SBTC:
You have played in monumental bands such as Blasphemy, Conqueror, and Revenge. What band have you enjoyed playing with the most?
R. Forster:
I have had moments of total triumph and moments of total disappointment and hatred in every band I've been in, so no one band stands out as the band I have enjoyed being in the most. All I can say is that I am proud that all 3 of those names (BLASPHEMY, CONQUEROR, and REVENGE) are known as some of the most merciless Desecrater Hordes around and that my name is connected to those cults!
SBTC:
What brought about the formation of Conqueror?
R. Forster:
Life got really stagnant in Edmonton, Canada (where we grew up) so J Read and I decided to move to Victoria, Canada with the intention of continuing our old bands out there (DOMINI INFERI and CREMATION). It didn't work out as we planned so we decided to start a new band together: CONQUEROR. We both had the same ideology and same taste in music so combining forces was quite natural for us.
SBTC:
How did you and J Read meet each other?
R. Forster:
We both grew up in Edmonton, Canada and were involved in the local Extreme Metal scene. The scene was small and there weren't too many others around that we could talk about releases like "Rumpus of the Undead" and "Crawling in Vomits" with at the time, so of course J Read and I clicked immediately.
SBTC:
How did the concept of Conqueror come about?
R. Forster:
J Read and I were into reading Friedrich Nietzsche, Ragnar Redbeard, and the like while listening to ORDER FROM CHAOS and watching programs/documentaries on genocide and terrorism, so it was just natural to combine all that we were interested in (and that we lived by) into our band.
SBTC:
Has Conqueror ever played shows?
R. Forster:
No. We were a 2 piece. There were no suitable members available to us at the time in the small city we were based in. In fact, even today there are only very few people that I would consider doing a band with. There might be a lot more people into Extreme Bestial Metal these days, but still not so many that take the ideology and the genre to the same degree I do though.
SBTC:
Conqueror has only a handful of releases but has left a massive impact. Did you expect this to occur when you first released your material?
R. Forster:
No. When we started CONQUEROR, all of those Swedish and Norwegian lightweight Black Metal bands were ruling the scene with their keyboards, melodic riffs, and clown make-up. We were the exact opposite of them so I never thought that we'd really be noticed in the sea of shit that was drowning us all. I had contact with a few die-hards from around the world at the time and they were the ones that I wanted to make sure heard our band. We didn't care about the rest of the wimps lapping up the crap spewed back then. The mid-90s were really bad for the Metal underground.
SBTC:
With that said do you think you could have done more with Conqueror and put out a few more solid releases or are you completely satisfied with how it turned out?
R. Forster:
We had our 2nd album over half way completed and definitely could have taken CONQUEROR a lot further after that.
SBTC:
You where also involved with Revenge at on point in time. How did this occur?
R. Forster:
This is a misconception. I only contributed music for the REVENGE track "Genocide Conquest" and helped them with the recording of the unreleased CONQUEROR track "Superion Revenge". J Read and I always maintained contact over the last 20 years or so. It was natural for me to help out REVENGE even if was just a little bit.
SBTC:
How were you initiated into the cult of Blasphemy and why where you chosen?
R. Forster:
Ceremonial initiation through a Blood Baptism Ritual. I was chosen because of my history with CONQUEROR. The BLASPHEMY guys were/are totally into the Superion Holycaust Attacks!
SBTC:
How did you meet the members of Blasphemy?
R. Forster:
I lived in Victoria, Canada at the time that I met them. I used to travel over to Vancouver, Canada to see shows as most bands skipped Victoria when they toured this country. The BLASPHEMY guys were at one of the shows I attended. They had their own section in the club while the rest of us had to mingle with the riff-raff and scum. I had a couple of CONQUEROR demo tapes with me and passed them to Black Winds and Caller of the Storms. They like what they heard and we established contact a few days later and kept contact ever since.
SBTC:
Where you exposed to Blasphemy's music before you meet the members or after?
R. Forster:
I knew of BLASPHEMY way before I met those guys! I subscribed to The Wild Rag zine/mail-order catalog and ordered "Fallen Angel of Doom...." on cassette tape as soon as it was released! I have been into this type of underground Metal since high-school and had to start with mail-orders and tape trading back in about 1989ce as the local record stores could no longer provide for my addiction to the most extreme and unholy music possible.
SBTC:
Ritual is one of my personal favorite songs, and seems to be one of the bands most iconic. Would you say that this would be your most "famous" song?
R. Forster:
Yes. When we do Live Rituals people are already chanting that song title even before we hit the stage!!
SBTC:
How does Blasphemy determine the set lists for the few live rituals performed every year?
R. Forster:
It depends on the occasion. At this years NWN! Festival we celebrated the 20 Year Anniversary of the release of "Fallen Angel of Doom...." so we started our set out with all the tracks from side I of the LP. (Until we got to "Ritual". We had to save that as our last attack.)
SBTC:
Will Blasphemy ever play in the U.S. again? I understand there are legal issues involved but I am sure many maniacs would love to see the gods of war storm our soils once more.
R. Forster:
Never. The 3 original members are banned from the USA due to extensive criminal pasts.
SBTC:
NWN! has had especially good lineups, and you headlined this years fest. How was the experience"? What were some of your favorite acts at the fest?
R. Forster:
The NWN! Festival was the most professional show that I have ever played! Everything was taken care of properly for us so all we really had to do was get on stage and crush everyone as hard as possible. Personally my favourite acts were PROCLAMATION, BLACK WITCHERY, ORDER FROM CHAOS, MYSTIFIER, BLASPHEMOPHAGHER, and EMBRACE OF THORNS! DEAD CONGREGATION, VANHELGD, MIASMAL, FAUSTCOVEN, and XIBALBA were damn great as well! I missed ARES KINGDOM getting ready for the stage with BLASPHEMY, and I missed VON GOAT. Overall, killer festival!! Highly recommended for anyone into underground Metal as the Fest kills, and Berlin in an inexpensive and interesting city! Let's hope there is another edition of this Festival!
SBTC:
Is there any new material for Blasphemy in the works?
R. Forster:
Yes! It's up to the original members get to the studio and record them though........!
SBTC:
Do you have any new projects you are working on?
R. Forster:
Nothing that I can mention at the moment.......... No.
SBTC:
What modern bands do you listen to and support?
R. Forster:
I still follow the Metal underground closely and listen to 100s of current bands. I support what current bands I can through my Ross Bay Cult distribution.
SBTC:
What three albums have impacted you the most?
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R. Forster:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
It depends on what the context is. For Bestial Metal than it has to be "Fallen Angel of Doom...." by BLASPHEMY, "I.N.R.I." by SARCOFAGO, and "The Oath of Black Blood" by BEHERIT. Those 3 releases affected me to my very core! TO THE DEATH!!!!!!
SBTC:
Any new releases coming from Ross Bay Cult?
R. Forster:
Beware of the newest addition to my small and probably never expanding label roster: WRATHPRAYER from Chile!!! Watch www.rossbaycult.com for the latest information.
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