interview: Dawid Krosnia
‘Force of Profanation is our statement of adoration for non-stop pounding, without any melodies or slow parts, as this style should be’
photo: Ravencult
The Goat Tavern: Hi S.! How’s life in Athens? Your country at this moment is in the centre of the media attention with regards to the arrival of African immigrants and war refugees. How do you cope with this out there? Is the situation more stable now?
S.: Hey The Goat Tavern. Everything’s fine I guess. True, it’s a hard situation with all that’s going on these days. Things are getting more stable as time passes by, the media always tend to exaggerate a bit so life goes on despite the problems.
Finally the waiting is over! Force of Profanation is released this month. Five years, it’s a long time! Why such a break before the new album?
We did two EPs including new tracks in between so we were present release wise. As for the full-length it took us longer this time. Firstly because we are very selective on the music parts and songwriting. We had a new member when Alex joined in prior to our last year’s European tour with Drowned in March, discussing with Metal Blade on our deal, our time consuming day jobs…
Force of Profanation is fast and furious, I dare to say, even faster than your previous record, Morbid Blood. Where did all that power come from? Can you tell us more about these eight blasphemous creations on the new album?
The new album came out harsher and faster than Morbid Blood indeed. It just went with the flow. We never really plan our direction as we prefer to act instinctively. We had the urge to do something more extreme combining our roots of sinister black metal with the tension of old, evil thrash. Force of Profanation is our statement of adoration for non-stop pounding, without any melodies or slow parts, as this style should be. Power comes from passion and dedication for what we do, serving the primitive sound with growing determination.
The new album is released by Metal Blade Records. I guess it’s a big step for Ravencult. How did this deal come about? Why did you decide to leave Hells Headbangers Records? I thought they did a pretty good job on the Morbid Blood record.
HHR did a great job in all aspects and we had, and still have, a good cooperation. When Metal Blade offered us a record deal we had no hesitation as we know there is no way we would do any artistic compromise in the first place. We are not interested in fame, public relations and so on, but only on working on our music under the best possible conditions. Metal Blade is a new channel for us to spread our aural primitivism. So, if our music reaches, or is available, to a larger audience it’s fine with us, we never kept our music for secret anyway.
Do you have any plans for touring and promoting the Force of Profanation in the new year? Black metal package tours in Europe and across the Atlantic seem to be very successful at the moment.
Yes, we have plans for touring as we always do to support our albums. With Force of Profanation our aim is to march into new territories and play in countries we’ve never played before. other labels.
You are the only original member left and you have kept this band alive for fifteen years. Looking back is there anything you regret or you’re fully satisfied with all your decisions regarding the Ravencult?
Looking back there’s always good and bad decisions… but the fact that the band is alive and creative proves that most of them should have been right. Surely there are decisions that I would change now but I don’t regret anything, every deed of yours represents who you are at the moment and that’s it. I’m more interested in the future, doing even better albums and shows.
Last year, Linos left the band and you’ve managed to find a new frontman for Ravencult. Can you tell us more about your new addition to the band and is it him doing the vocal arrangements on Force of Profanation?
Alex joined the band because of his excellent work with his own project called Nigredo, a three-piece forging great disharmonic black metal in their Facets of Death EP. He’s already two years in the band as he joined after touring with us in our co-headline European tour with German death metal band Drowned, in March 2015. He contributed in many ways in Force Of Profanation, handling half of the lyrics and offering some musical ideas too. Former vocalist, Linos resides far from Athens since 2014 so it was difficult to commit to the band’s activities
photo: Ravencult
Who is responsible for the artwork cover on the new record and how important is the visual side of the final product to you? Is there some hidden symbolism behind Force of Profanation?
Responsible for the artwork is Alexander Brown from New Zealand. Our vision for the front cover was a horrid force reigning over holy ground. Alex did complete our idea in the best possible way, visualizing what you hear on the album. The visual side of a release is extremely important to us as it dresses up the music and marks the entire album, also revealing the band’s aesthetics apart from the music itself.
Ravencult – Force of Profanation (Metal Blade Records, 2016)
If you had to choose three best albums released in the last five years, what would they be and why?
1) Macabre Omen – Gods of War – At War: a very deep album, truly inspired, I hope more people discover this epic/black metal gem.
2) Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines…: utterly dark and mystical, total masters at what they do.
3) Midnight – Satanic Royalty: it sets new standards to rawness. Great live act also!
Thanks for your time S.! Good luck with Forces of Profanation and hopefully see you soon in the UK.
Thanks The Goat Tavern. I hope we perform in the UK soon. Apart from the new album, there will also be represses of earlier material that’s out of stock for years, like our 2007 debut album Temples of Torment, tape versions of our discography, new merch and more. The primitive sound returns…
THE GOAT TAVERN 