RAVAGE
England is the country
that gave birth to heavy metal, but the country that really give variety
and imagination to this sound is definitely U.S. Just check out the plethora
of the underground and mainstream bands and the quality they have and you
will agree. Ravage from U.S. play Power metal and they have a personal
quest, but don't expect from me to reaveal it here in prologue, you have
to read the interview to understand...
1.FIRST OF ALL, POINT OUT THE MOST
IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE
READERS.
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The band Ravage has been around in
many forms for a number of years. It's earliest form dates back to around
1995, when my brother Eli and I [Alec "Al Ravage" Firicano] formed the
band. I was playing drums at the time, Eli played bass, and we had a singer
/ guitarist we were working with. At that time we really couldn't play
at all, we were starting out on our instruments, and the music we produced
was rather crude and punk-like, although we always aimed to be a rockin'
heavy metal band in the vein of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth etc.
We simply weren't good enough at the time. Eventually that guitarist quit,
the line-ups kept changing, Eli picked up the guitar and I became the singer.
By about 2001, we were getting decent musically and we met up with a good
local guitarist named Nick Izzo. We started writing songs and playing shows
with the line-up we had, which continued to fluctuate until we added experienced
bassist Anthony Bud, who played in the bay area thrash band Apocalyptic
Judgement in the 80's and also some psychedelic bands in the 90's. We also
added a young drummer Phil Coyne, who came from a local thrash band Cryptic
Warning. Now the line-up is pretty much set and we've played some good
local shows openning for national metal acts when they've come by, bands
like Lizzy Borden, Alex Skolnick of Testament etc.
2.TELL US ABOUT YOUR MONIKER. CAN IT
BE USED AS AN INDICATOR OF YOUR MUSIC? DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST THAT YOUR
MUSIC IS SO HARD AND HEAVY THAT CAN RAVAGE OUR EARS PERHAPS? :)
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Ha ha, good question. Well, not necessarily.
We're a very melodic band, but we like to keep the music very energetic
and powerful as well. I always thought Ravage would be a cool name for
a band, as far back as when I was in grade school, so when I started the
band, I took the name, and it's just stuck. People seem to like it, and
haven't let us change it ha ha. I guess it is good to have a two syllable
name, so people can chant it at the shows. However, I think some of our
earlier demos may have unintentionally ravaged the ears ha ha.
3.MANY LINE UP CHANGES IN A SHORT PERIOD
OF TIME? WHY? IS IT AFTER ALL SO DIFFICULT TO FIND PEOPLE YOU CAN COMMUNICATE
WITH AND SHARE THE SAME MUSICAL VISION?
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Around the Boston MA area it is difficult
enough to find people who are into old-school melodic metal, let alone
people who can play it competantly on instruments. I don't think we are
particularly hard people to work with, but it's been difficult to find
people who can commit to playing this kind of music, playing shows, and
fitting in with the group. I think we've finally established a good line-up
though, I think I can safely say this is the best we've ever been.
4.YOU HAVE JUST RELEASED YOUR DEBUT
ALBUM "CURSE OF HEAVEN". TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT ITS MUSICAL DIRECTION,
THE PRODUCTION, WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, WHO WAS THE PRODUCER, ETC. ARE YOU
SATISFIED BY THE FINAL RESULT? IF YOU COULD CHANGE SOMETHING NOW WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
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The producer was a friend of ours,
Jack Fenstermaker, who has been in bands in the 80's and had just openned
his new studio in Boston and begun producing projects. Since the studio
and producer were new, there were a few bugs to be worked out, but all
the songs were written and rehearsed before we entered the studio, so things
went fairly smoothly. We let Jack have somewhat of a reign on the production
sound-wise, because we wanted to get the best sound possible, but there
were no changes in the structure of the actual songs we brought in. We
were all satisfied by the final result, I think it was the best recording
we could have on the budget we brought and I think the songs are represented
well, which is all you can ask for in a demo really. My only wish is that
we could have done a few more songs, or perhaps different songs from the
ones we chose. We have about 40 songs and it is debatable which ones are
the best. I like the songs we chose, we chose some fan favorites, but I
wish we had the budget to do more.
5.ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK
YOU GOT THIS FAR? WHICH ARE THE REACTIONS OF THE FANS AND PRESS FOR YOUR
DEBUT ALBUM?
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The feedback so far has been great,
from fans and press alike. We've even got some good comments from
people who hate us and our style of music, which is always a good sign...
well, sometimes.
6.WHAT MADE YOU BESIDES BEING FANS
OF THIS MUSIC, ALSO FORM YOUR OWN BAND? WHAT DO YOU EXPECT AND WHAT DO
YOU DREAM TO ACHIEVE WITH RAVAGE?
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At the time we started this band, in
the mid 90's I had begun discovering great melodic metal bands, but couldn't
find any in our area. Also nationally, in America at least, it seemed like
this kind of metal was not getting any attention. So we formed this band
with the idea of bringing melodic metal back to prominence here and everywhere
else in the world, and though it may not be a realistic idea, I still hope
to achieve that in some way or at least make a few great recordings which
stand the test of time.
7.WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING TO?
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE LYRICS?
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Although I write a lot of lyrics through
a sort of fantasy veil, I am often inspired by what happens in the news
or in my life. I address a lot of my personal feelings on various subjects
lyrically, but I generally try to do so in a way that is entertaining and
cryptic and has a universal appeal of some sort. I don't like to write
lyrics directly based on movies or books, but sometimes an idea from a
film or a good story can inspire me in some direction.
8.WHICH ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
WILL YOU DO ANY LIVE SHOWS OR TOUR WITH OTHER BANDS? YOU HAVE MADE MANY
LIVE APPEARANCES TILL NOW. SHARE THE FEELINGS YOU HAVE EVERYTIME YOU PLAY
LIVE WITH US AND WHAT SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT FROM RAVAGE?
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We are booking shows constantly and
should be playing lots of area shows in the fall with perhaps a short tour
of the New England states. It is always a thrill to play live, but especially
when there is a good, motivated audience. Sometimes it is a good challenge
to get the audience going, and that can be fun too. But no matter if there
are 2 people or 200 people in the audience, we always try to put on a great,
energetic show that keeps the crowd involved to the fullest and best represents
our brand of music and the traditon of metal in general.
9.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MAKE A VIDEO
CLIP THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO BE, WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU SELECT AND
HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?
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I'd love to make a full-length movie
/ cartoon video featuring a lot of our songs, because I think we have a
lot of powerful imagery working in the lyrics, and although the music evokes
a lot of the power from that, some heightened visuals could also be enjoyable.
I would maybe make a video of "The King Forgotten" because it has a story-line
to itself and also a somewhat psychedleic ending musically, which sort
of evokes it's own imagery without the aid of lyrics.
10.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THAT
IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOUR MUSIC TO INTRIGUE HIS INTEREST? WHICH IS YOUR
MOST RECOGNIZABLE ELEMENT?
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We play more or less traditional heavy
metal, but we do not sound like a lot of the other power metal acts out
there right now. I think our most recognizable element is the use of melodic
vocals and dual lead guitars with very energetic, uplifting, parts but
still keeping the music heavy.
11.IF YOU WERE A FLY, WHERE WOULD YOU
LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
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I'd probably be off doing battle to
free my people from the tyranny of The Spider-King and attempting to overrun
the Earth in my one day life-span.
12.DO YOU THINK GOD GOT SO FRIGHTENED
OF WHAT HE CREATED THAT HE MOVED TO HEAVEN TO KEEP DISTANCE FROM HIS CREATIONS?
:))
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I think it's more likely he moved to
heaven because his creations just smelled bad.
13.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO TRAVEL
BACK IN TIME, WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?
I think I've always wanted to see
a gladiatorial contest in ancient Rome. I'd probably like to witness the
trial and crucifixtion of Jesus. I'd like to see the first human relative
climb from the primordial ooze...if that happened...and maybe see what
the dinosaurs looked like.
14.IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
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If it were an emotion, it would probably
be excitement. If it were a painting it would probably be dark, but vivid
in a way.
15.WHICH IS THE WILDEST, CRAZIEST THING
YOU'D LIKE TO BE ASKED?
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I think I've been asked quite a few
things that are just out of the ordinary in this very interview...hmm,
maybe something I couldn't answer, like "How many times have you sneezed
in your lifetime?"
16.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
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No, this was a very entertaining interview,
I believe you covered all the basses. We have some songs up at www.m3.com/swwr
if anyone would like to check them out. E-mail : [email protected]
for a copy of our new demo, and visit our site at www.665.org/ravage
RAVAGE IN PEACE!!! Thanks for the interview
Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis
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