Based on Long Island, NY, Crash the Calm submitted their song “Bad Habits”. The song is off of their split EP with Staleworth, a fellow Long Island band.
You can pay what you want for the EP on Bandcamp, or find it on streaming platforms, iTunes, etc.
Though “Mind Heart Body” by ASTRINA is not the typical sound I share here on RMP, I felt I should. When it came through my queue on Submithub (which is where any artist is welcome to submit their music to us!), something about the production and writing really caught my ear.
The song has a subtle yet driving beat that forges forward through the melancholy words. I think the song is a breath of fresh air in an oversaturated genre.
The Memoirs are an Alt-rock band from Nottingham! So great to be sharing another song from them, this song is called “Fear On The Rise” and you’re going to love it as much as I do!
If you aren’t familiar with this band then you need to tune in! Beartooth is a Metalcore band from Columbus, Ohio. They recently came out with a song called “Disease” and it’s killer!
Based in the City of Angels, Holo is an indie-punk trio consisting of Kelly Collins (drums, vocals), Cooper Kanew (guitar, vocals), and Mason Segal (bass, vocals). The band gigs extensively throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding communities in Southern California.
Ravage Ritual have been bringing their musical terror since 2011, hailing from Finland they bring their unique style of True Northern Holy Terror. Their appearance on Ieper Hardcore Fest 2018 led them to the H8000 area and with a brand new EP XVIII to be released that same day it was time to meet up with vocalist Timi and guitar player Nord to unravel some of the mysteries that Ravage Ritual is shrouded in.
Welcome to Ieperfest, first time here?
Timi: Actually yeah, for me.
Nord: I’ve been here once but never played before
In the middle of H8000 territory, a sound that Ravage Ritual can appreciate?
Nord: Yes. Some of the bands that this area has given birth have served us as an influence throughout the band’s existence.
And today also serves as a releaseshow for your new EP XVIII. What may we expect from your latest creation?
Nord: It’s kind of the end of one era that we started with the Higher Power LP. It’s the seal of this period. Three tracks of crushing heavy metallic hardcore with the cold touch of the north.
You worked with Powertrip Records for the digital release?
Nord: Yes. They are going to co-release the 7” with Unquiet Records later this year.
Ravage Ritual creates negative hardcore, Northern Holy Terror as to say. What would be your response if asked, what is Holy Terror exactly?
Timi: I think it has more to do with the ideology than the music itself. To me it’s being able to see the destruction going on in the world and rising above it. To me it’s just interesting how human race is so talented in it in so many levels.
The original spiritual leaders of Holy Terror has been Integrity and it happens to be that you’ve toured with them last year. How did this come by?
Nord: Our greatest supporter and collaborator Stateless Society booked those dates for us. It was an honor to tour with the band that has influenced your musical visions so much. It was really powerful experience.
Your worldview is clearly expressed within the lyrics and style of Ravage Ritual. Apocalyptic, dark and desperate negative hardcore. Is there still hope for humanity or are we already doomed?
Timi: I think that mankind is already pretty much fucked. I might not be the one to tell but for me it’s kind of hard to see our ways to change for the better in such a way that would secure the future for humanity. We live in a world that people seem to be passionate to destroy both physically and spiritually.. I just try to enjoy the world as it lasts and live somewhat responsibly.
Today is part of a two day European tour, Ieperfest today and tomorrow Özzfest in Germany. Any other upcoming tours scheduled?
Timi: We have two shows with Harm’s Way coming up back in Finland. Otherwise we hope to be back recording soon again. After the shows we will start writing an start the circle again.
For the EP MXVIII you’ve teamed up with designer Razoreater, a well known name within artwork for darker sounding bands (Amenra, Oathbreaker,…). Was he your favored designer for Ravage Ritual?
Nord: Razoreater is a long time friend of us. He has designed our album coverarts since Soul Eater and he is a great artist. He has always had deep vision of our music and we’ve been more than pleased working with him.
Ravage Ritual is from Seinäjoki, Finland, being part of the Finnish scene, how do you feel about your country’s scene and any recommendations?
Nord: The scene is small but active. It’s mainly based on bigger cities of Finland, Helsinki, Tampere, Turku etc. As Ravage Ritual, being from the small town without scene at all already makes us outcasts. The hardcore scene of Finland still has already quite long legacy. Fullhouse Records has 20 years of history releasing records, and bands like St.Hood and Cutdown still continues carrying the legacy. There are also few active independent label’s and promoters. Circuit Breaker Bookings takes care of that there’s shows to go and also brings bands over the borders. From newer bands I’d recommend Gray State, young dudes playing furious 90s edgemetal influenced heavy music.
Timi: I’m not sure if I have ever felt part of the Finnish hardcore scene. I know some people that I see at our shows and they are nice people to hang with but there’s also lots of people full of shit. I just happen to be in a band thats somehow to related to the scene. To recommend something I´d say Judas Chair Collective operate some nice things from time to time, such as Long Gone, Vegas and Gray state.
Any last words?
Nord: Thank you for the interview.
Timi: Thank you
Austrian pop punk band Mindblind have released a video for “Da Schenste”, the lead single from their upcoming EP Gegenwindschiffen. Due out on October 5th, the EP is the third release from the band following an EP and an LP. Check out the video below and learn more about the band on their website!
Charm Offensive is the latest release of Damien Done, the gloomy rock project of Damien Moyal (As Friends Rust, Culture, Morning Again,…). Ten dark tracks ranging from straight on rockers to more intimate songs, all intertwined in a theme of secrecy. From stalking your neighbour to the power of information on one’s persona.
On Charm Offensive Damien pulled out all registers to write and record the most part of the album on his own. With the help of some friends he assembled a live band that recently performed their first European tour as Damien Done. Musically Damien Done rocks back and forth with an underlying dark tone that gets visualised by the lyrical content featuring gloom allover. A few of the outstanding tracks are The Lord Fox that displays Damien’s vocal talent in the chorus and of course the stalker inspired track Roof Access.
Hello, welcome back to Ieperfest. You’ve played here with Culture before.
Today it’s with your solo project Damien Done and the first day of your first European tour, are you excited to perform here?
Very much, i’m excited. This whole thing is a very different experience from Culture. We don’t have a following. It’s not the kind of band where people will be rushing to the stage to sing along and pile up on each other. It’s interesting. Because i’ve never done like this before.
It’s a different sound compared to the ‘regular’ Ieperfest lineup.
It’s definitely a change for the festival, having something this mellow. Although live i think we are a
little heavier and louder than most people realise. The live version of Damien Done that is. It’s definitely a change for us. The shows we have played have not been with metal or hardcore bands.
Last week your latest album, Charm Offensive, received an European release on Hypertension Records. The album has been released in US since a few months. How has the response been to the album up untill now?
In the States it’s been pretty good and actually in Europe there has been some good reviews about, some good press around it. It’s hard to really know. These days when all your doing is digital and vinyl you don’t know how digital sales have been untill months and months down the road. And vinyl, the only people that will by them are vinyl collectors. You only press 300 or 500 of something sometimes and even if you sell them all it doesn’t tell you about how many people like your stuff. So who knows, the real test will be the shows. To see if any one comes out, if they do, if they know the music.
For the European version you’ve made a deluxe version of the vinyl. Screenprinted by l’7e Oeuil, what led you to pick L’7e Oeuil for this collaboration?
That was entirely Hypertension Records their ideas. They worked with him on some Amenra artwork. They proposed the idea and i looked at his stuff and thought it was a great fit. Didn’t give any direction, i wanted it to be whatever he wanted to.
There’s also a bonus track when you buy the special vinyl edition. A cover of Killing Joke’s Primitive, why that particular song?
Before the LP came out in the States we did a 7” with Curious Thing, which was one of the singles of the album. The B-side was this cover song, i love Killing Joke. And i really like that song. I’ve already did some demo versions on my own and i thought it had some potential. Re-recorded it, put it on the B-side and then Hypertension wanted to have something else to offer for the digital. It was supposes to be exclusive for the Mind Over Matter 7” in the States. But Austin that runs the label is a really cool guy and he appreciated what Hypertension wanted to do.
In previous projects you’ve always performed vocal duties, but with Damien Done you’ve done it all DIY style. From writing the lyrics to performing all instruments on the album. And now for the live performances you’ve assembled a full band of friends to accompany you. How different is it to play your songs with other band members?
It’s a relief. The alternative is playing by myself to backing tracks. Me and laptop on a stage. You know, that might happen from time to time. But for the most part this band is the line-up. It feels good, we have some good chemistry. They’ve really been awesome about helping out and being down for anything at anytime. This is the band, this is the ideal situation. On the recording i didn’t record everything but i did write everything. Programmed the drums, the piano. I did guitars and vocals. Programmed the bass lines but then the guy who produced it redid the bass lines and added extra guitars. It’s very different writing the music rather than just the lyrics and vocals. It became much more of a live band. The recording is either very minimal and stripped down in which case the live version much fuller and heavier. Or the recordings are like really full and glossy and slick. In which case we just make them loud, live rocksongs. It’s a good balance, it really works.
Charme Offensive features some amazing artwork, the guy with a balaclava riding on the public transport holding a bouquet of roses in his hands clearly has a message. What was the underlying thought to this?
A lot of the songs on the album have to do with secrecy. There are a lot of stories about people keeping sides from themselves hidden from the people that they love or work with. Sometimes they are up to no good, because they are just pieces of shit. Other times the are good people who find themselves in situations where they don’t know where to navigate. There’s a theme of elements of oneselves being hidden. The guy having the mask, even the other releases, the face is always obscure. I think that is just a common theme that sort of runs through the music. The songs are either about the sides of people we’re not seeing or the side of people we’re seeing they rather have us not seeing.
I’ve read that one of your earlier songs was even used in a Belgian porn movie. How did this come by?
A bunch of them. Most of the songs on the Stay Black record. Muriel is a friend of mine, she runs La Fille D’O. She was doing this kind of really interesting, i don’t know if she’d approve of the term, alt porn kind of thing. She wanted to use my music in it. It went surprisingly well, the whole soundtrack was really good. There were a lot of other artists too.
End of 2017 a video for the song New Cleavage appeared on Youtube, Edward from Goodlife was involved and Dwid Hellion of Integrity directed the video. Looked like a fun shoot in Kortrijk drinking Duvel while girls are dancing around?
Edward coördinated it, the record was originally supposed to be on Goodlife. Back in 2003 or whenever it was. He had me come over to do the video. Dwid had just moved to Ghent. It was a great day of shooting. Nothing to complain about. Everybody on the La Fille D’O team is incredible too.
You’ve released your previous albums, EP over the last years but most of these songs have been in the making since 2004 as you’ve shelved the record for a long time. What led to the prolonged release?
There were a few problems. When it was about to come out Edward decided he wanted it to be a full length. So he wanted me to add songs. But there was no recording budget to add songs. That kind of killed the enthouisasm. I started recording, that was good because it drove to start figuring out how to record at home. But that early stuff was not ready to be on the same record as the songs i had recorded in the studio. I couldn’t see them all on the same release. It kind of just killed moral. Then i would be ready, he wouldn’t be.When he was, then i wasn’t. Finally at a certaint point when we were both ready it didn’t make sense on Goodlife. The label had changed, it had been too long since my other bands had done things. So Demons Run Amok stepped in in 2016 and put out the Stay Black record and the 7” to go with it.
Next to your music career you also work as an industrial designer and you have your own t-shirt line named Wear Dinner, where you design humorous mock up shirts. Looks like you’re a very busy man, how do you combine all this?
Not very well sometimes. On top of that being a husband and a father. I’ve always needed a lot of projects. When i wasn’t in two or three bands, this is what happens when i’m not in two or three bands at the same time. I’m in one but i’m also going to do T-shirts and so on.
Any last words or thanks you want to share with our readers?
Really looking forward to today and looking forward to the next shows. We have no idea what to expect. It’s kind of exciting to be starting over as like a small band. I’m really happy that some people have been supportive already. Buying the record, amazing we even sold some T-shirts today. We never took it for granted with the other bands. We always appreciated people being fans but we knew they were fans. We knew what we were going into. This is just an adventure.
Aussie indie-grunge band Relative Ways released their debut album Alaska on August 10th of this year. The first single from the album, “This World”, is a slow song with amazing production and a solid, full but roomy sound. If you’re into bands like Violent Soho or others reviving grunge in the land down under, you’ll like Relative Ways. Listen to “This World” below and check out Alaska on Spotify.