Crimson frost - from cf to devilution
posted on 03 Aug 2006 under category History
So as 2004 wore down to its inevitable end, the cursed Crimson Frost album neared its completion. We announced its impending release on UHR, worked on a layout, and breathed a collective sigh of relief that the ‘curse’ of Crimson Frost had finally been broken.
Or had it?
Not only broken, it seemed smashed into tiny, tiny bits as the next development in the story happened. Another label offered to release it… As most anyone who has read the Rampage site knows, that other label was Suffering Jesus Productions, based in Canada. We did a radio interview on Radio Glendon in early January 2005 in which we announced that Crimson Frost would be out soon on UHR, so I’m sure that ‘Evil Edith’ of SJP contacted us after that point, but it couldn’t have been long after. Anyway, she said she liked the samples of the album that she’d heard, and wanted to release it, compiled with the Displeasures EP and the tracks from the Websingle, all compiled onto a single disc.
I talked with Aerik about it, and he was as happy about the offer as I was. We promptly titled the entire project ‘Devilution’. Somehow, given the ‘cursed’ past of CF, it was fitting that it would be released without that title, and the whole wordplay thing was not only humorous in a vein we enjoyed (see the title for Displeasures of the Flesh if you don’t believe me) but played on the word evolution, which was fitting given that it would compile everything with the new, evolved version of Rampage (i.e. with Aerik on the mic). I mastered the disc (cutting “Behind the Wall of Sleep” from the Sabbath medley), Aerik worked up a great cover, and we got the materials ready for shipping to Edith.
And then, of course, the curse struck again.
Edith, who, keep in mind, originally approached US to release this album, came back to us and expressed worry at how to market us alongside the other bands she was signing (all more in the traditional blasting/norsecore/modern BM style). First she was worried about the length, and suggested we cut the ten tracks down to six. Then, after listening, she emailed us back shortly thereafter and reversed herself, saying that on a full listen she saw our vision and that it would be a disservice to not release the full thing (so that it shows off the full range of what Rampage does). THEN she came back saying that she’d prefer if we did a full album worth of raw black metal in the vein like Crimson Frost, and asked if we’d cut the album down to just those four tracks and if we could then write/record a few more in that vein.
Propriety precludes me from posting the texts of our email exchanges, but suffice it to say that her dedication to us was less than questionable, and the nutshell I’ve given above doesn’t really convey how much we had to talk her into keeping Devilution as we wanted it - which again, keep in mind, SHE originally approached US about. After more than a few volleys, Aerik and I talked and decided to say fuck it - if we keep having to talk someone back into something they originally wanted, it’d be easier to just do it ourselves.
And so the curse took its toll, at just the wrong time…
(I suppose I should be more sympathetic to a label changing its mind on something, given UHR’s history with Kaoteon. My only thin gruel of defense is that, at least I told myself at the time, I didn’t really want to release that Kaoteon demo and only initially did it because of their guitarist’s persistence. I had to be talked into it from the get-go, while Edith actively pursued us, completely out of the blue. Also, I urged Kaoteon to develop through another demo or two on their own and see where they end up - I didn’t ask them to change anything.
This whole Devilution affair isn’t the least pleasant part of the band history, but it’s certainly one of the more curious ones. I just don’t get what she was thinking. I guess I’m also more sanguine about it now because of how well it ended up turning out. I look at those old emails and chat texts from when this was going down, though, and Aerik and I were both pretty effing pissed.)