By Carl Begai

MY RUIN is a family affair and their new baby has fangs. All according to plan.

The offspring in question is Ghosts And Good Stories, the sixth album from a band that are considered cult favourites and underdogs by the press – often in the same breath – and revered by those that have taken My Ruin to heart. Those fans may be surprised to learn that vocalist / founder Tairrie B. Murphy and guitarist / multi-instrumentalist / husband Mick Murphy came close to putting the band on ice following the Throat Full Of Heart album from 2008. Following some much needed soul-searching it was decided instead that the world could do with a re-booted kick in the teeth, resulting in an album that has the potential to elevate My Ruin’s status to new heights amongst the metal-loving legions.

“Our last tour in 2008 was an eye opener in many ways;” says Tairrie. “It was the first tour Mick and I came home from feeling unhappy after for various reasons. When you spend time on the road you get to know the people you are with on a different level and sometimes you see them in ways you don’t necessarily see them at home. After that tour we realized there were some seriously toxic people in our lives working both in and around our band. It left us both kind of cold and ultimately questioning ourselves and whether we wanted to continue with My Ruin based on some damage that had been done to us on that tour by people we trusted. Things got very dark for a few months and it wasn’t until we decided to focus on ourselves as a couple and get married that the light came out again.”
“This was our rebirth that gave us the strength to cut ties with certain people in our lives who were just bringing a lot of negative energy our way at the time. We needed a long break from the band and we took it. I think having time to concentrate on aspects of our life together outside of My Ruin helped us out on many levels and gave us a chance to recharge ourselves and ‘re-boot’ as you say. We began writing again and our songs basically poured out of us. We felt a new excitement for the music we were creating and we soon found ourselves in the studio recording.”

From her early days as the voice of Manhole, Tairrie has always been known for her volatile performances in the studio and on stage. Asked if the fans ever voiced misgivings on her marriage to Mick Murphy – perhaps considering it a potential detriment to the scream queen’s razor sharp edge – she is adamant about the fact that Murphy is not, nor will he ever be, the Yoko to her Lennon.

“This is a very odd question to me,” says Tairrie, “because there have been many couples in rock over the years who I would never consider their being together as any sort of a ‘detriment’ to the bands image, and I definitely do not think the fans of our music see our being married as something negative. When I met Mick I was interested in him for other reasons than his musical talents but when I found out what an amazing guitarist he was we began writing together. I have to admit, I was a bit conflicted because I’d never considered the idea of being in a relationship with someone I was working with, but those feelings went away and things began to move very fast for us on both the business and personal side. Mick and I have been together for just over a decade now so when we made it official it was simply a natural progression for us and the right time to do it. I think a lot of people thought we were already married because we’ve been together for so long but being a couple, married or not, has changed nothing for me as far as who I am as an individual. I am still the woman I have always been. We all grow and change over time. It comes with age and life lessons, not really marriage.”

“If anything being married has made us stronger as a couple and as a band,” she continues. “Our fans and friends were excited and happy for us when we made our announcement and judging from the album we just recorded together, there is no sign of our getting ‘soft’ anytime in the near future. In fact, we’ve actually gotten heavier, meaner and much more focused musically.”

Ghosts And Good Stories is being heralded as My Ruin’s, and in fact Tairrie B.’s, strongest effort to date. Unlike some of their previous albums, which may have felt too nu-metal or emo for the discerning metalhead, or failed to draw people in deep enough to make the band stick, the new album is solid on all levels. Hooks-laden arrangements, the unmistakable metal-meet-rock rip and tear, it hints at everything from Black Sabbath to AC/DC to Black Label Society while remaining strikingly original. Not an easy trick to pull off.

"I'm not sure what album you’re speaking of by My Ruin that sounds ‘emo’ but I certainly can't think of one," counters Tairrie. "We’re pretty much the opposite of what that term means in every way. I’ve been doing what I do since before ‘emo’ was a term. Emotional vocals to me represent a strong, honest, intense and sometimes raw delivery. The term ‘emo’ implies whiney in my book and there's no whining on My Ruin records. It’s always interesting to hear how people interpret our music and compare it to our last recordings. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and translation of what we do. Sometimes I agree on specific points made and sometimes I do not, but I have to admit that when we read your album review we were both a bit confused by one of your comments. And with the mention of songs being ‘disjointed’ I have to say I feel that really only applies to the album I recorded in 1999 without Mick, which is Speak & Destroy. This was indeed a very disjointed album simply because it was my transformation from Tura Satana to what was initially going to be a solo project with hired musicians to write, record and produce with me. That record is kind of all over the place musically due to so many people being involved with it at the time."
“Our new album feels like our resurrection after being almost crucified, metaphorically speaking. The song ‘Repose’, which is the only song on the album Mick sings with me, is about my personal relationship with the band. It’s a call for calm and the restoration of a soul after years of unrest and obsession with expression. I’m sure some people will hear it and think I am talking to Mick but it’s actually not about a man, it’s about My Ruin as a living breathing entity.”
“The albums I recorded with Manhole and Tura Satana will always hold a special place in my heart, but I love My Ruin’s recordings much more. I was just getting to know my voice when I recorded All Is Not Well (Manhole) back in 1996 and became a bit more defined as a vocalist with the follow up of Relief Through Release (Tura Satana), which was kind of an ethereal metal record that had some very interesting and memorable moments. However, I feel that the music I have been making in My Ruin far surpasses the music I made with both Tura Satana and Manhole. I’ve grown a great deal as both a lyricist and vocalist since those days and My Ruin is a whole different level musically speaking.”

On the vocal front Tairrie’s delivery is still her trademark scream and the spoken word, a style she’s honed for well over a decade. In that time more women in the business have adopted the in-your-face growl approach, narrowing the playing field for Ms. B in terms of standing out against her male counterparts. It’s not something she concerns herself with, and My Ruin fans will agree she’s never sounded better.

“I appreciate you saying that. I don’t really think about who’s doing what out there at the moment because I find most of it hard to relate to and I’m not really comfortable comparing myself to other women in the industry. I can only focus on myself and try to be the best I can be. It’s not a competition. As far as the spoken word goes, I have actually been doing this for many years now dating back to my early days in Manhole and Tura Satana, when I first began to experiment with the idea of mixing the two. It’s become much more a part of who I am as a vocalist and more heavily present within My Ruin, however, as I find it to be a nice dichotomy to the screaming. Mick and I also have a side project called The LVRS which is all spoken word stories set to musical soundscapes. It’s a bit more dark and intense as far as the subject matter than the songs I write for My Ruin. I think it’s a therapeutic way to release the other writer inside of me that doesn’t necessarily feel comfortable making an appearance in the metal world.”
“Mick and I work well together because we understand each other,” Tairrie adds. “He knows my voice and knows how to bring out the best in me vocally. Screaming is something that comes very naturally being that I’ve been doing it for so many years now. I never find myself having to force it but if or when the situation occurs that I’m not feeling it for some reason, I just work around it until I get my mojo back. Sometimes you have to work hard to find your muse and other times she just comes to you but you need to live your art, be true to your craft and immerse yourself in discovery of new things. I prefer not to record demos of our albums. I just go into the studio and live in the moment when recording. It feels much more organic and real to me that way.”

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