EMQ’s With Ritualist
EMQ’s With Ritualist
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Brazilian Heavy Metallers, Ritualist. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Rodrigo Reis, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hi to all. Greetings from Brazil. My name is Rogerio Reis and I am the founder, main composer and guitar player. The band was formed in 2012 as a project do make some covers, drink some beer and have fun, …and about 2 years this was our main goal, however, some members felt the need to focus in other aspects of their life, such as family, career, college and stuff,… so I ended being alone in the band for a while, and in this period I started to work on original songs, and soon that I got the first 3 songs, I call up an old friend of mine, to sing in those songs. The result of this made us very excited, so Ricardo Janke (vocalist) decided to join in this project and work together to become a band.
How did you come up with your band name?
Early in the first days, when we are choosing the name, the first drummer(the guy who started the band with me) says he really really wanted a band name which includes only one word on it,… so we try some, but every was already taken, …. so the band Dimmu Borgir released that year a record that features a song with the name ‘Ritualist’,… I presented the idea to him and he liked it, … at that point no one uses this name, and we feel that it will represent well the songs and the vibes that we wish for the band,… and here we are.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from ‘Rio Grande do Sul’, the southernmost state in Brazil. Here our culture is more oriented towards the European style, which were our colonizers (Germany and Italy), unlike the rest of Brazil where the culture is more like Latin/African. Brazil as a whole is a third world country, and despite the fact that, besides São Paulo, the South is one of the best places to make Metal, even so, we face a lot of difficulties of economic nature, because when you live in a country with a broken economy, and social challenges, attending shows and buying records is at the bottom of your list of priorities.
The underground scene here is dominated by small tribute bands, we have two relatively large original bands, which are Krisiun (death metal) and Hibiria (Power Metal), and that’s it, … on the other hand, there are a few really good original metal bands that continue to fight to conquer their space and relevance, even though it’s almost impossible to professionalize the band, in terms of making tours viable, paying a decent amount to the musicians and the team, and dedicating ourselves exclusively to music, …we all have an alternative main source of income.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our latest release was the single ‘YOUR MASK’, along with the song, we also released the video on YouTube
Who have been your greatest influences?
Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Megadeth, Iced Earth, Judas Priest, Nevermore and Turisas.
What first got you into music?
The first thing I remember that caught my attention to metal was the cover art of SEPULTURA’s ARISE album. I was about 6 years old and I was mesmerized, so I started to like the Heavy Metal culture but I still didn’t like the music itself. A few years later, at the age of 10, I listened to a cassette that changed my life… it was METALLICA’s Black Album.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Although my fan side says that a dream come true would be to collaborate with Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth) or Luca Turrili (Rhapsody), these being my main source of artistic inspiration, thinking about what is best for the band I would say that if I could choose, today I would choose to collaborate with SABATON.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
It would be at WACKEN OPEN AIR, because Wacken is the sacred temple of Metal and one day getting there for me would mean having absolutely accomplished my mission as a MetalHead, and I would be sure that the name of RITUALIST would be written in history forever.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Nothing too crazy actually, my wife is always along at the shows and she makes sure no fan gets TOO close.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
I actually don’t believe that new bands have fans nowadays… people who are still fans of something are fans of the old dinosaurs, in this age of TikTok and Instagram, the best we can do is have ‘followers’… and for ours, I would like to say that we are extremely grateful for the time you dedicate to following our work, listening to our music and asking for new material, this is even difficult for an artist to put into words, and just thank you for everything and ask you to continue supporting us and other local original bands.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Chuck Schuldiner.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
What I like most about being a musician is create things that people may connect with, whether it’s sounds that awaken feelings, or lyrics that make them think about their life or themselves, I love being able to express myself through sounds and words, and knowing that there are people who love it as much as I do, I also love knowing that there are people who joined the band and believe in the message and energy that I want to convey.
What I dislike is the fact that most people don’t give new bands a chance, they want to keep listening to the same bands they’ve always listened to, and this means that we have to make a huge effort in terms of promotion and marketing strategies, to make our music reach them, and try to capture their attention in 30 seconds, otherwise it will move on to the next one and the war against the algorithm will continue on and on unfairly. What I really hate is the idea that today, musicians also must be social influencers. I hate the fact that today’s young people don’t consume music with their ears, but with their eyes.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I think it’s difficult to say what the music industry needs to change because I believe that over time, the changes that have occurred in the industry have been necessary for it as an organism to remain alive, relevant and competitive, in the face of changes in society’s behaviour. Technology has made it easier to produce and consume music, and this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, bands no longer depend on record companies and labels, but on the other, it has pulverized art and each listener is bombarded with tons of content and it is difficult to find what is truly good.
So in this sense, the music industry changes to the extent that society’s music consumption pattern changes in the first place.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Toughest question so far. Well, if I think of a record that I could listen to a thousand times (and I probably already done that) and love it every time, love every song, every aspect and little detail of it, I would say it’s “Infinity Wonders of Creation” from Luca Turilli.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Well, I woke up to Metal in the CD era, but I also tried cassette and vinyl, and today we are in the digital era,… so I think that physical media in one side, and digital media in the other, both have their positive and negative points, … having the physical material in hand created a connection with the band, so you either kept it or exchanged it with a friend for another band’s material, on the other hand, access was relatively limited, especially for smaller bands and those outside the US/EUROPE axis. In the digital era, geographic, financial and logistical limitations no longer exist, but on the other hand, you no longer commit to a handful of bands, and now you have ALL of them within reach of a few clicks. So my final answer (leaving romanticism aside) is that for me as a band leader, CDs could be the best way to distribute our music,… but as a listener, the digital era is better.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
For me, the best gig is always the next one. This mindset helps me stay focused on continuing to evolve as an artist and not get stuck in the nostalgia of past successes.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well,… I’m a chemist myself and I work in the steel industry,… but in terms of art, if I weren’t a musician, I would probably have another way of channeling my creativity, probably as a designer or such, because I love to draw and when I was a teenager I did these two things in parallel.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Ricky Gervais for tell some jokes and make us laugh, Luca Turilli for me to ask him stuff about his solo albums that I absolute love and there is zero content about then on the internet, James Randi, for do some tricks and tells us about skepticism, Ayn Rand for me ask and learn more about her philosophy and last but not least, my daughter to have a good time with me and this amazing people.
What’s next for the band?
We are currently working on recording the next EP, called ‘Awekening Protocol’, we have already released a ‘teaser’ of this new work on our YouTube channel, in parallel to this, we are planning a new video clip and maintaining the usual struggle of staying active on as many stages as possible.
In these days of internet falcehoods, I firmly believe that a band needs the stage, the audience, the butterflies in the stomach, even the imperfections of perform live, and above all: truth and energy.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Instagram: @ritualist.oficial
Youtube: @ritualist1024
Spotfy: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6acSKCvTsyH3g5e17fRVs3
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
hahahaha, the great British debate,…. well, I’m not a deep bakery specialist, but I will guess it’s the same depending on the region you are from,….so,.. I take the ‘Tea Cake’ because it makes sense eat the sandwich with a cup of tea hahahaha.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I just want to thank you for the opportunity to talk to your audience. I hope that the things I said resonate and make sense to them. I want to tell them that underground metal isn’t on TikTok or Instagram. It’s in the local pub and in your friends’ bands. Give new bands a chance, look for the truth in them, and if you like one or another, tell your friends about it. In our case, it’s very common for a friend to come to me years after knowing about Ritualist and tell me that they heard a song and loved it! Years after its release… so don’t be that person. I support your friend who has a band!!!!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.