With great puffs of white smoke with smells and names like Seraphim, Pineapple Empress, Tinx, and Avellana we must be talking to Reverse The Belief.
Having a new EP, Somnia Furentium, their own e-Liquid, and a good two man stand up comedy act if the music game doesn’t get them far enough, Reverse The Belief is playing Quarry Fest 2015. Da Cook a.k.a. Scott (drums) and BirrML a.k.a. Aaron (bass/vocals) of Toledo, OH turned off Craig’s List and put down the beer long enough to give National Rock Review a few minutes of semi-serious conversation about the band. That’s like saying the Titanic only had a small hole, but the show must go on. Enjoy the ride.
NRR: You guys are from the Toledo area and have the home field advantage. What’s been going on with the band in the last year?
Scott: We’ve become one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively…
Aaron: We jam, drink, have a good time.Write new material, experiment and all around just have a good time.
NRR: Hopefully you guys have a great time on stage to close out this strange summer. Are you looking forward to anything in particular at Quarry Fest 2015?
Scott: As amateur geologists it means a lot to us just to be inside a quarry, especially with a slew of bad-ass performers and cool activities to keep us occupied
Aaron: Ditto.
NRR: How does a band get into the eLiquid business exactly and how are things going?
Aaron: I have been vaping for well over a year, and started mixing my own juice awhile ago, without any intention of selling it. After giving some to friends and letting other people try it, I would always get asked why I don’t sell it. So, in light of that, I decided to start selling it as band merch to help make money for the band. And it also gave me the opportunity to bring it to a test market. Business has been doing well, the flavors have been a hit locally, and it will be available in Toledo and BG area Vape Supercenters by the end of September.
NRR: Talk to me about the band; how did you guys come together, anything special behind your name, etc?
Aaron: We met while browsing Craigslist for prosti…
Scott: We were both hired by as crew by a sea captain who was searching
for the Lock Ness monster and met on the boat. We’ve incorporated much of the experience in our music. I don’t know, our code name for Nessie is a title of one of our songs. Somnia Furentium was the name of the vessel we were on. If you believe in the Loch Ness monster reverse that belief.
for the Lock Ness monster and met on the boat. We’ve incorporated much of the experience in our music. I don’t know, our code name for Nessie is a title of one of our songs. Somnia Furentium was the name of the vessel we were on. If you believe in the Loch Ness monster reverse that belief.
Aaron: Dammit, Scott… Reverse the Belief is less about actually opposing beliefs as it is about questioning them.
NRR: What exactly is brutal progadelic as a genre?
Aaron: It’s a blend of most of what influences our music. Brutal: Metal
Prog: obvious prog is obvious. [The] -adelic: both psychedelic and funkadelic. We originally labeled ourselves as metal, but after enough people who love to classify everything and sub-classify we…
Prog: obvious prog is obvious. [The] -adelic: both psychedelic and funkadelic. We originally labeled ourselves as metal, but after enough people who love to classify everything and sub-classify we…
Scott: It’s a new genre that the masses can’t handle, but it is the best genre amongst the genre enthusiasts.
Aaron: Right on…
NRR: What can we expect from Reverse the Belief in the coming days after Quarry Fest is again eagerly awaited to, hopefully, come around again in 2016?
Aaron: After Quarry Fest we will return to our usual regimen of “drinking practice” with the occasional musical outbursts. The only show afterward we have left for 2015 is Fall Metal Fest 6 on November 1st, with Hate Eternal, Beyond Creation, Rivers of Nihil, Hate Index, with other great metal acts from the Michigan area and also another great Toledo band, Decapitus!
Scott: I plan to sleep off my hangover after Quarry Fest and start preparing to kick Quarry Fest in the dick next year!
NRR: What are some of the influences that help you guys get your own vibe musically?
Aaron: The Faceless, TOOL, PRIMUS, Beyond Creation, RHCP, Lamb of God, Pantera, Jeff Beck… just all over the place.
Scott: Drugs, alcohol, Parliament, the faceless, Art Blakey, PIG, and the fucking Beatles! Greatest band ever! Everyone else should give up!
NRR: How important is selling merch for a band like Reverse the Belief at a show like this, and who comes up with the most impressive items to sell?
Aaron: Currently the e-Liquid is our only merch, we will be getting shirts later this year and physical copies of music when we get new recordings.
Scott: A day without selling merch is like a day without sunshine.
NRR: For anyone that might not have seen you perform before, what can they expect to get from your set on stage?
Aaron: Bad ass heavy eclectic music and maybe some jokes!
Scott: Right on…
If you pay attention your perception of reality will suddenly become something you can’t even begin to fathom.
NRR: How does the dynamic work for a two person band on stage and without guitar for you?
Aaron: There isn’t much to the stage show, as Scott is sitting at a kit playing his heart out, and I’m generally stuck in front of the mic, but it works out well for us. I think people enjoy seeing us play the hell out of our instruments while using many different styles and techniques. We originally wanted a 4 piece, but after a couple years of dealing with flakes, band Nazis, etc. we decided 2 piece was best for us. In this project we both have freedom of expression to play whatever we want, however we want. Which is an experience neither of us have really had with past projects.
Aaron: Most people are too afraid to venture into the realm of trying to explain our dynamic. It has evolved into a plain that cannot be explained by the common man.
Aaron: Sorry, we’re not good at being serious. Thank you for your time and interest. Want a beer?
Scott: Fuck yes my brotha!
Aaron: Erich, not you.
Scott: So…?