Formed in 1997, OF THE FALLEN seems to be relatively young band,
therefore I feel you should introduce yourselves to our readers... Also, how the hell did you manage to release debut MCD under the banners of Wild Rags so fast???

- I'm Jon, keyboardist and vocalist for OF THE FALLEN. I sent Richard Cee a CDR of the demo he liked and we put it out several months later. I had a finished product so that made things go faster.

Can you tell us how did you appear in the band? Did the other guys invite you or what?

- I have been friends with Steve (Guitarist) for over 10 years. They had another vocalist at the time and even did a tape with him. I joined just to play keyboards, but the vocalist was not working. So,  replaced him and took on both at the same time.

Your self-titled MCD is undoubtedly well executed, so let me wonder about the recording place...

- We used a place called Revolution Studios here in Austin. We recorded the demo on two ADATs (ALesis) in 16 tracks. The guy we had engineering was a real dick. He didn't like our music so I convinced him to teach us how to use the equiptment. We took turns on the boards getting everything down. To make it worse the computer the guy was going to use to mix the tracks broke. So we just took our tapes and went to another studio to mix the tracks.

Both, the artwork and the back cover are ok, but how could you let the CD to be released with such an ugly layout? Sorry, but it looks like a picture stolen from regular Doom-alike 3D game or something like that... Also, the resolution is very low, the fact  which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous!

- Well, sadly I did the layout. Also, I don't think it looks that ridiculous. I am not a layout artist or anything but it did not help that when I got the CD's the front cover was not the one that I had chosen. The low resolution was due to the fact that when I sent in some of the JPEG's they weren't quite as good of quality as I thought. The artist that did the cover is named Goblin, he is from Australia, but he did not do all of it. Next time we are doing things a lot differently.

Are you going to cooperate with Richard and Wild Rags future? What about the full-length effort? Any new songs ready:?

- We go in the studio next month to record five more songs.
Some titles---
"Desolation And War"
"Dawn Of The Blackest Sun"
"In Darkness Eternal"
"Ancient Gods Of Battles Past"
"Dominions Of Chaos"

Richard Cee wants us to do a full length for him. I don't know if we will do it yet. I would like to get us to a bigger label. Either way we will get our new stuff out.

Have you ever travelled anywhere out of your area and played? If so, where and whom did you play with?

- Just in Texas for now.Look for us next century at Milwaukee. Some of the bands we have played with around Texas are: DEATH OF MILLIONS, FUNERAL RITES, KHISANTH, ADEPT, THORNSPAWN , and a pathetic loser band called VEHEMENCE (which also suck incredibly bad).

Has anything strange or bizarre ever happened at your shows?

- One time when we played in Houston a friend of ours got into a fight with some guy who said only christian black metal is real, needless to say, blood was spilled and our friend is doing some serious time.

What do you like most and hate most about the underground?

- I like the fact that the fans are so dedicated and really into the music, but what I don't like is that if you start to get to popular the underground starts to think your selling out.

Fire, earth, water and wind, also known as "four elements"...  What do they represent to you? Is there any possibility of "fifth element's" existence?

- Fire  - Change
Earth - Density
Water - Things unknown
Wind  - Erosion

The fifth element would have to be Time - it has an effect on all of the above.

Megapolis filled with industrial noises, soulless human crowd with no feelings and no emotions at all or solitude and unity with Nature - what do you think of these opposites and which one is more preferable for you? (please, don't be astonished with this question - I know a lot of people who hate Nature and find different products of industrialization to be charming...)

- Souless crowds and empty streets or a quiet grove in the trees, neither one is better. Places like cites are more similar to nature than most would like to believe.You can dissapear in a crowd just as quickly as in a forest. One second your here the next you could be wiped out. I don't believe we are ever at one with nature. Nature is chaotic by default. I believe we know less than we would like to think and think less than we pretend to.My preference is a dark windowless room. With quiet. Where the passage of time is not noticed.

"Life" and "death" seem to be the two greatest mysteries ever, while
their secret will never be disclosed neither by religion, nor by science... Have you ever meditated upon these somehow terrifying topics? My father once said that 'life is only an intermediate stage of existence; a preparation for death, which is but a door to other dimensions', do you agree with him?

- Yes, though we really can't say what that dimension is. I would hate to think that everything we do here is doomed to nothing by something like death. Maybe we could continue on in another life.(I like the thought, but just a thought.) If there is life after death, then the possibility that spirits, Satan, and God are all real also. Then again that validates Christian thought and beliefs, something that I find distasteful. Which brings to mind more things to ponder....

If you had a chance of killing anyone without carrying any responsibility, who would it be?

- Marilyn Manson - He is the epitome of what a muscian should not be.

Five albums that bring you back to life...

- MORBID ANGEL - Blessed Are The Sick
IRON MAIDEN - Powerslave
CRADLE OF FILTH - The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh
IMMORTAL - Battles In The North
SLAYER - Reign In Blood

And five albums that make you sick...

- GRAVELAND - Following The Voice Of Blood
BLACK FUNERAL - Anything (pure suck)
CRADLE OF FILTH - Cruelty And The Beast
METALLICA - Load, Choad and Reload
SEPULTURA - Roots

And just in case you missed it
BLACK FUNERAL !!!!!

You said that you know the drummer from ABSU, therefore may I display my interest in what they're doing at the moment? Any new recordings? What can you tell me of Proscriptor as a personality? Did his band influence you in any ways?

- I haven't talked to him in a couple of months.Last time I saw him they were looking for a new guitar player. As far as Proscriptor's personality he comes across as a pretty cool guy. Who is really into his Celtic heritage. No, we were not influnced by ABSU, although we respect what they have achieved. Especially, "The Sun of Tiphareth".

What do you know (and think) about Russia? Have you ever heard any metal acts coming from our lands?

- I think that Boris Yeltsin needs to be replaced in order to bring stabilty back to Russia. The only band we have heard is NOKTURNAL MORTUM, we would really like to hear more Russian black metal. So, any Russian bands who might be reading this please send us your stuff or we could trade.
Of the Fallen
P.O. Box 203213
Austin, Tx 78720-3213
U.S.A.

Well, hope I didn't bore you to death with my stupid questions... If so, here comes your deliverance. This is the last one... not actually question, but some blank space so that you could place your final words here...

- Fans keep supporting metal. Fools keep supporting trends. You support a trend and you'll find yourself drowning with it when it sinks into oblivion. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

OF THE FALLEN contact -
Email: immrama@flash.net