scene. His old band Immortal Chorus and my old band Hypertribe used to play shows together back in the day. He digs My Ruin and has an awesome studio (Soundtrack Black) in his home. The idea of recording there came up so Tairrie and I extended our Tennessee Christmas trip to do the record. It was an absolute pleasure and one of the best times we've ever had making an album. I think you can hear it in the recordings. Joel and his wife Mindy are truly great people.
antiMusic: Before we get to exciting news about upcoming plans, can you get some comfort out of the horrific situation with your former label from the knowledge that it produced what I consider to be your finest work to date, A Southern Revelation?
Tairrie: Well, I appreciate you saying that. I don't get a lot of comfort out of that because I felt and still feel really close to Ghost & Good Stories. It was a really precious record for me. Personally, it's my favorite My Ruin record. I love A Southern Revelation but that was a retribution record and that's one of the reasons on the new record that we're doing, I wanted to stay clear of that whole vibe. Ghosts & Good Stories was, for me…lyrically, musically, mentally, physically….such a heavy under taking. So much went into the making of that record and I feel like that man raped me. He took something really personal from me and I'm not sure if I can ever forgive that. That's why we felt so strongly about coming back the way we did with A Southern Revelation. Don't get me wrong, I love the record but I was in a very angry headspace when I was making it, as opposed to the darker headspace I was in when I made G&GS. I was seeking vengeance. Luckily I had a great time with Mick &Joel while we were recording. The environment and overall atmosphere during our time we were in the studio helped me emotionally get through it and allowed me to vent my frustrations the way I needed to at the time which was very healthy and therapeutic.
antiMusic: It's all supposition really, but do you think you had that record (A Southern Revelation) in you regardless or did the emotional upheaval of that whole scenario pretty much guarantee what you produced?
Tairrie: I think the emotional upheaval guaranteed it, yeah. The entire record was not dedicated to this man as a response to what he had put us through but a lot of it was extended from that situation and influenced by our state of mind at the time. Maybe it all happened for a reason or needed to happen in order for us to make that record. We would never have made it otherwise. It's very hard for me. I go back and forth with it. Knowing what I'm writing right now and where my head's at I probably wouldn't have written that record, the way I did if the circumstances had been different behind the scenes.
antiMusic: You're starting a new chapter in the book of My Ruin shortly with the recording of album #8 on the horizon. I realize you don't want to give away too much information at this point but will this one be a brother or sister record to A Southern Revelation or more like a distant cousin?
Tairrie: We often describe A Southern Revelation as the older, meaner sister to the moodier Ghosts & Good Stories but the new songs we're writing seem to be taking a bit of a different direction than both of those. While the new album has very dark and doom-laden elements, it's not an angry confrontation album. It's more introspective and there is an otherworldly ethereal feeling to it. I would say it's a very deep sleep-deprived record. I suffer heavily from insomnia. This is something which has plagued me most of my adult life. Mick on the other hand, can fall asleep very easily. It's something I envy. I'm often awake late at night and alone in my own head a lot. I tend to do most of my writing and being creative after midnight and into the witching hour. The new album definitely reflects this mood. There is a very hour of the wolf, esoteric vibe and feel to it.
antiMusic: Kind of like "Diggin for Ghosts?"
Tairrie: If I had to compare, I suppose it would be along the lines of "Diggin for Ghosts", "Long Dark Night", "Deathknell" and "The Soulless Beast".
antiMusic: Can you say in general terms any muse that played a role lyrically this time around?
Tairrie: I usually find something on my bookshelf that will inspire my thought process and this time around, I've been reading a lot of work by Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, Anne Sexton, William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley. I also came across an old book of illustrations by Gustave Dore which really spoke to me along with a painting by Hans Memling. We're also covering a blues song that was originally recorded in 1958 by one of my long time favorite artists. He didn't write it but he certainly made it famous for the way he delivered it. It's very cool, sexy and tough. I think people are going to be shocked when they hear our twist on it but I think it's going to fit on the album nicely and although the lyrics were written for a man to sing, they are actually very appropriate for me [and a little bit sarcastic] given my reputation.
antiMusic: Mick is handling drum duties again on this record?
Tairrie: Yes, Mick has written all the music for the new album and will be playing drums and guitar as well as co producing with Joel Stooksbury at his studio once again but this time, we've asked Luciano Ferrea to play bass on the album. He's been in the band for a couple of years now and he's an awesome bass player and friend. Although Mick and I can easily make the album ourselves, we want to share the experience with Luciano this time so he'll be joining us in Knoxville.
antiMusic: What is the update with regards to a drummer for any live shows? Is Marcelo Palomino behind the kit for the next while?
Tairrie: Marcelo played our last LA show with us and he'll being doing a few more when we need him but I think we may be looking for a more permanent drummer in the future because music is not something he really wants to do full time. We've had a couple friends in other bands offer to sit in with us when we're ready to tour again so we're not stressing at the moment but it would be nice to find someone like Luciano, who can be a more permanent part of what we do. We've met a lot of freaks with crazy personalities along the way so we're not very open to letting just anyone in our band at this point. It's really hard to find a good drummer who is a good person, especially in LA and in the style of music we play. At the moment things are cool the way they are.
antiMusic: Yeah. Gigging around town is one thing but when you're stuck with somebody who is crazy when you're on the road must be a real problem.
Tairrie: Well, you never really know someone until you go on the road with them, that's the true test of a musician but it can also be the test of your patience if you're dealing with an asshole. It's like any relationship, you may think you know a person but often when you live with them, it's a different story. It's then you find out all their quirks and weird shit you had no idea about. Some people you can deal with and others you can't. There has to be a mutual respect and respect for each others space. Everybody gets on each other's nerves at times, especially when you're in close quarters like a van, hotel rooms or backstage but when people feel the need to go out of their way to act annoying it creates a really bad atmosphere for everyone. I've been touring for many years and I prefer to be around people who know how to handle themselves as adults and handle their alcohol if they drink. Not act ridiculous.
antiMusic: Congrats on the Xbox thing. How did that come about?
Tairrie: Thank you! It's very cool. They actually contacted us through an old friend of mine in UK. He dropped me an email one day which was a conversation between him and someone from company called That Authoring Group which works directly with Rock Band. He sent him a link to check out our new album and the guy really liked it so we started the conversation and ended up signing a deal with his company to have A Southern Revelation released on Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz later this summer. The first song "Walk of Shame" is already available for download and there will be more tracks coming in the following weeks.
antiMusic: Excellent. That's great.
Tairrie: Yes, it was very nice and unexpected that it came our way. We're happy that we were asked to be a part of it and hope to have our next record on it as well.
antiMusic: On top of your music, you're also still exercising your entrepreneurial spirit with your custom jewelry line you call Blasphemous Girl Designs. How was you last collection received and when can we expect the next one?
Tairrie: My last collection went great. I actually sold out of everything. I have a very loyal and devoted congregation of amazing women [and a few men] from all over the world that not only support my music but also my art and are a part of my BGD family. I try to create a new collection every few months and I always bring as many custom pieces as I can on tour with me to have in our merch booth so that fans can have something a bit more special and handmade. It feels more personal than just a typical t shirt or CD however, it's harder than it used to be traveling with lots of stuff because there are new laws now which limit the amount of luggage you can bring with you and on top of this, musicians aren't allowed to bring instruments on board without being charged extra baggage fees [unlike athletes with sports equipment] so it costs a lot more to travel and tour overseas these days. I have just put my finishing touches on a new collection for August which I am getting ready to photograph and online soon. The new collection features my signature leather & metal scapulars, rock candy rings, cameo rings & necklaces and reliquary pendants along with my first lockets & poison rings filled with solid perfume which are amazing! I also designed three custom rings with the London based jewelry company Seventh Circle Artworks. They deal in high-quality silver and metals. The owner Alex Palmer had seen my some of my BGD pieces online and approached me about doing a custom piece for the release of A Southern Revelation, so I designed this really cool seven-band knuckle style shield ring with him. The seven bands were in honor of our seventh album which included two rosary bands and a thick engraved center. We followed the original with a more simplified version of the full court design and a band. Each ring is handcrafted in England where it is oxidized and smoked to give it a subtle vintage, aged effect and features the Spanish inscription "Mi Ruina Por Vida" which means 'My Ruin for Life'. A true statement piece for your middle finger if ever there was one! Alex is a rocker himself and is in a band. He's an awesome guy and we had a great time working together and I hope we can again in the future. My collaboration with him follows on from SCA's other work with doom metal legends Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Macabre and VON, Kirk Windstein, Jimmy Bower and Philip H. Anselmo from Down alt. model/clothing designer Nina Kate and bass legend Ron Holzer of Trouble.
antiMusic: In previous interviews with me, you have always been reluctant to draw attention to the various adversities that the band has faced with every record. At this point, it cannot be denied that you've faced more than your fair share of challenges. To quote 'Reckoning'… "Woke up today and saw our life flash right before our eyes. Were left for dead but once again from ashes we will rise". This incident is the latest in a career that would have sidelined lesser individuals. To what do you owe your resolve in not only surviving but actually thriving?
Tairrie: I wouldn't say that we've been reluctant to draw attention to many of the challenges we've faced because we actually confront them head on in our songs and have no problem calling people out on their bullshit which is most evident on our current album. Being in the music industry is often like being in an abusive relationship with someone you love and care for very deeply. It can be both wonderful and horrible depending on the day and situation. I sometimes wonder how we manage to have the heart and stamina to continue after all we've been through but we do because at the end of the day it's about the music. This is who we are.
antiMusic: What's next for My Ruin?
Tairrie: We recently premiered a new video for the song "Deconsecrated" which includes footage from our last UK tour earlier this year. It was filmed and edited by Tor Burrows of Notorious Design who co directed our previous video for "Tennessee Elegy" with me and is currently working on a documentary she filmed on My Ruin. We've been in pre production for the last two months here in LA for our next album which we are recording in August in Knoxville. There are also some interesting things going on behind the scenes for us at the moment which we're very excited about as a band and we hope to share soon.
We are excited to announce that the first song taken from our latest album "A Southern Revelation" can now be purchased through the in game music store on the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 3, from the Xbox's live marketplace dashboard or from the link below.
To celebrate the release of our new video for "Deconsecrated" today we would like to invite you to also check out this cool new preview of what it will be like to play the songs
from our new album on Rock Band 3 & Rock Band Blitz coming to you in July compliments of That Authoring Group!
Turn your speakers up loud because we are proud to present our new video for "Deconsecrated" which was filmed and edited by none other than the notorious Miss Tor Burrows! It was great having Tor and her female energy on the road with us to film our last tour and it's been such a pleasure putting our
creative heads together once again for this latest piece of visual
magic. She's full of ideas and knows exactly how to bring all of mine to life in everything she creates for My Ruin.Each new project we embark on together
is a rewarding experience and wonderful memory to look back on months
later. The new video is another stunning example of her artistic
aesthetic and visual sensibilities which continue to inspire me. Go TEAM
TB!
Our new video also features our good friend and former Beggars Ball guitarist Eddie Brnabic who was kind enough to fill in on bass duties for Luciano Ferrea at the time. An interesting story about this song is that the title "Deconsecrated" came from a passing conversation I was having with our tour manager about a venue called the Arts Centre in his hometown of Colchester, England while we were writing our album. He felt we should try to play this venue on our next tour because it was a very old building that used to be a Church and would be the perfect place for a My Ruin show and something we had never done. Our conversation stuck in my head as did the word "Deconsecrated" so I found myself building a song around it which included my putting the title of our album within its lyrics. This is something I do on all of our recordings. Long story short, when we booked our "Southern Revelation" tour a year later, I reminded him of his mention of this venue and we got our agent to get it as our last show.
It was the dead of winter at the time we were touring and when we arrived, both the building and attached cemetery were covered in snow making it an even more picturesque setting than we had imagined. While the actual Church footage in our video was shot at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle and the Salisbury Cathedral, much of the live footage was shot at the Arts Centre which was one of my personal favorite nights of the tour and ultimately one of my new favorite cities and venues. Soon after we arrived Tor came backstage to tell me she needed to show me something spooky that was on the wall which she filmed and is now the last shot in our video. I can still remember the chill that went up my spine when I read it.
We are excited to announce the long awaited premiere of our
new video for the song 'Deconsecrated' which will take place here this
Thursday, June 7th!
Our new video was filmed and edited by none other than the lovely and
talented Miss Tor Burrows of Notorious Design. Tor captured My Ruin live
when we toured the UK & France earlier this year for a cool
documentary style film she is currently editing of the time she spent
with us on the road. 'Deconsecrated' will give you a sneak preview of
our DVD that we plan to release in December and features additional
footage shot by photographers Andy Watson, Doug Rimington and Matt
Alston of Sanctorum.
Above are a few screen shot teasers to get
you in the mood, so remember to mark your calendars and join us for the
big debut.
12 years ago today we started this journey together in love, rock & ruin. Help us celebrate our special day by downloading our new 7th album for FREE and sharing our music with your friends.
Dear Friends , As 2011 comes to a close and we celebrate the triumphant release of our new 7th album, we would like to remind you how important it is to stand by underground artists that continue to do it for themselves and invite you to raise your middle fingers to toast the true spirit of independence by rocking in 2012 with "A Southern ℜevelation" compliments of My Ruin.
Recorded this time last year in the snow covered hills of Tennessee, we bring you 10 tracks of pure hard rock heaviosity with a beautifully brutal blend of violent scream vocals and spoken word for your listening pleasure. Visit www.myruin.net to download your FREE copy of our new 7th album and spend the New Year with our slaying of the beast!
For those of you who would like to make a donation towards our band, DIY ethic and art which allows and inspires us to create the music we make, not for the faint of heart, there is a "Donate" button on our blog and we wish to thank you for your continued support.
Although the album has been out for only a few short weeks, the reviews have been a stunning success. Here are a few quotes of the gospel according to the press:
"Husband and wife sludge metallers turn in their most personal work yet. Anyone familiar with My Ruin's formidable frontwoman Tairrie B will know she's always been able to whip up a shitstorm of anger with her acerbic pen and ground glass vocal performance alike. One of the most vital and impassioned albums released all year."
5/5 - Paul Travers / Kerrang! Magazine
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"A Southern Revelation is the stuff that legends are made of and I believe it to be the bands best, most important and exciting record to date. Sounds like Ghosts and Good Stories meaner older sister, only badder and more defiant than ever."
Mike Ike / Invisible Monsters
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"Mick Murphy's guitar playing shines through yet again with his beautiful tone and mesmerizing solo's coming to the fore. Another prominent factor is the groove the album has. I believe it would give Down a run for their money too. I can honestly say this is without a doubt the album of the year."
Don Jackson Wyatt / CirclePit.TV
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"Having progressively honed their sound over the course of those ten years, in no part due to the connection between vocalist Tairrie and her husband Mick, My Ruin in 2011 is an absolute beast of a band and A Southern Revelation is an absolute beast of an album. Written in the darkest depths of Knoxville, Tairrie has penned some of her most brutal, her most honest and her most dramatic lyrics to date."
9/10 - Graham Finney / Planet-Loud.com
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"Mick Murphy's guitar solos provide a welcome nod back to a time when solos were an integral part of songs, pulling off some truly awesome shit along the way. It should also be no surprise that Tairrie spits incredible amounts of vitriol in her lyrics, railing against what I'm sure many of us with any musical integrity can appreciate. Fuck the vacuous shit that clutters record shop shelves with major label on the outside and utter shit on the inside, go get some real fucking music.”
Darrel Sutton / Uberrock.co.uk
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“The duo of Tairrie B. Murphy and Mick Murphy are in lock-step with each other when it comes to the barren, but bruising biker metal sound they present. Most of it comes from Mick Murphy, who seemingly has a never-ending stable of riffs that Zakk Wylde or any faux Southern rocker would gnaw at.”
David E Gehlke / Blistering.Com
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"A pretty intense offering from one of metal's most underrated acts. A focused, heavy and very listenable album on the surface with a seething pit of catharsis beneath, this could be the one to finally win the rest of the world over to My Ruin."
4/5 - Dani Hawkins / OneMetal.com
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"The moral of this album’s story - do NOT piss off Tairrie B. Pretty much everything you’d expect from a My Ruin album and, dare I say it, one of their strongest for a while. Like I say, definitely a sign that triumph can come out of adversity if you’re smart enough to focus your anger where it does the most damage – in your music. Recommended."
Andy James / PureRawk.com
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"A Southern Revelation takes you on a roller coaster of solid rock and raw metal sounds. Uniting everything that has allowed My Ruin to progress, it truly demonstrates the band's full potential."
4/5 - Erin Dodd / Soundsphere Magazine
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"Call it nine shots of venom capped off with a chaser celebrating the good old days, served up as a middle finger dedicated to Tiefdruck Musik boss Daniel Heerdmann."
8.5/10 - Carl Begai / BraveWords.com
"Recorded in Mick’s hometown Knoxville in January against a snowy winter wonderland backdrop, the album reflects the harsh, cold relentless weather conditions in which it was produced. With work starting a mere 4 months after the release of ‘Ghosts and Good Stories’, My Ruin managed to keep the whole project a secret from their fans before finally coming clean in September. As is now the norm with My Ruin releases, the metal-machine Mick Murphy plays all the instruments, writes all the music and co-produces the album. Tairrie B Murphy’s vocals continue to astound with each release, perfectly complementing her husband’s musical creations. These kindred spirits in rock cannot help but continue to impress."
Hayley Davies / Ruinz of Ayanez
"The beauty of this fiend is it bows to all the musical mavericks; gracefully tipping a hat, as much to the heaviness of Zeppelin as to the abstract funk of Dr. John. Simply ‘A Southern Revelation’ is awesome!!!"
Jonathan Taylor / An Armchair Critic
Thank you again to all our friends, fans and My Ruin familia worldwide for the continued love and loyalty as well as our amazing Southern ℜevelation team behind the scenes...Soundtrack Black Studio, Platinum PR, Monsta Ents, STC Touring, Kuznetsky Law Group, Laney Amplification, Auburn Fox and our band! See you all on the other side of midnight as we look ahead to the future and ring in a New Year that ROCKS!
ℳI RUINA ✞ ℙOR VIDA
♥ Mr & Mrs M
"Woke up today and saw our life flash right before our eyes - Were left for dead but once again from ashes we will rise." - Reckoning
"We speak to Mick & Tairrie B Murphy about their fight back to the music industry and how they used their music as a weapon."
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Check out the new cover of Devolution Magazine which has been unveiled and is coming soon featuring My Ruin interviewed by Editor extraordinaire and one of the hardest working women in rock Miss Nickie Hobbs!
The new issue also includes My Ruin's "Southern ℜevelation Tour" limited edition promo CD sampler I designed which features 2 tracks from our new album + 1 track from each of our support bands Godsized, Sanctorum & Long Day Fear with a spoken word introduction / personal message about the tour by yours truly!
These are nice mementos to bring to the shows and have signed by the bands so keep your eyes peeled to order your copy and show your support for true DIY independent artists & ethos!
Seasons greetings and thank you all for the lovely wishes to us over the weekend as we celebrated our wedding anniversary in Knoxville, Tennessee where we are currently spending the holidays! Your emails and messages to us on Facebook were very thoughtful, warm and kind.
If you have not yet had a chance to download our new *free* album " A Southern ℜevelation" please take a moment to give yourself the gift of rock from us with love by clicking on our "Download" button at the top of our blog and remember to share this link with your friends to spread the holiday cheer and ring in the New Year with My Ruin!
Thank you to everyone who has continued to support our band and our music over the years and up to the release of our 7th album. Thank you also to those of you who have taken the time to donate. As a DIY band, this is truly appreciated and means a great deal to us on a personal level to know that what we do matters to you so deeply and helps us to continue to do what we do and make the music we make on our terms for you.
Lastly, we would like to thank our amazing team behind the scenes who have had our backs this past year and helped make the release of our new album such a memorable and proud moment in our career.... Michael Kuznetsky - Mona Miluski - Joel Stooksbury - Mick Wood - Tor Burrows - Marcelo Palomino - Terry Sly - Luciano Ferrea - Isaac Lee and Chris Taylor of Laney Amplification. We love you guys and gals and we couldn't have done it without you!
To all our friends in and around the UK & Europe, don't forget to get your tickets to see My Ruin live with our special guests Godsized - Sanctorum & Long Day Fear on our upcoming "Southern ℜevelation" tour which is being brought to you by Monsta Ents / STC Touring and kicks off on my birthday in January 2012!
Check out what the awesome Dom Lawson of MUZU TV & Metal Hammer Magazine has to say in his video about My Ruin and "A Southern ℜevelation" - A simple "thank you Don" doesn't seem to sound sufficient because holy sh!t, we never expected this!
Just found out we got our first 5/5K's in the new issue of Kerrang! Magazine out today in the UK. What a great way to celebrate the release and our slaying of the beast! Thank you to Paul Travers for this perfectly timed and awesome review.
xo
Mrs M
---------- MY RUIN - "A Southern ℜevelation" - KKKKK
Husband and wife sludge metallers turn in their most personal work yet.
Necessity might be Plato's mother of invention but adversity appears to be the progenitor of darkly vehement passion. Anyone familiar with My Ruin formidable frontwoman Tairrie B will know she's always been able to whip up a shitstorm of anger with her acerbic pen and ground glass vocal performance alike. In the past this has been trained on concepts such as misanthropy and religion but here she takes a more personal tack.
The inspiration might be relatively prosaic (lets face it My Ruin aren't the first band to consider themselves to have been stiffed by former recorded company) but songs like Middle Finger and The Soulless Beast are transformed into tales of personal betrayal and imbued with a near biblical sense of wrath.
Musically, they're at their most focused and compact, eschewing the trackless swampland they've been know to traverse in favour of driving slabs of momentum and some of the sharpest, most serrated hooks they've ever set down. This all makes for one of the most vital and impassioned albums released all year and with the band still unsigned, they're making it available for free from their website. Only a fool would miss out
By Paul Travers
Download:The Soulless Beast For Fans of:Rollins Band, Cancer Bats & Electric Wizard
3 Killer Songs From My Ruin's Catalogue: "Beauty Fiend" - A Prayer Under Pressure of Violent Anguish - 2000 "Ready For Blood" - Throat Full Of Heart - 2008 "Long Dark Night" - Ghosts and Good Stories - 2010
Dear Friends, My Ruin and ALS Presents would like you to join us for an intimate evening of rock this Saturday night December 10th to celebrate the release of our new seventh album "A Southern ℜevelation" which we have officially made available as a *FREE DOWNLOAD* and gift to fans on December 7th!
On The Rox is the private club located above The Roxy Theatre. Doors open at 8pm and we suggest you arrive early to ensure admittance. The party is 21+ and *FREE* but you must RSVP on the*GUEST LIST* to get in. Please email alspresents@gmail.com with your name and the number of guest you will be bringing.
My Ruin will be doing a special set with songs from our new album and we will have a few surprises thrown in the mix on stage. There will be drink specials at the bar named in honor of our new album + our good friend Scott Wood AKA - DJ Ska D will be on the turntables spinning our favorite classic rock and old school rap tunes before and after the show.
So remember to save the date, share our event and RSVP for the guest list to come dance, drink and rock hard with us until 2am!
Due to circumstances beyond our control, our new video premiere for
"❄TEℕℕESSEE EℒEGY❄
has been postponed until tomorrow. It seems all the power in our home/neighborhood went out late last night because of the crazy windstorm in Los Angeles, Thanks mother nature! We are currently at our studio on our trusty laptop as we are unable to access our home office computer at the moment which has our files. We promise our new video will be online as soon as possible, in the meantime here are a few more teaser shots for you and we apologize for the delay.
We are excited to announce the premiere of our new video for the song:
❄TEℕℕESSEE EℒEGY❄
from our upcoming album 'A Southern ℜevelation' which will take place here on Thursday, December 1st!Our beautiful new video, which features Luciano Ferrea on bass and drummer Isaac Lee who is the latest edition to the Mi Ruina familia, was co directed by yours truly along with former [Manhole, Tura Satana & My Ruin] drummer Marcelo Palomino of MFP Film Productions and Tor Burrows of Notorious Design. Marcelo also filmed the video and handled all the camera work while the editing and special effects were done by Tor Burrows who created My Ruin’s previous two videos for ‘Long Dark Night’ and ‘Excommunicated’ from our 2010 album ‘Ghosts and Good Stories’.
Being that we pride ourselves on being a DIY band and have no label supporting us, we really had no budget for this video so it was truly a labor of love and faith in friendships that helped to create ‘Tennessee Elegy’ and there was a lot of team work behind the scenes. Marcelo has been a close friend of mine for many years and was also my original drummer when I started out in my first band Manhole in the early 90’s. We’ve wanted to collaborate on a video for My Ruin for a while but it never seemed to be the right time until now. Celo is based in LA and we had a lot of fun shooting the video with him. Tor is based in the UK and there is the 8 hour time difference so we have learned to utilize Skype and Dropbox as our way of working together. She is a longtime fan turned friend who really understands our band and music deeply. Her attention to detail in bringing our songs to life by the use of interesting effects and iconic imagery with me is truly inspiring. The videos we create together feel very sacred and timeless which is also how we like to think of our albums.
Shot on a green screen in My Ruin’s rehearsal studio and deep in the heart of East LA at Evergreen cemetery, ‘Tennessee Elegy’ is a cold hard rocking lament that pays homage to the winter month in which ‘A Southern ℜevelation’ was recorded and sets the temperature for the new album with a cathartic release and therapeutic vent of anguish. Below are a few screen shot teasers for you before it's big reveal on top of white and snowy ground! So don't forget to mark your calendars, save the date and lose yourself in the sound on
Our secret is finally out and we are excited and proud to announce that we have a new album coming in December! Produced by Mick Murphy & Joel Stooksbury, “A Southern Revelation” is the 7th full length studio album by My Ruin. It was recorded at Soundtrack Black Studio deep in the snowy mountains just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in the cold January winter of 2011.
As a thank you and gift to our longtime friends, fans and My Ruin family worldwide, for your continued support and rock love for us, “A Southern Revelation” will be made available as a 100% FREE DOWNLOADdigital only release on December 7th and just in time for Christmas exclusively via www.myruin.net in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
The new album includes 10 tracks: Tennessee Elegy, Highly Explosive, Walk of Shame, Deconsecrated, Middle Finger, Vultures, Seventh Sacrament, Reckoning, The Soulless Beast and a cover of the Van Halen classic Mean Street.
In 2010 My Ruin signed a 2 album deal with Tiefdruck Musik based on lengthy conversations with label owner and founder Daniel Heerdmann. We felt he understood our band and what we were looking to achieve with our new album. He was completely supportive and encouraging to us during the entire recording process.
In July, My Ruin delivered our 6th album “Ghosts and Good Stories” to Tiefdruck Musik. We were on a high after recording what would soon become our most critically acclaimed album to date and everything felt great. We had begun to confirm shows for a European tour and were looking forward to working with our new label when suddenly there was a strange and unexpected turn of events and Daniel Heerdmann changed from being our biggest supporter into our most vicious adversary overnight. We had no idea why or where this sudden shift in attitude had come from. We were now dealing with a completely different man and it was scary. We quickly began to discover many of his promises had been lies regarding money transfers, marketing, promotion and tour support. This led to our being forced for the first time in our career to cancel our tour as chaos and confusion set in. Our album release was delayed in every territory and our once friendly mutual respectful relationship was now done. To date My Ruin has never received any accounting from Tiefdruck Musik for album sales.
Instead of touring “G&GS” in September 2010 as planned, we found ourselves at home due to circumstances beyond our control, reading the barrage of hateful and unprofessional emails which were being sent to us and our attorney. Mona Miluski, who was Tiefdruck’s in house publicist, relayed to us that all of this was a pattern and just one of the many reasons she had decided to leave the label after seeing this happen to many bands previous to My Ruin signing with the Tiefdruck. Before our album finally came out in September, we decided to cut all ties and contact with the label who we believed were now on a campaign to sabotage our album and reputation. With no promotion or support for “G&GS”, we were left to fend for ourselves like an unsigned band. This was when Mona Miluski started her own freelance press agency Platinum-PR, joined our team as a publicist and we began our DIY press campaign which proved to be a huge success as the album received some of the best reviews and press of our career.
In the eye of the storm, Mick and I decided to vent our anger and frustration by writing our thoughts and putting them to music while home in Los Angeles. Within 2 months we had enough material to record another album. Having already planned to spend the holidays in Mick’s hometown of Knoxville, we decided to reach out to a friend and fellow musician Joel Stooksbury who had built his own home studio hidden away in the hills of Tennessee. Knowing our situation and without the luxury of a budget or financial backing of any kind, Joel expressed his interest in recording with us purely based on his wanting to help us make a rad rock record. Soon we found ourselves at Soundtrack Black Studio for 3 very cold and snowy weeks quietly making what would become My Ruin’s 7th album “A Southern Revelation”. After all we had gone through leading up to the making of “A Southern Revelation”, it was an amazing and very calming experience to be out of our usual element in Los Angeles while recording and instead be in Tennessee surrounded by longtime friends and family while working with Joel. Not only did he and his lovely wife Mindy open their hearts and home to us but he proved to be an incredible co producer/engineer/mixer and a loyal friend along the way.
“Ghosts and Good Stories” was a great album and there was potential for both My Ruin and Tiefdruck Musik to build a real foundation together on this as a band and label had it been properly handled and promoted as agreed. Unfortunately, Daniel Heerdmann crossed the line with us on both a personal and business level from which there is no recovery. Recording another album for Tiefdruck Musik is not an option for us, so we have made the decision to do something out of the ordinary by following in the footsteps of a few disgruntled artists before us and give our new album “A Southern Revelation” away as a free download. In an age where the majority of fans download their music for free on torrent sites, all we ask is that this time you get it directly from us. This way you will get the best quality version possible.
Both sacred and profane, “A Southern Revelation” is My Ruin’s meanest and most pointed recording to date. It is a highly focused, intensely passionate and cathartic record that invites it’s listener with us on our personal journey of reckoning in retrospect. Staying true to our sound and confrontational lyrical delivery we believe “A Southern Revelation” stands alone in My Ruin’s catalog with renewed razor sharp, violent scream vocals and spoken word over stone cold crisp yet doomy metallic rock guitar riffs.
While friendship is a fashion and honesty is the holiest disease, this is our seven daggers of Megiddo; this is our slaying of the beast.
♥
very truly yours,
Mr & Mrs M
[Video Created by Tor Burrows of Notorious Design]
Available for FREE DOWNLOAD now exclusively via 
