:: MANTIC RITUAL

Hey Dan! The Name Change – right after finishing your Debut Album for Nuclear Blast you decided to change your Band name from MELTDOWN to MANTIC RITUAL – well the only message you released was “due to current issues” – come on some details please – were there really so many bands with the name MELTDOWN out there?

We changed the name because of legal reasons. The name Meltdown is used widely for bands and even businesses, so it wasn’t working out too well for individuality. For a time we thought we could hang on to the name, but it just didn’t work out. At first we were bummed about picking a different moniker, but in the end I’m very happy about it. I like Mantic Ritual, it’s a more sophisticated name and I think it will represent us better in the future. As it stands, I’m incredibly happy with the choice.

How frustrating is the fact for a young, fresh band that you have your debut album ready since about 8 or 9 months and you are still waiting for the official release?

I’m not that frustrated by it all. If that album had been released earlier, I think it would have been rushed, so this at least has given us time to sort things out. It is odd to be without an album, but the release isn’t too far away at this point. And what’s eight or nine months, really? I still feel young and fresh! Haha, I hope I don’t seem stale and old after a few months.

OK Nuclear Blast – esp. here in Europe surely the Main Player in the Metal Scene – how did you get in Contact with them – as far as I know you had only a demo record out so far right?

We started talking to Nuclear Blast after they received our press kit. I guess they liked what they heard and we began talking. It was really that simple. They liked the demo, but wanted it to be re-recorded, which made total sense - the demo was self recorded. We’re excited to be on such a prestigious label. It’s a good feeling to know that we’re backed by a major contender in the industry.

Andy Classen and his Stage One Studios! I can imagine for a young band it’s a great experience and/or honour to work with Andy?

Working with Andy was fantastic. He’s very knowledgeable and has a very good outlook on recording. We used his old JCM 800s on the recordings and they sound great. He’s got a good ear for little things. Additionally, he’s a great guy and we had a wonderful time hanging out with him. Germany was beautiful as well. I have incredibly fond memories of those recording sessions. It was super relaxing. Springtime in the country, now that’s heavy metal.

The decision to hop over to Germany and record the Album here with Andy – was this a label decision or did you guys want to record with him?

The decision was made by Nuclear Blast, or rather they suggested it. I was honestly scared to record with Andy because I wasn’t aware of his style and tastes, but it worked out very well. I’m really glad that we worked with him; the album sounds great. It was a good call by Nuclear Blast’s part. Additionally, we had the chance to see some of Germany.

OK! Now let’s talk about “Executioner” Bringing back the tunes of good old Thrash Metal – hey that’s all I can say! And It fucking rules!!

Well thanks! I’m glad that you ding it. What can I say? It’s just the music we make. We have a good time and it Executioner is what it sounds like. It’s a pretty fast album, certainly some thrash beats in there, haha.

The Funny Thing! Your Record Company says: of course they do not set new standards and so on and am pretty sure you don’t wanna set any standards. As far as I can appraise that you just wanna kick some thrashing asses – right?

Well, I don’t know what it says online, but perhaps I can shed some light on this. First off, I don’t know what the standards for metal are. What are the standards for music these days? If there are any, I feel that they’re set pretty low. We’re not really trying to set standards, but we do want to make competent music. We want to make songs that people feel are catchy and charged. If that sets a standard, so be it. There’s so much talk in the music industry of genres and descriptions and standards, I suppose. I don’t really care about any of that. We make music and this is what it sounds like. It’s really that simple. We like aggressive, fast, passionate music. We’re influenced by thrash, for sure, but I want to be known as a band that makes great music, not a band defined by a genre.

You did a Cover of the SCORPIONS Classic “Black Out”! Why this Song and did you discuss other possibilities too?? Maybe something from ACCEPT or this direction?

We really liked Blackout and we figured we should give it a try. It’s not thrash metal, but that’s the point. There’s tons of great music out there and we’re not going to limit our band because of some genre restrictions. There were a few other songs we could have played, but Blackout struck us as the best choice. We play Venom’s Black Metal a lot, and I’d love to record that sometime. We tried covering Accept in the past, but it came out too cheesy for us, haha!

OK at the End – because you really sound like you would have been raised in the golden age of the Bay Area Thrash – some Bandnames and your Opinion to them - OK?

METALLICA (and I mean the OLD one!!)
I love old Metallica. This is the music that I got started on. They are competent musicians that knew some theory and had good taste with song structure. They deserved to get big. Those who say otherwise are simply trying to define themselves by obscurity.

EXODUS
Exodus is another band that I started off with, and I used to listen to them a lot. I was never a big fan of the vocals until recently. Rob Dukes is a great front man for them. Finally, someone that really roars. We had a chance to play some shows with Exodus not long ago. They were great guys, we had a good time.

DEFIANCE (btw they have Re-United!)
I don’t want to be a downer in any way, but I’m not familiar with this band.

FORBIDDEN (another Reunion!)
I don’t know Forbidden all that well. Ask me about the Clash, the Who or Sham 69!

DARK ANGEL (they def. should Reunite!!)
I dig some Dark Angel stuff, but I don’t have a big opinion. I don’t listen to very much thrash metal. I just like to make it, haha.

What about your current live activities?
Your MySpace Page says a huge round in the US – but for us is in interest when will you hop over to Europe and play some fuc$%& Thrash Metal Shows??? Any Details already in schedule?

I have no information about Europe at this time, but I can say that we’d love to get over there. I’d be very excited to play in other countries. Europe is great with Heavy Metal and we’d love to please our fans there. I’m sure it’s going to happen eventually, but it’s a matter of time, I think. Hang in there!

Please leave a few last words for our readers…

I’d just like to thank our fans for the support. I hope that they realize we embrace all fans regardless of who they are. It doesn’t matter what you wear or what you do. Appreciation for our music is all we ask for. I want people to relate to the energy and emotion. Everyone has a right to listen and be a part of our music.

Again, thank you very much for your time!

Yes! Thanks you. I dig answering questions. Good fun.