Ceremonial Castings: Our Goal...Will Only Capture Those Who Really Believe

After seven years, I decided to catch up with Ceremonial Castings...

PitGoddess:  Hey guys!  So, it’s been seven years since we did our first interview.  Catch us up, briefly, on all your amazing progress over the last seven years!
Lord Serpent of CC: Greetings Pit Goddess! The last seven years has brought many great things, new albums, tours, exposure, maturity & new life. Each year we grow & gain strength!

PG:  You just returned from Central America, playing shows with Cradle of Filth.  How did you land that gig?
CC: Last year we were offered a Central American tour with Gorgoroth. We had an amazing response & met a lot of great fans. While we knew we had a following down there, it really was more than we expected! So with how successful that tour went, we were offered to come back down again with Cradle of Filth. How could we say no!?

PG: You previously played some shows in Costa Rica, too!    What was it like to play with Gorgoroth?
CC: Gorgoroth were great, a super band of sorts lead by Infernus. Hoest of Taake was on vocals along with the drummer from Keep of Kalessin & the bassist of Impiety. I am not sure if that lineup will change or not, but I know as a long time fan I was excited to see such a lineup. 

PG: How were the crowds in South and Central America?  How are they different from the crowds in your native WA?
CC: There really is no comparison. The fans in the USA are spoiled & seem to have lost a lot of appreciation for being able to see the shows/concerts that we do. Seems here most people are more worried about their image & status then enjoying themselves. As for WA, we try not to play here too often. I imagine people here would be sick of seeing us if they aren't already. I'm sure you understand how it works here. 

PG: Back in ’06, we talked about your live ritual.  As a live show…snob, alright, I’ll admit it…I really can appreciate when bands go all out to put on an entertaining show.  Have your show changed since then?  What should fans expect?

CC: I personally would feel like I was cheating the fans as well as myself if we weren't there to put on a visual experience. Hopefully later down the road we'll be able to expand it. I just hope that people get from us what they would expect when seeing a black metal ritual. Our goal is to bewitch, and like most magick it will only capture those who really believe. 

PG: You recently created this insane mic stand thing that fans will bleed all over.  Did I read that right?  Do you take it on tour?
CC: I didn't take it out of the country, I'm sure it would be impossible to do so. While creating the stand or as I like to call "Witch-staff", I shed my own blood upon it. Sometimes people at our rituals bleed & I thought how exciting it could be for them to mark the witch-staff with their own blood. It's another way that we can make our fans apart of our show. Some of the bones I used in the staff were even gifts from fans. I want people to feel like they are a part of our experience.

PG: Why did you make the decision to forgo a bassist? 
CC: There are many reasons really. Trying to travel & have 2 or 3 keyboards supplied for you at every gig can be a pain. Also it changes the atmosphere of our music when we are using foreign tools. This helps keep our atmosphere perfect each performance.
It also has made our travel lighter, load in & out easier/quicker & most important it has filled our sound in & made us tighter as a band. It also adds to our stage presence. All around it is the best change we've made & we will do whatever we can to make sure we are the best live band we can be.

PG: In 2006, I asked which song was your favorite.  You said it was “Midnight Deathcult Phenomenon.”   Now that you have seven albums out, which song would you say is your favorite?
CC: It's hard to say really. Some of my favorite songs to listen to I hate to play live & vice versa. "Deathcult" is still one of my faves & probably always will. I think it has a lot to do with the time era & the mental state I was in when I wrote it. It's a nostalgia effect really. I can say that all members of the band favor "Damned Be Those Of The Craft" live. The way it flows & the multiple changes in style & atmosphere make it exciting to play. 

PG: You sent me a Type O Negative cover that is pretty excellent.  Why did you choose to cover ToN?  Why did you choose the song you did?
CC: Type O Negative is & will always be my favorite band of all time. Peter was a true genius & his music & words spoke to me. Also because of this band, I found the darker side to music which eventually led me in the mid 90's to Black Metal.
We chose the song that we did because it really is one of our favorite songs by them. Also I don't think another band has covered it. It's just another example of us doing whatever we want, when we want. We got a lot of flack online for our "Stones Upon The Warlock" song, but that's too bad. We are not here to be the fastest, heaviest, darkest or extreme band there is. There is no reason & I think a lot of people fail to see that when you attempt such things, it becomes stale & somewhat of a false effort. We have always written what we feel, not what we think others will like, approve of or drop their jaws. I never write music & think "oh this is gonna get people talking." We've somehow become a love or hate band & I think that's a good thing. I prefer it.

PG: What do you have in the pipeline?  Tell me about the upcoming album!
CC: We have a lot in the works. We just released our first live album & eventually will release the live matching DVD.
Right now we're in the midst of recording our new album "Cthulhu". It's a concept album like "Salem 1692", but all about Cthulhu & Lovecraft mythos. We're tackling our own history again. With "Salem" we did an album about American history, literature & of course an event that our own family bloodline was involved with. With "Cthulhu" we are once again involved with Massachusetts (where we were born & raised as children), American history & literature. Doing these concepts are important to me. When I first began my journey with Black Metal, I highly appreciated that all the European bands were writing about their own history. It gave it much more meaning & depth. And for us being able to do that with our own history makes it feel that much more important as well.
After this album is finished we'll shop it out to some labels & see what happens. I have a couple other albums written. I'll probably be laying the guitar tracks down for them in the near future. One album of which is another concept album about witchcraft, American history & literature. I am sure in time, more will follow suit.

PG:   You guys are gathering a lot of steam, do you think there’s a US or Euro tour in your near future?
CC: Well right now we are set for Australia this fall. The end of September & beginning of October we'll be bewitching down under. One thing that we constantly talk about is an East Coast tour in the USA. We know there are many people over there waiting for us, we see the comments on our media pages & hear the requests. It will happen, we're just trying to properly plan for it.
I am sure Europe will come soon for us as well. It's just a matter of a promoter willing to bring us over. Without management right now, we do everything ourselves. So with full time jobs, families & writing, recording, performing our music you can imagine that being the booking agent for the band as well can be very tedious at times. We want to go everywhere & eventually we will, right now we're just taking what comes to us. 

PG: Alright, where should people look if they want to grab your music/merch/etc.?
CC: Ah yes, the infamous "where can I find your discs" question. We know it is hard to find, again we have no distribution or label so everything is directly through us. People can email me personally to order: Jakesuperchi@gmail.com
They can also hit up our Facebook page. Send us a message with any questions. It will either be myself or OldNick responding. Hopefully our new album will blow these dark doors open & bring our craft out of the shadows. I have faith that it will. We will break new ground regardless.

PG: Thanks again for staying in contact over the better part of a decade!  Do you have anything to add?
CC: I would just like to personally thank you once again for the interview. We appreciate your support! Also thanks to all the fans over the years that dedicate themselves to the craft of Ceremonial Castings. We highly appreciate each & every one of you. Stay bewitched!