Doomed Confessionary: Rik Turner & Rikk R Treat (Apparitional)
Photo by Robert Writhe
Apparitional is a gloom & doom project from Orange County, California. By combining elements of goth, doom metal and hardcore, the act aims to create something familiar yet unique.
With the release of their debut single »Unhallowed«, which has drawn comparisons to the likes of Type O Negative, Paradise Lost, Life Of Agony, Poisonblack and Twitching Tongues, Apparitional has assembled a live line up for upcoming shows.
Apparitional consists of Rikk R Treat (drums) and Rik Turner (vocals/guitar) with live members Matt Ripley on second guitar and B Deadly on bass.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Rik: For me this band is a heavy act of spiritual expression and sonic therapy.
Rikk: We are Apparitional, a heavy gothic doom band from Orange County, CA. We have been compared to bands like Twitching Tongues, Life Of Agony and Type O Negative.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Rikk: I feel that the biggest challenge has been navigating the current landscape of social media. We’re all in other bands that have been around for a while, so it’s an odd change starting something new, and the current way things work online isn’t particularly easy to get people to see new art.
Rik: I guess what it comes down to is adaptation to the changing times and I feel like it’s a difficult thing to deal with across all aspects of life.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Rikk: I think so far I am most proud of the music we are currently planning to record.
Rik: Probably that in close to 30 years of being in bands I still haven’t run out of ideas for songs.
What was your biggest regret?
Rik: I know it’s probably trite to say and easier said than done but I try not to hold on to regrets. I used to regret every single thing in life, thinking that there was some kind of ideal path through life that I somehow strayed from. These thoughts tortured me endlessly for so many years, I fixated on the cracks, scars and imperfections, but all of them shaped me and led to where I stand today so I try to be grateful for what I have. It’s folly to think that we can lead some kind of error-free life, our mistakes and our failures are what make us human.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Rikk: So far all of our shows have been great for different reasons, but our show in January was probably my favorite since it was in my home town of San Diego with a lot of friends that I don’t get to see too often.
Rik: Our best concert is the one that hasn’t happened yet, hopefully we will always be growing and striving to perform better.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Rik: I don’t think anything surprises me anymore, when I was younger I used to think that music in the future would be some kind of hybrid of punk and techno like Atari Teenage Riot and the Digital Hardcore movement at the time, but visions of the future back then were always more dramatic and romanticized, I think the biggest surprise in general was the lack of these big dramatic stylistic leaps. Yes computers aid in all aspects of music production now but it hasn’t made the art better, just flattened out in most cases, especially with it’s over use. I am not saying that there isn’t innovation in music, but with all the technology if anything it has made things more homogenized and less daring.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Rikk: I have recently found a band called End Of Green that I am binging on, and I am falling even further into my obsession with gothic rock/metal bands like HIM and Lacrimas Profudere.
Rik: I keep moving in and out of an old-school death metal kick, classic bands like Obituary, Entombed, Suffocation and their newer harbingers like Creeping Death, 200 Stab Wounds, and Cryptworm. It has got to be primal for me to really dig in, if it gets too technical or fancy I lose interest pretty quick. Other than that I have been relisteing to the Melvins sparked from their recent tour with Napalm Death and a band that has not left my rotation since I first heard them a few years back is an indie americana band from the Pacific Northwest called Glitterfox.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Rik: I read a book called »Toursmart« by Martin Atkins of Nine Inch Nails / Pigface / Damage Manual and it is packed with useful advice for performing musicians at any level.
Rikk: I don’t think it was advice, but definitely something I learned playing in bands for years: have fun.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Rik: Eurovision – I watch the 2 semi finals and the grand finale (live if I can) every year without fail. I won’t book a show or accept a show offer on any Eurovision date, and I usually decorate my place in the colors and flags of the hosting country for the weeks leading up to it.
Rikk: I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I like what I like. I enjoy »Call Me Maybe« by Carly Rae Jepsen as much as I enjoy »Furtive Monologue« by Despised Icon.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Orange County?
Rikk: Southern California is an odd place for music post pandemic – there is a lot of competition and it can be hard to get on shows with like minded bands if you don’t meet them in person or if you don’t already have a venue on board to host them. But I suppose all the things we’ve been able to do this far have been fun regardless.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Rikk: As of right now we are focusing on promoting our latest single »Burn« and hoping to get on some bigger shows in the future.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Rik: We’re currently working on the next single »The Serpent’s Coil« after that we have a few more songs in the works, one of which might feature a guest appearance by a certified death metal legend (=X). Once this group of songs are out there we’ll compile them onto a limited CD / Vinyl release. Other than that, we have had a few cover songs by The Cure, Raign, and Lana Del Rey that we have infused in our gothic metal style for live shows and social media and I am hoping to do more of that. We have gotten some suggestions from friends and fans and there is a long list of artists that I would love to cover as well.
How can people best support your band?
Please follow us on Instagram and listen to our music on streaming platforms.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for the support. Hope you stick around to hear more from us in the future.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well