RAMESSES (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to?
Hell o. We are working on next full length album for release next year amongst other more ‘autre’ stuff…
– First off, why «Ramesses»?
Tim came up with it – Ramesses II – The Great – the most severe and long standing of all of Egypt’s rulers – he ruled over two generations and sired 100 children…a mortal to be acknowledged and respected…and worshipped…A great inspiration to us all!…
– And what are the band’s main musical influences?
Sabbath, Cream, Melvins, The Who, Hawkwind, Burzum, Autopsy, Killing Joke, Pentagram, Paradise Lost(1st LP only), Faith No More, Darkthrone, Bolt Thrower, Karp, Isengard, Godflesh…thats about it I think..
– Your latest «Possessed by the Rise of Magik» came out some time ago; how’s going its feedback and what kind of reviews is it getting?
It came out on Summer Solstice – June 21st – apparently it has good reviews but i dont waste time reading them…more interested in working on the next release really…
– Previous «Take the Curse» got an overwhelming response; did this motivate you with this new effort?
No. We actually couldn’t care less if anyone liked or hated our records – we are not making them for anyone else but ourselves…Take The Curse was the most painful record to make so far…it motivated us to never take that long with a record again!..
– For those who haven’t heard «Possessed by the Rise of Magik» yet; could could you describe this album?
Possessed by the Rise of Magik is different to our previous albums in many subtle ways but still clearly identifiable as Ramesses. I love the harmonies on this record and Tim has excelled himself again with the mournful and tear jerking guitar work that sounds like we have recorded string sections in places!…We have always threatened that we are an experimental band and I think it is only with Possessed that we have taken a full and dangerous leap into the unknown and experimental…there are a lot more quiet moments – or ‘pedals off’ sections on this record..which serve to emphasize the uneasy atmosphere we love to nurture and capture on record…vocally I performed virtually all the takes in a trance state as opposed to just most of them on previous records…
I was communicating with the dead, great artist and visionary Austin Osman Spare and most of the Vox are a dialog or stream of consciousness between myself and him…laced with heavy symbolism and dream incantations…it was a very involved and at the same time free experience…….
– You have also released «Chrome Pineal» EP, what can you tell us
about it?
The cover is by one of my favorite Frechmen: Clovis Trouille, a great yet unsung surrealist and contemporary of Salvador Dali…Me and Tim were blown away when we saw ‘Mon Tombeau’ 1947 by him in an art book i was buying from a second hand shop – we immediately agreed to use it for Chrome Pineal if we were allowed permission – which we obviously were…we are very grateful to his estate who kindly granted us permission….
Sonically it is the stepping stone between Curse and Possessed – the title track was recorded during the Curse sessions and Blazoned Fauna and Men of Horror were recorded during the Possessed sessions…the b-side is live from a gig in Copenhagen in 2007…
– I think we can find a similar sound between this EP and your new full-length work. Does this mean something? I mean, will you follow this pattern or can we just expect the unexpected?
Do expect the unexpected as we are never sure ourselves where the songs and magik will take us…we seem to have some the heaviest material we have ever come up with on the next record as well as some wild cards…now deal.
– For «Possessed by the Rise of Magik» you have gone for a different style for your cover artwork; how did you come up with the idea?
I decided to go for a late 80s early 90s retro looking vibe and knocked it up – everyone loved it – so kept that ‘time travel’ vibe for Chrome too…I really like changing the ‘logo’ on nearly every release too….keeps everyone on their toes…also it was pointless trying to compete with the visual devastation and god-like-genius of Jake and Dinos Chapmans ‘Fucking Hell’ that we were able to use on Curse…I think we came up with a great antidote…we are at this minute working on the artwork for the delux vinyl release of Possessed which is looking breath-taking so far!..
– One of your trademarks is that you are constantly experimenting, even with each tune. What does this provide you? How important is this for you both as musicians and as individuals?
‘Do what thou will shall be the Whole of The Law’…we can’t stand the thought of churning the same shit out forever..what’s the point?!..we try new stuff all the time as we get bored very quickly and there is no one telling us we can’t!!!…we have to be what we are all the time if you know what i mean…we are lucky that we can and love to jam..that is where the creative spark lives…
– I could say RAMESSES has been growing in different ways; from your sound to the lyrics or the overall songwriting; do you think you have reached your musical «climax» or is this just the beginning?
I predict our climax to be the next studio album…that’s how it is shaping up so far…we are very keen to get it recorded and it looks like we will be laying it down in USA this time…probably sometime next year…the songs are absolute killers and we have about 6 written so far
– The band waited 4 years to release their first full-length album and 3 for the second one. With two albums one right after the other; is it a sign you will release new albums frequently?
That isn’t a sign. A crow looking at you in the eye when out walking is a sign!…Yes, we do seem to be slowly gaining momentum with releases and certainly have no shortage of new material to record, so i guess things are
looking quite productive at the RamSS HQ right now…
– I guess some people got into RAMESSES after seeing two of you guys are ELECTRIC WIZARD members even without listening to your music, I mean valuing the product before checking it. I guess this doesn’t happen to you anymore?
I have no idea about that mate…
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
As well as vinyl version of Possessed due for release, we are currently working on new deluxe packaging for the re-release of Take The Curse and Misanthropic Alchemy on Ritual Productions; these re-issues will feature expanded new artwork as well as extra live and demo versions of songs.
We have ‘Iron Crow’ coming out on the soundtrack for Jake and Dinos Chapman’s new film later this year.
For 2012: Record next LP and Euro and US tour..that should keep us busy!
– That’s all, thank you once more for your time. If you want to add some final words; last lines are yours.
Sorry for the delay and thanks for your support and interest – Ramesses look forward to returning to Spain again as soon as possible!!…
Cheers
Adamesses
The Ram Family
