¤ R o y a l   A n g u i s h ¤

VMU: You guys have been together for a long time and went through some serious changes. Could you tell us the current line up in the group and where are you from?

MK: The group hails from Central Florida (from Ocala to Orlando to Tampa). The current members are:
Matt Knowles: Male Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Anthony Smith: Drums
Katy Decker: Female Vocals
Marius Kozlowski: Lead Guitar
(we've had numerous individuals on keys and bass live and in studio)

Yes the lineup has gone through a lot of changes over time, but its been a product of the stage the band has been in. It has been a full blown linuep, to a studio project, then back once again to a full live lineup and so it has altered itself accordingly. The process of recording this release has really done a lot to help solidify us as a unit. Some of us were able to handle the ridiculous pressures of the studio, some weren't (and they are no longer with us). But we are confident that we are in good shape for the upcoming period of time.

VMU: I know alot of people dont like labels over their sound but "Hybrid Metal"? I also feel that you guys have a "Gothic Metal" tone as well.

MK: The reason we started using that term was because there was not a genre that really expressed our sound accurately. We have influences of death, black, thrash, gothic, melodic, avant garde, atmosphereic, new age, etc... that can be seen in our music, so we felt the term "hybrid" worked well since we are a hybrid combination of all those. We also like to say that if you took metal and stripped away all the genre boundaries you;d be left with us.

VMU: I am very influenced by over seas bands such as Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, Theatre of Tragedy and Katatonia. Do any of these bands ring a bell and who are you guys influenced by?

MK: Yeah we've listened to all of those bands and there are definite comparisons that we've heard (female vocals only). The difference between other female artists and RA's Katy Decker is that she truly tries to have a multi-dimensional delivery. She's capable of whatever style we've asked for or whatever style is appropriate and thats a great help when writing. And in truth - the ONLY thing we have in common with those bands is that we utilize a female vocalist. Musically we are much more heavier and aggressive than any of those listed. I am personally influenced by the European sound quite a bit - Arcturus, Kalmah, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Borknagar, to name a few. I've also been very into the new age musical scene in the past. But as a group we pretty much hot on the whole metal spectrum. The more you listen to the more ideas you'll have so we try to keep broadening our horizons. When the new recording is out there in the market the comparisions to some of those bands will probably fade away because the newest material is much heavier and grittier. It has the power of our older material with the songwriting style of our more recent. So its almost like the taking the best of both worlds for us as a band and seeing it come together in one release.

"The more you listen to the more ideas you'll have so we try to keep broadening our horizons." - Matt

VMU: How many albums have you guys released and who is your current producer?

MK: Full length CDs - we've done two: Mysterion (2003) and The Chronicles of Autumn Sorrow (1995 - re-released 2004) - we've also done an EP, Shocking the Priest (1993, re-released on "The Collection" 2002), and we appeared on the compilation "A Brutal Christmas" (2002). We worked with Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal / Morbid Angel) on our latest project, entitled "Tales of Sullen Eyes". It was recorded at Mana Studios in Tampa, Florida. The recording came out amazingly well and the quality will definitely be the best that RA has seen to date.

VMU: I've listened to your new track "Twisted Angel" very intense! What was it like working with Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel) and assistant engineer Shawn "Sol-Sangraal" Ohtani (Yeti).?

MK: Erik - tough guy, tough guy. Definitely a drill sergeant, but got good performances out of us all. If you don;t have a thick skin he'd eat you up while in there, but we all handled that aspect fairly well. Once we got going things loosened up a bit (quite a bit). He busted his butt on our material making it the best hewas capable of. Ohtani - great guy. He is a guitarist in the band Yeti, who we are closely affiliated with. Really nice guy, very laid back, and good compliment to Rutan. Ohtani is a really easy guy to work with and he did a great job pulling good performances out of Anthony (this was where he primarily worked).

VMU: How long did the recording take for the new release "Tales of Sullen Eyes"? And also to add was the recordings done live or one on one?

MK: We started the recording May 28th and finished July 16th. The process was off and on, a weekend here a day there until it was done. There were many unexpected circumstances that caused the session to stretch out longer than we had anticipated, but in the end it was all for the best. Anthony recorded drums first, with me playing a scratch guitar alongside. All the other tracks were recorded one by one. The keys and the bass were done outside the studio and the tracks were then added to the session.

VMU: Could you explain lyrically what "Twisted Angel" is about?

MK: Twisted Angel is a fantasy story about an internal spiritual conflict that takes place within a man's mind while he is sleeping. There is an evil figure that is enticing him, tempting him, and an angelic figure attempting to protect him and expose the actions of the former. As the song progresses the main character sees that he is being lured into danger by the evil figure and starts to lean on the guidance of the angelic figure.

VMU: After surfing the news you are adding a remix of one of your tracks "My Own Despair"! How did that come about and why?

MK: RA likes to keep people on their toes and do cool and refreshing things (like putting the acoustic/violin/tribal song "Moonlight" on Mysterion). Qwarq (the individual who masterminded the techno remake) and I have been long time associates and we had discussed this idea for quite some time. We originally explored doing the song "Atmosphere" from Mysterion, but "My Own Despair" fit better. The plan right now is to include this as a bonus track on the retail release for "Tales of Sullen Eyes". Why did it come about? Why not?

VMU: What can we expect from "Tales of Sullen Eyes" compared to "Mysterion". Any musical changes?

MK: Everything. Mysterion is much more laid back and subdued in its delivery in comparison to "Tales..." The aggression of RA's earlier material combined with the songwriting of Mysterion is what should be expected. There is a little more straight forward approach to the songs - i.e. less layering of multiple keyboards and guitars and more development of the actual lines played by these instruments. There is also a little more clarity vocally. All the clean vocals are done by Katy Decker and I do all the heavies.

VMU: Where was the last release, Mysterion, recorded? Was it done digital or analog? And was the recording process done live or one on one?

MK: The last full length CD, Mysterion (released late 2003), was recorded at a host of locations - three actual studios in Florida, plus home studios in North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Canada. That CD was pieced together over the span of 3 1/2 years and it was a wonder that we ever completed it at all. It took a major overhaul of the tracking more than once to get it to a point we felt comfortable releasing it. Most of the tracking (other than drums) was done at my home studio, The Dungeon, in Ocala, FL. The mix and another segment of the tracks were done in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, by Henrik Ryosa of Metal Headquarters (which since has relocated to Sweden). It was definitely very interesting working on tracks simultaneuously when thousands of miles apart. It was like a virtual band practice or something.

VMU: Could you guys explain the gear you use for live shows?

MK: Anthony has a pearl export double bass kit with three toms across and one floor tom and fourteen cymbals. He is left handed but plays a partially right handed kit, so his hit hat and ride are virtually in the same place. Both myself and Marius use line6 heads for amplification (he has a flextone II, and I have a Spider III). He has a stock Marshall 4x12 cab and I have a custom 4x12 cab with two celestians and two black widow speakers. I play on a seven string ESP F Series, and Marius uses Ibanez and ESP guitars.

VMU: How do you guys feel about the Christian and Secular market?

MK: When I listen to music I see it one way and one way only - does the product this band is putting forth appeal to me... it could be the songwriting style, music, the lyrics, the presentation / image, or the whole package. If something does appeal, I listen, if nothing does, I won't. I personally think that a band shortchanges its product by adding a belief designation to its genre - "christian", "satanic", "staight edge", "buddhist", "pagan", whatever... your lyrics should be able to speak for themselves as far as I'm concerned. When you add that designation people EXPECT that the whole entire purpose for your band is to further push that belief system and that turns quite a few people off. People want to know that you are producing music for the love of music, not just as a secondary tool used to gain an advantage so you can force a belief system upon them. Royal Anguish's goal is to create the best overall package that we can - refined music, thought provoking lyrics, and a captivating / interesting image and live performance. If people gain any insight or are caused to think on a deeper level because of our lyrics, great! But we know that they are just a part of the overall picture.

VMU: Adding keys and a female vocalist to your mix has a very cool vibe, VERY different then the older releases. Do any of you have other side projects in the works?

MK: Thanks for the comments about the female vocals and keys. Actually, Royal Anguish has used female vocals in some way or another since 1994. There have been a host of women that have sung as guest musicians on CD, but not until January of 2004 did a woman set foot on stage for RA in a live performance. As far as side projects, Katy and I have done guest spots on upcoming independent releases, but nothing of major consequence. We all know that we need to dedicate ourselves to what we;re doing right now with RA and not be distracted.

VMU: You guys currently on a label or shopping around?

MK: We completed a deal with S.o.t.D. Records with the release of Mysterion (late 2003). We worked with Bombworks Records (Texas - USA) on a release of our mid nineties CD "The Chronicles of Autumn Sorrow" (May 2004). The intent of recording "Tales of Sullen Eyes" is to have something that shows our current lineup and where it is at musically, so that we can shop our wares with as current a product as possible. We do intend to make a large push to larger labels once this mini-CD is finished. As far as who will release it, that is still up in the air. For the time being it will probably be released independently or possibly with a small label's help for distribution sake.

"People want to know that you are producing music for the love of music, not just as a secondary tool used to gain an advantage so you can force a belief system upon them. " - Matt

VMU: Any bad experiences playing live? And do you prefer live shows or studio recording?

MK: We've had the typical experiences live. Poor monitor mixes. Club crews that want you to slide them extra money just to do their job. The last show we played the sound man was so bad that he was FIRED before the night was over. It was ridiculous. As far as bad experiences that we had any control over - One time we attempted to play the song "Atmosphere" live. I lead it in. I got a few notes in and my mind BLANKED. I stopped and started over and still blanked. We all tried to recover, but it ended up being more of a jam loosely based on the song than the song itself. That was probably the worst on stage experience to date for me. We also just played a show where the sound man was so bad that he was fired before the night was out. Ouch! As far as studio vs live, I think there are positives and negatives to both. I love having a finished product in hand from the studio, but the process to get that in hand can be a tough and arduous one. I love performing live and interacting with the crowd, helping to make their experience that much more intense, but there is definitely a lot of stress and exhaustion that goes along with them. Overall I do enjoy both though, because they are so intertwined. You need the studio to get your music in the fan's hands, but you need the live shows to bring that material to life.

VMU: What would you tell to the younger groups out there that are struggling in the scene?

MK: *looks around* Shouldn't someone be answering that question for us? We may not be younger but we are definitely not anywhere yet that we desire to be. My only advice is this - don't rush your product. There are a glut of bands out there and to rush to get a demo out as quick as you can could hurt you more than help you. Take the time to write and record quality and allow that to help set you apart from the rest of a crowded industry.

VMU: Thanks guys for your time!! Any last words?

MK: Just that we want everyone to check out our website for our brand new single "Twisted Angel" off of the upcoming CD "Tales of Sullen Eyes". We are more than happy with the way that this CD came out and this song is just a taste of the insanity that is to come when its released. Support the bands you like. Show them that you appreciate what they do!

www.royalanguish.com

VM Underground
www.v-m-u.com
Oct. 7, 2004