INTERVIEWS

This interview was conducted by André for the online zine 'Quintessence'.

Ada is your debut album, how have been the reactions so far?

SCARECROW : Good and bad. People seem to either love us, or they don't understand what they're listening to. Most people try to pin a genre to us, and they seem disappointed when they find out that their preconceived visions of us are completely inaccurate. We're not a Doom Metal band! Ada is somewhat Doom influenced, but the only thing I think we even used from that genre is a slow tempo. Why does everyone feel the need to classify music? It's an art form, let it be free-flowing, don't try to pigeonhole us from the start. As you can see, I've read some uninformed reviews from people whose opinions mean very little to me, although there have also been some well written reviews by people who view us as we choose to be viewed: a band that writes music defined by personal emotions, not to fit into some pre-made scene or genre.

HEARST : Our cult is steadily growing. People are slowly beginning to understand what we're really about. We want to build something separate from all other existing genres; we want to be an entire scene by ourselves. This will take a lot of work and time, but we are obsessed with the idea of building an entirely new style of music... this is what drives me to continue making music.


What can you tell me about the concept of this album? What’s the story of the album? Is Ada the name of the girl who’s also on the cover of the album?

HEARST : Ada has multiple meanings. First, the title is a tribute to a deceased friend of ours. Yes, her name is Ada. Second, 'Ada' is the Bulgarian word for Hell, or so we've been told. That second meaning was an accident. We didn't know that it also meant "Hell" when we named the album, but it works extremely well with the album's theme.

SCARECROW : As far as the concept goes, it's basically a vision of loss, dementia, death, and what may await us after death. Beyond that, we'll let the individual listener decide what story they would like to get out of the album.

HEARST : There is the underlying theme of impending doom and death in every song, but the songs are not really related to each other or connected by a single story. It is seven different stories tied together by the themes of death and the after-life. Only track 7 deals directly with Ada.

SCARECROW : The model on the cover is named Sicka, she is playing the role of Ada. We're very lucky we found her, she captures the essence of Ada perfectly. If all goes well, she will appear on our next album's cover as well.


Is it based on a (horror) story or based on your own experiences or is it just fiction?

HEARST : It is almost entirely written about personal experiences that the band members have gone through.

SCARECROW : Ada is heavily influenced by the failures, losses and horrors of our own lives. Although some of the subject matter on the album is sometimes beyond belief, each track is very much tied to reality. Hopefully, we were able to capture the emotions that we were feeling; if the listener finishes the album with a feeling of loss or emptiness, then we've succeeded. Honestly, listening to Ada pulls me into a depression that I can't explain. It's not directed towards anything in particular, it's just a feeling of being hollow and hopelessly walking the path of my life, until it's inevitable end.

HEARST : The music is based on Horror films, but not necessarily the lyrics. The lyrics all come from a very real and personal place.


You have been influenced by horror movies and soundtracks. This is something you definitely hear on the album. The sphere you create is absolutely dark and grim. What are your favourite horror movies? Do they also contain your favourite soundtracks?

SCARECROW : Many movies are only as good as their music. It's been said that the best composers of film scores are at their best when you don't hear the music at all, you just feel it's emotion. I agree to an extent, but a film's main theme should share the stage with the images on the screen. There are many horror movies that have less than stellar music, but the imagery makes up for it. I guess we're the other side of the coin, we make Horror music without the aid of an image, and try to paint the picture with deep soundscapes.

HEARST : I would name Goblin's soundtracks for Dario Argento's films as our single biggest musical influence, along with John Carpenter's score to Halloween. The sounds from films like Psycho, The Shining, The Exorcist and Hellraiser (among many others) have also greatly inspired our music. In many cases my favorite Horror films do contain my favorite music as well, but not always.

SCARECROW : There are movies like 'Halloween', 'Suspiria', and more recently 'The Ring' and 'Hannibal', that I feel have great imagery and excellent music, and then there are movies like 'Friday the 13th' or 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' that I can't remember a single note from. I guess, in a way, with each piece of music I write, I view it as a theme to the imaginary film in my mind that accompanies each track's lyrics or emotions.

HEARST : It would be a dream come true for us to write the score for a great Horror film. We really hope to be able to do that one day, it's one of our main goals! I would love to follow in the footsteps of Goblin.


The songs on Ada are quite old and have changed over the years. Can you give us a description of how they sound in their original way and how they evolved?

HEARST : Back when the songs were originally written, in 2001 and 2002, they were 100% instrumental Electronic Horror music. There were no Metal elements at all until late 2002 or early 2003, when we decided to add guitars to the mix. The original versions of the songs were very creepy, depressing and slow... just like most good Horror Film soundtracks are. People confuse this Horror-music influence with a "Doom Metal" influence, which is completely off the mark. Doom had nothing to do with our band when we first formed.

SCARECROW : The original sound of each track ranged from the bare bones of what would eventually become a finished track, to a totally different sound that you might not expect from us. It took years to find "our sound", it ranged from Electronic/Industrial, to experimental groupings of instruments used only as "sound effects" with tempos so slow that the beats became more of an occasional pounding than a by-the-book view of rhythm.

HEARST : Yeah, we experimented a lot in our first five years just to figure out what kind of band we were. This is partially why it took us five years to write and record our first album. Now that we know exactly what we are, our albums should come out a lot more frequently from now on.

SCARECROW : We still use synthesized instruments, but we rarely use "un-organic" sounds. We lean more towards instruments that could be found in Classical music, but all the trial and error that we suffered through for the first few years has paid off. We now know how to utilize an instrument's range to the point of it being unrecognizable and unique, while leaving other instruments the way they were intended to be heard. The electronic sounds have been removed for the most part, and are now being used properly in our side project NEO HIZUMI, which is strictly Electronic, and gives us our outlet for the "un-organic".

HEARST : At it's core, Ada is still pure Horror music in the tradition of the great 70's and 80's Horror films. If people choose to view us as a Doom band, then that's fine too... but it wont be accurate by the time our next album comes out.


You started in 2001 with the band, at that time named as Kindergarten. You’ve changed it to Wraith Of The Ropes later on. The recent name is a lot different then the previous one. Why did you choose Wraith of The Ropes and what’s the story behind it? I know you want to keep it quiet, but why?

SCARECROW : Actually, 'Kindergarten' was the name of the first band founded by Hearst and I. It was an Electronic/Industrial project featuring Hearst, Myself, Ru Str and Eklyps. We disbanded in 1999 after we started to grow apart musically, and swore to never reform the band.

HEARST : 'Kindergarten' (1995-1999) can be seen as the precursor to our current Industrial project, NEO HIZUMI.

SCARECROW : Years after 'Kindergarten' broke up, in 2001, V and I decided to start a band with the help of her brother Skabs. We soon recruited Hearst since I had worked with him before and we had never disagreed on anything musically. I knew he could bring a unique vision to our sound. Just before we started writing our first bit of material, Skabs decided to pursue other musical ventures, which left us as a three-piece. We decided on the name 'Cadaver Dogs' and even went so far as to design a logo. Half a year or so later, we discovered another band called "The Cadaver Dogs" and decided to change our name to better fit our developing sound. We wrote a list of around fifty possible names, and through the process of elimination, we decided on 'Wraith of the Ropes'.

HEARST : We don't like to reveal the true meaning behind the name, we prefer to let each person's own imagination decide what it means. We will only reveal the true meaning of our name to fully initiated members of 'The Cult ov the Wraith'.

SCARECROW : In my opinion, we were very lucky that we had to change the name, because it has inspired countless pieces of music.


In the beginning there were 3 of you in W.O.T.R., but in 2004 V. Rottinghouse left the band. Why did she leave the band? She was a co-founder?

SCARECROW : 'V Rottinghouse' is actually my ex-wife. I don't think she ever actually believed in the music we were making, but who knows for sure. Our marriage was fine for awhile, but she eventually cheated on me twice, which had an extreme effect on my mood, and my outlook on life. That experience drove me to write some of the music and lyrics for Ada. If she hadn't left, she probably would have handled around 1/3 of the vocals. Nothing she wrote will ever be used, and the only thing that remains of her part in W.o.t.R. is a very short clip of her voice at the beginning of 'Chamber of the Wraith'.


Are you looking for new members to fill in her place?

SCARECROW : No.

HEARST : Scarecrow and I write all of the music by ourselves. We don't really need a replacement for her to write and record our albums.


Are there any plans to perform live with WOTR. If so, you definitely have to look out for session members. Is this concrete?

HEARST : Yeah, we will definitely play live someday! But we'll obviously need a couple of session musicians to help us out with gigs. We're actually not completely against the idea of using pre-recorded backing tapes, but we'd rather not use them if we can avoid it. Our shows will be very bloody and theatrical, we'll bring our vision of Horror to life on the stage! You can expect blood-letting, simulated murder, torture and suicide, rope suspension and bondage, and various other rituals to be performed live alongside our music.

SCARECROW : We're currently talking to a few musicians. This is only the first step though, the important part is seeing how well we work with other musicians. Wraith of the Ropes is very important to both of us, and we demand complete control of our sound. Many musicians are ego-maniacs and would try to influence us, or write their own music, but at this point we're looking for people who will do what they're told, and respect the fact that they're our guests and nothing more.

HEARST : Yeah, we are the absolute dictators of this band. After V left, I don't think we could ever trust another person to join us as a full member.


You also play in Torture Wheel. Is this a side project of WOTR or diverse. Which band gets your main attention?

SCARECROW : Actually I'm not an official member of TW. I've offered music to one track per release. I appear on songs as a cameo, and nothing else. I enjoy Torture Wheel, but I won't take credit for it's success.

HEARST : Honestly, Torture Wheel has become rather unimportant to me. Wraith of the Ropes is my life, it's what I pour my heart and soul into. I am amazed when some people will say that they enjoy TW more than WOTR, and it actually makes me angry and makes me want to destroy Torture Wheel. In a way, I regret ever forming Torture Wheel in the first place. I think it was a decent and worthwhile project, but i'm ready to let it die now.


What’s, in your opinion, the main difference between Torture Wheel and WOTR? I think that the biggest difference is that Torture Wheel is more funeral doom than WOTR. Just like Esoteric.

HEARST : The main difference is just how seriously we take WOTR. Torture Wheel, to me, was only meant to be a small experiment... an outlet for me to play a certain style of music that fascinated me at one time. It was music that I considered not good enough to be a part of my real band. The comparison to Esoteric is fine with me, but I think that my Torture Wheel project was more musically varied, interesting and much more emotional than Esoteric's music. However, I still accept the comparison and I respect Esoteric for their very unique and inventive style. The bands that truly inspired TW in the beginning were Beyond Black Void and Shape of Despair... at least their first album.


What can we expect from Torture Wheel in the near future?

HEARST : Torture Wheel is disbanding in 2006 after it's final album is released by Firedoom. I'm killing this project off so that i'll have more time to focus on Wraith of the Ropes. From now on, WOTR will be releasing a new album every single year, so I wont have time for outside projects anymore. I'm currently recording this final TW album, and I'm happy to tell you that it's, by far, the best thing that will ever be released by this project!


You are described as a funeral doom band, but in the biography is written that this is the result of the Ada album. Probably we can expect something really different. Do you already have some music that is different? Do you already have a new storyline in your head?

SCARECROW : The concept for our next album is set in stone, and we've written around 50% of the material. The album will be called "Demonic Influence", and it will incorporate Black Metal elements.

HEARST : The songs are much faster than those on Ada, and somewhat influenced by "Black Metal" like Limbonic Art and early Ulver... that should give you a general idea of this new direction. Demonic Influence will be even more influenced by Horror than 'Ada' was, especially the lyrics. There will still be a lot of slow, creepy breaks in the songs that are similar to the sound of Ada.

SCARECROW : Ada was only similar to Doom Metal because the subject matter demanded it. "D.I." will be much harsher, with a very different message. We're also writing for our third album, which will introduce yet another influence to the "Wraith sound". We plan to release a new album every year on Halloween.


The Red Door E.P. is a bonus album that will be given away when people order the album through the band. What can you tell me about The Red Door E.P.? Is the music on it similar like Ada?

SCARECROW : That's a difficult question. The Red Door is the most recent thing available from the band, and it does share a similar sound with Ada, but since four of the five tracks are cover songs, it's hard to describe the difference. The E.P. includes covers of "Halloween" by John Carpenter, "The Figurehead" by The Cure, Black Sabbath's self titled track, and "Suspiria" by Goblin, so just imagine our sound mixed with the sound of each of those tracks. The Red Door also features a demo version of the title track to Ada, which will be on Demonic Influence. "Ada (The Red Door)" is the first available track that showcases our new sound, but the cover songs also give a glimpse of how we've evolved as a band.


Is there a possibility to buy it separately. I bought your album via Total Rust, your label, and I definitely want to hear the E.P.

HEARST : No, we'll never sell the EP at all... and it will never be available on it's own.

SCARECROW : It's somewhat of a "thank you gift" for people that contact us directly and support our band. Each E.P. is individually numbered, and visually unique as well. Hopefully it will become a collectors item, since only 125 are planned to be released.

HEARST : We're also thinking about recording another free EP to give away with our second album when it comes out next year. This may become an annual tradition for us!


Is there something more you want to share with us?

SCARECROW : Thanks for the interview, and to anyone who plans to listen to W.o.t.R. for the first time: I hope we meet or exceed your expectations. You can visit HTTP://LISTEN.TO/WOTR for a free downloadable version of "Ada (The Red Door)", and all the newest information regarding Wraith of the Ropes. Children of the Wraith forever!

HEARST : You can also download that new WotR track from our Myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/wraithoftheropes). That will show you exactly how we have evolved beyond Ada already. Hail Horror! Hail the Cult ov the Wraith!


Thanks. André