Grave Robber are a punk rock band who are definitely influenced by the Misfits. They also dress like it's Halloween every time they step on stage and that's always a good thing. I recently got to interview vocalist Wretched to learn
Hello, tell me a little about the history of band.
Grave Robber began in 2005 as a side project of three different bands. My band broke up last year just as Grave Robber was getting signed, so this is my main focus and full time band now. We've been through far too many lineup changes in three years to bore you with here, but the current line up is: Wretched on vokills, Dr. Cadaver on bass and backing vokills, Plague on doom tubs, and Lamentor on guitar and backing vokills.
What are you currently up to?
Absolutely no good! We are trying to scare as many little girls as possible when we play, which is working out quite well I might add. Seriously, we are traveling around the midwest promoting our new disc, "Be Afraid", which is released on retroactive records.
Who are your musical influences?
The Misfits, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Gwar, Type O Negative, Danzig, Black Sabbath, Rackets and Drapes, Blitzkid, Wednesday 13, Rob Zombie, Virginia Creeper, you get the idea.
What has been the reaction to your new album so far?
"Be Afraid" has been extremely well received in Europe and Japan. It's exceeded our expectations. Reviews have been amazingly positive in The U.S., too. We only had on bad review from Maximum Rock and Roll. The review was too stupid for us to be offended, tho.
What are some of your favorite songs on your “Be Afraid” album? Why?I really can't pick a favorite because that's like trying to pick a favorite child. I love them all. It's a great feeling to be a fan of your own band.
Have you guys always worn the costumes on stage? Whose idea was that and do you think that you will always dress up on stage for this band?
Yes. It was my idea. I love theatrical bands. I love to see a band put on a show. Plus, I love Halloween and dressing up and such. It's a blast to "become" someone else on stage. Yeah, the costumes have more fans than we do! We will always do the costumes.
What do the costumes add to your show? Do you do anything else on stage like have a horror set or use any other props?
The costumes are probabaly 50% of the show. We use a bloody shovel, a blood cannon, fog machines, and sometime fire pots and other assorted surprises.
Obviously you have a horror look and horror themes in your songs. Yet you have Christian themes as well. Some people might think that these two ideas are conflicting. Is it difficult to get your spiritual message across while doing the horror look/theme at the same time?
We don't find the two themes conflicting at all. Ever read Revelation, the last book of the bible? Ever read some of the Old Testament stories of demons, divinators, and serpents. There's a lot of blood and scary things going on within those pages, y'know? It's not at all difficult to convey a spiritual message. People are smart. They know what's going on. The nice thing is that even if you disagree with our worldview, you can still completley "dig" the show.
Would you classify yourself as a Christian band? Why or why not?
Yes and no. We are all followers of Christ. No doubt about that. We are a Christian band in the sense that the band is comprised of all Christian members who play songs tha tultimately point towards Jesus Christ. However, we are not a Christian band in the traditional sense of what a Christian band is and does. We rarely play churches. We rarely play youth events. Ok, maybe we get a little more popular with youth groups around Halloween! haha! More often than not, I do say we are a Christian band, tho. I mean, Alice Cooper is a Christian. Would you classify him as a Christian artist. Sometimes I do! Brutal Planet was a masterpiece, Christian rock album. But not everything he puts out is "Christian", yet his faith peppers his life. Same with Grave Robber, except we are slightly more ministry oriented.
Who have you opened for so far? What have been some of your more memorable shows to date? Here's an alphabetical list of memorable bands we've played with: The Autumn Offering, Blitzkid, Bobaflex, CalabreseDeguello (ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds), Dope, Dr. Chud's X-Ward (ex-Misfits), Drottnar (black metal from Norway), Feast Eternal, Firstjason, The Fold, Gorgeous Frankenstein (Ex-Misfits, Blitzkid), The Independents, Mainline Riders (Ex-Huntingtons), Mensrea (Flattus Maximus of Gwar), Michale Graves (ex-Misfits), Mobile Deathcamp (ex-Gwar bassist)Murphy's Law, and Our Corpse Destroyed.
You have some interesting shows coming up it looks like. Tell us about some of them and which ones are you most looking forward to?
Oh man, we are playing some killer shows real soon. I guess I'm most excited about the Gorgeous Frankenstein show because it's with Doyle from The Misfits. The Horrorfest in Atlanta will be amazing, too.
I am assuming all or least some of you are horror movie fans. What are some of your favorites?Yeah, we all love scary, thriller, horror movies for sure. You really can't be in Grave Robber and not like scary movies, y'know? This is a really incomplete list, but off the top of my head I like Evil Dead II, Army Of Darkness, The Exorcist, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, Salem's Lot, Most of the Halloween movies, Most of the Friday The 13th series, Pretty much all of the Nightmare On Elm Streets, The Lost Boys, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Night Of The Living Dead and pretty much all Romero films, Pet Cemetary, The Ring, Saw I, II III, and IV, The Hills Have Eyes, Demon Night, House on Haunted Hill (original one), Amittyville Horror, Creepshow I and II, The Gate, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series.
Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why you picked them.
Alice Cooper or KISS
Not a fair question. Next. (ok, Cooper is superior musically, so if I have to pick, it's Cooper. Still not fair, tho.)
GWAR or White Zombie
Gwar. Better show. Musically they are comparable.
Misfits or Samhain
Not fair at all. Misfits completely dominate Samhain! And I'm even a Samhain fan!
Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?If you are a Christian music hater, listen to us first before you judge us. Don't be one of those close minded people you say you can't stand! Thanx for the interview. -Wretched
www.myspace.com/graverobberpunk
Grave Robber is a hugely talented and awesomely hardcore band in the vein of the Misfits or old cramps. They played the Take Hold Counter Cultural Conference last year and had a huge impact on me as I am 41 and thought I had seen everything metal had to offer. I think all three of their albums are very unique and thought out well and cannot wait to see them again very soon. Excellent musicianship and straight up metal kinda guys! Out of 10 bones, I would definitely give them 8! Rock On! Rhob of Grand Rapids aka "Grandpa Punk Rock"!
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