Click on the cover artwork for MP3 samples from the new album 'The Dead Have Rizen'.

10 Questions With Rob Graves

Rob Graves with his beloved Marshalls

Texas Metal Underground:  Has Black Widow Records set a release date for the new album? Will there be a vinyl edition? 

Rob Graves:  They’re talking a mid to late ’08 release. Halloween would be great if they wait that long. There were a lot of releases ahead of ours that needed their attention. Personally, I wish it was coming out much sooner, but hell, I’ve waited this long, what’s a little more! You know Black Widow, bro…The LP’s are a HUGE part of their business, and personally, I dig the SHIT outta that!

TMU:  Where was the new material recorded? Was it self-produced or did you have an outside producer helping shape things in the studio? 

Rob Graves:  We recorded the album at TechSyn Studios in Houston. The producer and engineer was Stephen Bogle, our other guitarist. He owns and operates the studio, and has recorded and produced many albums there, including all of The Hunger (his former band) albums for Universal Records. He also owns Stephen Bogle Music LLC (SBM), and has been twice nominated for a Grammy for his re-mixing and production. The Hunger toured extensively with KISS for their 96/97 reunion tour. Its Steve that played the keyboards on Ripper's 1986 release '...And The Dead Shall Rise', though we both played them on this album. 

TMU:  This project has been a long journey for you. How long did it take from the start of recording to finished product? 

Rob Graves:  Because of our busy schedules, start to finish took over a year, but it was well worth it 'cause it sounds great! I wanted to go longer, but Steve told me "Look, ya gotta cut it off somewhere man…I’m happy with it, and it’s 'my' name that’s on the line!" It was hard for me to develop that trust, you know, to leave my sound in the hands of another, but we've been friends and partners in crime for nearly 30 years, and he knew what I wanted, mainly because he had always been actively involved with Ripper.

TMU:  How many of the songs on this new CD were written back in the 80’s for the never-recorded 2nd Ripper album? 

Rob Graves:  Out of the 10 tracks on the album, Steve wrote two: 'The Grave' and 'Dark Dominion' (the intro and outro of the album), and I'm relatively sure those weren't written in the 80's. Aside from those, and of course 'God Of Thunder' (which was written by Paul Stanley in ’76), all of the songs were written in 1986/1987. We were in Los Angeles, had just lost two members, and Metal Blade Records was getting tired of waiting, so I just starved and kept on writing the songs. Sadie had just graduated from The Makeup Institute Of Hollyweird, and was off working on movie sets, so it was just me and my gear.

TMU:  This project was originally going to be called Tombztone. Why did you decide to use the Ripper moniker instead? 

Rob Graves:  The Tombztone name was unknown, and I had been idle for so long, I just figured I needed all the momentum I could get. The Ripper name had that momentum, so I ran with it! I finally came to realize that Ripper was as much mine as anyone else’s.

TMU:  At one point original Ripper member Sadie Paine was involved in this project. How did you locate her after all these years and can you give us an idea of why things didn’t work out? 

Rob Graves:  I did a White Pages search, found the only Sadie Paine listed in the part of town I’d heard she was living in, and mailed an empty envelope to that address with just my Email address on the back. When she received it, she wrote me. After all the hangin’, cussin’ and discussin’, I felt we were thinking in different musical directions, so I aborted. It was a mess, but I don’t bend for anyone, especially when it comes to what I write. At first I wasn’t gonna use the name, but things change when people piss you off! 

TMU:  Are there plans to play any live gigs in support of the new album? 

Rob Graves:  We’re rehearsing now, but we might go in and cut the next album first. After all, it’s already written. The next one may have 2 or 3 cuts written in the 80’s on it, but the rest will be current. I just had too much good shit to choose from. I’m a write-a-holic man, but we do intend on tearin’ Texas a new one, and often! 

TMU:  A lot of the old Texas metal bands have reunited in recent years to play the European metal festivals. Has Ripper been approached to go overseas for any festival appearances? 

Rob Graves:  Yeah, but with a lot of expense to us, so we had to decline for now. Until things loosen up for us financially, we’re gonna have to stay in Texas and showcase here. That’s cool, Europe will still be there when we’re able to go. I’ve always wanted to tour there extensively, but things being what they are, I’m just happy to be home. Its widely believed that metal is dead in America. I don’t believe it. Now granted, it may have been driven underground again, but it’s festering. Forcing something down their throats that they’ve abandoned appeals to me for some reason, and Texas is a helluva place to start! Home FKN turf! I do like some of the NuMetal bands out there (Korn, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Godsmack etc.), but Ripper will always be old-school metal, tastefully done with today’s technology. 

TMU: You’ve got a vicious guitar tone on the new CD. Give a rundown of the equipment you’re currently using. 

Rob Graves:  Thanks bro! I’m running Marshall DSL50’s with the 1960A & B cabs. My effects consist of an Ibanez UE300 for the rhythm, and a Dunlop UniVibe for solos. I heard Hendrix using that MF on 'Machine Gun' when I was a kid, and it’s been in my arsenal ever since. My chosen guitar for this album (for a VERY special reason) was a stock 1998 Fender Stratocaster (black Mexican Standard) with 3 single coil pickups, switched to the back out-of-phase position to simulate a humbucker. I'll most likely be using my Jackson’s live though. I bought that Fender at the Guitar Center in Arlington several years ago. Dime was there that day, oddly enough, but we didn’t get to talk. We just exchanged nods from across the room (Legend has it that an autographed original Ripper EP cassette was a regular staple on the Pantera bus). It was the last time I ever saw him. The album is dedicated to Darrell. 

Steve Bogle decided to become a full-time member about 80% of the way through the recording, just in time to burn the solos for 2 of the 10 songs. Man, that boy fuckin’ SHREDS!!! If he had committed earlier, I would have given him half the leads, as it'll be on the next album. Steve uses Mesa tops with their 4x12 cabs, which are very similar to Marshall’s. He uses his custom built Jackson’s exclusively, and gets a KILLER sound! Together, we’re fuckin’ DEADLY! Ripper has always taken that Frehley/Stanley, Tipton/Downing double guitar attack approach. It’s definitely FAT and it TANX! 

TMU:  Looking into the future, can Texas metal fans expect a 3rd Ripper album? 

Rob Graves:  There will be many more, and I ain't gonna BS you man. This album (entitled 'The Dead Have Rizen' ) is a FUCKIN MONSTER, with nearly all metal genre's respectfully represented, horror flavored of course. If this bitch had come out on Metal Blade Records in ’87 like it was supposed to, I’d be living in Beverly Hills right now! Ripper would have gone large, no doubt about it. But it was not meant to be, until now. Amazing what being buried alive for 20 years will do for ya. I can see the road ahead, and I like what I see. We inked a KILLER deal with Black Widow Records this time around. I think they finally understand what they’ve gotten ahold of here. Century Media is distributing us worldwide. We had indie offers coming in during the sessions, some even quite impressive, but decided to stay with the momentum method. Ripper and Black Widow! If it ain't broke, don’t fix it! 

TMU:  Read the original interview we did with Graves back in 2003 at this location.