Interview to OCCULT RITUAL (USA)

1. Before we start, I like to thank you for your time into doing this interview. How are you doing these times over there in Asheville ?

AN: Things are good here in Asheville; just working my day job like usual, and trying to write and record as much music as possible in my free time. My work slows down a bit in the winter, so I’m looking forward to having more time to put into music and other personal projects over the next few months.

CM: I live in Denver, CO and things are moving along here. I am currently working and student so life is very busy. My load should get a little lighter in the few semesters, so I am excited to put some extra time into some music.

2. What was the reason into making blackened/death metal music and whom are the gateway entries for your discoveries getting into extreme music?

AN: In the past, I feel like my musical output has been all over the place in terms of genre and sound, and the Occult Ritual project was my way of taking my songwriting in a very specific direction. I’ve loved that black metal/death metal sound for a very long time, and my previous writing did not dip heavily into those sounds, so it was pretty exciting to take such a new approach to making music. We also wanted to have a project that was extremely cohesive, so the sound of the music, the band name, lyrics, etc. all needed to really fit together nicely.

In terms of gateway bands, I was a very late bloomer getting into metal, so I missed the boat with a lot of 80s/90s bands. I got started into metal with bands like Mastodon, Lamb of God, and Trivium, but for this project specifically, groups like Wolves in the Throne Room, Emperor, Neurosis, Blood Incantation, Opeth, Krallice, and Bell Witch were probably my biggest influences.

CM: I feel like I have been trying to be in a band like Occult Ritual my whole life. I have been in quite a few bands in the past, but it has never been exactly what I was looking for or what I really wanted to write. AN and I were in a band together in years past and we just seem to really click musically. It makes writing this type of music enjoyable and relatively stress free.

My gateway bands are pretty typical I think. When I was very young I was introduced to Pantera and then I found Slayer. The band that sealed the deal for me was The Black Dahlia Murder. Listening to them really pushed me into listening to a lot of death metal. I am also an avid System Of A Down fan. That band vocally and from a guitar playing perspective really shaped who I am as a musician today. This is the short version of this I suppose. I think I could talk about my journey through music for hours.

3. What is the spiritual ideology or philosophy that drives you as individuals? Do you think it can become a limit to your creativity?

AN: Showing gratitude and respect toward the natural world is about the closest thing I have to any sort of spiritual ideology, but beyond that I am just a pretty intrinsically motivated person. I love absorbing and creating new art, and writing and recording my own music really tickles a part of my brain that nothing else can quite reach.

In terms of philosophy, I really just believe in having a strong work ethic, and being consistent with my creative output, even if the end result is not the idealized version of what I had in my head. “Finished is better than perfect” has basically been our personal credo since we started the Occult Ritual project.

CM: I wouldn’t say I have a spiritual ideology. I really love studying science and astrophysics to the best of my ability. For me, this little corner of space is infinitely more interesting without the presence of a higher power or being that is controlling everything.

I will echo AN here in terms of philosophy. Most musicians can write and rewrite a song 1000 times and it will never be perfect. Our goal has been to get what we believe is a good song out and released so we can move on to the next. It really helps you not stagnate artistically.

4. Let´s talk about your debut EP “Crucible Of Ruin”, The work you’ve done is just splendid. Wildly unique and expressive, and we’re very interested to hear about the influences and inspirations that shaped it.

AN: Thank you for the kind words! The seedling of the entire project actually came from this random drive I took one day through the mountains near my home. There is a scenic highway called the “Blue Ridge Parkway” near where I live, and I went on a long drive one day when it was incredibly foggy and rainy; I was essentially the only person up on the road that day as most people drive it when the weather is nice for the views of the surrounding mountains. But it was totally otherworldly up there, a very eerie, isolated kind of vibe, and very peaceful, too. Actually, the cover art for the album, as well as the other pictures that come along with the physical release are all photos from that day I spent up there. So when I finally came down off the mountain, I sent CM a text as soon as I had cell service and was just like “we should record a black metal album”, and CM didn’t even skip a beat. He was just like “fuck yeah, I’m in”.

From there it was just all about sharing songs and artists with one another while we worked out the sound we wanted and the story for the album. We decided very early on that we wanted to tell a story with elements and themes of witchcraft, familial curses, revenge, facing the unknown, etc. The best part was all the ideas came together pretty quickly, so it was a very exciting time for me personally.

CM: I just want to say I really appreciate you and others listening to the record and your words mean the world. I was actually mulling over asking AN if he wanted to start a new project. So when he called me, it was very obviously a no brainer. Not to be too sappy, but I have always admired AN as a musician and a songwriter so it was a very easy decision.

Again, I will echo AN here. I will add that a lot of this record was us figuring out our workflow and how we flow ideas to each other. Everything came together pretty seamlessly and I am extremely proud of what we wrote. The writing and recording experience was just fun and for the first time I really enjoyed all of it from start to finish. I really hope that experience comes across in the music.

5. How would you best describe this debut and what the listeners can expect? Are there any kind of particular points of inspiration for these 04 tracks that you would like to discuss?

AN: I feel like Crucible is a really good representation of all the sounds that we are interested in exploring as a band: black and & death metal, but lots of very melodic, instrumental passages, drony sections, ambient intros and outros, some electronic touches here and there, and so on. One of my biggest pet peeves for bands is when they release an album and every song almost sounds the same as the last. The albums that I have always been the most drawn to are albums that are very dynamic with their sounds and influences, but manage to not come off as disjointed. It’s a total tightrope walk, and I don’t want to come off overly proud or anything, but I feel like we struck that balance pretty well, and ultimately, ended up with the album that we set out to make.

CM: I honestly don’t really know what listeners might expect and I try not to think about it very much. I really want to make sure that we are writing this music for us and not for an audience. I want our music to be as honest and true to us as possible. As long as we do that, I believe we will be a band for a long time. As a band, Crucible really accentuates who we are as a band. That one song has all of the elements that we are trying to get into a record. In my opinion it flows very well and doesn’t sound too busy. From a vocal standpoint, More Weight really lets me stretch my chops out and I just love doing long, nasty screams.

6. Can you tell me a little bit about the songwriting and recording process in detail?

CM: AN is very much a driving force in the band. He will get rough outlines of songs put together, drums, guitar, rough solos and then we will meet on them. We kind of go through what we like, what we don’t and go forward from there. I will usually start getting bass lines put together at that point and start forming some vocal ideas. We do not live in the same state so it’s a lot of back and forth over the internet getting something nailed down. Once or twice a year we will meet in person and record some vocals and discuss the future of the band. This is how Crucible was written, but we are constantly discussing what we can do differently.

AN: Yeah, even though I am the starting point for writing, it is still very collaborative. I’ve always told CM he would make a great producer, because I will bring the basic songs to the table, and he really helps with shaping them into their final form, whether it’s adding sections that help the song flow better, removing stuff that doesn’t need to be there, working on transitions and variations, etc. I also tend to not let people listen to very early-stage demos, so by the time I send something over to CM, I’m pretty happy with where a song is, but at the same time I’ve lost all objectivity, so the additional perspective is a tremendous help. And yeah, living on opposite sides of the country is a total pain in the ass haha, especially when we get to the fine-tuning stage with our songs. Problems can get solved so much quicker in person, so we’ve had to adjust to the fact that finalizing songs and ideas is going to take a little longer with our current setup. When we do meet up in person to work on vocals and mixing though, it’s a total blast.

7. When not making music, what are some interests you like to do on your spare time when not being in the studio or composing?

CM: Spare time? What’s that? I am joking of course. I have a family so a lot of my free time goes to my little ones. When I’m not doing that, I like to make things. I enjoy doing some light wood working, 3D printing and things like that. We actually make all of the Occult Ritual shirts right now. I also enjoy gaming and going to shows as much as possible.

AN: I’m a serial hobbyist, which creates problems for both Occult Ritual’s productivity and my wallet. I read a lot of fiction, watch a lot of movies, and love messing around with vintage audio/video/film equipment. I’ve also been on a huge astronomy and stargazing kick lately, and love the outdoors, so I try to work in a good bit of gardening and hiking in my free time. I have a job that doesn’t absolutely consume my life, so I try to make the best of the free time I have.

8. In a world full of dull and empty shell-like bands, what is it that you are trying to reflect in your music?

CM: Speaking for myself, I think we are really just trying to write music that we like and we would like to listen to. I suppose we are just trying to make music that reflects who we are as musicians.

AN: Yeah, we definitely strive for authenticity in the sense that we are making the music we want to hear versus what we think might go over well with an audience. While we were recording ‘Crucible’ we definitely kept asking ourselves ‘is this good, or is this shit?’, and eventually we came to the conclusion that if we are both excited about it, even after demoing and listening to these songs for a year straight, then there must be something there. Like CM said, we set out to make music that reflects who we are, and at some point you just have to have some level of trust in yourself.

9. In your humblest opinion, do you favor streaming music digitally or prefer buying physical copies of cd’s, tapes and vinyls?

CM: I prefer to stream my music. Mainly because space where I live comes at a premium. However, I understand how important it is to support bands I like outside of that. I try to go to as many shows as possible and I will buy merch (mainly patches, shirts and hoodies) directly from their sites or at the concert.

AN: I love physical media and the experience of actively listening to music, so I’m all about building up my collections and enjoying music that way. Maybe like a year ago I finished cobbling together a stereo setup that is all vintage equipment, including a cd player, tape deck, and turntable, and it’s been a ton of fun. Whenever I go to shows now, I can pick up albums from bands regardless of the format they are selling it in, and like CM was saying, it’s nice to be able to support the bands directly. I do stream music as well, but 95% of my streaming is done in the car while getting from point A to point B.

10. Who are your greatest heroes in the field of Black/death Metal? How would rate the state of USA Black Metal right now?

CM: Oof, I feel like I could talk about this for hours. Off the top of my head right now my biggest heroes are Trevor Strnad of Black Dahlia, Corpsegrinder, Anders from In Flames, Satyricon, Slayer and Mikael Akerfeldt. More recently, I have really been paying attention to Will Ramos from Lorna Shore and Ollie from Archspire. I think we have some good bands flying the American flag right now. Deafheaven, Wolves In The Throne Room, Blackbraid and Necrofier are a very good representation of where ABM is at currently.

AN: Man, that is a serious question haha. I don’t about the term “heroes”, but as far as individuals that have had the biggest influence on my music, I would say Brent Hinds from Mastodon, also Mikael from Opeth, Chuck Shuldiner of Death, Paul Reidl from Blood Incantation, Aaron and Nathan Weaver from Wolves in the Throne Room, Colin Marston from Krallice, Ihsahn from Emperor. To echo what CM said, the new Deafheaven album is amazing, and I know they are a somewhat divisive band in the black metal community, but I think they found a niche and are absolutely dominating that space right now. Overall, I am feeling very good about ABM at this moment in time.

11. If people from outside would want to travel to a location in The States, which places you would insist people must visit at least once in their lives?

AN: It’s such a stereotypical answer, but the American West is where I would point people. Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona have such dynamic landscapes, it can really feel like being on a different planet at times when visiting our national parks and landmarks. Like I said earlier though, I really love nature and the outdoors, so if hiking, camping, fishing and hunting aren’t your thing, then you may want to travel elsewhere haha. If you aren’t as much of a nature person, I would say travelling up through New England and stopping at little towns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine would be my recommendation. It’s still a beautiful area, but lots more to do up that way.

CM: It is entirely dependent on what you are into. If you like mountains and skiing the Rockies are the place to be. For warmer weather and beaches Southern California is where you want to go. For historical “old” America New England is perfect for that. The US pretty much has anything for anyone.

12. Thank you all so much for taking the time to chat with us. Honestly, it means a lot! Your final words?

AN: I just want to extend my gratitude to everyone at Rotten Pages; we really appreciate what you do for small bands like us, and we are happy to collaborate in the future!

CM: Same, I can’t stress enough how grateful we are to be a part of what you are doing in this space. I really appreciate anyone who has given the EP a listen.

https://occultritual.bandcamp.com/album/crucible-of-ruin