A new inspiring combo whose latest release Seven Hells is one of the
most dynamic cds I have heard lately, even though
Ogre have been around for some time was this my intro to them. A interview was a must. Seven Hells is a
excellent album and a must-have. Here is guitarist Ross Markonish
who fills you in on Ogres past, present and future.
Interview with Ogre
Salute the Seven Hells Album, congrats for a great cd.
How is the response to this one compare to the first one Dawn Of The Proto-Man
from fans and media ?
The response has been great—a lot of people
have been anxiously awaiting this disc, which took us almost three years to put
out. Thankfully, the reviews have been
excellent and most people agree that it’s a big step forward for the band,
while still retaining our sound.
The only real challenge has been
distribution, which can be tricky since it’s a Japanese import. But Toreno at Leaf
Hound has been doing a good job of spreading the word in Europe and
I wasn?t there from the very beginning,fill
us in on the origins of Ogre ?
We’ve been around since late 1999. We recorded a demo in 2000 that was very
well-regarded in the underground stoner/doom scene. Remember that this was before MySpace and all that crap, so we did all the leg work
ourselves. The demo was recorded on a
4-track machine and the first “run” was on cassette, which we only later
transferred to CD. In
other words, real old school stuff.
By 2002, we had saved enough money to go
into the studio and record our first proper release, “Dawn of the
Proto-Man”. Again, we financed and
distributed the thing by ourselves, and we’re pretty damn proud of what we were
able to accomplish in that regard. The
reviews were great, sales have been steady, and we have played a lot of
excellent gigs as a result. Though it
took awhile for us to get working on the follow up, I really think that the
success of “Proto-Man” created enough buzz that a few labels were interested in
releasing what eventually became “Seven Hells.”
Fill us in on the recordings of your first
cd, how was that process ?
It was a long process. There were some delays that were out of our
control, namely that our recording engineer quit the studio in the middle of
the project, so we had to use someone else for the mix. The new guy did alright, but we feel that the
final mixes don’t necessarily reflect what could have been with that
album. Still, plenty of people really
like it, so I can’t complain too much!
The new cd Seven Hells have captured my player
several times lately, what was the main difference in this process compare to
your first album ?
Well, I think that, as we have developed as
a band, we have gotten a lot more confident, especially in the studio
setting. I’m not a huge fan of going
into the studio—I much prefer the energy of a live show—but it’s getting better
every time. “Seven Hells” was recorded
at a different studio than “Proto-Man”—Mad Oak Studios, which is owned by Craig
Riggs of Roadsaw/Antler fame—and they had tons of
gear and cool stuff down there. When I
walked into the band room, the first thing I saw was a vintage Mellotron, and I immediately knew that it had to make it
onto the album somehow. Sure enough, I
got to play it for the opening of “Flesh Feast.”
Playing it I find a combination of great sounding retro and old school
Doom, what is your aspects of Seven Hells, how would you describe it, the soundpicture of the disc ?
In contrast to “Proto-Man,” this is a much
darker album overall. We didn’t
deliberately plan it that way, but as the material was coming together, we
noticed that all the songs had a very similar, doomed feel. Some people’s complaints about “Proto-Man”
were that the styles of the songs were too varied, and that sometimes we seemed
to be copying other bands (AC/DC, Budgie) too directly. Though I think this varied style is a key
component of OGRE’s songwriting,
I like the fact that the songs on “Seven Hells” really seem to blend together
well.
The name Ogre, where did that came from ?
Nothing special—we just tried to find a
word and image that matched the sound we were aiming to achieve. Ogres are mean, lumbering beasts, and I think
you could use those same words to describe some of our riffs! Plus, that name allowed us to write a theme
song, named “Ogre” of course, that literally talks about a Neanderthal man and
his fight for survival in times long ago.
We’re into that sort of historical stuff.
The title Seven Hells, what is the main
message with that title ?
Well, our singer Ed is the main lyricist,
so he could probably explain it better, but I’ll give it a shot. The phrase “Seven Hells” is taken from the
last song on the album, “Flesh Feast,” which is about three Catholic Spanish
sailors who are lost at sea after their ship sinks. As the men get more desperate, they realize
that, in order to survive, they must resort to cannibalism. The song ends with the lone survivor, having
killed and eaten his fellow men, descending into madness and getting dragged
under the water and down to hell. Real grim stuff for sure.
Apparently, in one version of the afterlife
(I think it’s from Jewish mysticism), the underworld is called the “Seven
Hells”, so that’s where it came from.
When we were deciding on a title of the album, I picked up on that
phrase as a good one. When we also
realized there were seven songs on the album, all of which are hellish in some
way, we were sold.
The production is another gem, how pleased
are you with the mix of the album ?
We’re a nitpicky bunch, so we’ll always
find something to complain about, but the production of “Seven Hells” is
definitely an improvement over that of “Proto-Man,” while still retaining the
vintage feel of our debut. I think the
drums could have been a bit more pronounced, but I definitely think the sound
of the album reflects the sound of the 70s albums that we all love.
You are signed to Leaf Hound Records, how
pleased are you with their support of Ogre ?
Toreno (head of Leaf Hound) really has been great for the
band. He is very easy to work with and,
like I said, he is doing his best to promote the album, despite the
geographical distances involved. We’ve
been talking to him about maybe setting up a tour of Europe or
Looking at the artwork, from where did that came from and do you feel
that the artwork goes hand in hand with the title of the cd ?
The artwork is taken from Gustave Dore’s etchings for
Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
After we tried a few different artwork ideas that weren’t exactly right,
I came across a book of Dore’s etchings, and I
thought they were perfect for depicting the events of “Flesh Feast.” Since we took the title of the album from
that song, it made sense to focus the artwork on the same theme. I’m really proud of the artwork and layout,
most of which we did ourselves. Though
we will always have a soft spot for the awesome pulp cover of “Proto-Man”, the
artwork on the new CD is much more professional overall.
As bonus you have included a ripping version of Pentagrams Review Your
Choices, how pleased are you with the version and which role plays Pentagram in
your musical direction ?
We’re very pleased with our cover of
“Review Your Choices”…It’s always been my favourite Pentagram song, and it
seemed to fit into the vibe of the album, so we went for it. We decided to do a pretty straightforward cover
of the song, though Ed’s vocals are quite different from Bobby’s, which seems
to bug some people. I think it adds just
enough of an original touch, though, to make it our own sound.
Pentagram is a huge influence on the OGRE
sound—particularly the 70s band. Those
guys had groove and riffs, a killer rhythm section, Vince McAllister’s wailing
guitar, and of course, Bobby’s voice (before he shot it to hell with all those
drugs). There’s a good reason why we
dedicated both our albums to Mr. Liebling!
Playing the disc, there is all kinds of vibes coming up,haunting
early heavyprogressive riffing,
melancholic melodylines, back to basic roots along
with a doomy atmospheric guideline, from where comes
the main inspiration in your musical style and what is the main subjects in the
lyrical standpoint ?
If you go to our MySpace
page, you’ll see our list of influences, most of which are pretty clear to
anyone who has heard our music: Sabbath,
Deep Purple, Rush, AC/DC, Budgie, Pentagram, Saint Vitus. I’ve always
been a big fan of the underground 70s bands, such as Dust,
In terms of lyrics, Ed puts it best when he
says many of our songs involve the “darker side of history.” Ed really is a history buff, so he’s always
reading these books about war and other historical events, which makes for good
songwriting material.
A lot of people really dig that our songs tell stories—rather than just
being a bunch of meaningless words strung together, Ed’s lyrics take you on a
journey, usually either back in time or somewhere far into the future (In case
you couldn’t tell from some of our songs, he’s a big sci-fi fan as well!). The lyrics on this album are some of the very
best that Ed has written thus far.
Being a powertrio, how much of a freedom of
expression is involved in the creation standpoint during rehearsals, live and
in studio for
you ?
We have made a vow to always be a three
piece. The three of us are on the same
wavelength, and we really get along well, both personally and musically. Though I often come up with the main riffs
and Ed writes most of the lyrics, every song is a whole band composition.
Same thing in
terms of playing live. Even with only three people, we can fill a
room with sound pretty nicely, mainly because we click with one another so
well. Also, being in a power trio keeps
us on our toes, because there is no place to hide in the sound. If one of us screws up, it’s pretty obvious,
so we need to be as tight as possible all the time.
What is the next plans for Ogre to support
Seven Hells, whats up ?
Well, we have a few compilation tracks
coming out this spring, including a song (“The Prophet”) on a
In terms of supporting the album, we’re
playing some good shows in the New England area, but we’re most excited about
being a part of the “Doom or be Doomed” Festival in April, which was organized
by John Brenner and Josh Hart of Revelation fame. The roster of bands that they put together
for this festival is mind-blowing (Revelation!
Thanx very much for the interview, all the best
wishes with Seven Hells and everything else.
Thank you, Gabriel!
INFO www.ogrerock.com
ORDER www.leafhound.com