FALLEN GRACE – Interview with Sohan.

Fallen Grace are known as the initiators of Melodic Death Metal in Sri Lanka. They are famous for their unique sound they put forward as a band within the genre. They are mostly known as a unit who brought forth a whole new meaning to the saying “As tight as a nuns cunt!” and for their ability to conjure the most violent mosh pits where ever they unleash their sound. Despite his busy work schedule, front-man Sohan Ratnaike took some time off to elaborate further.

Hello Sohan!, how's everything going?

Its going ok. As long as the inebriation continues. (Laughs)

Who came up with the name Fallen Grace and what does this symbolize to you guys as a band and how does it connect with your style of music?

Of course it does & I think its quite pertinent to the message we try to convey through our music. Grace can be defined as the “loving Gift of God's Kindness. But where is this Grace & kindness we speak about so reverently? Mankind is a hypocritical race. Wars are being fought for by narrow-minded leaders set on achieving personal goals, A countless number of people are slaughtered everyday around the world, Most Religious leaders' who preach the “goodness of religion” are just plain fucking hypocrites who want to mint money off it. Therefore after taking these factors into consideration we decided to name ourselves Fallen Grace to imply that Grace no more exists. & It was our lead guitarist Rakitha’s idea to name the band Fallen Grace.

How do you guys manage the band with your busy work schedules?

Well its like this. We work not because we want to work but to only to finance our recordings & maintain our studio. Being a musician let alone Metal musician in Sri Lanka is really hard. But we firmly believe that if you want to do something, you can get it done! So we some how find away to manage it.

Fallen Grace has been a part of the Sri Lankan Metal Scene for a long time, tell us more about the inceptions of this project.

We just wanted to play Heavy Metal that’s all! All our musician friends were playing Alternative or playing Nu metal. We wanted to be different. And also the sheer energy performing live gives you, was also a factor. But predominantly just to play music!

Your Myspace says that you guys started off as a band in late 2003, how come you guys haven't had any releases so far?

Like I said, we never intended to be rock stars. We just wanted to experience that raw energy & aggression playing on-stage gives. & I think we were & still are known more as a live band than a recording band. Not that we have a problem with it. But we realized that being a live band especially in a virtually unheard of country to the masses of Metal is not enough. We want the most hardcore of metalheads in Europe, America & Norway to listen to Sri Lankan Extreme Metal & to know that there’s stiff fucking competition. So we started our recording process in December.

What are your influences as a musician and a vocalist?

Personally, Its not only the Vocals but also lyrical content for me & I don’t like to listen to a lot of Clean vocals either. I am mainly influenced by a lot of old School Thrash like, Slayer, Forbidden, Venom, Destruction & Testament. But My all time favourites would be Celtic Frost, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Death & Comus.

What are your thoughts as far as spreading your music goes?

I think what everyone thinks in that regard. Get it across by any means!

Rakitha, Shivantha and yourself are the only remaining members from the original line-up, how did you come across your rhythm guitarist Shamil and drummer Nisala?

Well to cut a long story short we were mutual friends & they were at the same time interested in the style of Metal we were playing. So once they were done with school they joined.

How does your song writing process go?

1st of all everyone except Shiva gets stoned! & then Rakitha (lead) & Nisala (Drums) start laying the initial ground work, then Shiva (Bass) & Shamil (Rhythm) add some Killer Riffs. I then take the tune home & get into the feel of the song & write lyrics depending on the mood & ambiance it creates.

What do you think is lacking in the Sri Lankan Metal Scene and what are your thoughts on it?

Well I think proper promoters & sponsors for one! Whats fucked up is Alcohol products are barred from sponsoring events in Sri Lanka, which was one of our main backers. & No one really sees the Potential the scene holds. I think bands like Funeral In Heaven (Black Metal), Karmic Sulpher (Psychedelic/Acid), & Forsaken (Thrash) hold immense talent & no ones there to support them. What makes is sadder is the fact that internationally established bands like Stigmata & Paranoid Earthling who initially put Sri Lanka on the Heavy Metal map too faced with this problem.

What are your lyrical themes based on? Do you address different topics on different songs?

I like to have a more personal connection with those who listen to our music. Our music’s not about Satan, the Beezlebub or stupid shit like burning down Churches. I’d rather write about Apathy, Conflict, Hypocrisy of religion, suicide & Grief.

Describe your intense live performances to your readers, what is it like performing for a Sri Lankan crowd?

I’d say the Sri Lankan fans are tolerant. Their the type who’d give a band a 2nd chance & that’s brilliant! Iv seen Indian bands getting spat at by their own crowd. & that’s quite fucked up! But whats better is the fact that they know a pit is a fucking Pit! At least 5 or 6 people out of like 200 end up with injuries & bruises.

How often do you guys play live? and what is your rehearsal schedule like?

Well, even though that the situation is really bad we manage to perform atleast one show per month. Due to the fact that we do day jobs we practice the whole of Saturday & Sunday. They become quite Strenuous but we don’t have a choice!

You guys are known as the first band to play Melodic Death Metal in Sri Lanka, what motivated you to do so?

Well. We really didn’t plan on being a Melodic-Death band. We were actually a doom metal band & before that a Thrash metal band. What makes us who we are is the fact that we concentrate more on creating melody while maintaining extreme metal elements. & we really dig work by Arch Enemy & Dark Tranquility. So we decided to go as a Melodic-Death band, simply because that’s what we create.

Mention some of your worst and best experiences with Fallen Grace

Well, we’ve had quite a few ‘worst’ gigs mainly due to having really fucked up sounds & guys at the mixer who know fuck all on how to balance a Metal band. But I’d say our most memorable one was when we were asked to Co-headline with Forbidden Empyre a progressive Metal band from India for the gig ‘Rise of the Empyre’ last year. It was made more memorable cause there was a fuck load of booze. (laughs)

Other than you're above mentioned influences, what are the other bands you listen to?

I think as a band we are influenced by bands who mainly evolved in the Gothenburg era such as Arch enemy, At the Gates, Opeth, Dark Tranquility & also bands such as Morbid Angel & Gojira.

As a prominent figure of the Sri Lankan Heavy Metal scene, what does Heavy Metal mean to a person as such as yourself?

Everything! Its what I live for!

To wrap up, what are your plans for the rest of the year?

Finish off the album & hopefully get a chance to play in a foreign venue.

http://www.myspace.com/fallengracesl