|
|
|
Revelation interview with Steve Branagan
January 2006 by Chris Kee
|
|
|
Revelation have been accorded semi-legendary status amongst the doom fraternity, a reputation that was secured with classic albums such as …Yet So Far, released back in ’94. Little has been heard from the band in recent years as the members have concentrated on their work with the likes of Against Nature, While Heaven wept and Place Of Skulls. However during 2005 the band made available a CD-Rom filled with a veritable treasure trove of Revelation goodies so Live4Metal got in touch with drummer Steve Branagan for a little reminder of what made Revelation click.
Can you give me a brief introduction to the band...how it all got started, that kind of thing?
Revelation started back in 1986 and was originally formed by John Brenner, Andy Kremer, and myself. We all had played together as guitarists in different cover bands and decided to form a group of our own that did original music only. Since we were all guitarists, we split the duties up. John was the better guitarist of the three of us so he took the guitar spot. Andy had played bass previously so he took the bass. As for me, my brother was a drummer and I used to love banging on his kit and so I took the drum spot. We were all very close friends and were influenced by similar music so it seemed appropriate that we would continue working together and writing material that reflected our influences.
Since then, Revelation has had some member changes, however, the current line-up, that features Dennis Cornelius on guitar/vocals and Jim Hunter on bass, has been together off-and-on since 1994 and continue this day pursuing writing new Revelation material and touring in the near future.
And what is the band up to at the moment? (Impending releases, gigs, plans for this year...)
We are all in different projects besides Revelation and are also located far from each other, so our times together have been minimal over the last two years. Dennis has some new material that he and I have worked on but we are still a
way away from recording it. We hope to be doing some rehearsals this summer to prepare for a future recording. We also may be returning to Europe this fall for a short tour…we will keep our fingers crossed!
How would you describe your music?
Heavy with lots of different influences.
What sort of subjects do you look at lyrically in your songs?
We tend to write about very personal events in our lives.
Who inspired you to play?
I grew up playing guitar and many guitar players influenced me including Ace
Frehly (when I was very young) and then Glenn Tipton/KK Downing, Dave Murray/Adrian Smith, Eddie Van Halen, Michael
Schenker and others. As for drums, Les Binks (Judas Priest), Clive Burr (Iron Maiden), Jeff Olson (Trouble), Bill Ward, and of course Neil
Peart.
|
| |
|
   |
| |
Do you feel that the doom scene is rising at the moment? Has there been an increase in the quantity and quality of bands around in recent times?
It seems that the scene has gotten better over the last few years. The Doom Shall Rise Festival and tours are a great testament to this. When we played the festival back in 2003, I was quite amazed at how many doom bands were assembled under one roof. The quality of the new bands seemed to be great also. We got to experience much of this by checking many of these bands out while we were there.
What is special about doom, compared to other types of metal? What does doom have that other metal doesn't?
I think the one element that makes doom special is emotion. I don’t think that emotion is captured in other music like it is with doom. I like to turn the word doom around to form “mood”. Doom exudes mood and emotion.
Do you think that it takes a particular kind of attitude and outlook to be able to produce great doom metal?
Not necessarily. I think it is more about influence and style.
Who do you see as the founding fathers of doom metal?
Black Sabbath surely are the founding fathers. I also give Trouble, Saint
Vitus, Pentagram, and The Obsessed a lot of credit for keeping that style alive in the 80’s.
Who would you consider the leading lights in the modern scene?
I have always been a big fan of Penance and Unorthodox.
Could you name an all time doom classic album?
Sabbath – Volume 4
And recommend a current band and album that people should be checking out?
VoodooShock
Revelation Website: www.geocities.com/SoHo/7567/
|
|
|
