1. Hello Ryan.How are you doing? Can you share a brief history on how the band was formed? Who or what fueled you guys to assemble a metallic hardcore band?
Ryan : I am doing great, thanks for the interview, it is much appreciated! Sworn Vengeance formed in early 1998 from our former band, Downshift. All the members loved metal and just wanted to develop a much more aggressive style of music. So we took a lot of our influences, such as Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, etc. and just combined it with the sound of hardcore bands we really liked (Earth Crisis, One King Down, Hatebreed, Overcast, Integrity, Stigmata, etc.) and started to develop our musical style. At the time on the West Coast, there weren't very many bands that had the sound we were striving for, and we wanted to be one of the first.
2. Who came up with the band name? What does 'Sworn Vengeance' mean to you?
Ryan : Brian (our guitarist) came up with the name. He got inspiration from an Integrity song (either "Mediator" or "No One") and wanted to come up with a name that had the word vengeance in it. After some brainstorming, we came up with Sworn Vengeance. For me personally, the concept of "sworn vengeance" is a declaration of war against whatever tries and holds you down in life. But, being an artist, I also like hearing other people's interpretations and allowing them to develop their own personal etymology.
3. Sworn Vengeance was born out of the ashes of Downshift? Why progress from youth crew to metalcore? How was the first band rehearsal?
Ryan : The transition from Downshift to Sworn Vengeance was seamless. Originally, as Downshift, our musical approach was influenced by our first bassist who was really into 80's youth crew. the music was written before I joined the band and thus my lyrics were merely trying to mirror the sound that the band had already created in those 5 songs. But by the time we wrote our 6th song, Brian wanted to start pushing a more metallic sound, to which I wholeheartedly agreed, and as a result our second demo had much less of a posi-hxc influence. By the time we wrote "Hammer" for the California Hardcore compilation, the youth crew influence was gone. Coincidentally, our bassist left the band at that point and so we all felt it was time for a change: a new name for the new style we were playing. And thus Sworn Vengeance was formed. So the first band rehearsal was no different than the last one as Downshift since we had slowly been evolving to our style over a period of two years.
4. Who writes the lyrics of your songs? Where do you guys drew inspiration from?
Ryan : I have written the lyrics to all of our songs. One of our bassists (Bob Hookey) penned a few lines for "Bloodstorm" so I had his help on that one. But over the years it has pretty much been me. Lyrically, I draw influence from personal experiences, organized religion and my experiences with it, social issues, cultural clashes, history, mythology and art (poetry, paintings and classic literature). I have a fascination with Western Religion and the mythos behind it. I like to apply a sense of psychology to it and look at some of the stories and beliefs from "the other side" and imagine what The Devil was thinking or experiencing. Certain songs like "Abbadon", "Mark of Cain" and "Blatant Disregard" were written with that approach. Musically, I think the guys just try and outdo themselves and that is where they draw inspiration. They always are challenging themselves to write a better song, to bring a heavier breakdown, a more technical approach, etc.
5. For those who didn't know, can you explain what the infamous 'weapons show' is all about?
Ryan : Hahaha, the weapons show was initially just a joke. We use dot watch these guys on pro wrestling bash each other's heads in with chairs and kendo sticks and the like, so we thought it would be funny to bring some cookie sheets to a show and throw them out to the crowd and see what would happen. When we went shopping, we ended up picking up all kinds of things for people to use and somewhere in the middle of the set, just started throwing them out. People were catching these objects and you saw this split second look of confusion, like "why do I have this in my hand?" and suddenly they realized "oh, it is to HIT someone with!" and then the chaos ensued. Like anything else, I am sure over the years the stories outshine the real events, but regardless, they were a lot of fun to do.
6. How would you compare the hardcore scene in 1998 against the current, 2012?
Ryan : Honestly, I don't think I could do an honest comparison. I am 39 now, so a majority of my time is spent working and enjoying the company of friends and family, so I haven't been to very many shows since SV originally disbanded. From what I have seen, it appears that like anything else in life, cycles exist. In 1998 I saw the rise of the beatdown tough guy culture of hxc and by 2003 that started to fade a bit as I saw a lot more fashion conscious kids showing up. The music became more technical, the fashion got a little weird with all kinds of makeup and super tight clothes and odd haircuts, but hey, maybe I am just showing my age, haha! Deathcore seemed to pop up a could years later and the next thing I know I am hearing about "metalcore", which musically had a COMPLETELY different definition than when we were known as metalcore. The new metalcore is not really my thing, but again, that is just my opinion. But for the modern hardcore bands I have had the pleasure of being introduced to, they definitely have a hint of the late 90s style and combining it with some thrash metal elements, which I love.
7. What made you guys to reunite and write new songs? Besides playing shows and writing/recording new materials, what can we expect from Sworn Vengeance this year?
Ryan : We decided to re-unite after we played a second reunion show in 2010. We did one in 2007 and it was just a lot of fun, but in 2010 after we were done playing we all just looked at each other and realized that we missed it. Now, we can't do things like we used to. Most of us are married, have kids, careers… we just don't have the time to play countless shows like we used to. So for 2013, we will play a select number of shows that work for our schedule and limited time, maybe a fest or two. We also want to hit the studio by the end of 2012 and get some new tracks down, as well as re-master the Outstretched Arms of Damnation tracks that we never got to finish the first time around. That is a pet project of mine. As for what else to expect, your guess is as good as mine! We are just taking it one day at a time.
8. Of all your releases from 1998 up until 2002, what is your most and least favorite? Why?
Ryan : I think my favorite release is still Domination. That was my baby, I spent a lot of time creating the layout for that album, as well as countless hours in the studio mixing. I don't really have a least favorite since each one was special at the time we wrote/recorded. Abbadon was very raw and our first full length and that is an amazing memory for me. My Friend Violence was great to remix/clean up some old demo tracks and put out properly. Domination is just a nice piece of history for me. Outstretched Arms of Damnation was, I think, set to be an incredible album before things got derailed. It does contain some of my favorite songs we ever wrote, like "Empty", "Virus de Christo" and "Evangelic Lies."
9. Your most memorable Sworn Vengeance show so far?
Ryan : We played a LOT of shows, but for me, there are 3 that stand out: The Trocadero in Philly with Vision of Disorder and Cave In. We opened and it was the biggest crowd we ever played in front of and people just destroyed the pit, it was incredible to witness. The Don SEED memorial show at Westcoast Worldwide in Sacramento was a very special show for us (and ended up being our last until 2007). It was a very intense show with a lot of emotion. Huge pile-ons, everybody grabbing the mic and singing along, dancing hard and just leaving the venue exhausted and happy that we poured our hearts and souls out for Don. The third show that sticks out in my mind is our reunion show in 2007 in Reno Nevada. Just a lot of love and support that night, it was great. it was the first time back on stage in a number of years so it felt great to know we didn't really lose a step and could still do what friends and fans expected of us.
10. Thank you so much for your interest and support Ryan! All the best to you and Sworn Vengeance man...
Ryan : Thank you again for the interview, we really appreciate all the people that have supported us over the years. Without you, we would be nothing!!!
http://www.swornvengeanceband.com
info@swornvengeanceband.com
