THE HERETIC ORDER

Here we are with a new interview! This time we dedicated our space to the Londoners " The Heretic Order" ! They come from one of the most lively and gloomy city in Europe. Their atmosphere are not less dark than the capital. If you love horror films but you fail in order to reconcile them with music, well, they are the solution you are looking for! Horror metal influenced by Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath, Dio... An album , " All Hail The Order " released in September 2015; different shared stages with Megadeth, Saxon, Amon Amarth, Kamelot and many more . What are you waiting for? Let's take a look to "The Order"!

R&MIMB: Hi guys and welcome to Rock & Metal In My Blood! We'll immediately start from a classic question. Could you tell us something about the origin of your moniker?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : Ha ha!! Lord Ragner Wagner / Rotted Skull? It's just us having a laugh!! We decided to give ourselves names, styled on tongue in cheek B horror movies. You cannot be serious all the time!!

R&MIMB: How would you present your album "All Hail The Order", released in September 2015, to those who don't even know you?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : It's classic heavy metal with a modern feel, just good evil R N R with lyrics inspired by horror stories, history, occult, paganism and a good dose of head banging Sabbath, Merciful Fate influences.

R&MIMB: We see in your album the perfect cohesion between modern and vintage. For example, some tracks such as "Don't Believe The Lies", "Dark Light" and "Ghost Tale" show modern sounds, instead "Entombed", "Death Rides Blues" or "Burn Witch Burn" seem more connected to the powerful rock of the 70's. Can we affirm that the album has a double "soul"? For what reason are there these double faces?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : Of course music needs to be free, you cannot restrict yourself when composing and things
that have influenced you in the past always creep up; although we have the freedom to
expand as much as we like, it's important to let your creativity flow, if you start imposing
rules it loses its soul, hence we are a metal band in 2016.
ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : Yes I think so, nowadays people seem to be taken for a ride by our lying governments and the bullshit we are fed on TV , and the worst thing about it is that the majority of the population seems to be blind about it!


R&MIMB: Let's talk about the themes of your songs. They often concern human weakness, world corruption, human violence and man's psychological frailty. Do you think human beings have just become sad and dissatisfied, unable to change their own condition of psychological poverty?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : I believe human beings have lost their way during their evolution ladder and it became detached from their nature becoming their own worst enemy and a cancer to the planet they are slowly destroying, I like to dream that in the future we will keep growing in a positive way and really change our direction?hopefully it's not too late to change!! But as it stands apart from our technology we are the same greedy, warmongering, fanatically induced species we were thousands of years ago.


R&MIMB: What are your musical influences? Do you love other bands besides Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Mercyful Fate? Do you know any Italian bands such as Death SS? They were one of the first bands that have played horror metal in the 70's.
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : Yes, Death SS, I have seen some videos on youtube. Love them!! Awesome stuff! Yes musically-wise there are loads of bands, like Motorhead ,Dio, Zeppelin, Metallica. The list is endless ha ha!!

R&MIMB: How much have you been influenced by Horror films (especially of the 60's-70's and 80's)? Could you mention some directors or films you particularly love?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : I love the classic Hammer productions like 'The Devil Rides Out , 'The Wickerman ", "The Masque of the Red Death", "The Pit and the Pendulum", but I'm also a fan of Argento's 'Suspiria ' and "Deep Red". Since I was a kid I've watched tons of horror movies and it probably had a long lasting impression on me, love the whole dark mood these movies had.

R&MIMB: How important can the choice of a specific soundtrack that accompanies an horror film be, in your opinion?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : It's the soul of the movie, the movie would lose a big impact without a good soundtrack.

R&MIMB: Could you tell us which of your songs would you like to use as a soundtrack of a horror film and, obviously, what film would it be?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : The song I would use is "The Dark Light" and the movie it would suite is "The Devil rides out".

R&MIMB: How important are look and scenography during a concert? Do you think a planned outward appearance is fundamental in order to gain the audience's attention?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : It's very important! All big bands have those factors in their shows and at the end of the day that is what we are trying to compete with and also aspire to become one day.

R&MIMB: What never lacks in your lives? Do you use specific props on stage?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : HEAVY METAL NEVER LACKS! Ha ha love it!! And it's our way of life. We use a lot of smoke and specific lighting for our shows and have some really cool stage props like the main mic stand and skulls, but obviously for logistic reasons we have loads of other ideas for putting on a show that are still in our heads!

R&MIMB: Horror metal music (once known as shock rock) has always been a peculiar genre: there are not so many bands who play it. According to you, is this a genre that meets with outstanding success or do you think it is snobbed at by critics and audience?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : It's like everything in life, some people love it others loathe it. For me it's fun, at the end of the day it's about escaping reality and enjoying a good gig.

R&MIMB: Our society is addressed to progress, but it is easy to see people with a closed mind. Have you ever run into people who have disapproved of the way you are dressed, the music you listen to or play? If so, what would you like to say to them?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : Yes, I have in the past, got nothing really to say to them! For me it's a waste of time, I've got nothing to prove to them .
LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : I agree with Skull. It's their problem!


R&MIMB: What do you think about esoterism? Does it fascinate you?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : It's way forward and breaks with the normal moulds, any ideology that enlightens your persona is positive. Nothing is black and white, but shades of endless colours.


R&MIMB: What do you think about religion? Is it the evil of society or a necessary part of people's lives?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : Well since the beginning of civilization man has always invented the concept of some kind of superior being guarding over them, there are millions of gods and religions throughout history, proclaiming to be the true one. I think it's a needful thing for some people, but, as everything that man touches, it ends up being swallowed by greed and corruption. Religion has always been the great division line for humans and sadly still is.

R&MIMB: The United Kingdom and London have always been a cultural landmark for Europe. The capital is like a container in which ideas, languages and habits come across, creating or moving up new tendencies. How is it today as regards the musical underground you come from? Is there still ferment? Are people still interested in art or do they prefer other things?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : Well in London there is still something of an underground scene and to a certain extent there are still new bands coming out and getting record deals, so I guess it's still fermenting. With regards to the other question, yes, there are still people into their art and trying to make it, but with all the things in our modern world there are many distractions and people become lazier and you can see it a bit less than before.

R&MIMB: How do you think rock and metal music could evolve according to the current trend in London?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : The problem in London at the moment is that there are venues closing down at an alarming rate and there are not many places you can call home of the genre now, and for it to evolve we need a few new places that people can relate too . I've been living in London now for a very long time and this is the worst I've ever seen with regards to going out to rock bars and underground concerts.

R&MIMB: How difficult has it been for you to find a record label?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : We knew we had a great album so we were quite confident that we would find a record label ha ha!! But yes, it's very difficult nowadays, the industry is very restricted.

R&MIMB: Have you scheduled a promotional tour or the participation in some big European festival?
THE HERETIC ORDER: LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : We are still looking, so anyone out there that needs a good evil heavy band can contact us ha ha!!! It's difficult with so many bands competing for limited places. Fingers crossed!!

R&MIMB: Ok guys, our interview is over. It was a pleasure talking to you and we wish you a glorious future with your "All Hail The Order"! Could you greet all the Italian fans of R&MIMB and list the most important things that should never lack in a rock and metal concert?
THE HERETIC ORDER: ROTTED SKULL (Bass) : Well firstly we'd like to thank you for the interview! And greetings, we're all in it together, bands and fans!! Heavy metal is not the major player it once was. Concerts should be about going and having a good time.
LORD RAGNAR WAGNER (Vocals, guitar) : Stay heavy and evil




Interview realised by Andrea Cerasi and Zuleika Cirio