Interviews About Albums: Radiant Black - Rituals Of Anarchy (2024)

In this new interview, we sat down with the Israelian Progressive Death Metal band Radiant Black to ask questions about their album, "Rituals Of Anarchy".

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

Our new album, “Rituals of Anarchy,” is a culmination of our journey over the past years. It’s a blend of songs written throughout the past five years that have found their place in this release. We aimed to push our boundaries and explore new sonic territories while staying true to our roots. Some pieces explore a more ballad-like song feel, and a slightly more mellow sound influenced by progressive metal bands such as Opeth and Cynic, a direction we intend on exploring and developing further in the future.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

“Rituals of Anarchy” represents the chaos and order within our lives. It can be seen as finding one’s own path in a reality of disorder, a theme reflected in the different songs throughout the album. The rituals symbolize the repetitive patterns we often find ourselves in, and the anarchy represents the chaotic nature of our thoughts, behaviors, and physical reality. “Rituals of Anarchy” is also the name of the closing track of the album, which is about physical chaos.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

The album is mainly written by me (Raphael Meissonnier) and was recorded, produced, and mixed in my home studio. With that said, the project's vocalist Voiicide sure always brings his unique character to the project with his powerful, and extremely articulate vocals. This album features some guest musicians who contributed to the sonic identity of this album such as a fretless bass solo by Samuel Chacon, and synth layers by Marinos Tountas on several tracks.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

It’s tough to choose, as most of the tracks in the album are very different from each other. Actually, there's no one song that encapsulates the entire album as the album is the combination of all these pieces brought together.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is, what is it?

Two tracks of the album, “Bloodlust” and “Legacy of Hate” explore the destructiveness and violence amongst particular groups of men, and the cycle of pain inflicted by it. This topic emerged from thoughts evoked during the past year, from events happening in my country. If I had to summarize the album overall, it's about self-discovery and resilience. We want our listeners to feel empowered and emerge stronger. It’s about embracing the chaos and finding strength within it.

6. Which inspirations have been important for this album?

Musically, we’ve been directly inspired by metal bands like Gojira, Megadeth, and a variety of prog and modern death metal bands. Besides that, the album is inspired by a bunch of many other genres and sounds. Technically speaking, we weren't specifically trying to imitate a specific sound, but rather explore sounds that sound refreshing to us, but familiar at the same time. To achieve that we tried a bunch of creative approaches like using many alternative guitar tunings, resulting in new riffs and ideas that are less likely to exist elsewhere in the same way. This album alone uses 7 forms of guitar tunings!

7. Something to add?

We hope our fans connect with “Rituals of Anarchy” on a deep level. We’re excited to share this journey with all of you. Stay tuned for our upcoming work, as with this album out, we already have loads of ideas and songs that hopefully will turn out into new music sooner or later!