ORDAINED
A band that only carries the word of Steel by their side and taking it to the rest of the Metal Warriors of their country and the world. Here follows a SINterview with the Ministers of Metal conducted by Mocke on the 7th day of the month of May 1998.
CRUSADER: When was Ordained formed and why the name Ordained?
REVEREND: Ordained was formed in early 1996 after Wally, Dean, Rob and myself decided that the "scene" around here in Virginia was gone. The only bands we could see were alternative or progressive, so we began to lash out in the best way possible, which was to blast Metal and just obliterate all these pussy bands. Previously, we each were in various other Metal projects, but we wanted to take things further than had been done before around here and we came up with ORDAINED. As for the name, I am a legally Ordained Reverend so we just went with that seeing as that gave us a direction and somewhat of a "theme". Most people don't even know what it means.
CRUSADER: Who is the current line-up in the band and how did it change from the beginning?
WALLY: I am the original member left from the band Metal Wolf. The Reverend, Dean, and I have been together for about 7 years. We were looking for a new guitar player in early 1996 and found Rob. When Rob joined us, we changed the name as well as the music.
CRUSADER: Ordained's music reminds me of old 80's thrash. How would you describe it?
DEAN: It is Heavy Metal.
WALLY: It's Heavy Metal. It's not speed Metal, not Death Metal, it's HEAVY FUCKING METAL !!
CRUSADER: In your news letter you talk a lot about your stage show. What does it consist of and how important do you see it?
REVEREND: Our stage show has bombs, smoke, fire, blood, backdrops, props, stone pillars with stone gargoyles, massive lights and a wall of sound. I also have several costumes and masks I change into throughout the course of the show. I breathe fire as well as making fire appear out of the palm of my hands. Our show is what has made us stand out from all the other bands we have played shows with. If we can't us all of our gear (props, etc.) we don't fucking play. Period. If you want to listen to a CD, stay the fuck at home. When you come to an Ordained Revival Crusade Service you will be entertained. Your eyes and ears.
CRUSADER: How was the response on your CD "LET US PREY"?
ROB: Our CD has helped us gain a lot of new fans and it has helped us to expand our following to many different states and countries. We weren't able to secure the distribution that we had hoped for and our promotional campaign was very minimal because of the lack of $, but we feel the CD served it's purpose and has been a positive experience.
DEAN: It showed the blind masses around here that Metal is not dead and that at least one band, Ordained, was refusing to jump onto the alternative bandwagon. Fuck that!
CRUSADER: How long did the recording take and were there any funny moments while you were recording that you can tell us about?
WALLY: The recording process took probably a little over a month. Getting the whole package together (the CD, pictures, booklet, etc.) is what took us so long. Whenever we were recording, if it was a Sunday, we would always have to interrupt everything at 08:00 so that the Reverend could watch "The Simpson's" on TV.
CRUSADER: How do you go about writing a song?
ROB: Sometimes the music is written around the lyrics, sometimes around a bass line, guitar part, or drum rhythm and sometimes just from jamming.
CRUSADER: I have noticed that you sing a lot about evil and good. What does the band stand for in this dawn of the Metal Age?
REVEREND: Ordained stands for the power of Metal. We are not trying to push ANY religion or any political bullshit. We are pledged to the cause of spreading the gospel of Metal. That Metal is not dead, that Metal rules supreme, and that Metal will slay our fucking ass. And we never loose the train of thought that you can't spell DEVIL without EVIL.
CRUSADER: Can we expect a CD from you soon again?
WALLY: We just build our own 24 track studio at my house and we are going to start recording the new CD in a few days.
DEAN: The new CD will be heavier, and better overall than "Let us Prey". It will be a full length CD with 13 songs, lyrics pictures, act. Since we are recording it at our own pace, instead of being concerned with how much money it is costing us by the hour.
CRUSADER: Back to the news letter. Something I found very funny was that you are struggling to find venues in the USA. Why is this a problem?
REVEREND: It isn't that we are having problems with finding places to play, it is having them say that we can't use our gear or that we can play but no bombs, etc. Fuck that! This is fucking Ordained not some pussy band that you can push around. As I said before, either we play with all our gear or we don't play. Period. It is not something we compromise on. All or nothing.
CRUSADER: Ordained has played many shows. What bands have you played with and which were your favourite?
ROB: The most notorious band we have played with is the almighty King Diamond. He is one of me biggest SINfluences. All other shows have been with struggling bands such as ourselves. Of all these bands, (unsigned) our favourites that we play out with is Reign of Terror from Virginia Beach.
CRUSADER: You have been banned from your home town. How did this happen?
REVEREND: The ban in our home town came about because of our show and the type of music we play. They don't take too kindly to a Satanic Heavy Metal band. Or a Death Metal band, or a Speed Metal band, or......you get the idea. It seems that the few times we have played around here, we freaked a lot of people out. That seems to happen a lot.
CRUSADER: Just a question of interest. Over here in South Africa a lot of the Metalheads drink Black Label Beer. What do the Metalheads in America feast on?
ROB: Well speaking for myself, I drink anything I can get my hands on. Beer, liqueur, it doesn't matter.
WALLY: I drink Budweiser, or whatever somebody else buys.
DEAN: I don't drink anything. No, I take it back. I drink Evian bottled water. No alcohol.
REVEREND: I drink straight Jack Daniels. No chaser.
CRUSADER: How is the support for the underground Metal bands in the USA?
ROB: The support for underground Metal is as underground as the music itself. It's non-existent on MTV very few radio stations give it any support. Most support comes from fanzines and several mags SINcluding Metal Maniacs. Oh yeah, congratulations on your killer review in the Metal Maniacs! The area we live in gives us NO support. Virginia SUCKS!
CRUSADER: Are there any South African bands that you enjoy listening to?
ROB: We aren't to familiar with any South African bands, so we really can't comment. Maybe we have heard some S.A bands and just don't know it, but we would definitely like to find out more about the SA scene and hear some of the bands.
CRUSADER: What are Ordained's plans for the future?
WALLY: We are still trying to get signed to a record deal. The new CD when it comes out should open some eyes up. We want to make Ordained our careers. We just want to kick ass forever.
CRUSADER: I would like to thank you for the time you spend on the interview and I hope to see Ordained in the final battle. Any last words from the Ministers of Metal to the Crusader readers?
REVEREND: For a few last words, I would like to thank the Crusader, J.G Mocke, Lunatic Ryan and all the SA Metalheads for their support and SINinterest in Ordained. We also would like to thank all of our fans world wide because they are our SINspiration. Without our fans, we would have nothing. Ordained has a E-Mail address and also a web site on the SINternet. Our E-Mail is: jklf1@erols.com (by the way, that is the number one after jkf) and the address for the web site is: http://users.vnet.net/rwells/zftg/ordained.htm
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ORDAINED D.O.O.M CLUB 5621 SOUTH GREENFIELD DRIVE PORTSMOUTH VA
23703 USA