METAL SIDE: Do you still listen to Revenant’s early materials from
the 80’s? What do you think about them now? METAL SIDE: Many young people who are now devoted Death or Thrash
Metal maniacs have idealistic vision of the underground from the 80’s. They
think that its features were brotherhood, disinterested support… Was the scene
as good and supportive as they think? REVENANT: I am suspicious of any such ideas. What I object to them
most is that they are an anthropological way of thinking about the history. In
other words, it is a way of thinking about the scene in terms of people, instead
of music. What those people did not see was the violence and youthful stupidity
of the scene. They also did not see how that violence also held things together
and inspired us to compete, or the importance of other factors, like how we
changed the physics and technique of our instruments, the endless hours of
rehearsal, etc.. I would also draw a distinction between idealism and nostalgia.
Nostalgia is often a dream invented by people who were not involved in a place
or event – it is a distorted view of history. On the other hand, idealism
belongs to the people who build a scene, such as we did. Nostalgia distorts
history; idealism has no history. Both are dangerous
things. Both nostalgia and idealism
ignore the most important thing: the music. We were all making crazy music, and
in the end, the music matters most. Yes, it was an interesting scene, with
plenty of dramatic action: but it was, above all, a music scene and not a
fucking social club. The physics and technique of the music are more
interesting. For example, when I visited the Morbid Angel house in Tampa in
1989, Pete was strapping weights to his ankles and hands when he played drums.
He was training himself physically to play fast. Or the guitarists in Ripping
Corpse, Sean and Erik, they used to file down coins to use as guitar picks. That
is how they achieved their style. Will, our drummer, liked to drink a bottle of
wine onstage in between songs. In retrospect, I know why he didn’t play well on
“Prophecies” – he didn’t drink wine in the
studio. METAL SIDE: When I heard “Overman” I was
really surprised. It is very good material but I expected a bit different style,
simply the continuation of “Prophecies…”, especially
that the latest compositions written for this album, like “The Unearthly” were
the fastest one. However, on “Overman” you slowed
down. Why? Did you change the style because fast Death Metal wasn’t as popular
as two or three years earlier or simply did you evolve as
musicians? REVENANT: Revenant had two rhythmic gears: slow and fast.
Sometimes we explored both in a single song, while at other times we separated
them. The first two songs on Overman are a
continuation of tracks like “In the Dark of the Psychic Unknown” from the
‘Prophecies’ record. We were not satisfied with the slower material on
Prophecies (among other things), so we concentrated on improving that area in
our music. The third song, “Long Red Sleep,” is the only mid-tempo song we ever
composed. The last track, “Exalted Being”, is actually a great deal like “The
Unearthly”, only faster and heavier. We entered the studio with six songs for Overman, but we did not include two of them: “The Burning
Ground” and “The Faithless, III.” Those were both very fast and heavy songs, but
they would have disrupted the conceptual continuity of the other four songs, how
they worked with the title, etc, so we left them off. I don’t know how to answer
the final question. We never made music like anybody else, period. Just listen
to the bands that came out of the old New York/New Jersey scene – Suffocation,
Ripping Corpse, Immolation, Incantation, Mortician, Nokturnel– not one of
them sounds like any of the others, and they all changed from one recording to
the next. It was a very diverse scene, and the music was always
changing. Overman is just a glimpse of what we
were doing at the time. We certainly weren’t following any
trends. METAL SIDE: Working on the release of "Overman" you co-operated with E. Rutan. Why did you choose him? Did you know him from the old
times? Do you stay in touch with many musicians with whom you played gigs in the
80's and 90's? REVENANT: Erik Rutan was the best
person for that job. We wanted the CD to capture a certain mood, and Erik
understood that best. He is a rigorous engineer and
producer. The fact that he is an old friend only made communication
easier. I stay in touch by
attending concerts. A few years ago Immolation and Six Feet Under were playing
near the University in Pittsburgh. I was teaching in the afternoon and I was
wearing one of my fine Italian suits. I walked over to the club when I was
finished. I immediately ran into Chris Barnes, who I hadn’t seen since he left
Cannibal Corpse. He stopped when I said hello, and then he said “Holy Shit
- Veg!” The guys in Immolation were not surprised
at all – I was showing up at their concerts wearing short hair and suits for a
few years already, even before I moved to Pittsburgh. Anyway, I stay in touch by
going to shows. I don’t call people or write them often, or show up for
Christmas, if you know what I mean. METAL SIDE: There’re more
“lost” Revenant’s tracks recorded between “Prophecies…” and “Overman”. Are they in the vein of the full-length album or
rather the EP? REVENANT: There is no comparison to either one. The songs we wrote
from 1991-1994 were certainly the heaviest material we ever composed. Revenant
was not always a very good studio band, but we were a devastating live band. The
“lost” recordings capture the live atmosphere of the shows. We are currently
mixing that material now for Extreem records
(Spain). They will release a CD early next with all the demos, 7-inch
recordings, and live songs. Everything will be remixed and remastered. METAL SIDE: Why did you wait so long to present “Overman”? This material was worth the immediate release… It
would be hard to believe that you couldn’t find a good record label to release
it. But knowing metal business unfortunately everything is
possible… REVENANT: Thanks. We didn’t shop the material to labels. Like I
noted earlier, it was just for us. We are pleased that it reached a larger
audience without the intervention of a record label, but I have to remind you
that it was a very personal project for some of
us. METAL SIDE: There is a chance that we will hear previously
unreleased material already next year. Could you tell us more about these
plans? REVENANT: Yes. Dave from Extreem
Records/Avulsed approached us with the idea of emptying the Revenant vault. The
CD is entitled “The Burning Ground” and it will feature many unreleased tracks,
alternate versions, and remixed versions of ALL the Revenant demos. It is going
to have excellent packaging and a great insert booklet with tons of old
photographs, flyers, lyrics, and other material. Where we only pressed “Overman” for ourselves, “The Burning ground” is dedicated
for the fans. It will contain the music they always wanted from us – the best
stuff. METAL SIDE: Your materials were recorded ten and more years ago.
Now you can have different approach to music. Have you some ideas what could be
changed in your old tracks if you could re-record them? REVENANT: I would not change any of the 7-inch or demo recordings,
and I think Overman is a perfect E.P. I would change one thing: the entire ‘Prophecies”
record. We should have waited one year longer, abandoned some of the older
material that was written when John was still in the band, and worked in a
different studio. METAL SIDE: I read your interview for German webzine (www.voicesfromthedarkside.de) in which you emphasized
that there won’t be any new Revenant’s recordings. Why? Don’t you have new
ideas? Do you like other kinds of music now that would not fit old Revenant’s
styles? Don’t you have time? I’m asking about this so importunately because I’m
sure that many people would like to hear new Revenant’s
material. REVENANT: Sorry, but no. I know that Will would do it tomorrow if he had the chance, but
unfortunately for him, the Dave, Tim, and I live very far away. I would only do
it if Tim paid to bring us all to rehearse at his house in
Sweden. METAL SIDE: All Revenant’s recordings that I heard are not only
very good but also very original. How were you working on your music? Had you a
special songwriting method? REVENANT: We were meticulous, slow, and patient. We spent a very
long time writing music, and then it would evolve for years after the first
draft. We rehearsed constantly, about three-four days per week, every week of
the year, and as individuals we would spend the rest of the time working on
riffs and assembling them. I also had lyrics to write, and I was slow with those
as well. Sometimes I would begin with a phrase, and change it over and over.
Sometimes I would start with a single word, and build the lyrics from there.
Sometimes I would begin with a single riff, and simply elaborate it. It took me
the entire summer of 1989 to write ‘Distant Eyes,’ but it all started with that
first, slow riff. METAL SIDE: Why did you disband Revenant in the mid 90’s? Were you
tired of the scene or simply had other challenges in your
life? REVENANT: I decided to return to school and earn a Master’s Degree
in Literature. I left the band in the middle of the first year of study, then I
went to study and stay with some of my family in Italy in 1995. When I came
back, it was over – Tim was in Florida playing in Hateplow, and Dave and Will were doing other
things. METAL SIDE: Do you think now that Revenant achieved everything
what you could achieve? When you signed a deal with Nuclear Blast it seemed that
very soon you would become one of the most popular US Death Metal bands. I think
that you never achieved such position, that your great music was
underrated. REVENANT: That old scene only produced one truly great death metal
band, and that was Immolation. The rest of us, especially Revenant and Ripping
Corpse, were too strange to become popular. We never played music to be popular.
We played music because we loved music. Beyond that, we didn’t care about
anything, and especially not about what people expected of
us. As for “Prophecies,” I see now that we were probably too young to
make a record. It was all too fast. With the exception of “The Unearthly,” the
“Prophecies” CD was a failure. The European tour, on the other hand, was a huge
success. Listen to the soundboard recordings from those concerts – they are
brutal. METAL SIDE: What bands were the biggest influences for you when
you started playing Death/Thrash Metal? What do you listen to
nowadays? REVENANT: I grew up on classic rock. Led Zeppelin are the greatest rock band of all time, period. Sabbath and
AC/DC were a big influence, but Zeppelin was the world. I also listened to the
Doors, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Stones. All
great stuff, and I am not ashamed to admit it.
Listen closely to Overman – there are many
references to those bands. There is a Beatles reference, and a Peter Gabriel
reference, to name a few. Listen to the soundboards from the Prophecies tour –
our intro music was Pink Floyd. We would play “One of these Days” from “Meddle,”
and cut it right after the voice says “One of these days, I’m going to cut you
into little pieces.” The first thrash bands that
I liked were Metallica, Slayer,
Whiplash, Voivod, and Celtic Frost. I later got
into the great German bands, especially Sodom. But my roots were always in
classic rock. Other people often laughed when they had to ride in the Revenant
van. Will was listening to Rush, or I was listening to The Doors, or Dave was
listening to the Allmann Brothers, or
whatever. METAL SIDE: Tell us something about your musical life after
Revenant’s end. Were you in other bands? If you were, what did they play? What
happened with other band’s members? REVENANT: yes, I did play in another band, but we had no name. It
was different from Revenant. Maybe I will ask Tim to place some of the
recordings on the Revenant website some day. It was very heavy stuff. We sounded
something like Ministry. METAL SIDE: What do you think about the current Death/Thrash metal
scene? Is it worth to call it “original”? REVENANT: I am not in a position to comment. I really have little
or no idea. A young guy from a local college contacted me last year and asked
for an interview, and I was surprised by how well he knew the history of the old
scene. This much I can say – there are a few very good bands making very good
music. Nile is great, Hate Eternal is great, etc.
Even the old bands are making good music. The last Morbid Angel record,
“Heretic,” was their best ever. METAL SIDE: Are you interested in the politics? What do you think
about the rivalry Bush – Kerry? Many US musicians, not only who play Heavy
Metal, seem to support rather Democrats. Republicans don’t have as strong
support in show-business. What are the reasons of such situation? I guess that
we can’t simply say that Democrats are more music-friendly than
Republicans… REVENANT: That’s a very unusual way of looking at it. I guess the
old myth about the music of the 1960’s never died. The reality is that most
music fans in the United States are very conservative people. They hate anything
that is really new. And Republicans are very strong in some music scenes here,
especially rock and country. And they are slowly taking over Hollywood, again,
like they tried to do in the 1950’s. It is a very sad situation. It makes me
miss people like Frank Zappa very much. We should have cloned
him. As for politics, some
people complain there is too much of it in the world today. I disagree – there
is not enough. What passes for politics these days is mere opinion. Everybody
should shut up for about five years. In the meantime, they should read the major
political thinkers – all of them, from Plato to Hobbes, and from Machiavelli to
Marx. Then maybe they would speak only if they have something intelligent to
say, and keep their stupid opinions to themselves. METAL SIDE: You are also the translator of Italian literature. One
can read one of your works visiting Revenant’s website. Let me ask you very
prosaic, maybe even trivial question: what is more difficult, to compose good
music or to write a good novel? On which of these fields is it easier now to be
original? REVENANT: That is the best question I have ever been asked. I
simply cannot answer it. I can say this – ask me again after I have finished a novel! In
the meantime, read Thomas Mann. METAL SIDE: Many critics say that Death and Thrash Metal bands
have very simple, childish, trivial lyrics, sometimes in bad taste. Do you think
that is fair opinion? How was it in Revenant’s case? What were your favorite
topics that you expressed in your lyrics? REVENANT: Moralists are so boring. The world is filled with them.
They base their worthless judgments on absolute categories. That sort of
criticism is pointless. Like I said earlier, everybody should just keep silent
for about five years, and, in this case, study modern poetry and the lyrics of
modern music before they open their mouths again. There are two styles in rock and metal lyrics. One style is very
subjective and psychological. “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath is the best example.
But that style is a watered down version of the style that Jim Morrison was
writing for The Doors. In the early stuff, this style was irrational, but later
it hardened into a human figure or social phenomenon, like a serial killer. An
excellent later example might be “The Ripper” by Judas Priest. You can trace a
line from “The Ripper” through Slayer’s lyrics to Cannibal Corpse and Macabre.
All the religious and satanic lyrics belong to this style,
too. The other style is
objective and concerned with elaborate stories and myths. It can be historical,
like some Iron Maiden lyrics, or it can be fantastic or futuristic, like
in Voivod lyrics. My lyrics belonged to this
second school, but with one exception- I read too much philosophy when I was
young, so there is a metaphysical streak in some of the early lyrics. Some of
them are just nonsense. They seemed very profound at the time, and they changed
in later years, but they still tried to use the Revenant character to create
myths and stories. I was very much influenced by certain literary styles at the
time, especially gothic writers, sci-fi, and fantasy writers, and I tried to
synthesize it all into the concept of the “Revenant.” To this day, the best
lyrics I wrote were for the song “The Burning Ground.” They were exceptional,
because I was able to combine the mythology with a historical event in that song
– the Chernobyl meltdown. METAL SIDE: Thanks for the interview. REVENANT: Thanks for the good
questions. 
Our demos, and those by other bands – Immolation, Ripping
Corpse, Prime Evil – built a scene from nothing.
We had no peers to emulate.
We left the recordings
and mixes unfinished. The result is a stronger CD and Erik Rutan did a superb job mixing
it.
