It should not be a secret I like horrorpunk. The Crimson Ghosts are one of the bands that I've loved since I first heard their debut soon after it was released. After reading my review of Forevermore, their latest album, their guitar player Jackal reached out asking if I would be interested in doing an interview with him. I had to think about this a bit. When I started at Scene Point Blank I choose not to do interviews because those present me with a time management issue. However, interviewing someone playing in a band you've followed for more than 20 years is an opportunity I could not let go. I had a blast interviewing again, which was mainly due to Jackal being very kind and open. Here's what we discussed, I hope you have as much fun reading it!
Scene Point Blank: Hi Jackal, can you tell me something about the writing process in The Crimson Ghosts? Is it a group process or more an individual process that needs some finetuning with the whole band?
Jackal: It's me writing the songs as a whole including drum beats, lyrics and vocal lines. I record the songs as a demo and send them out to the band so everybody can prepare for the coming rehearsal. During rehearsal we tweak a little here and there but, basically, that's it until the day the “real” recordings start. During the recording process most of the songs will get a final touch when it comes to vocal harmonies or drum fills.
Scene Point Blank: Once you start writing an album, do you start with a collective decision on the sound of the album? Forevermore, for example, is less immediate than previous albums. Was this a conscious decision or something that just happened?
Jackal: Oh man...after every album we talk about what to change for the next record and we never really managed to follow that path, haha. I´d say every album is like a journey through different states of my mood and feelings during the writing process. So even if I planned to make it all faster or slower or more melodic or more punk or more metal -- it wouldn't work that way since I write songs that are dwelling in me instead of me trying to find a song or sound somewhere outside my mood. But of course the circumstances during the writing of Forevermore were completely different during that whole pandemic situation and there was a time where I wasn't really sure if it made sense to go on writing...It wasn't really clear if or when there would be live shows again or if we were able to continue as a band without the possibility to meet each other. I guess that's where the extremely dark feeling in many songs comes from. How much of a shock was it when you heard the album for the first time?
Scene Point Blank: Well, it wasn’t really a shock. It was more the realization the album didn’t click the first time I heard it. At first I thought my expectations were too high, perhaps. It was only after a couple of spins it started to click. That is what I meant in my review with the album being less immediate and more of a grower.
Jackal: Yeah, I absolutely know what you mean. When the album was completely finished I knew I created some really good stuff but it wouldn't come to people like pop songs that click at a first listen. They have to dive into the thing to understand its quality. It´s risky, of course, but I guess that way it will stay longer in people’s mind than musical fast food.
Scene Point Blank: One of the first things I noticed on Forevermore is the impressive list of guests on the album. Can you tell us a bit more about that? How did that come to be?
Jackal: Basically it went as always: when the songs are written, I listen to the demo versions over and over again and sometimes there is a part where I think that a certain singer would fit perfectly. In the past we always had a few guests on the record only this time there were quite a few parts more and therefore we have more guests. It's very exciting to hear what outside musicians do with the vision I had and I can definitely say that it always turned out better than what I had in mind! Which song do you think has the best guest appearance on this record?
Scene Point Blank: I hope you don’t mind me picking two songs: “Enshrined In Silence” and “The Legend Of Walking Sam”. I really like Blitzkid, especially their Five Cellars Below album. Hearing them together on an album again was pretty cool. Both are songs I would love to see live one day.
Jackal: Well, then you better come and join us on tour since both songs are in the setlist. Who knows - maybe Goolsby and/or TB will join us on stage to perform those songs?!
Scene Point Blank: A lot of lyrics can be traced back to a horror movie. Recently “Wine Of Gods” was used on the soundtrack of Overtime. Can you tell us a bit more of how this came to be? Is the song specifically written for the movie, for example? And how did it feel to be a part of this project?
Jackal: Actually, I’d say movies played only a very minor role in the Forevermore lyrics and most of them are their own little horror story. With "Wine of gods," we did a re-recording of the song that was on the OST of Overtime. We got a bunch of good friends over in the UK known as The Undead 13 and they contacted me and asked if we were interested in contributing a song for an upcoming movie. Of course we wanted to do that, so I got in contact with Mario Covone (the director of said movie) and he sent me the script which I based the lyrics on. So, yes, that song was written to be in the movie but it was too good to not use it for our album so we re-recorded it with a few changes.
Scene Point Blank: Ah, I didn’t realize that you re-recorded it. I will now look into it. I sometimes like checking which version is better. For example, after listening to both versions a lot, I like the “The Body Bag” from the split a bit more. It has a slightly more loose feel that has a bit more impact, I think.
Jackal: Yeah, I wanted to change a few things in “Wine of gods” since the OST wasn't limited or anything like the split was and people shouldn't feel like they paid twice for the same song.
Scene Point Blank: Movies have only inspired some lyrics? Only a little part? Ha, I thought I was missing a lot of obscure references. Good to hear you create new stories. What inspires you to write these small tales of horror?
Jackal: Yeah, I just didn't feel like I wanted to write another zombie-themed song so I went with what caught my attention… For example the myth about Walking Sam or true crime reports about H.H. Holmes. Other songs like “Me Or You” or “From The Underground World” are, of course, movie-inspired on the first look but got a lot more meaning to them.
Scene Point Blank: Is there something or someone who inspired you that no one would expect?
Jackal: I listen to a lot of different music so I guess I get inspired by many things without really noticing it. But I always try to find out if our songs or parts in our songs sound like this or that artist so I can change it before I accidentally copy something.
Scene Point Blank: We talked about guests on the album earlier. Did you make a guest appearance recently? How did that come to be and how did it turn out?
Jackal: Yes, I did a few vocal lines for the coming album of MACSAT which is the band of Claas, the owner of Ring Of Fire Records, our record label. Vlad (our singer) also had a guest appearance on the debut of Sumerian Tombs.
Scene Point Blank: Which band/artist should most definitely give you a call about guesting on their upcoming project or album?
Jackal: Well, I would love to work with a few people such as Andy Laplegua, Rob Barret, Lisa Gerrard, Alex Terrible and many more...I imagine wonderful stuff coming out of working with these artists!
Scene Point Blank: That’s a very diverse set of musicians and some thinking outside the box, I guess. Let’s see if they respond to your call. Now, how would that best work for you? Do they provide you with some lines to play or sing or would you aim higher and write something together?
Jackal: Yeah man, I listen to so many different styles and genres and there are so many people that impress me simply because they do things a completely different way than I do and, in many examples, I do not even understand how the things they do work at all, haha!
Best would be to work the same way as I worked with musicians from overseas. For example: sending back and forth songs and exchanging ideas about what to do. [I’ve] never tried to write whole songs with people outside the band so that could definitely be challenging and very interesting.
Scene Point Blank: You have been playing with The Crimson Ghosts for quite some time now. What is the biggest change now compared to when you started the band?
Jackal: The main thing, of course, is that we used the internet but social media wasn't as big as it is today and so everybody is connected with everybody now. This helps in many ways and I am really thankful for that. But not all the shiny things are gold and therefore I must say it's sad to see that this tool also brings up so many people that have so little talent. The market is flooded with an unbelievable amount of horrible “bands” and I really hope this will change soon.
Scene Point Blank: You mean the incredible amount of bands able to release music because recording has become so much more accessible? I understand what you mean, but to be fair, I don’t see how this would change. What do you think should happen to make that a reality?
Jackal: As in many music genres before, I just hope horrorpunk will simply shrink itself to health again. It was always the same: new musical styles came up and all of a sudden everybody wanted to be part of it. After a while when the trend wasn't a thing anymore, most bands just disappeared as quick as they turned up.
