SF Bay Area Thrashers KILL RITUAL has signed a worldwide deal for the Oct.30th release of their debut CD “The Serpentine Ritual” with Scarlet Records.
The CD was recorded and engineered by Kill Ritual Lead Guitarist Steve Rice at Fang Studios in San Mateo, CA and Fossil Sound in San Jose, CA. Mix and Mastering was done by Andy LaRocque of King Diamond fame at his Sonic Train Studios in Varberg Sweden. Mr. LaRocque also makes a guest appearance on the CD with the ending solo on the track “Coat Of Blood”
The band has also shot a promo video for the first single “Old School Thrasher” that was directed and edited by Mike Sloat (Testament, Machine Head.) to be released in conjunction with the CD.
The cover art was designed by Jobert Mello for Sledgehammer Graffix (Sabaton,Primal Fear.)
Lead Guitarist Steve Rice comments on the new deal “Well the Kill Ritual debut will at last see the light of day and we are psyched to have Scarlet Records on board for the release of the CD. The label has a ton of great bands on their roster and excellent distribution worldwide so we can reach as many Metal Maniacs as possible. Get ready for some SF Bay Area Thrash and Roll!”
“The Serpentine Ritual” track listing:
The Serpentine Ritual
Torn Down
Time To Kill
Ambush
Old School Thrasher
Coat Of Blood*
Cold Hard Floor
Law Of The Land
Prisoner Of The Flesh
My Neighborhood (Bonus Track)
*Guest solo by Andy LaRocque
KILL RITUAL is comprised of former members of Imagika, Dark Angel and Eldritch that formed in 2010.
KILL RITUAL:
Josh Gibson -Vocals
Steven Rice -Lead Guitar
Roberto Proietti – Guitar
Danyael Williams -Bass
Wayne DeVecchi -Drums
SF Bay Area Metal Band KILL RITUAL which features ex-members of Imagika, Eldritch and Dark Angel will shoot a video for the track “Old School Thrasher” on Friday 7/13 at Soundwave Studios in Oakland Ca.. Mike Sloat (Machine Head,Testament.etc.) will handle the production,directing and editing. The track comes off their as yet to be released debut “The Serpentine Ritual”
KILL RITUAL (x Dark Angel,Imagika,Eldritch) Unveil Debut CD Cover
US bay area thrashers “Kill Ritual” are streaming a new song “Law Of The Land“, taken from their forthcoming album “The Serpentine Ritual“.
Kill Ritual “Law Of The Land”:
Kill Ritual, which recently signed a worldwide management deal with Germany’s Rock N Growl Management, consists of the following musicians: Josh Gibson – Vocals, Steven Rice – Guitar (ex Imagika), Roberto Proietti- Guitar (ex Eldritch), Danyael Williams – Bass (ex Dark Angel), Wayne DeVecchi – Drums (ex Imagika)
“The Serpentine Ritual” was produced and mixed by guitarist Steve Rice and KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy LaRocque at Sonic Train Studio in Varberg Sweden. LaRocque also makes a guest appearance soloing. The cover artwork for
“The Serpentine Ritual“, the forthcoming debut album from KILL RITUAL, was designed by Brazilian artist Jobert Mello’s Sledgehammer Graphix (SABATON, BAD COMPANY).
KILL RITUAL (x Dark Angel,Imagika,Eldritch) Unveil Debut CD Cover
The debut finds Kill Ritual unleashing ten tracks of straight up metal that is both modern and classic while retaining the legacy of their past bands.
KILL RITUAL unveil the cover art for their debut CD expected early 2012. The piece was created by Brazilian artist Jobert Mello’s Sledgehammer Graphix (Sabaton, Bad Company).
The track “The Serpentine Ritual” off the debut CD can be found at the following sites.
KILL RITUAL the band featuring former members of Dark Angel, Imagika and Eldritch are streaming the title track from their upcoming release “The Serpentine Ritual” via the bands Myspace andReverbnation sites.
“The Serpentine Ritual” was produced and mixed by Steve Rice and Andy LaRocque at his Sonic Train Studio in Varberg Sweden.
Formed in late 2010 by former IMAGIKA lead guitarist Steven Rice and drummer Wayne De Vecchi KILL RITUAL is completed by former ELDRITCH guitarist Roberto Proietti, former DARK ANGEL bassist Danyael Williams and Bay Area vocalist Josh Gibson. Steven elaborates on how the band came together.
“After the demise of IMAGIKA Wayne and I decided to form a new band that would bring life to the music we had been working on after IMAGIKA called it a day. We had a goal in mind of writing music that reflected our influences from Thrash, Classic, Progressive, Power, whatever kicks ass Metal and this required bringing in experienced players that have been there and done that. We were lucky enough to come in contact with Roberto and Danyael who had the kind of pedigree and experience we were definitely looking for. Having both been in bands that have released numerous albums worldwide and toured extensively they are a perfect fit for this new band. The missing element was of course vocalist Josh who came into the band with the work ethic, experience and attitude that is essential as a vocalist to help the songs take on a life of their own. His unique and identifiable vocal style is the change we needed from our past projects as we definitely had the idea of Kill Ritual taking a new direction from our collective past bands and I think we have achieved that. I mean what’s the point of rehashing what you’ve already done? I feel the 4 rough demo tracks we’re releasing show this and are only a hint of what’s to come. Enjoy! ”
The band will enter Fang Studios to record their debut “Serpentine Rituals” this summer and expect a late 2011 release on a yet to be determined label. 4 new demo tracks are available on the following sites.
New Band, New music, Same Mission! Time To Kill !!
KILL RITUAL is:
Steven Rice- (x Imagika)- Lead Guitar
Josh Gibson-Vocals
Wayne DeVecchi-(x Imagika, Doom Society)-Drums
Roberto Proietti-(x Eldritch)-Guitar
Danyael Williams-(x Dark Angel)-Bass
IMAGIKA has finally called it a day. Lead Guitarist/Songwriter Steve Rice comments on the bands demise. ”All things must come to an end and for IMAGIKA the time is now. After 17 years, 7 worldwide releases, 2 vocalist, 5 guitarist, 3 bassist, 2 drummers, countless performances and tour dates I’ve decided to put the band to rest. The reasons are many, but the truth is that it’s time for something new and to move forward without being bound to the past. I’m not mourning the end because I’m grateful the band lasted as long as it did. I look forward to building upon the music and legacy of a band I spearheaded for close to 2 decades with my new project. I would personally like to thank all the fans, press, labels, booking agents, promoters, venues, studios, engineers, artist, instrument manufactures and everyone else that had a helping hand in IMAGIKA’s career. It could not have happened without you! I will personally still handle and oversea everything Imagika post mortem for the foreseeable future.”
Moving forward, drummer Wayne Devecchi, former Eldritch guitarist Roberto Proietti and I have formed a new Metal/ Thrash project that will take our collective musical ideas to the next level. Fans of our past bands music will not be disappointed as we’ve put together some great catchy material that is melodic, complex and heavy. A five song instrumental demo has already been recorded and we are presently seeking a Pro Vocalist and Bassists to complete the project. Interested parties can contact us at burnaltar@gmail.com Please have reviewable audio or video media.
IMAGIKA vocalist Norman Skinner has left the band sighting “musical differences.” His final performance is on Oct.16th at The Avalon in Santa Clara, CA. IMAGIKA has immediately started the audition process and interested parties can submit material to the following: imagika6@gmail.com. Please have audio, bio and a recent photo. Male singer preferred. We are not looking for a clone, but an aggressive style and the ability to sing is essential. The band will start recording a new CD Jan-2011.
SF Bay Area Power/Thrashers IMAGIKA has commenced writing of their 8th album. The follow up to their critically acclaimed “Portrait Of A Hanged Man” will see the debut appearance of new members Guitarist Rob Kowolski and Drummer Wayne DeVecchi. The CD will be engineered again by Guitarist Steve Rice and mixed by Andy LaRocque. Sole founding member Steve Rice discusses the approach to the new CD,
“The band is definitely ready to kick ass with the new material that has been developing since we’ve been back from our US tour this past Summer. 13 new songs are in the works and as usual it will be a departure from our past releases. The original idea was to approach this as a concept album, but we agreed that it’s been beat to death by so many other bands that there is no point. I mean how can you top some of the great Metal concept albums like Operation Mind Crime or Abigail? It’s very hard to accomplish and not really our thing at the end of the day. But after hearing our singer’s seemingly endless collection of fruity, flowery Euro Power Metal while on the tour bus and sparing his iPod a horrible asphalt death I definitely knew what I didn’t want to do! HA! A CD full of progressive, complex and melodic Thrash Metal is more appealing to me and the band at this point and decidedly the definitive goal for this next release. By bringing new blood into the band there’s an aggressive attitude for making a bold statement with a lot to prove! Also being able to approach the recordings as a 2 guitar band is inspiring since we haven’t done that since our “My Bloodied Wings” 2006 release. It’ll be cool to kick it up a notch and bring more shred and harmony to the table this time. All in all I’m expecting nothing but the best from the band.”
A Spring 2011 release on an undetermined label is expected.
The world’s best unsigned/indie metal band, Imagika, are back with another killer album – MY BLOODIED WINGS. In this interview we talk to the band about the music business, the bands direction, the new album, touring, etc. Enjoy!
Steven Rice of Imagika Interviewed By EvilG, November 2000
If you’ve been a reader of metal-rules.com for any amount of time, then you no doubt already know who IMAGIKA are and what I think of them. The below interview is the second I have done with Steve and this time we discuss the newest Imagika CD, …And So It Burns, thrash metal, playing live, and lots of other interesting stuff.
Steven Rice of Imagika Interviewed March 13, 1999 by EvilG
If you’ve been a reader of the Metal Rules!! website for any amount of time then you’ll know that we’ve supported Imagika since the beginning. We thought that after reviewing their two CD’s and then making their newest one available from our own CD Store that an interview was definitely needed. So I had the pleasure to talk to Imagika’s guitarist and mastermind, Steve Rice. The entire interview is below in it’s original unedited format. I think it really gives a good indication of what Imagika are all about.
