Escaped from US death-metal warmachine Diabolic, the 3 demons known as Aantar Coates, Jerry Mortellaro and Paul Ouellette formed Unholy Ghost with chainsaw-guitar master Kelly McLauchlin from Pessimist. In may, their first killing album will hit the metal scene right in the face. Because Unholy Ghost is raging death-metal in its purest form. This is dark, chaotic and wild ! Here’s an interview with blastmaster Aantar Lee Coates in april 2004.

 

Hi ! It would be great to begin this interview with a history of Unholy Ghost ?
When I got back from Europe I wasn\'t happy with my old band so I formed Unholy Ghost with my brothers Jerry, Paul, and Kelly. Kelly moved down to Florida 1/1/03 and we started writing with Paul. We called Jerry and asked him to come down and play some lead guitars over what we had writen. We all got along and recorded the Unholy Ghost demo. I talked to Olympic and they really wanted to hear the demo then advised to keep promoteing Unholy Ghost via radio,concerts,internet message boards ect. Kelly put together the website and we started playing concerts. Our first show was here in Tampa to warm up then we played the snakenetmetal radio fest. That was our first fest as Unholy Ghost. It was killer because we got to see old friends and made new fans. Then we shot the video for "Under Existence" here in Tampa in Jerry’s back yard under a full moon on friday the 13th ! Then played the Las Vegas metal fest . That was cool but they didn’t have a full drumset so I had to cancel the first night and re-schedule for sunday night. Las Vegas is crazy ! Next fest was the Sun and Steel fest here in Tampa Fl. Punchy ran sound for us and we played a killer show for the fans. Our last concert was last thursday night here in Tampa to get ready to tour and promote "Torrential Reign".

 

Why did you leave Diabolic? Is Brian Malone a difficult person to work with ?
It was time to move on. Brian and I don\'t see eye to eye on many different things. He wanted to work with new people that he didn\'t know and now he doesn\'t have a solid line up. His drummer was kicked out of the country and his voc

als/ bass player has already quit. We were best friends . I\'m just happy
the way I now have Unholy Ghost.

 

Can you tell us about the songs included in your fist album "Torrential Reign" which is released on Century Media for Europe ?
Unholy Ghost "Torrential Reign" is going to blow you all away ! Every song has its own realm. We have 11 songs. "Torrential Reign" track listing: The Calling of Sin - Soul Disment - Eyes of Lost – Decimated - Cross Contamination - Denunciation - Entrenched Warfare - Torn Apart - Under Existence - Torrential Reign - The Apparition. After hearing this record and reading the lyrics you will all be addicted to Unholy Ghost.

 

It seems you really appreciate Juan Punchy Gonzalez previous production works because you chose the man once more. How was the experience in the studio ? Are you satisfied with the sound ? Isn\'t it too difficult to judge your own work with an objective eye ?
Punchy is the best choice for our style of music. He doesn\'t have a Grammy or a million-dollar studio he\'s underground and loves what he does. We are very happy with the sound of "Torrential Reign". We took 2 months recording and mixing and mastering "Torrential Reign". Punchy didn\'t want to rush this recording, so we took the time to make everything sound perfect. I recorded my drums with micrphones and my D-drum 4 to get the best natural drum sound over 3 days. Jerry played his guitar parts in 1 day. Paul played his bass and vocal tracks in 2 days. And Kelly completed the record. It is very difficult to judge our own work, thats why we have Punchy. That’s his job. We are never happy till
Punchy says everything is perfect.

 

I think Unholy Ghost sounds like the perfect balance between US death-metal and the Brazilian sound, more chaotic. Do you appreciate bands like Krisiun, Rebellion, Abhorrence, Ophiolatry, and Imperious Malevolence...?
We love those bands but I see us as more Possessed "7 Churches" meets Terrorizer "World Downfall" with some Slayer "Reign In Blood". We are influenced from th

e bands that started this music. We are big Marduk,Satanic Slaughter, Dark Throne, and Immortal fans as well. When we started playing extreme music Kreator "Pleasure to Kill", Destruction and Sodom were our favourite bands.

 

What kind of topics do you write about ? Where do you find inspiration (books, movies, everyday life...) ?
Paul writes about drug addiction, war, voodoo satanic rituals, and natural disasters on this record. The lyrics are by far Paul\'s best work yet.

 

Will European meatheads get the chance to see you on stages soon ?
It depends on how much you all like Unholy Ghost "Torrential Reign". It\'s really up to the die-hard fans ! We would really like to tour Europe. Touring all we really like to do. If you don’t get to see us live we will always release videos.

 

"Torrential Reign" ‘s cover art is really nice. Who did draw it ? Will it be a vinyl format to really appreciate this amazing work ?
Thanks ! Mattis Noren (progart.com) from Sweden drew the cover and Jerry (guitars) drew the Unholy Ghost logo. We are trying to get "Torrential Reign" released on vinyl format. As of now you will get the cd and our interview documentary and "Under Existence" video.

 

Here in Europe, it may exist a kind of opposition between death-metal and black-metal fans. Personally, what do you think about black-metal ?
I love it ! To us Venom, Bathory, and Hell hammer are black-metal bands, those are the bands we like. We don\'t get into the political bullshit. We just like the music.

 

Did you listen to "Infinity Through Purification", the last Diabolic album ? What do you think about it ?
Yes I did. I think they did a good job concidering the time they had to put it out. Hopefully Brian and Eric will find a new drummer and bass player/vocals soon. We would really like to play concerts shows with them. Good luck Diabolic.

 

Thanx for your time, last words are yours.
Thanks for your support. Hope to see you on tour !