INTERVIEW WITH DIVINE RAPTURE

Well,are you giving the final touches to your new release?

Actually we won't be recording until late Spring. Right now we are putting final touches on all midi files (we have a few surprises for the album), song technique, practicing, artwork, and other surprises... We are also wrapping up loose ends on funding for the album with our sponsorship program (see www.divinerapture.net) and attempting to secure a marketing and distribution contract.

How does it feel to be considered one of the best bands in the death metal scene today?

WOW!!! It's great you think that, brother! We try our best to bring all sorts of emotions to the table in our music and to deliver it with skill. Dynamics are a key to our formula. They express feeling and slight noticeable alterations in playing. It shows that a band has heart. You can feel it come through on the other end of the speakers. We take our playing and lyrics seriously. The lyrics are well thought-out and deep and we are continuously trying to grow as musicians by refining our technique. We've gotten a lot of reaction for the application of technique as an enhancement to the emotion. We really take our time when we write and it allows the song to stew and receive input from our sources. Our songs don't result from jam sessions together. We try to nurture a song enough through intense thought and application that the song becomes an entity in itself instead of just a bag of riffs and I think that shows.

How did you got in contact with Erik Rutan to produce your new songs? IS he going to produce the new album too?

We had been speaking with him before back and forth for awhile and it just so happened that when we were set to record the new songs, he was opening Dimensional Sound Studios. So we asked him if we could come down to Tampa and set a date. He's going to produce the full-length too so we're excited as hell because his ear for the type of sound we're looking for is exceptional!! He knows how to bring out that fullness... that overall clean sound that allows you to hear the articulation and still get an IN-YOUR-FACE pummelling. And he's a real pro. He's serious about tones and preparation and just about the way things get done in general. It's a lot of fun working with him.

Can you tell us a little bit about the beginnings of the band?

Well, my brother and I started the band back in the mid 90's. At the time I was writing all of the music and he was producing all of the artwork and lyrics. We ran a few demo tapes in the Philly area to show what we were up to. We also went through a bunch of member changes then. Members just had a hard time keeping up with the speed or just found that every time we reached another step in the process, more effort was required and they'd rather wallow in their own sloth. We eventually recorded a self-titled album and released that through as many distros and media as we possibly could. We really put a hell of a lot of effort into a marketing and distro campaign for that album. As a result, the word kept spreading. Things snowballed from there. Exceptional musicians joined the band. We performed at a lot of the fests. We ended up supporting Deicide, Dying Fetus, In Flames, Mortician, etc... and we really pushed hard to get as much international media exposure as possible. If you wanna check out more info on us, hit www.divinerapture.net

Which are the main differences between the new songs and the ones in your debut album?

The new songs are definitely way more expansive, harmonically complex and open than the older album. On the first album, I wrote all the music and Mike did all the artwork and lyrics. It was a different time in our musical development. You can hear it in the riffs. The feeling of that album is definitely more closed and grass roots...in an internalized, focused energy type of way. Babak and I write a lot of the material together now and feed off of each other's input so the guitar parts actually sound that way. They complement each other and that coupled with a general natural molting of our source and playing, opens the feeling of the music into a more positively, outward-directed, flow-from-a-massive-internal-energy-well type of way. We hardly even play the same things at the same time in each song anymore. Actually the lyrics on these new songs are in the same direction as the music - more outward directed and open. Just check out the difference. Black Moon Harvest and possibly Glimmer From Beneath off the first one reflect the beginning of the molt. You can hear how the feeling is beginning to change on those two songs.

How were Divine Rapture´s live shows experience up to now?

Live has been great!! We get a kick-ass reaction at live shows. People just really feel the music and it's a great give and take between us and the crowd. As the crowd reacts, gets in the pit and sings the lyrics back to us, we feel it more and naturally give more. We've always had an enthusiastic crowd man. A lot of people saw us at the last Metal Meltdown and said we had one of the biggest crowds at the festival and that definitely was one of our best performances ,energy-wise, to date besides Deicide. When we played with Deicide, the energy level from us and the crowd went through the roof.

Did you find a new bassist for the band? Who is he?

There are a couple of successful candidates we're still going through so we'll be in contact with them and we're holding open auditions too. If anybody wants to get in contact about the position, write info@divinerapture.net. Myself and Babak are covering bass right now...

Do you have planning of touring to support the new material?

Absolutely. We're going to try and get out there as much as we can to support this album. There are already a few things in the works this year that center around late spring, fall and winter. There's a bunch of different factors that go into touring and things are constantly in flux, so keep checking www.divinerapture.net for updates....

What are Divine Rapture´s lyrics about?

My brother, Mike, writes very well thought-out lyrics that just touch a chord with everyone's paths. Even though, they reflect issues that are very personal to him, you can find meanings in them that can be applied to your own personal path. They're definitely not your normal run-of-the-mill gore dribble. Each song has it's own theme in relation to a personal struggle. For the best explanation of subject matter though, he would be the one to ask...

What do you think of the US death metal scene?

The U.S. death scene is pretty good. It depends what area and who's on the bill also. With death metal bands touring on bigger tours (i.e. Morbid Angel with Pantera), the seed spreads more also. I'd like to see what it's like over in Europe. We haven't gotten a chance to come over yet and I hear very good things about the scene there.

 

Any final words?

Wait till you hear this new material! It is completely brutal and as expansive as those songs on the cd. The album's going to have a few surprises on it too. So make sure to keep a look out on www.divinerapture.net for updates about the album and tours!!!

Divine Rapture

P.O. Box 159

Chester Heights, PA 19017

Info@divinerapture.net

www.divinerapture.net

 

DIVINE RAPTURE - DISCOGRAPHY

Divine Rapture - CD (1999)

Promo 2001 - CD Promo (2001)

REVIEW: NAPALMED - NEVER MIND THE MSBR, HERE´S THE NAPALMED

 

NAPALMED - NEVER MIND THE MSBR, HERE´S THE NAPALMED (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Rehearsal Room Sport, Most by Radek Kopel.

Mixeed and Mastered at Daemon´s Pit by Daemon and Radek Kopel

Design and Layout by Radek Kopel.

Track List: 1-56:44 (Pt.1) / Never Mind the MSBR, 2- 56:44 (Part II) / ...here´s the MBFR

Fans of industrial noise rejoice !! Here is Napalmed hailing directly from the Czech Republic. Main man Radek is a master in combbining noise, sounds an elements in a way that is new (at least for me). Here is a list of unconventional instruments used here: metal junk, iron scrap, eggcutter, home-made metal guitar, prepared accoustic guitar, etc. This and many more things (and a lot of sound effects and processors) are used here to create this extrmely heavy industrial noise. This release is really a wall of sound... while the other one "Misch Masch Miksasch" is completely different, more calm and closer to ambient. Contact: napalmed@volny.cz

REVIEW: MY DYING BRIDE - THE DREADFUL HOURS

 

MY DYING BRIDE - THE DREADFUL HOURS (Peaceville Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Mags.

Track List: 1- The Dreadful Hours, 2- The Raven And The Rose, 3- Le Figlie Della Tempesta, 4- Black Heart Romance, 5- The Cruel Taste of Winter, 6- My Hope The Destroyer, 7- The Deepest of All Hearts, 8- Return to the Beautiful

 The masters have returned !! After getting back into the path of the style they do better with "The Light at The End of the World" here comes "The Dreadful Hours", their new CD. And this is an album that can be compared with "Turn Loose The Swans", sometimes heavy, sometimes dark, always depressive. As in the last album Aaron Sainthorpe has returned to th singing that he made famous in My Dying Bride´s first albums. But he has expanded his range using sometimes vocals that are closer to black metal (besides his more melodic side that is here in all its magnitude). Tracks are most of the time slow with bursts of speed in some places. The emphasis here is in the heaviness of the tracks. New keyboardist Yasmin Ahmed proves here that she is a great replacement for Martin Powell who is now in Cradle of Filth, delivering the chord progressions where the rest of the musicians construct their anthems of darkness. Favorite tracks: "Black Heart Romance", "The Deepest of All Hearts" and "My Hope The destroyer". Contact: www.peaceville.co.uk

REVIEW: MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY

 

MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY (Cold Blood Industries, 2001):

Track List: 1- Mysterica, 2- Whispering Sorcery, 3- Times Before The Past, 4- Dragon Sword, 5- Moonlight: The Nocturnal Serenade, 6- Bloomed But Withering, 7- My Sweltering Black Eyes of Innocence, 8- Falling Into Decay, 9- A Wasted Journey

This band is a really good one...exploring the boundaries of death metal and filling them with melodies, keyboards and female vocals. It is interesting how the conception of death metal has changed through time....years ago bands like Mjölnir would have been rejected by the die hard death metal fans. But today it seems that the guys have understood that this music is brutal yet subtle, ugly yet beautiful. Check for examplethe contrast between the male and female vocals or between the faster parts (almost black metal) and the more climatic passages. One point to remark here is Linda´s drumming which is brutal and avoids getting into the cliches of the style (blast beats, double bass drumming at hyper speed). The cover of this CD can confuse you....it looks like the cover from a power metal band...but don´t be fooled this is really climatic gothic/death/black metal. Favorite tracks: "Times Before The Past", "Bloomed but Withering" and "Falling Into Decay". Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: MACABRE - DAHMER

 

MACABRE - DAHMER (Hammerheart Recs., 2000):

Technical data:

Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Neil Kernon for Auslander.

Engineering by Justin Leeah and Bobby Torres

Design and Layout by Marco Jeurissen.

Track List: 1- Dog Guts, 2- Hitchhiker, 3- In The Army Now, 4- Grandmother´s House, 5- Blood Bank, 6- Exposure, 7- Ambassador Hotel, 8- How Bout Some Coffee, 9- Bath House, 10- Jeffrey Dahmer and The Chocolate Factory, 11- Apartment 213, 12- Drill Bit Lobotomy, 13- Jeffrey Dahmer Blues, 14- Mc Dahmers, 15- Into the Toilet With You, 16- Coming To Chicago, 17-Scrub a Dub Dub, 18- Konerak, 19- Media Circus, 20 - Temple of Bones, 21- Trial, 22- Do the Dahmer, 23- Baptized, 24- Christopher Scarver, 25- Dahmer´s Dead, 26- The Brain

Being a serial killer buff I find Macabre a really interesting band (first of all because of their lyrics). This time the guys are telling us the history of cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who killed at least seventeen men and had parts of many of them in his department. I will like them to do one CD of each of the main serial killers (on their previous releases they have dealt with a lot of them). The music here is powerful death/thrash metal with an interesting drummer and good sounding guitars. There are many types of vocals here...from the growling one to a shrieking one (I don´t like this type too much). I like the way most of the tracks here spin around a main guitar riff that is twisted later to change its form but letting the main characteristics remain. The main thing here is their sense of humor. Favorite tracks: "Hitchhiker", "Blood Bank" (really punk!!) and "Apartment 213". Contact: www.hammerheart.com

REVIEW: LUJURIA - ENEMIGOS DE LA CASTIDAD

 

LUJURIA - ENEMIGOS DE LA CASTIDAD (Locomotive Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Kirios in April 2001.

Engineered by Alberto Sabando

Design and Layout by Carlos Diez.

Track List: 1- Por Encima de Nuestros Enemigos (P.E.N.E.), 2- Lección de sexo, 3- Lilith, 4- No soy Carne de Cañón, 5- Cinturón de Castidad, 6- María Martillo (una Santa), 7- Beso negro, 8- Mr. Condom, 9- Larga Vida al Rock´n´roll, 10- Merece la Pena, 11- La favorita del Rey

Lujuria makes a music that is in the middle of hard rock and heavy metal. In fact I think that they are closer to the first of this styles because of the way in which the guitar riffs are constructed (Check for example the main riff of "Lección de Sexo" and compare it with the one in Motley Crüe´s "Live Wire". The main difference with hard rock bands are the vocals that are more raw and certain tempos that are faster and closer to metal. I like tracks like "No soy Carne de Cañón" because they are a little bit more original than the others. Favorite tracks: "No soy Carne de Cañón", "Beso Negro" and "Merece la Pena". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com 

REVIEW: LEVIATHAN - DEL LADO DEL ROCK

 

LEVIATHAN - DEL LADO DEL ROCK (Leviathan Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Mataderos Records, Sep-Dec 2000.

Mastered by A. Molina

Design and Layout by Daniel Trajtemberg.

Track List: 1- Marginado, 2- Destruyendo Agonías, 3- El Tren Se Va, 4- Oye Dios que me has Dado, 5- Mira Hacia lo Alto, 6- Postcrucificción, 7- Al Otro Lado del Silencio, 8- Lunes por la Madrugada , 9- No Bombardeen Buenos Aires, 10- Siempre que estás allí, 11- Desconfío, 12- Sólo Quiero Rock and Roll, 13- A Mi Manera, 14- Sucia Lady

This is Leviathan´s new recording and is a CD comprised of fourteen covers of bands mostly of Argentinean rock (but also including bands from Spain like Barón Rojo and Angeles del Infierno): ranging from the early seventies to the nineties. Bands like Kamikaze, la Torre, Polifemo or Pescado Rabioso were legends within their styles here in Buenos Aires. I think that Leviathan has achieved better results in those songs whose original versions were more related to heavy metal or hard rock, because this is were the band fits better. For example check "Solo Quiero Rock´n´roll" or "Oye Dios que me has Dado" to see the good results. Why am I saying this? Because if you are familiar with the original versions you will see that in those were the vocals tonality is more different than the ones from Javier C. Pereyra, the result is quite strange. It was a great idea to include new versions of "Sucia Lady" and "Marginado" that are songs from El Vago and Pereyra´s previous band called Flores Muertas. Favorite tracks: "Siempre que estás allí", "A mi manera" and "Postcrucificción". Contact: www.leviathan-hm.com.ar

REVIEW: LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE: BURNING: A WISH

 

LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE - BURNING: A WISH (Napalm Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at lungfull Studios.

Engineered and mixed by Marc Patrick Fleischer

Design and Artwork by Kathi Klimm.

Track List: 1- Melantroduction, 2- Without, 3- Adorer and Somebody, 4- A Summer´s End, 5- Solicitude, Silence, 6- 2 Sec. And a Tear, 7- Lastdance, 8- Morning...grey, 9- Diotima, 10- Re-silence

Lacrimas Profundere...what can I say? Only few times a name fits so perfectly a band...Sadness, depression, anguish and all this dark feelings are transmitted through their music. Lacrimas Profundere is the perfect soundtrack for a suicide. A music conceived to leave scars in your soul, in your heart. Besides Christopher Schmid anguished vocals, the main element that gives the darker edge to Lacrimas Profundere´s music are the guitars that are melodic, and repeat a dark phrase time after time until it is stuck in the listener´s mind. Plus the acoustic passages and keyboards are added to make the songs deeper and more complex for the listener. Do you wanna cry while listening music? Try with Lacrimas Profundere and you will not be dissapointed. Favorite tracks: "Adorer and Sombeody", "Lastdance" and " Solicitude, Silence". Contact: www.napalmrecords.com

REVIEW: KHARON - THE FULLMOON CURSE - DEMO 2001

 

KHARON - THE FULLMOON CURSE - DEMO 2001 (Neodawn Prods., 2001):

Track List: 1- Sentenced To Death, 2- The Fullmoon Curse, 3- Hell on Earth

Kharon comes from Norway (features two members of Ragnarok) and their music is black/death metal (the vocals are closer to death metal...remember Paradise Lost´s "Lost paradise" or "Gothic" albums). They are exploring the lands of the more mid paced black metal and they not overabuse the fast blast beats . They prefer to use those riffs where the other guitar can play a slithering melody over it or slower parts that emphasize the feelings that they want to transmit. The tracks are long enough to develope some good ideas within the same song and explore through them without letting them vanish after the first time they play it. The only low point here is the sound which sounds muddy...I think this is unfair to the band because they deserve a better sound. Maybe on next release they will have it. Favorite tracks: "The Fullmoon Curse" and "Hell on Earth". Contact: http://go.to/neodawnproductions

REVIEW: INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION

 

INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION (Maverick Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Sylvia Massy Shivy and Insolence

Recorded at CelloS tudios, Mad Dog Studios and Sound City Studios.

Design and Layout by OG Flemdog.

Track List: 1- Death Threat, 2- Head 2 head, 3- Poison Well, 4- Natural High, 5- Revolution, 6- 1-2, 1-2, 7- Lifted, 8- Game Over, 9- Get Up, 10- Mad Science II, 11-Detox, 12- Sick, 13- Breakdown, 14- Sativa

This intense recording of this band from San Jose, California is a welcome addition to the "new metal" scene. The sound of the band is a mix of bands like Soulfly, Living Sacrifice, Korn, Limp Biskit (also some of the vocals are similar to the ones in The Prodigy and some melodies really twisted like the ones you can hear in a band like Tool) and many more. There are also some reggae and funk influences too. This band is really tight and it looks like that it has been rehearsing and playing live a lot. "Death Threat", the song that opens the CD is a song destined to be a hit. Second song " Head 2 Head" is much more aggressive and I liked it much more because of the strength that pours out of all the song´s parts. There are fourteen songs in this CD, including one experimental/industrial/hip-hop track called "Mad Science II". The band is touring with Soulfly, so I think that those concerts willbe killer...plus it would be good to see Insolence live to see their live act that they tell is very impressive. Contact: www.insolence.com or www.maverick.com/insolence