REVENANT DEAD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 24th May 2010.
Birmingham, UK, metallers Revenant Dead - West on vocals, Aydin on guitars, Dahmer on bass, and Theo on drums - have a new album Two Evils out.
We caught up with Dahmer to find out more...
Hi Dahmer, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. How, when and where did Revenant Dead come into existence?
Dahmer: Revenant Dead formed in 2005 under another name which we decided sounded too much like another band at the time and changed it to Revenant Dead in 2007. We've kept the same line up since 2007 with a DAT machine replacing our second guitarist!
Did you make a deliberate decision on the sort of sound you wanted to play, or did your style evolve naturally?
Dahmer: Our style came about naturally. It's the concoction you get when you stick people with different tastes and styles in a room together for hours at a time.
How would you actually describe the sound of the band to someone who hadn't heard you before?
Dahmer: I can't. I usually just say we're a metal band but to be honest we've been described as lots of other things too. There are rock elements, songs that are a bit more proggy, chilled out bits.
Who would you list as the bands influences, both musical and otherwise?
Dahmer: I think it would range from everything from Lamb of God to Kiss to Guns and Roses to Marilyn Manson though you probably wouldn't pick any of that up from our music. As I said I'm not sure we know which bands influenced our style and it's up to the listener to decide what we sound like.
Where did the band name come from? Is it a geeky Doom reference or something else?
Dahmer: Well the old band title had 'dead' in it so we didn't want to depart too far from that and we felt we wanted to revive and renew the band. Revenant is to come back from which we felt sounded cool and sort of fitted.
Your first album "Imperial Rape March" came out in 2007. Could you tell us a bit about it?
Dahmer: Well we recorded it on a shoestring budget, without any recording experience and without knowing exactly how it was all going to fit together. I like listening to it still as it sounds pretty raw but the production values aren't anywhere near Two Evils. There are a couple of very fast frantic songs on there that have a lot of energy and a couple of pretty catchy rock anthems too.
Potentially quite a controversial title there... Did you get any shit about it?
Dahmer: It was one of the songs on there and it became the album title. Yeah it could be seen as pretty controversial though it's not to be taken literally.
New album "Two Evils" came out a couple of months ago. How does it compare to the debut, both in terms of style and quality?
Dahmer: It's better. I think the songs are constructed better on Two Evils. It's more coherent. IRM had the issue of us having a lot of ideas and putting together quite a mix of material. Two Evils sounds more together as an album.
When did you start work on the album, and how long did it take to put together?
Dahmer: Some of the songs on this album go back to before we recorded IRM. We've basically just filtered down songs up to the time we recorded it and went with the best songs we could. There's an extra track we recorded also that we couldn't put on the album for royalty reasons as it's a cover. Though we may give it away as a freebie at some point.
How does the writing process work? Talk us through the creation of a typical track...
Dahmer: One of us comes in with a riff or the bare bones to a song which is almost always Ayd, and we jam it out a bit. Then we usually can't work out how the break down should go, say fuck this, get bored of it and do something else. Then it gets recorded at home so the structure is pretty much sorted and gets sent round by email and the lyrics get put to it. Then next practice we just play it and tweak it till it sounds how we want it. Then after quite a few weeks if we're happy with it we record it ourselves at home so it's stuck in stone and ready for a studio recording if it makes the cut.
Is there any sort of concept behind the lyrics, or are they all standalone songs?
Dahmer: West writes all the lyrics. I wouldn't like to speak for him on that. They're pretty open to interpretation and I think what I bring away from them may be very different to someone else.
Do you do anything special in the studio to achieve your sound?
Dahmer: Miguel, who engineered both albums, probably does all sorts of recording wizardry. I think our recording process is pretty standard though. We lay down each track separately with drums going down first and vocals and samples last. The place where we record only has pies and pasties to eat so by the end of a few days you're sweating grease. Maybe that has provided a certain edge to our sound...
Do you think any tracks on the new album stand out above the others, or is it a consistently strong release from start to finish? Do you have a favourite song?
Dahmer: I think my personal favourites are Morphine, The Dead Is Here and Shallow Grave. I think they are the songs that catch your attention the most. I don't think any of the album is filler though.
Do you enjoy your time in the studio, or do you prefer getting on the live stage?
Dahmer: Practices are good fun. Recording is laborious but hugely rewarding. Obviously the best are live shows where you can really let rip and interact with the audience. Probably my favourite moments though are in practice when we all play this new riff for the first time and for those few moments it seems like the best thing you've ever heard!
What is a Revenant Dead live show like? Do you tear people a new one?
Dahmer: Yeah we like to think that people leave with an additional arsehole. West is quite a scary guy when he's in his element and... let's just say we've gone a bit over the top in some of our shows before and got on the wrong side of venues...
You have a few local dates listed at present. Are you planning to go further afield for a big tour?
Dahmer: Yes we want to. We have gone round most of the UK at one point or another but for the time being we're trying to organise a tour rather than just book lots of random gigs which don't get publicised. So yeah watch this space!
How does it work with the symphonic element? Do you play with a backing track or do you rope a keyboard player in for the stage?
Dahmer: It's not a backing track as such. We have a DAT machine that has samples on which Theo hits at the right moment. The DAT machine has been our favourite band member since it joined last year.
What's next for Revenant Dead? Is it all about publicising the new album at present?
Dahmer: Yes we just want to get this album heard by as large amount of people as possible so we're really focusing on getting the word out there at the moment. We believe we have a unique sound and whether you love it or hate it you'll recognise it as us.
Any question you love being asked that I've missed? If so, what's the answer?
Dahmer: Yeah Jon you didn't even ask if we'd like a cup of tea and yes I'd love one cheers!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Dahmer: Just the standard, check out our album and thanks for the interview. Keep up the good work with the site and catch you later Jon.
Thanks again to Dahmer for his time. Make sure you check out the new Revenant Dead album, Two Evils.
http://www.myspace.com/revenantdeadmusic
