RAPHAEL: I wrote the songs for a full length CD called Fight the Devil in 1995 and began recording several of the demos. I had just finished the title track when I was involved in a car accident which nearly killed me. 7 years later, I reassembled Angelrage, put some of the songs on MP3.com and the thing just exploded. In a couple of weeks, all 5 of the songs were in the top 40 on the Christian Metal chart, which was pretty crazy considering it was a 4-track demo tape, competing with songs from the latest CD releases by Michael Sweet, Bride, and Disciple! At one point we pushed everything right out of the top 5, our 5 songs WERE the top 5 for a few days, with Fight the Devil at number one. MP3.com definitely had Angelmania going on! It was an exciting thing to see. This is the reason people started saying Angelrage was a "Christian Metal" band. As fate would have it, those are the first people who liked the song and brought it to the attention of the world, and we are grateful to them for that. I also know a lot of Satanists like Angelrage, and we are grateful to them as well. We love you all!
MICHAEL: The main goal of the band is to reach as many people as possible with our music. Of course we want to be successful, but we love what we do and that would just be icing on the cake. Our new stuff is a lot heavier than Fight the Devil, we have changed with the times. Everything is heavy and aggressive. I think this new album is going to get a lot of attention and create a lot of controversy, which is exactly what we want!
RAPHAEL: I would hope that people will be challenged by our music and want to learn more about the subject matter, or maybe be inspired musically or artistically to push the boundaries a little bit.
Trevor: You say this new album will have a drop down in the C chord, won’t it make it sound too deep?
URIEL: It's nothing new, Black Sabbath was doing it 30 years ago.
MICHAEL: That's what's happening here in LA right now, except we have a singer that can really sing. The sound is going to be aggressive and in your face with beautiful singing over the top of it.
RAPHAEL: Our message is unique to the times in which we live, and the music must be as well.
Trevor: You have described the new up coming album as "progressive metal". Which bands do you feel you could compare this new album too?
MICHAEL: We have a lot of influences....Dream Theater, In Flames, Journey, Kansas, Cradle of Filth, Linkin Park, and old school metal like Stryper, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
GABRIEL: Iron Maiden meets...new school...
RAPHAEL: ...Iron Maiden meets Cradle of Filth meets Passion of the Christ! It will be a very messy show. Again, this is something quite new, they are going to have to create a new category for Angelrage. It's a soundtrack for the apocalypse. I call it Dysangellion, or Baspel. The bad news.
Trevor: Your band has changed lead singers from Raphael to Michael and this has caused some happiness for your fans. Will the new CD have the winning vocal style that will back your old fans and create new ones?
RAPHAEL: Actually, I never intended to sing. I did the vocals on the original Fight the Devil demos, but I was looking for someone who had a voice like Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), James LaBrie (Dream Theater), and Fabio Lione (Rhapsody). Michael is voice of Angelrage. I think that people will appreciate the evolution of our music and we look forward to seeing everyone out on the road!
URIEL: Michael has a very distinctive voice, and fans old and new are constantly blown away by the power and beauty in his voice. The tides are changing and real singers are coming back. Just wait and hear for yourself.
Trevor: It has taken nearly 7 years from 1995 to 2003 before the release of the single "Fight the Devil", this has taken a lot of patience on your part and you are very happy with the success of the song during 2003 at mp3.com. What factors do you think made this single such a successful hit in such a short time and why didn’t it get instantly picked up by many of the Christian metal radio stations then?
MICHAEL: I think at it was a blessing that it didn't get picked up by many radio stations because it was a DEMO, that's it. We have grown musically and production wise, plus we never said we where a Christian Metal band, so why would they play us? It was a demo, not album quality. It makes you think, if so many people liked our little demo then they are going to freak over the album.
RAPHAEL: I think people just related to what it said and were glad to hear some good old fashioned Metal! As far as airplay, we didn't solicit any, instead we opted for an individual fan-based approach using the Internet. It's all about connecting with our fans, listening to what they say and giving them more of what they like. For example, we recently had a poll on the website where they actually chose the album cover for the upcoming Fight the Devil 2004 single. There are several labels interested in the band at the moment and we are waiting for the right offer.
Trevor: You wish your band to be accepted in both music fields, i.e. Christian and Secular, how can this be achieved?
MICHAEL: We are going to be accepted because we are a great band, and our music and stage show will be like nothing ever seen before.
Trevor: At the moment the band is unsigned to a major label. What label would you like to be signed to and why?
MICHAEL: We want to sign with someone who believes in our project and will be willing to push it to the masses.
RAPHAEL: It would have to a label that understands what we are doing, and gives us the budget to do it right, but we are fully prepared to do it alone. Part of the problem is the secular labels are afraid we are a Christian band and the Christian labels are afraid we are a Satanic band, people all over the world are arguing about it before we have even released our CD, and you know what? That is exactly why some forward-thinking person at a label somewhere is going to get rich beyond his wildest dreams for having the guts to take a chance on it, because that alone shows how unique we are in the history of music.
Trevor: One could feel that with your website, one must have some serious backing behind the band or is the high controversy and huge number of merchandise goodies there to just help to get the bands name out there and get attention to a band that is hard to sell?
RAPHAEL: There are thousands of fans around the world waiting for our CD, what more backing do we need? Our success is due to our fans, not us. They are Angelrage, we're just the soundtrack.
MICHAEL: What gave you the impression that we are hard to sell? We have the same stuff available that a lot of bands do.
Trevor: Does the band get a chance to get out and play live? Which bands have you played with in the past and which bands do you want to tour with in the future? And how do the secular or Christian audience react to your band when you do play live?
MICHAEL: We haven't been able to play out as much as of late, we've taken a little time off to tend to family needs, plus we are writing all new material, and great songs take time.
RAPHAEL: We are getting set to play some shows here in Los Angeles as we speak. We will be playing with both Christian and secular acts. A lot of people in the industry are scared off by us and the intensity of the whole thing, people have told us that the music and the presentation are equivalent to being assaulted at times. Rock City News in Hollywood called it, "Brutal and beautiful." Our fans include people of all faiths, atheists as well; that is the magic of Angelrage; we have created something that transcends boundaries, captivates the imagination, and defies classification.
Trevor: Why the big effort to have your bands website in 9 languages and yet the band is unsigned? Why such the large effort to see this band presented in such a hyped up way and yet the band is still small in its status? Do you anticipate that Angelrage will grow in popularity this year?
RAPHAEL: Actually, you yourself are an excellent example of why we make that effort: you live in Thailand, and YOU have heard of us, and were intrigued enough to want to find out about us, even though all we have released so far is a demo!
MICHAEL: You seem to be putting us down a lot for promoting ourselves and I don't really know why. We get hits from all over the world, THAT'S WHY our website is in 9 languages.
RAPHAEL: We feel it is important to make the website accessible to as many people as possible, it's a simple courtesy to our international guests. We think if they want to read our website, they should be able to read our website.
Trevor: Could each of the band members share their testimony in how they became saved? Are you all involved in a local church and gain church support for your band? Do you think this is an important requirement if you are an outreach band?
MICHAEL: I'm sorry, you've asked a question that we aren't willing to answer at this time.
Trevor: Is having the mysticism of "Angelology" involved as part of the bands image going to help aid the band and its mission?
RAPHAEL: According to our fans, that is what attracted a great number of them in the first place, the unique image of the Archangels of Metal, and the fact that the band members are anonymous, and all the mystery around the whole thing.
Trevor: How do you want the Christian community to interpret your band?
RAPHAEL: However they like. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
MICHAEL: People are going to judge you no matter what. So, they can say what they want, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Trevor: You have stated in previous interviews that you don’t want to be classified as a Christian band due to thinking want to keep yourselves distance from the "Christian Metal" subculture but yet you wish to rely on the Christian Online radio stations to give you airtime, is there any contradiction here?
MICHAEL: Have we been embarrassed by Christian radio because they see us as a good positive metal band?
RAPHAEL: We encourage Christian and secular stations alike to play our songs for their listeners.
Trevor: Is it okay for a band like yourself wanting to give a positive message and a positive image but yet having a model posing "Angelrage" underwear, is this going to help get you get across to the secular market better and also be accepted in the Christian market?
MICHAEL: She is a friend and fan of the band, plus she looks HOT!
RAPHAEL: Yeah, actually she is a Christian herself.
Trevor: Your online shop has a lot more range of merchandise compared to most bands, why is this?
MICHAEL: Why not?
RAPHAEL: Ever hear of KISS? They have KISS caskets, Trevor! I believe our name should be on anything and everything possible... in fact, get a tattoo of our logo somewhere interesting!
URIEL: And send us pictures!
GABRIEL: Sweet!
Trevor: The burning of Angel Rage CDs at a local Michigan Radio Station article gives an example of the outrage of what your band can produce. What impressions do you have over this incident?
MICHAEL: Like I said before, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
RAPHAEL: If Angelrage makes you uncomfortable, turn it off. Some people get upset because we refuse to clarify what we are doing, but no one creates a work of art and then sits there and explains to everyone what it means! Art and music offer a unique experience for each person, to examine and form their own opinions. That's the beauty of it.
Trevor: For Raphael, Back in 1997, when you first started Angelrage, you had a serious car accident that took you out of your band and meant that you had to go thru a lot of medical rehabilitation to get back where you are today. How did your relationship with God help you get thru this ideal?
RAPHAEL: Oh, evil generation, they seek a sign! And there shall no sign be given it. It isn't going to be that easy, Trevor, the whole controversy about Angelrage is who are we and why are we here and what dies it all mean? Why did I almost die after recording this song, and why did I wait 7 years to release it and unleash Angelrage upon the world? And all that will become clearer with each album. We aren't going to spell things out for people. Sorry. They have to THINK, and they have to LEARN, and they have to use their IMAGINATION a little bit to figure it all out. A lot of resourceful fans are already getting those answers on our website, the rest will have to wait. All will be clear in time.
Trevor: You have stated previously that you see "Angelrage is a parable and a riddle, and a warning to a dying world. There are many layers of meaning to be uncovered. We like to give our fans something to challenge them. A good example is our website, angelrage.com, where you could spend hours exploring all kinds of hidden links with clues about who we are and what it all means." Yes having an interactive website makes it more fun but why give all this extra added hassle to make yourselves less accessible to the audience you want to win to support you. Having an offish website or approach can maybe not help the band, how do you see this?
MICHAEL: We don't see that at all. We see it as something new and exciting, there is nothing wrong with breaking the mold and being different. Didn't Jesus do that?
RAPHAEL: Our music and website are there for everyone to explore. They can enjoy it as it is, and for many people it's enough... actually, for some people it is too much...but we like to give the fans who make an effort a little something extra. I think they deserve it. They certainly don't view it as a hassle. A lot of people write and tell us how much fun they have with the website, exploring those areas and finding clues. In fact we will be expanding those areas with a lot of new stuff very soon!
Trevor: Where do you see your bands goal? Is it to reach the lost? As I can see this seems to be your goal from the statement you have used "The bottom line is someone needs to reach these kids in a way to which they can relate." Have you seen any people saved because of your band?
MICHAEL: All we know is that we make a difference in people's lives.
Trevor: I see the statement you said in a previous interview that "Creed who don't want to be classified as a Christian band, that is their right; neither do we! Because if we get labeled as a Christian band, a lot of people wouldn't listen to us. Only Christians would like us, and they don't need us. Jesus kept company with thieves, prostitutes, and worse because those are the people who needed him the most. We follow that example. We go where we are needed. Besides, bands don't get put in a separate category for singing about Satanism, and I for one don't think we should either. Our music, and our message, is not for one group of people, but for all people. There are some Christians who say we are satanic and protest us because we play shows with secular metal bands. I say, the tree is known by it's fruit". Do you think by avoiding by categorized makes it harder to see where you really stand as a band? What results do you want to achieve by your band, saving souls or just to be a band?
RAPHAEL: The Angels are coming with the wrath of God. Sleep tight.
Trevor: How are you going to achieve what you have stated here "Our approach is unique: we feel there are enough bands out there preaching the "good news." We have the "bad news" - that the return of Jesus Christ will not be a pleasant event for those who do not know him. It will be a day of terror beyond imagining. That's our angle. We want to scare the Hell out of people...literally. Not exactly the most popular idea in the world, but that's what we were called to do. We are trying to reach the unreachable, the ones who won't listen to the gospel. The hour is late. We don't have time to sugarcoat it. We are the first Christian shock rock band!" Meaning, how are you going to shock people, with the bands image, controversies or with your songs?
RAPHAEL: Get the CD, come to the show, and find out for yourself!
Trevor: Any last comments from the band?
MICHAEL: Just wait and see what is in store for Angelrage in 2005, and remember, in time all things will be made known!