Interview to RAVENOUSE: “We’re Hungry for music!”

From Italy we say hello to RAVENOUSE, one of those metal bands with a frontwoman that are increasingly common in our culture, a fact that makes us happy. It is time to break taboos and leave room for our partners in a world where, sadly, they haven’t always been received as they should. 

Their metalcore style stands out because of the predominance of melodies, most of them with a symphonic gothic atmosphere making it way through the background, something that sounds familiar and reminds us of bands like EPICA or NIGHTWISH.

With a simple but effective production, gracely ideas developed without fear and using electronic sounds, their work In Anger(2019) shows an atmosphere among the epic traditional metal and some kind of calm landscapes that interlace with the agonic melodic phrases that seems to be irreplaceable in any metal band. 

After 9-year hiatus since their first album The Last Gate (2010), we brought you here to answer some questions for The Metal Family:

Interview

The Metal Family: First of all, thank you very much for giving us some of your time. I got something to ask, I’m pretty sure a lot of people asked you about it. It’s about the band’s name: did you take it from the film or it is because you’re always too hungry?

RAVENOUSE: We are hungry for music, hungry for metal, hungry for art!!

TMF: Now that I asked you the great question, I got something more interesting for you: how is it to have a metal band in Italy? I am sure our readers would like to know about that.

R: It’s not easy. Metal isn’t a mainstream musical genre here, and cyclically there’s a kind of metal more in trend than others (for example gothic, metalcore, djent, power).

There’s a lot of competition, lots of bands are similar to each other. To distinguish as a band you have to work hard to compose good songs and bring to the stage a great show. But believe us, you can easily recognise good bands.

Unluckily most of the venues for emerging bands closed in the last few years, so it’s easier to play abroad than in our country.

“You have to work hard to be taken seriously and debunk the myth that a girl can’t be strong as a man”

TMF: A question for your singer Ina. It’s been a hard way for you to be the singer of a metal band? Have you ever had some kind of problem with being a woman in the metal world?

RAVENOUSE: Being a woman in a metal band, as for me, it’s never been a problem. Of course you have to work hard to be taken seriously and debunk the myth that a girl can’t be strong as a man, but I think that the most important things are music and what you want to say with your music; it’s all about the emotion you are able to convey. And that lies outside the gender.

TMF: From The Last Gate to In Anger it has been almost 10 years. Why is that?

R: Six years more or less, that’s a long time. There were many causes that delayed the new album. First of all, we would like to evolve our sound, but close to the end of the preproduction something didn’t work and we struggled to find the right mood. So we decided to split up from the keyboards player and rewrite all the orchestral and melodic parts of the songs, choosing an electronic and atmospheric sound. This took a lot of time and work, but as soon as we were satisfied about the result we started recording.

TMF: I’d like to know about your influences in music, because I’ve heard a lot of sounds that remind me a little bit of gothic, a little bit of atmospheric, and obviously influence of metalcore…

R: We started as a cover band (NIGHTWISH above all), so the gothic influences are at the base of our band. Growing up, we organized our sound trying to mesh up each member’s most liked genres, as for a single person, and our music is the results of this. As a parameter of judgement, we stand on the statement “if it feels good for us, then it’s good for the audience”.

“I chose this job ‘cause, for me, living from music is very important”, he says, “even if during the tour you work more than you sleep”.

TMF: We’re living a really hard time for music and culture in Europe. Yes, you guessed it, I am talking about COVID-19.  How are you living this situation as a Italian band?

RAVENOUSE: The situation here is critical. Concerts are suspended, venues are closed. It’s really frustrating: no gigs means no contacts with your fans, especially for emerging artists.

Being active in the digital world, at the moment, is very important to maintain the fan base and relate to your fans, waiting for better times.

TMF: I’ve heard a lot of symphonic and electronic music in your album In Anger and, personally, is something that I really like in bands. Also I like the predominant melodic themes used in guitars. Why did you choose to go a little bit forward instead of keeping it traditional?

R: The most of melodic instrumental parts has been written by Francesco (our guitarist), who works with our producer Ivan Moni Bidin to create new sound.

He says: “Due to the parting of the keyboarder, the musical hole to fill in our songs was huge. Taking advantage instead of hamper from this, I had the possibility to range from melodies, harmonisations and heavy sounds. It’s awesome having no limits to create your own music, and I think it’s essential for everyone.”

TMF: There’s something that I always like to ask: how is it to combine music and a normal life in an economic way? Do you live from music or did you have other jobs?

R: We all have a job: in Italy it’s hard to live of Music. We have “normal” jobs; the only one who has a job related to this world is Alex, the drummer: he is a tour manager/ stage manager for band as Rhapsody of fire, Evergrey, Elvenking, Mike Terrana, The Unity, Avalanche and more. “I chose this job‘cause, for me, living from music is very important”, he says, “even if during the tour you work more than you sleep.”

“The Italian lockdown has been started one month before our release party; it’s been a punch in the face”.

TMF: What plans do you have? What are you gonna do in future due to the pandemic times we are living right now?

R: We had a lot of plans before the pandemic. Unfortunately due to the lockdown before and the new rules about the social distancing now, we are forced to live week by week, hoping that this nightmare will end soon.

TMF: I’ve seen some postponed gigs in your timeline, and it isn’t hard to guess why. To all the people that follow you, you got something to say?

R: The Italian lockdown has been started one month before our release party; it’s been a punch in the face.  We are trying to program the future as best as we can at the moment.

TMF: I’d like to know what inspired In Anger and what’s behind the lyrics. What are the main themes behind the songs and what you talk about?

R: In Anger is a concept album, that talks about anger, of course, and all of its implications. Every song analyze a different kind of this feeling and the different moods you face starting from expressing it to managing it.

The lyrics have been put down in words in precise moments of anger, and later revised under a more serene state. That conveys in the final revise both the rightfulness of the feeling and the reason of a cold mind.

TMF: Again, thank you very much for giving us some of your time. Would you like to say something to our followers?

R: Always sustain and encourage your favourite music and don’t be afraid to create your own. Thanks a lot for this interview, we hope to come back stronger than ever soon, maybe with some new fans.