Interviews-serie "WIVES ov DOOM" pt4 with RITUALS OF THE OAK, FIRE FAITHFUL and RITUALS

Here's a new episode (the 4th) from "The WIVES ov DOOM", 

HUGE thanx to Sabine, Melissa and Monique for their participation, again very interesting... No surprise concerning Sabine about that but we've got here women who love Doom and that's really cool :)

As always, find below the links to previous episodes in case you missed any of them... but just keep in mind that there's no obligation to start by episode 1 to understand the purpose and interest of this serie !!! 
Episode 1 with Susan "Soggy Bog" and Ronnie "Sigirya" 

Episode 2 with Sarah "Atolah", Soph "Alunah" and Sam"Ice Dragon"
Episode 3 with Corinne "Ripple Music" and Christine "Days of the Doomed"

Questions asked :

1) I wanted to know which are your feelings towards the passion of Mister for Doom and Heavy musics in general... Could they be slow and gloomy or fast and brutal, how do you enjoy these weird sounds ? Do you sometimes take vengeance and play crappy Pop stuff just to piss him off ?

2) Are you proud of what he's doing with his band/blog/Radioshow ?!! Do you think this is more rewarding to play in a respected but underground Doom band than playing shit in a wellknown band ? Do you think playing Doom is necessay to his equilibrium and maybe that only this kind of music can bring him what he needs or is looking for ?

3) Does he still have enough time for both houseworks and cuddles, or sometimes there's difficult choice to make between both ?!

4) When he's listening music with headphones, computering on the net, practising with his band, playing gigs far away... do you feel alone quickly or is it an opportunity for you to meet friends/parents, make some things you enjoy but can't do together, etc... ?

Sabine ( vocalist in RITUALS OF THE OAK, engaged with Shane Linfoot, also guitarist in the band)

1) If anything, I’m the one who’s more passionate about heavy music; Shane loves every music genre under the sun particularly funk, blues and 70’s rock. He is also a doom fiend, but nowadays has a somewhat diminished tolerance for extreme metal, while I love that shit! But as far as doom goes, we share a lot of common grounds there so I’m very much appreciative of his passion for the slowness!

No bad crappy pop is played at our house! Only the finest of the crappy pop ala Rick Astley! That usually goes on when beers are flowing and bongs are in presence, just to have a laugh!

2) Knowing how much of a wide variety of music Shane loves, I’d say Music in general is necessary for his equilibrium! I very much love the music he’s written so far. So I’m very much proud of him but mostly I’m thankful that I get to sing on these songs I very much enjoy!

3) Shane is both a master of chores and cuddles! He has a bizarre ability to clean up super fast. It’s not like he’s going to let cleaning take away from cuddling time anyways… definitely not cleaning! Maybe music though.

4) We’re used to giving each other alone time: Shane usually spends his whole time recording in the spare room, while I either catch up with my ladies or watch shitty tv or read. And afterwards we meet up in the lounge room to down a few beers and listen to some records or we curl up in bed watching documentaries! That’s probably my favourite passtime!

Melissa (engaged with Brandon Malone of FIRE FAITHFUL)

1) Our relationship was founded on our mutual love for the same music 13 years ago. It excites us both to discover some new band, and play it over and over all night long... Sleep's Jersualem pretty much changed our lives. We saw the St.Vitus reunion in NOLA back in 2009, and were like giddy children. It has always been about the music with us. His level of passion towards his own music is an inspiration, and I love the music that Fire Faithful is creating. So much so, that I have lent back up vocals to a couple songs, something I thought I would NEVER do in a million years.

2) I am beyond proud of him, I think he is a brilliant lyricist, and a gifted singer. The underground is where it's at for this kind of music, I hate ampitheatres and overblown shows. Give me a seedy dark club with cheap beer anyday, just as long as the sound is good! Brandon could probably find happiness singing/playing a lot of types of music, however "Doom" seems to fit his personality...I do know that without FF, we would be driving around the U.S in a van eating out of dumpsters, dropping acid and recruiting "family members", but thankfully we have the "family band" to keep him satisfied. For now....

3) It was tricky at the beginning, however Fire Faithful is just as much of a top priority as our home life is. Sacrifices have to be made, and he doesn't always have time to mow the lawn or take out the trash, sometimes he just comes home from work to change and eat, and has to go right back out. I certainly am not going to cry if he has to practice, or record. I chose to be with a musician, and sometimes, it's all about seizing certain opportunities. I never want Brandon to think he has to make a choice between home and music. Home for Brandon is refuge from the world that he tends to despise, and I like to think I provide that enivornment for him. That being said, Brandon is definitely the typical fix-it husband though, and is forever attending to the needs of our old house. I'm the domestic one and tend to "mother" everyone. For years now I have hosted Sunday Ritual Dinners, which have become a family band tradition. Since Fire Faithful does everything themselves, these Sundays are an effective way to plan and brainstorm over projects. We have a great partnership, and our kids (Savannah 10 and Dylan 6) are totally supportive of the bands endeavors, they only wish they could attend more shows! When we are not in band mode we are in kid mode, and do everything in our power to be there for them as well. They are so understanding when we have to go or out of town, or I have not missed a Fire Faithful show/tour yet, we are very fortunate to have an extensive support system that allows me to travel with the band.

4) I am not so insecure that I cannot enjoy a little alone time, in fact I look forward to it. It is important for Brandon to have that too, especially during the writing process. We understand each others need to be creative, and try to accomodate on another. My passion is to photographing bands, so even at shows I have my own thing going on, separate from everything else. I have had the opportunity to shoot so many of my favorite bands here in Richmond and on the road, and Brandon and the guys in Fire Faithful are very supportive of my photography and I am very thankful for that.

(have a look on her killer photography site : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Valkyrie-Photography/128904240457985)

Monique (engaged with Gregory Colson of RITUALS)

1) My name is Monique, I am 27 and I am currently engaged to G.Colson of RITUALS

we have 2 little pugs and a wonderful son on the way!!!

I like that Greg is into heavy music. We actually met and fell in love with each other over our common bond of music. It's one of the most important things to us. We have been to so many shows together and spent so much time together listening to music. As for me I am into a various mixture of slow and gloomy as well as fast, and brutal. Some of my favorite bands are: Pentagram, 40 Watt Sun/Warning, Sleep, Om, Gates of Slumber, Candlemass, Lord Vicar and anything Wino is in. Also I will admit that at times I will play horrible 80's goth/darkwave music to piss him off like: Xeno & Oaklander, Christian Death, Dead Can Dance and so on, I also love a lot of brit-pop like, The Smiths, Morrissey, Pulp, and Blur, Curve.

2) I am very proud of all of his accomplishments within RITUALS. The most rewarding thing is that he's doing what he loves and it seems doom/heavy music in general is what makes him happy. He has always been this way and has always been more of a person that respects "underground" music and works within those circles, rather than playing "shit" commercial music. We both feel very strongly that it's more important to support a more underground D.I.Y. lifestyle and culture.

3) Well, there are definitely times when I get jealous. Between recording, shows, out of town trips and practice. I do feel a little pushed to the side. But I know this is what he loves and he must do it to function. He takes amazing care of our little family. He's always doing things for me to remind me of how much he care's on a regular basis. So for the most part it balances out in the end. Music is a big part of our life and will always be.

4) I do get lonely when he's away but I fill all that time with Pug cuddles. They keep me distracted and happy!! I understand why he's doing it and he does send me lots of awesome pictures. In fact I used to go with him to lots of shows quite a bit in and out of town but with our Pugs and little one on way I spend a lot more time now with my family and close friends.

a little chat with the ultra-heavy RITUALS from Phoenix

RITUALS was formed in late 2010 in Phoenix (Arizona) featuring current members of HELLAS MOUNDS and former members of ABYSMAL. RITUALS play a blend of slow, heavy and pummeling riffs with a mixture of sonically versed melancholy melodies, and are currently working on an EP with a forthcoming release date.

This summer the band has opened for YOB and DARK CASTLE; some more recent ones saw the band playing with THE ATLAS MOTH, THOU and BATTILUS, while next ones planed will be with MOURNFUL CONGREAGATION and BLACK COBRA...Playing with such great bands, after no more than one year of existence, speaks for itself !!!

 Listening to their crushing ep, I'd say that RITUALS is indeed the kind of perfect opener for this type of soulful bands; there's a great blend of blackness, anger and refined atmospheres here too, something hugely massive and powerful which takes you alternatively or at the same time by the throat and guts, I imagine how fuckin' loud this band can play on stage !

You'd better check them out right now, because  they'll catch you up anyway sooner or later and your ears will bleed even more !!! If you need more to be convinced, their signing with ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA RECORDS (home of GRIEF, MORNE, SAVIOURS, etc...) tends definitely to confirm that RITUALS is one of the strongest hopes of the US scene !!!

In order to deepen things about RITUALS, I asked a few questions to vocalist Brandon :

* Even if I'm sure you're gonna be huge quickly, RITUALS is a new name in the scene, especially here in Europe, could you please present the band members and tell us your objectives when you formed one year ago ?

Rituals is myself (Brandon Garrabrants) on vocals, Gregory Colson on guitar, Blake Wissman on guitar, Jared Regan on bass and Andy Rich on drums.  Our objectives a year ago when this all began was to make loud music that was honest and help contribute to phoenix and arizona in general. Greg and I had kept in touch over time, him being in Hellas Mounds and the rest of us being in local bands here and there. We all wanted to be in a band that was dedicated and helped bring local/out of state shows to az.

* The name RITUALS would be usually affiliated with death or black satanic kind of bands, in your case it would be rather more something like "sonic rituals", how do you relate it to your music ?

That's the first thing that comes to most, but in this case, our name is concerning the habits and situations we as humans must face in life and put ourselves through. The daily patterns, the things we're self concious of, the pain we inflict upon eachother. The shit we all think and experience that at times is or isn't necessary.

*There's an increasing development of bands mixing sludge/post HC/doom and even Black metal all together, more currently from the USA than in Europe which is more traditionnal, what's your opinion about that and how do you situate RITUALS in the scene ?  

Traditional doom is deeply rooted in Europe so it's completely understandable that it has remained for the most part in its original form. I think the U.S. blending so many genres is a product of the great influence Europe has made on our music. I also feel it's an homage to Europe and the rest of the world when bands in the U.S. borrow from genres across the earth. We feel inspired by the bands that started it all and it's a natural progression to want to not only pay homage but create something new just as they did. I think sticking to only one genre can be a fantastic thing if it's what you are setting out to do, but we especially as a band enjoy exploring different sounds because so many bands and people have inspired us.

* The name of your songs are a bit intriguing, but maybe it's enough explicit and I'm looking for useless complications ! is "Takotsubo cardiomyopathy" speaking about medicine and "induced-compliance Paradigm" about your vision of the world ?

You're right. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is a type of medical condition. It's the sudden weakening of the heart muscle, which can lead to heart failure. It's said that loss and traumatic events can cause this. I wrote it about the end of a relationship and the feeling I got that I literally couldn't continue living without this person and a lot of times felt like it would be easier to be gone. Induced-Compliance Paradigm is a good an example of how I feel about the world. It's about an experiment done on students that were given a task with a reward and students given the same task and were rewarded close to nothing. The students with the large reward were dissonant and the ones with the lesser reward found ways to convince themselves to internalize their feelings. We're living this life all as if there's a final goal or milestone we're going to reach. We're conditioned to keep working and moving along as if there's a reward awaiting us. We don't realize that a lot of the time, we miss out on living because we're too busy convincing ourselves that this is happiness and forget about what we truly want. In the end, there is no big day or event that justifies losing yourself. You live once and then you're dead forever. I'd rather spend my time for myself than trying to convince myself that the montonous, daily 9-5 life is where I want to be.

* Your style is generally ultra-heavy, dark and angered but can also be melancholic and coldly melodic... how do you manage this duality ?
This mixture really became a thing of its own. We didn't set out to make music that clashed or had parts arranged a certain way. Our moods and emotions definitely came through and I think that's what has kept things moving along so well. We aren't being artificial with each other or the music. We're expressing the fucked up things we all go through in sound because we can all relate to the primitive feeling of wanting to fucking lose it and scream your heart out. It's every range of shit we all go through. The calm, the beauty and the desperation.
* You've opened for Yob and Dark Castle, how did you enjoy it ? Next gigs planed with The Atlas Moth and Thou are also very exciting, you guys have talent and surely deserve it , but are you conscious that things are yet turning out great for you ?
Those were amazing shows. As fans, that's about as good as a show can get. But to be able to play alongside bands that have had such an impact on us, we are very grateful. The Atlas Moth and Thou are going to be mammoth. Again, all of these bands have played a large part in the music we play, so a chance for them to come to Phoenix and then to play with them, is just mindblowing. As far as success goes, we are a family and we are completely dedicated to making music we are proud of. Money isn't an issue, because we don't care about it. We are very excited about the future and what it holds for us.

* Could you now present the ep and the process to get a copy and the T-shirt ? any possibility to see the ep released on CD version ?
Our first EP/LP will be available early 2012 through us and our friends at Alerta Antifascista Records. We will.also have an online store going up soon, You can find more info at ritualsmusic.blogspot.com and of course you can always get merch at our live shows too.

* Anything to add ?

Nothing much more to add other than thanks for caring enough about what we are doing to ask us these questions, this shit always humbles us, we honestly just love making music and having fun. Also thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way, we wouldn't be able to do this without all of you!

http://www.facebook.com/ritualsphx?ref=ts

http://www.no-pasaran.org/ (Alerta Antifascista)