Interview with Al of Ravens Creed 2012

By Bradley Smith

As a relatively new band, can you delve into the dark details of the birth of Ravens Creed?  How did you artists unite and what was your musical inspirations when it came to Ravens Creed? 

I’m probably not best qualified to answer this one seeing as though I’m a Johnny come lately! The band was formed by Steve (guitar) and Jay (drums) in 2006, Ben and Martin from Orange Goblin got involved, then Frazer on bass. Current lineup is Steve, Jay, Rod, and me shouting.

Inspiration wise, we’re all on the same page – Hellhammer/Frost, old Slayer/Exodus, Venom, Repulsion, Motorhead, Negative Approach, Discharge etc; anything that is no nonsense, in your face noise basically.

Ravens Creed has a new album due out on Doomentia Records titled, The Power.  What are some of the details regarding its creation and how you go about writing songs for it?  What do you feel it says regarding the current state of the band?

New record was written, recorded and mixed at the infamous Tenko studios in Nottingham. Steve and Jay wrote the songs over a period of a few months, then myself and Steve set about writing lyrics and vocals. The whole process was a soul destroying binge of excess, many hours fuelled by weak tea and stale biscuits, the good old British way.

It’s an angry, nasty record – 16 songs crammed into just over 30 mins. I’m into the most oppressive, violent, horrible music out there, but I can honestly say I’ve struggled to listen to the album in its entirety in one sitting yet, it’s just a relentless barrage of abuse coming through the speakers - not for the faint of heart.

Regarding what is says about the state of the band, I don’t know, but it’s definitely more aggressive than the previous album Albion Thunder (which incidentally is one of THE best metal albums produced in this country in recent times – if you haven’t heard it, you lose)

Tell me about your EP, Nestless and Wild.  How do you view it today?  Isn’t that the recording that got you guys onto Fenriz’ Band of the Week?  Do you feel that it is still an accurate representation of Ravens Creed or have you progressed beyond it? 

Hmm, the EP was a bit of a rush job to be honest,  the lads had the songs so I literally turned up one day, shook hands then jumped straight in the studio and shouted my head off. Saying that, it turned out ok and got some decent reviews, as you mention Fenriz enjoyed it, and that’s good enough for me!  I don’t think we’ve progressed beyond it as such, but the album is a different beast altogether, obviously having more time makes a difference, the songs on The Power are a fair bit more intense than anything on Nestless and Wild.

A personal question for you Al, how was it joining a band with such experienced veterans within its ranks?  I mean members of Ravens Creed played in Cerebral Fix, Sabbat, and Skyclad.  Did you feel intimidated at all?  What was your attitude when you joined the band?

Intimidated is a bit strong, but there were a few nerves, not because of what the guys had done in the past, but because I was a big fan of the band anyway, seen them play live and loved their previous album and EP’s.

Turning up and stepping into the shoes of Ben Ward too- it was always gonna be squeaky bum time. Ben is a great vocalist whose style was perfect for Albion Thunder, I knew I couldn’t replicate that performance so just had to do my own thing, fortunately our new stuff is a bit faster and more aggressive, which suits my style.

Ravens Creed was involved in the tribute to Bathory called Voices From Valhalla.  How did you get involved in that project and what impact did Bathory have on you personally?  What song did you record and why did you choose it?  How is it possible to make Bathory sound like Boltthrower?  Heh heh

Being big fans of Bathory, we were all chuffed and honoured to be asked to do a track for Voices from Valhalla.

Quorthon’s influence on what anyone does in thrash/death/black metal is undeniable, the whole aesthetic and sound, particularly the first 2 records, are for me everything that this genre of music is and should be about. Personally I would loved to have covered something off The Return…, but For All Those Who Died is still a great song in its own right, and we’ve tried to do it justice. Re the Boltthrower reference, you’d have to ask Steve about that, such guitar tone is revered and only makes an appearance on special occasions!

When it comes to vocals, what do you think is important in regards to your style and how you approach your recording and maintaining credibility and cohesion with the music you are adding your voice to?  Do you think being harsh in your approach fits the music and how do you feel it is in line with the music?

It’s not rocket science really, I just shout and scream like a man possessed and hope for the best! I’ve never tried to copy a particular style of vocal, mine is more of a rabid bark rather than Ben’s mighty roar, and I think they both work well. In terms of credibility and cohesion; the lyrics and music are aggressive and dark, so anything less than a full on shout fest would be inappropriate.

You guys are establishing a new hotbed of UK thrash.  I have always felt that the past UK Thrash scene was underrated, what do you think?  Why do you think that the UK scene didn’t get the recognition it deserved and what are some of the overlooked bands you feel deserve more attention?  I know for me I think Virus is definitely one of the best. 

I think most people involved in the UK scene would take issue with your first comment! I don’t think we’ve established anything other than a consistently muted and underwhelmed response, and that’s from our biggest fans ha ha!

The more successful thrash bands in the UK today; Evile, Gama Bomb, Warpath etc, have nothing in common with us. Ravens Creed are an underground band playing raw, negative thrash, I’d go as far as to say we’ve got more in common with early hardcore and punk bands - in your face kick your head in kind of attitude rather than beer swilling party thrash numpties. To be honest, as long as we continue to get support and respect from individuals like yourself, Fenriz, and anyone else who knows what’s up, then that’s good enough for us.

In terms of the original UK thrash scene, that was before my time, but for me Sabbat are criminally underrated by all but the most discerning of thrash fans. They did it their own way with originality, unlike most Brit thrash bands that followed. Virus good band, Acid Reign too, not a fan of Xentrix or Onslaught which I know are enjoyed by many.

How was playing the Live Evil festival?  What were some of your favorite bands you shared the stage with?  Did playing this festival generate a lot of new fans of the band?  And besides Fenriz’s interest, what do you think is the common thread that united all the bands that appeared on the bill?  I mean what about them musically did each band share?

Live Evil was great. Highlights for me were Bunker 66, Morbus Chron, Antichrist and of course Aura Noir, who were embarrassingly better than every other band on the bill, including us, they just destroyed the place.

We got loads of European thrash nutters coming up to us all weekend saying they loved our set, the best compliment being that we sounded like a cross between Master and the Cro Mags – I’ll take that any day of the week!

I think every band that played on the bill were similar in terms of their attitude to heavy music - no egos, no wannabe rock stars, no 17 year olds with throat tattoos singing about how they’ve got a broken heart cause their missus dumped them – just genuine enthusiasm for the weird little genre of music that we’re involved in.

On a note separate from music, England is hosting the Olympics this summer. Are you looking forward to that?  Do you think England will do a good job with its duties and how will the British athletes perform?  Are there any events that you will actually follow?

The Olympics will be boss, massive terrorist attack aside. Hope it’s a success given the amount of money the country has spunked on it.

I’ll be following the boxing very closely as that’s my sport, also taken a keen interest in beach volleyball recently; I really admire the technique, athleticism and tactical play of those fine athletes.

And while we are on the topic of sports and athletics, what did you think of England’s performance in the recent Euro 2012 matches?  Did you think Andy Murray will finally win Wimbledon this year?  Do you think Brits get too caught up in sports?  I know it was always huge when I lived in the UK.

Sore point that one mate! England were a shower of shite as usual, don’t know how every big tournament I get conned into believing that those pack of arseholes are interested in anything other than their next luxury car purchase. I’m a big footy fan but would rather listen to the latest Trivium record than see John Terry’s fat cockney bonce play ever again.

Hope Murray wins Wimbledon then rips his shirt off and makes sweet love to Sue Barker on centre court, while Ravens Creed blasts over the PA.

Yeah Brits love sport, I’m pretty obsessed I must admit, rumour has it that Rod from the band has an outside chance of making the GB Olympic badminton team, keep your eye out for that.

Staying with non-musical topics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was held recently.  What do you think of the UK still holding close to a Monarchy?  If you could tell the queen anything, what would it be?

Christ mate, we’ve gone from Xentrix to an 85 year old granny in the space of 5 questions, this is a very thorough interview!

Don’t care about the monarchy either way, Jubilee celebrations were a waste of money and paying taxes to support reptilian overlords isn’t ideal I suppose, but Prince Phillip is the ultimate alpha male in this country, so we should respect that.

If I could tell the Queen anything, I’d advise her to get a restraining order put on me asap, cause I’m developing an unhealthy obsession with her granddaughter in law Princess Kate’s silky smooth brown hair (I wonder what conditioner she uses to get that fabulous sheen?)

What are your upcoming plans for Ravens Creed?  What actions do you have planned for your album release?  Will there be a devastating set of concerts to usher in the new era of Ravens Creed?  Any other recordings headed our way?

Nothing planned! The album should be out in a couple of months, we’ll have to see the response, hopefully open up a couple of decent gig opportunities rather than playing to a room full of disinterested drunks and other assorted waifs and strays.

Working on a few new songs for some split releases, Nocturnal Cult will be the first to know!

I’ll leave any final shooting of the wounded to you.  What words do you leave them with before the bullet passes through their limp bodies?

“ENJOY THE AFTERLIFE PAL, SAY HI TO JIMMY SAVILLE FROM ME”

(cheers for the interview Brad, pleasure to talk to a true thrash warrior!)