Interview with Paul Ouellette: Lead Vocal/Bass Guitar

UN: How did the idea for Unholy Ghost come about? Did the members of ex-Diabolic need an outlet for extreme expression after exciting Diabolic? Would you guys consider the band a super group of sorts? Or would you like the band to stand alone from the bands you are all involved in?

Paul: We all got fired from Diabolic for various reasons. So we got together and started a new band, another brutal band is born. Kelly McLauchlin, Aantar Coates, Jerry Mortellaro and myself feel we have a lot more to offer and we are fired up about the new band. Diabolic was exciting but this is a new evil incarnate to unleash on the world. We are just a bunch of guys who live to play, we will never stop and UNHOLY GHOST will stand alone as far as we are concerned.

UN: Is it important for people to realize that Unholy Ghost isn't just Diabolic under a new name? Even if almost all of the members did come from Diabolic, the musical direction while similar is even more extreme I would say. Or do you guys still consider this to be Diabolic just with a new name after all?

Paul: YES. I think we are more extreme in our music and our personalities. I think we are more brutal these days than ever. AND it shows in the lyrics & music. This is NOT a Diabolic clone band by any means. We have Kelly McLauchlin who brings different aspects to the band.

UN: Things came together fairly quickly for the band. In just over a year of existence the band has their debut album out. Do you think that both Pessimist and Diabolic being involved with Olympic helped things move quicker then they would have otherwise?

Paul: We always work fast. So far, we have played 6 local shows, headlining 2 of them. We have been to 4 US festivals and done 2 videos as well as a documentary. The demo, and of course our album: Torrential Reign that we did for Olympic/Century Media. I think we made a name for ourselves and the label knows what we are capable of, so we made things a little quicker.

UN: Your debut album Torrential Reign basically lays waste to most of the death metal these days. Would you say the album came as a result of the members dissatisfaction with most albums these days? Even the well established bands seem to be having trouble producing albums as powerful as they once had.

Paul: Thanks a lot for saying that. We just want to do the best we can when we write and record album. Plus we had Punchy who made us sound the best we ever had. But well, really didn't have a lot of money for this CD but we all pulled together to get the best sound we could. We could not be happier with the result this time. We want to keep it kind of raw but precise at the same time.

UN: I was wondering if you could go into some detail about the album title Torrential Reign. Was the album named after the song of the same name?

Paul: Seeing we live in Florida, we have Torrential Rain everyday in the summer - some of the most brutal weather I've ever seen, tornadoes, hurricanes, all the time. So Jerry came up with the title which is just a force of metal that we put forth and to crush and destroy. It's basically our anthem for the band.

UN: What made the band record with Juan Gonzales? It's obvious that he knows how to produce death metal. I think this album may actually be the most powerful recording he has done so far. Is it safe to assume that you guys are pleased with how the recording turned out?

Paul: We have known Juan Gonzales for many years. We know about his days with Morbid Angel as well as a producer, so we felt comfortable working with him. this is our third album with Punchy. It's the best one yet. Wait till the next one. We are all getting better as players and we will only get better in the future.

UN: Would you say that it was a conscious decision to try and move away from a typical death metal album cover? I think the haunted house approach really fits the bands style and seems very in line with the band name, Unholy Ghost.

Paul: Yes, I agree also. It goes with our super natural theme on the album, not all the songs but Soul Disment is about a soul that don't want to die, so it come back and haunts all of his enemies as a ghost and drives them insane to the point of suicide.

UN: With this band would you say it's a conscious decision of the bands part to have a bit more slower sections? The band definitely has the blasting, but there are a surprising amount of slower riffs, most notably in the title track, which is almost all slower.

Paul: Yes we ARE a blasting band that's cool. But we also slowing down to get the heaviness out if you're looking for straight ahead in your face songs you got it. If you want slow'n'heavy you got it. We try to mixed it up, so it don't get boring. We got a little bit of everything - thrash/death/black/speed/metal in general.

UN: Do you think that being from Florida almost assures that people will take notice of the band? There are people who just from reading in a review that the band is from Florida will buy the album just because of this. Would you say that even after all of these years that Florida still has a strong death metal scene?

Paul: Death Metal Capital of the world: Tampa, FL. You got Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Six Feet Under, Obituary and slew of other bands from South FL as well as Orlando. So you see, the scene here is strong these days.

UN: With a new album out, will Unholy Ghost be hitting the road for most of 2004? I'm assuming that you guys will be hitting most of the major festivals in the US. What about Europe?

Paul: We'll be in LA, CA for the Gathering of the Bestial Legion festival with Dark Funeral in June. We'll come back to FL to write new songs & lock down to tour by the end of summer 2004. AND possibly Europe.

UN: Are you guys excited about the future of Unholy Ghost? Would you say that this is a band you want to take even further then you have been able to with Diabolic and Pessimist?

Paul: We are going to take it and run as far as it'll take us. We are there. We hope to be bigger in the future so we can bring you guys a bigger/better show this time around. Well, thanks for the interview, we'll hope to see you on tour. As for now, BELIEVE IN THE GHOST.