Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
They are one of the rising stars of Ireland’s grunge and alternative rock scene. Formed in 2017, they have made a name for themselves in their native Dublin and across the country thanks to their electrifying live shows, where Moe Curtin’s powerful vocals and abrasive guitar mesh with Christopher Goggins’ relentless bass and Paul DOC’s ferocious drumming.
It’s early May, and on the other end of the Zoom call are the members of Ritual Effect, the Irish band who played this weekend at Fibber Magees in Dublin alongside The Voodoo Kitchen and After The Encounter, and who will headline the same venue on Friday, 10 July, alongside Boyracer and Charnel Crown.
Speaking to Chaoszine, the band discussed their current activities, their distinctive sound, the release of their latest single, “Resolution”, the music scene in Ireland and much more. Ritual Effect, the power trio roaring loud and clear on the Emerald Isle.
You have a headline show on Friday, July 10th at Fibber Magees in Dublin, playing alongside Boyracer and Charnel Crown. How are the rehearsals going? This is a big gig, isn´t it?
Moe Curtin: They’re actually about to go on seriously after this interview- We are pumped for this. It’s a good headline slot. It’s kind of like the big headline show for us this summer. So we’re going to dig deep in, throw in some golden oldies and some unreleased stuff. We´re going to have some nice interludes, go down some rabbit holes, and have Paul (drummer) go crazy on the drums. We are going to do a meet-and-greet with everyone in the audience while the gig is still in progress. Everything and more that you would expect from a Ritual Effect show. It’s been ages since we’ve done a decent long show like this. I’m also really looking forward to seeing the other bands. Charnel Crown are pretty new. I think it’ll be their first show with us. Looking forward to seeing those guys.
I want to ask you about the band and your influences. There are a lot of grungy and alt-rock things in the band’s DNA. But I also hear traces related to progressive metal and rock, instrumental rock, and even darker stuff oriented to death metal. Am I right?
Christopher Goggins: Yeah, I think it’s something that has really evolved and progressed, especially since Paul joined us. I think initially, when I joined up with Moe, it was very much down a grunge path. Lots of Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, definitely some death tones in there that kind of thing.
Go on, please.
Christopher Goggins: I think we developed it into something a little more unique. I don’t want to go down that cliche where you ask every band, ” Who would you say you sound like?” and they’re always like “Oh, we don’t sound like anyone, man, we’re our own thing”. I think that when the three of us came together, it definitely brought it to a different space than maybe it had inhabited before. Paul and I are both huge Rush fans, and we’re all the way into Tool. Moe also plays in a Tool and a Perfect Circle tribute band, so there are definitely some elements of that coming into what we’re doing as well. I think we’ve definitely stayed true to the grunge core that we’ve always had. But we’ve been able to embellish and develop upon that as we, as a trio, have evolved.
Your latest single is “Resolution”. It’s a powerful and hard-hitting track with a strong guitar presence. Where did you record it?
Moe Curtin: We recorded it… First of all, we’ve done most of our recording with Michael Richards and Trackmix Studio out near Blanchardstown. He’s been kind of our go-to guy since day one. He is an absolute legend. He’s very patient with us. We experiment a lot, and he allows us to mess around until we have exactly what we’re looking for.
What is the song about?
Moe Curtin: “Resolution” is probably one of my favourite songs that we’ve ever done. It’s a huge kind of sprawling. It starts kind of like a normal upbeat. Then it gets dark in the middle, and then it has a huge kind of recovery towards the end, with a spiralling outro. The song is probably one of the most personal ones for me. It’s about a loss that I had, and then a lot of negative side effects that came from that. It’s about being taken advantage of when you’re in a very vulnerable state after losing someone you love. Some people will just plant themselves around you, waiting to take advantage of you when you’re at your most vulnerable. “Resolution” is about recognising that you’re in this darkest, deepest place that you’ve never imagined being stuck in, because of people you thought you could trust. And then you have to find your way out of it, get back to normal, erase the negativity and negative influences from your life, and just try to recover.
Paul, what about you recording the drums for that specific track? What were you searching for in terms of the drum sound?
Paul DOC: I always search for something that matches the song, but, as Moe said, it’s emotional. It starts somewhere calm, and then at the end, there’s this interesting section that’s the most fun I have with the band to create something. It just seems like it’s really colourful the whole move through it, and it changes in like every certain number of sections. It’s really nice, you know, so for me, you just want to make it colourful, you want to make it interesting.
Moe Curtin: I’m working with you. When you throw something like that at Paul, he’ll just try a hundred different things. So many options for such a good riff.
Christopher Goggins: And then he eventually does what you suggested (chuckles).
What are your plans for the rest of the year? I imagine the plan is to tour Ireland a bit more, isn’t it?
Christopher Goggins: First of all, we’re definitely still in the tail-end stage of promoting “Resolution”, so we’re trying to get a new music video done in the next few weeks. It’s been something that’s been on the plate for quite a while, but we’re hopefully nearly ready to do that. We want it to be as epic as the tune, and we have a good idea for it. Hopefully, that’s the first thing we’ll do. Then we’ll prep for this awesome Fibber Magges show. It’s funny in this country, especially with us, gigs just kind of happen.
Haha nice.
Moe Curtin: We’ve got such a great network of bands. We’re never short of tour dates or gigs around the entire span of the country. Right now, the calendar is pretty free. We have an EP to launch once the “Resolution” video comes out: it’s going to be 5 tunes. We’re already working on the next EP; we have five songs already recorded for that. So we’ve been very busy with the writing, rehearsing, and recording thing. I’m looking forward to getting that stuff out. Once we start pushing the releases, we start kind of getting the finger out and getting the gigs. That’s usually how it works.
What about the lyrics? I get the impression that the lyrics are introspective, reflective and personal. What can you say regarding that?
Moe Curtin: Like everything I write about, it’s usually from some sort of personal experience. The lyrics are pretty direct. I like to put as much emotion into the writing as I can. And I like it to reflect the music. I wouldn’t write music knowing what the song is going to be about, but once the song is structured musically, then I usually have some sort of story in the back of my head or something that I wanted to write.
I know that the Irish government has introduced a funding scheme for musicians. What’s your view on that, and what improvements could be made in terms of the arts and cultural scene in Dublin, as well as in Ireland?
Paul DOC: I don’t think there are a lot of venues. I think there could be more venues. That could be a great thing.
I know that some venues closed in Dublin.
Christopher Goggins: Even pre-COVID, the options for heavy music, even in a city as big as Dublin, were very, very limited. And one of the biggest things we’ve been seeing since COVID as well is that venues are less willing to gamble. It’s a lot of cover bands, tribute groups, just your standard pub covers: one guy in an acoustic guitar doing Ed Sheeran songs. I can understand that from a venue’s point of view, that they want customers in the door, they want a sure thing, but you know it´s tricky as an original band. And I guess something we’ve always said as well is that as a band like us, that doesn’t really fall. We’re not heavy metal, but we’re not a pub band, and it’s a weird kind of niche in the middle that can be very tricky to service. Even when venues were at their peak here, and the music scene was incredible, it was still quite difficult for heavy bands to get that sort of showcase. So I think Paul’s absolutely right. But genuinely, more venues and opportunities would be a big thing. Funding is all well and good. If anyone wants to come and throw loads of money at us, we will absolutely take it. But to have opportunities, venues, audiences out there, to actually pick up on what we’re doing, would be huge.
The band has been around for nine years and has seen several line-up changes. I’d say that these days, consistency and perseverance are key to surviving in this industry, which has been hit so hard. Do you agree?
Christopher Goggins: Absolutely. If you’re doing it for the money, you would have quit a long time ago. So it’s about doing it for the love of what you do. I’m not blowing smoke when I say this, but we are my favourite band. I love the music that we create, the energy that we have when we’re in the room together. I love the process of what we do, the honesty that we can have with one another when we’re writing and recording. Perseverance is one thing, but it never strikes me as persevering with anything when it’s something I’m this into.
What would you say to someone who doesn’t know Ritual Effect? What message would you convey to a listener who hasn’t heard of them yet?
Moe Curtin: OMG. Please come to our show! (laughs). We’re gonna treat this like: It’s our last gig, it’s our biggest concert, it’s just the best show of our lives. Every time you come to the show, you’re going to see us going absolutely nuts on stage. You’re going to have a great time and just be part of the band by the end of the gig. You don’t necessarily have to like the genre of music to like our show. We mess about, we have fun with everybody. There are tons of people we met after our shows. I’m not into this kind of stuff, but the show is awesome. That’s what I would try to get across to anyone who, for some reason, doesn’t know we’re a band at this age.
Name 3 bands or albums that got you into music. I will start with Paul...
Paul DOC: Probably “2112” by Rush, some stuff from Skunk Anansie too. And then I listen to Led Zeppelin. That would be my top three.
Christopher Goggins: When I started picking up a bass, it was because I’d gone to see Audioslave in Paris and just watched Tim Commerford and then learned every Rage Against The Machine album. So I think a huge part of my playing style is thanks to Tim.
Moe?
Moe Curtin: Well, not too dissimilar for one band anyway. Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream” is untouchable. By a mile, my favourite album. I’ll say “Freak Show” by Silverchair. Very underrated, incredible band. I wear that album t-shirt every gig we play. Any video or any photo you see, you’ll see me wearing that t-shirt. And then I would probably have to give Deftones their dues here. I think “Around The Fur” by Deftones is absolutely a massive influence for me as well. That really was the huge bridge from the kind of grungy music I was liking to into the heavier realm, and it was just beautiful. Chino’s vocals are great, and Jesus, the drumming on that album is just insane.
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