New Revelation interview in Finnish

[Peter Vicar]

Don't know if there are too many Finnish speaking people reading this forum, but there is a great new interview of Dennis at Imperiumi web-metalzine:

http://www.imperiumi.net/int_2.php?id=214

[Jimbo Rollercoaster]

Translate, damn you, translate!!!

[Peter Vicar]

Originally Posted by Jimbo Rollercoaster

Translate, damn you, translate!!!

Goddamn, that's longer than the Divine Rod of Fucking Wizard, no way I'm going to translate it! Ask Dennis, I'm sure he remembers what he said...

[daniel]

I thought I`d better make an entrance in style to this forum, so I translated the whole bastard! It took me so long that I couldn`t be bothered to check for mistakes, but I think it`s pretty alright.
Dennis&Jim, I`m really looking forward to seeing you again at DSR 2, if you remember me coming along with the Reverends from the airport for that long van ride through Germany, on that fateful day of last year!

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Revelation have wandered a long and rocky road ever since their inception in the late 80s. One difficulty has followed the other, the likes of several line-up changes and the bankruptcy of a record label. Fortunately differences have been solved and salvation found so that no final rest has come to pass. Despite all their troubles the group has managed to make it this far, and now an almost 7 year old demo is finally getting it`s well deserved official release. Singer/guitarist Dennis Cornelius enlightens us on the subject.

Mr. Cornelius` history in doom can be seen as having begun when he joined Revelation, although he had some prior experience of playing in bands also.

Upon joining Revelation in 93 I`d been playing the guitar for a little over 4 years. I can honestly say that was the first time I really came into my own as a musician. I tried my best to emulate John`s solos, and at the time we had really massive training sessions. Sometimes we jammed together for five or even six hours at a time. Thanks to my friends I was introduced to the underground sometime round 88, but at the time I wasn`t so into doom.

Big thanks is due to my first band`s drummer, Bill, who was in contact with John. Through him I heard Revelation for the first time and instantly fell in love with their style. At the time I didn`t have really have a clue what bands like for example Black Sabbath were about, not to mention many other greats. But thanks to revelation I started collecting all bands with even remotely the same vibe. My first opportunity to play doom came round when I got to jam with King Fowley. Deceased used to practice downstairs from me and King usually showed up a couple of hours ahead of the others. We had a lot of fun together, playing all kinds of silly covers until one day, we started writing our own material. It was quite stupid to begin with but little by little they started getting better. Les stepped in on bass, and King asked his friend Jeff to sing, so that`s how Doomstone got started. Listening to the album we did nowadays I can hear a lot of prototype Revelation riffs. Contrary to popular misconception I did my bit in writing material for Doomstone, although the liner notes state King Fowley wrote all the tracks. That pretty much pissed me off at the time.

From fan to member

The first major setback in Revelation`s career came when singer/guitarist John Brenner decided to leave the band after the release of their second full length “never comes silence” in 1993. It wasn`t long however before Dennis Cornelius was brought in as replacement from the band`s circle of close friends. After all, the man had revered the band from since it`s early days and had got to know the members over the years.

I was a huge fan of Revelation, and quite simply loved John`s style of playing, his solos and his songs. There weren`t many bands around doing anything similar at the time. I even have a video of me attending a John Brenner era gig, me in the audience standing with my mouth wide open pointing my finger at John saying “hey, I can play that!”.
I got to know John while he was recording a demo for my first band Morticious, who played together during 88-91. After that I traveled up to Baltimore frequently to see Revelation rehearse, and one time I told John I`d learned to play a couple of their songs. He gave me an upcoming track off “never comes silence”, and for days I did nothing else but try to work out and play the things John was doing on the record.
At the rehearsal I was able to play five songs, and they all seemed quite impressed. 9 months after John left the band my name came up as a possible replacement. It was actually John himself who informed me and I was pretty dumbfounded. I knew my own guitar skills were nowhere near John`s level, but despite the fact I accepted the challenge.

The change of main songwriter and figurehead caused some uncertainty and worry within the band regarding their future-luckily such worry was unnecessary

Steve was a little worried about whether I would be able to sing at all. And seeing as we didn`t have a bass player I couldn`t practice any solos. You see solos are pretty hard to practice without a bass player or rhythm guitarist to follow. Luckily, Steve`s worries were gone with the wind as soon as we entered the studio to record the “mourning son” demo. Then he realized it was the right decision to continue with Revelation.

The reasons for Mr. Brenner`s leaving the band remain slightly obscure, not even Dennis is completely in the clear regarding the matter.

As far as I`ve understood it, John decided on some major changes in his life, and Revelation was one thing not to be included in his plans. We have planned a reunion with John but yet so far (that was my intended pun-daniel) we`ve only had one proper discussion on the subject. He`s got tons of material to go through, some of which was written right after the release of “never comes silence” in 93-94. Including the stuff I`ve done we`d have material enough for at least an album and an EP. We`re supposed to get together sometime in November to start working on new ideas, but don`t expect any new releases from us in the near future.

New album after 7 years

The Miskatonic Foundation will be releasing the “Frozen Masque” EP any day now, which was originally released as a demo back in late 96.There are several good reasons for re-releasing such old material

The main reason for the re-release was that the tracks would finally be available on CD as was originally intended. Everyone into doom hasn`t necessarily heard those songs and this is a good opportunity to remind people of our existence.

Although the material is pretty old Dennis still fully stands for it

As for the actual songs, I love every note in `em. In my opinion those four songs are the best we`ve ever come up with. Sometimes, I might have this really great idea that just won`t come out as a song. “Finished with you” is one of my absolute favourites, and I completed it pretty quickly on a four track. Originally I simply intended see how certain chorus harmonies sounded and record some ideas for a vocal melody, but as a result they turned into a complete song. It`s a shame I no longer have that four track, `cos it was lots of help with writing songs.

In the albums name as in it`s songs there is a common idea permiating the recording

At that time I was going through some soul searching trying to find my place in this world. The band was the only thing motivating me or taking me anywhere in life. We had just got back from touring and I had to return to everyday life. I had no apartment, girlfriend or job. It was a very stressful situation. I became severely depressed and questioned my every thought. We wrote the title track “frozen masque” first, and the lyrics deal with my own anxiety in dealing with people around me. I showed a happy face to my friends and family though in reality I wanted to scream obscenities at them.
The second track we wrote after coming back from touring was “within the answer lies”. It mainly deals with insomnia that I was suffering from at the time, and how my bedroom ceiling became a screen for reflecting my memories. “Finished with you” is about when I got pissed off at myself after noticing I was dreaming about my old girlfriend, who I broke up with four years earlier. “Last impression” is a clear call for help. The line “I feel like I`m dying” from the chorus probably describes it the best.

During the past 7 years the members of Revelation have in no way remained idle

Things are progressing pretty slowly at the moment. As I mentioned earlier we`ve got at least an album`s worth of material, and as soon as things pick up a bit I`m sure we`ll have even more songs ready. Everyone`s got their own things at the moment, so it takes quite an effort to get together to rehearse. John is a professor at a highschool, Steve is getting married anytime soon and he has a challenging job in the state of Maryland. Jim is extremely busy, and to my knowledge apart from playing in October 31 he also plays for While Heaven wept, Twisted Tower Dire and occasionally helps out a band called Brave. As far as I`m concerned, I`ve recently joined Place of Skulls and because of them I am relocating to Oklahoma in Tenessee.

The place of skulls

Joining Pentagram legend Victor Griffin and best known for his days in Saint Vitus, Scott “wino” Weinrich to form Place of Skulls was exciting both for Dennis as well as the fans

I`d already been complaining to my wife about the band´s problems they`d been having with bassists during the past year. Just like everybody else I was burning with desire to see the new lineup, with Wino. Then one day after coming home from work I had received mail from Victor and Tim, although I had never been in contact with either of them. Before I had a chance to read that mail my wife told me she had left a message in the band`s guestbook, in my name, asking what I had to do to audition for the band. I was shocked, but also very into the idea. I talked to Victor over the phone about it and traveled to Knoxville to see how things would work out. Both Victor and Tim liked what they heard, and from there on I`ve been a member of the band. Truthfully it`s been a bit stressful what with all the moving, but I truly love every moment I`ve been a part of this.

Right now Place of Skulls is my main priority. And as much as I would like to see a reunion of Revelation I don`t want to pressure the others too much. I`m convinced that the next release time will bring for Revelation will be the heaviest and most intense doom we can possibly come up with.

So relations with the other members are good, although it`s not to clear exactly what they are up to or when there will be time for the next rehearsal.

We`re all pretty good friends, but my relation to each of them is slightly different. Steve is a very straightforward guy, who plans everything out beforehand, a kind of mentor to me. Jim, on the other hand is this incredibly funny guy, almost like out of a comic book, but still a serious musician. I haven`t hung out with John too much, but I`d sometime like to discuss some serious matters with him as he is extremely intelligent.

Tour recollections

Last Spring Revelation were once again gigging round Europe, the band took part in a small tour that included Reverend Bizarre and Mirror of Deception. There were plenty of memories left over when all was said and done

The tour was really fantastic, although short. It was great sharing a stage with Steve and Jim after such a long time. It`s a shame that various ailments slightly spoiled the tour. During that week and a half everyone of us was sick with something at some point, and traveling in a cold van didn`t really help the situation. We still managed the gigs pretty well though. Personally I`ve got memories of everyone involved. Like for example albert of Reverend Bizarre. When we spoke English his voice was loud and harsh, but when he spoke Finnish his voice became much quieter and softer. I wont forget the time we shared a bed in Gent (Belgium) either, but no more on that. Peter on his hand seemed intrigued by everything going on around him, just like he was on a school trip and was preparing for the test following the trip. He seemed like an intellectual, a characteristic I truly liked about him. Void seemed like a pretty gloomy person. His choice of name is quite appropriate, but my fondest memories of him are when his face lit up with a mischievous smile after thinking up some devilish thing to do. It would be really cool to tour with them again sometime. I got to know Jochen and Sifi best of the Mirror of Deception guys. Although I never had any lengthy discussions with Sifi he seems like very dedicated to his cause. I also think he was the only singer who never lost his voice during the tour. Jochen was responsible for organizing the whole tour, and we owe him eternal gratitude for this insane experience. Despite all the troubles and crap he had to take, he kept it all together.

The essence of gloom

Lately in Doom metal circles there has been some pretty serious debate regarding what is doom and what isn`t. Dennis has his own opinion to share on the music he represents.

Doom is slow to midtempo heavy rock or metal, that stresses dark musical passages. Lyrically there are many subjects which can be dealt with, but they should always be sombre. On the other hand that description fits the music of Staind doesn`t it? In the end it all comes down to feelings, and you know when it clicks. You feel it and it comes out in everything you do. The music I play is the soundtrack to my own life. And that doesn`t include too many happy subjects.

During the 70s and 80s lyrics often dealt with various apocalyptic scenarios, but no one really sings about those things anymore. Personally I never write lyrics on subjects that I don`t have any experience of. I only know of lost love and a shitty life. Likewise I could never write a story of some fictional character, although that is the type of song I enjoy the most.

Nowadays it seems everyone should be happy and cheerful. So how come a small group of people enjoy dark and depressing music, when the purpose of music is usually to cheer people up?

Simply because, normal people hate being depressed. Maybe it is a good thing that everyone isn`t down, because I don`t think mankind would last very long if that were the case. I find that people who are into Doom generally appreciate music more than others. There is no way attention-deficient children could listen to doom, it would require way too much concentration.

[Jimbo Rollercoaster]

Hey Daniel, how are you doing? Thanks so much for translating that interview, you're insane! haha I'm ready for another Revelation/Reverend Bizarre tour!

[daniel]

I`m doing alright, all things considered, although some days aren`t so far from the ninth circle of Hell. I wish I could of been along for the whole tour, and if anything like it ever happens again there`s no way I`ll miss it!

[yetsofar]

It's funny to see how things get changed in translation but thanks to Daniel for tackling that. I didn't realize I still had the original interview.
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Revelation has been around for over 16 years now and you have put out 3 full lengths and countless demos before that. Even you haven't been with the band since the beginning, how do you see the band's history and stony road from the early days to today? I recall that you first started as a fan of the band.

Oh boy was I ever! I loved John’s playing style, leads, songs, etc. There just weren’t too many people out there doing it like that when I first started listening to them. I even have a tape of a Brenner Revelation performance that I was attending and you can see me in the background in total awe, pointing at John and saying “I can play that” hehe. I guess it’s much the same these days, if it wasn’t for the internet we’d never know about people around the world loving all the music Revelation has put out over the years.

Can you name those bands without whom Revelation wouldn't exist?

Tough question, but undoubtedly; Black Sabbath, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, and a ton more. Back when the band started, John and Steve were both influenced by a lot of late 70’s to early 80’s NWOBHM bands, too many to mention hehe. Jim and I start more in the late 80’s metal but we all have an appreciation for music that extends throughout the years and genres.

How did you end up playing doom and can you briefly describe your musical background as a player and as a fan of this kind of music?

When I joined the band in ’93 I’d been playing guitar for a little over 4 years. I can definitely say it made me “step up” as a musician, forced to try and replicate John’s leads the best I could. Plus we were having these monster jams back then. 5 or 6 hour rehearsals were not uncommon. I really wasn’t into too much doom back in ’88 when I discovered the underground through some friends. But thanks to Bill, the drummer of my first band, who was in contact with John; I quickly fell in love with Revelation’s style. Back then I barely had an inkling of what Sabbath was all about. Or for the matter any of the bigger doom bands until I started listening to Revelation. After that the floodgates were opened and I was hunting for anything that had that same vibe. The first opportunity I had to write anything doom related came from jamming with King Fowley. Deceased were rehearsing in my basement at the time and King would always show up before everyone else (usually a couple hours early haha). So we just started fooling around playing goofy cover songs and what not until one day we just started writing original tunes. They were pretty goofy at first as well but eventually turned into more. Les joined us on bass and King asked his friend Jeff to vomit for us and Doomstone was formed. I listen now to the CD we recorded and hear proto-Revelation riffs all over the place. Oh and contrary to popular belief I did contribute my fair share to the writing of those songs. On the inner sleeve King was given 100% writing credit for the album. It pissed me off something fierce back then.

You Dennis replaced the founding member of Revelation John Brenner over ten years ago. How did you end up with Revelation and how easy it was to step into John's shoes as you label him as your biggest influence?

I became friends with John when he recorded the first Morticious demo, my band from 88-91. After that I made some journeys up to Baltimore to watch them rehearse from time to time. It was during this last visit that I told John I had learned how to play some of their songs. He had given me an advance copy of Never Comes Silence and all I did for days was pluck around on my guitar trying to figure out how he was playing that stuff. So when I was at this rehearsal I was actually able to play through 5 songs. They were all pretty impressed it seemed to me. Anyways, 9 months later when John quit my name popped up as someone that might be able to continue the band. John informed me of this and I was stunned. I knew my skill level at the time and it was no where near John’s level of playing, but I accepted. I couldn’t refuse such an honor. It really all worked out quite easily. Up until I started trying to learn John’s solos haha.

Why did John end up leaving the band and do you have any idea what he is doing right now? Have there been any talks about reunion thing?

From what I understand, John was making a lot of changes in his life back then and Revelation just ended up being one thing that didn’t survive the changes. We’ve only had one good discussion about things since we started all this talk about John being back in the band. He has tons of material to dig through, some written right after NCS back in ’92-early ’93. Plus, with all the material that I have, we’re sitting on at least an album and an ep worth of material right now. So we’re all looking forward to getting together in November sometime to start working on more ideas.

How easy decision it was to continue Revelation as a band with you and Jim since John was quite integral part of the band in the early days?

Well I know Steve was a little worried about those times when I first started out because given the limitation of the equipment I had for the vocals he wasn’t sure I could sing at all. Plus not having a bassist right off I couldn’t practice the leads. It’s hard to practice leads with no rhythm guitar or bass to follow. But once we got into the studio to record the “Mourning Son” demo all of Steve’s worries went away. He knew then that continuing with Revelation was the right thing to do.

"Frozen Masque" is being now released by Miskantonic yet it was originally release in late 96 as a demo. Why did they decide to release it now after 7 years in its original form? How do you see those songs now 7 years later since they were originally released?

The main reason for the re-release of this demo was to finally have those songs the way they were intended to be in the first place, on CD.
Other than that it was also a way to reintroduce the band to the doom community by offering up some music that maybe some people haven’t yet heard. As for the songs, I love every single note of that demo. I think those 4 tunes are some of the best creations to come from our minds to fruition. Sometimes you have a killer notion of what a song could be but never realize it. The song “Finished With You” is definitely my favorite in that I wrote it fairly quickly using a 4 track I was able to hear the harmonies I was searching for in the chorus and rough out ideas for the vocals fairly quickly. I wish I still had that 4 track, it was definitely an aid in the writing processes of those times. I know John wishes I still had it haha (inside joke there).

Can you explain me a little about the title of the frozen masque and the general them of those four tracks?

Yeah I was doing a little soul searching during those times, trying to figure out my place in this world. At the time all I had was Revelation to keep me going, motivated. We had just got back from tour and I was rapidly thrown back into reality. I had no home, no girlfriend, no job; it was a stressful situation that made me depressed as hell and questioning my every thought. We wrote the song ‘Frozen Masque’ first. Those lyrics dealt mostly with my own anxieties about dealing with people. I put on a good face for friends and family but just want to scream obscenities the whole time. ‘Within the Answer Lies’ was also written pretty soon after returning home from tour. It mostly dealt with my insomnia at the time and how I end up turning the bedroom ceiling into a movie screen for my memories. ‘Finished With You’ was about me getting mad at myself for dreaming about an old girlfriend after we had been broken up for 4 years already. ‘Last Impressions’ was a cry for help. The line in the chorus explains that one the best; “I feel like I’m dying…”

What have you guys been doing the last 7 years? Since, there are no new Revelation releases to my knowledge. Do you have any new songs or plans to release new albums?

Yeah, as I mentioned before we have at the bare minimum an albums worth of material to work up but when all is said and done I think we’ll have much more than that. We’re taking it kind of slow right now. Since everybody has their own agendas, it takes creative planning to get everyone together for rehearsals. John is a college professor, Steve is getting married soon and has a very taxing job with the state of Maryland, Jim is a busy guy with at least 4 bands that I know of, and I’m just starting out with Place of Skulls complete with relocating to Tennessee from Oklahoma. We’re talking about getting together in November to begin rehearsals again. I wouldn’t expect anything too soon though.

The latest news I heard was that you have joined the ranks of Place of Skulls with all the doom legends namely Wino and Victor. How did this happen and does this mean that Revelation will be more in the background from now on?

I’d been complaining to my wife for a while about all the bassist problems PoS was having for the last year or so. And like everyone else I was dying to see this new line-up with Wino. One day when I got home from work I had emails from both Victor and Tim, who I’d never tried to contact before. I was a bit puzzled by it but before I could open them to read my wife told me she had done something that day while I was at work. She had signed the PoS guestbook as me asking how one should go about trying out for the bass slot. Well as stunned as I was I couldn’t help but think how cool it would be. So, from some initial phone conversations with Victor I came out to Knoxville to try out. Victor and Tim both dug what I had to offer to the band and I was in from that point. It’s definitely been tough making the move but I love every second of being in PoS.
Right now, Place of Skulls is my priority. While I’d love to see this reunion to fruition I don’t want to push the other guys involved in this too much. I’m sure with time this next Revelation album will be the heaviest, most intense doom we can possibly muster.

What kind of relationship you have with Revelation?

I’m pretty good friends with all of the guys. I’d say my connection with each member differs though. Steve is the straight ahead; plan everything, mentor-type person for me. Jim is the comic relief. A serious musician mind you but funny as shit at times. John I never really got to hang out with but I’d like to have some intellectual conversations with him one as I know he’s sharp as a tack.

Revelation was touring with Reverend Bizarre and Mirror of Deception among others in Europe awhile ago. What kind of memories you have from this tour and how did you feel to play live after a long hiatus?

That tour was fantastic, short, but great! It was great to join Jim and Steve on the stage yet again! I wish that it would have been longer and no sickness occurred. Unfortunately, everybody got sick at some point during that week and a half. Riding in a cold van didn’t help but we definitely made the most of it. I have personal memories of everybody that was on the road. The Reverend Bizarre guys; my best memory of Albert was that when he would speak in English he’d have this harsh loud obnoxious voice but when he’d turned around and speak Finnish he was actually quite soft spoken. I won’t speak of the bed we shared in Gent (Thanks Steve!). Peter seemed quite interested in everything going on around him like he was preparing for an exam when he got home from his class trip. He is quite the intellectual. Something I rather enjoyed about him. Void always seemed dark. I guess the name he chooses for himself is aptly chosen but some of my fondest memories of him were when he’d smile impishly after thinking of some rather devilish idea. I would love to tour with those guys again. Of the Mirror of Deception guys I’d have to say Siffi and Jochen were the two I got to know the best. Although I never had any lengthy conversations with Siffi I genuinely thought he seemed very dedicated to the cause. And I think he was the only vocalist who didn’t lose his voice at some point. Jochen was the man who set it all up and to him I must give eternal thanks for such an awesome experience. And whether he beat himself up for all the crap he took on that tour he did an amazing job holding it together through all the problems. Hail Jochen!

The bass player Jim Hunter also used to be in October 31. Is the band still active and what other bands he is in right now?

Yes as far as I know Jim is still jamming with those guys, While Heaven Wept, Twisted Tower Dire, and I think he may have been helping out Brave also at some point. That’s all besides jamming with Revelation.

Lately there has been lots of discussion and even battles in the doom metal underground about what's doom and what's not. What is your opinion the essence of doom and how would you define this form of music?

Slow to mid-paced heavy rock/metal focusing on the darker sounding chord progressions. Lyrically I think there are a few topics which can be covered but it should always be sorrowful. But then that description fits a band like Staind perfectly doesn’t it? You know, it’s just a vibe. And you know when it happens to you. You feel it. It pervades everything you do. My music is the soundtrack to my life. And there isn’t too much to be happy about.

Doom metal has always been a very underground music form and that's how it will stay I predict. Do you think this is a good thing and do you have any idea why only rather small number of people around the world enjoys this music form?

Because I think normal people hate being depressed, plain and simple. I don’t know. It might be a good thing that we aren’t all depressed otherwise I reckon we wouldn’t last too long. I think people who are into doom have a greater appreciation for music in general. Definitely no kids with Attention Deficit Disorder are getting into doom; it just requires too much focus for them.

Should doom metal be solely about bleak and dark things or can it contain happy tones and topics? How does it relate to religious aspects in your opinion?

Well that’s another aspect about the lyrics you can get into. The end of the world type scenarios were in a lot of lyrics back in the 70’s and 80’s but you don’t see too much of that anymore. I tend to not write about what I have absolutely no experience in. Lost loves, crappy life, are things I know of. I find it real hard to make up some story about some fictitious character or whatever. Although I must say those kinds of songs are some that I enjoy the most.
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[Peter Vicar]

Daniel, you are a true translating madman, huh! Great memories... Fuck, it will be so great to regroup with the sickness tour personnel again! Too bad Steve is not coming too, though!