English
After four decades shredding through speed-metal history, John Ricci refuses to re-run old tapes. With Powerrage he’s tossed the familiar Exciter templates and unleashed something darker, heavier and unapologetically new. Beast — a record split evenly between doom’s slow-burn menace and thrash’s raw, headlong fury — channels Ricci’s lifelong appetite for horror, volume and riff-driven catharsis. Produced with a sharp, European-tinged mix and a lineup built on chemistry and conviction, Powerrage isn’t nostalgia wearing a new coat — it’s Ricci starting from scratch and roaring back louder than ever.
John, Powerrage is your brand-new band following decades spent with Exciter. What drove you to launch something fresh rather than keep going under the Exciter name, and what does “starting from scratch” mean to you after more than 40 years in the metal scene?
All the credit goes to our bassist Todd , who convinced me to start a new band . I was enjoying my time off not being involved in the music business , I did have every intention to continue playing music but not any time soon , Todd was persistent with me to start a new band . Once I agreed I made it clear it would be on my terms and I would be in full control of everything , he agreed , we had a gentleman`s agreement . The problem is , to start a new metal band in 2026 is quite the task , there is so much competition with other really good bands , I don`t know where we are going to fit in ? I wanted a fresh start away from Exciter, I wanted to move on , the 8 songs I wrote for the album are all fresh ideas , no left-over ideas from my Exciter days .
The debut album “Beast” came out on April 24, 2026, via High Roller Records, with Dan Swanö in charge of mixing and mastering. How did you end up picking Dan Swanö for this record, and how did his contribution shape the final sound of the album?
High Roller Records hired Dan Swano to mix and master our record, he did an excellent job. Actually I contributed to the mixing as well with a few suggestions. Dan gave the album a somewhat European vibe/mix to give it a more international appeal. He did capture that “dark” feel I wanted with his software and special effects. I was quite happy with it.
Powerrage’s music is called “a darker, more sinister version of traditional heavy metal” instead of usual speed metal. How did you go about moving away from Exciter’s classic speed metal approach, and what inspired this heavier, darker direction?
I`ve always liked black metal, I listen to newer darker bands , so I thought this time I`m going to write darker riffs more than I ever did with Exciter , I wanted more brutal vocals . I felt I still had 40 years of musical frustration in me to write these angry guitar riffs ……lol . I didn`t want to emerge again with an Exciter 11, I wanted to explore unlimited ideas but at the same time still retain my signature style .
The album splits evenly between slow, doom-laden songs and high-energy, thrashy, fast tracks. Could you explain how you created that balance and name the tracks that best show each side of the album?
The slow doomy songs like HAUNTED HELL was the first song I wrote, that song is very thought out and organized and I wanted to play a very calculated solo, to me that song is old/new school mix . I Torture I Kill is a wilder out of control frantic song, typical thrash / punk. I wanted intense exchange between the guitar and vocals. My goal is to drive the audience crazy with the intensity of the music, like you say, I wanted the album to be 50 per cent doom 50 per cent thrash .
Vocalist Jacques Bélanger, who performed with you during your Exciter days (The Dark Command, Blood Of Tyrants, New Testament), covers everything from soaring falsettos to guttural growls on Beast. How did you collaborate to build this wide vocal range for the album?
I wrote all the lyrics and melodies , in the studio I would mimic the vocals for Jacques , word for word, sentence by sentence , I walked him through every line . Now of course, Jacques has a great voice so I knew he could do the growls and the screams, it was a lot of work but the results turned out to be amazing !
“Dark Wings” was said to partly come from your frustration after Exciter faced obstacles for years. What specific setbacks influenced this song, and how does its fierce, “up-front” style express that frustration?
Well , I`ve always played my Marshall amps extremely loud to “feel” the sound. I wanted to write a riff like Dark Wings that would go right through you and there was no escape, lol! When you play with extreme volume it sparks creativity , at that volume if the riffs are simple the more effective the music takes. I don`t really want to talk about setbacks, just overall it`s been a long journey and things didn`t go as planned so now it`s time to create new music that hopefully will be remembered.
The tracklist features titles such as “Cremation Damnation,” “I Torture I Kill,” “The Devil Is Screaming,” and “The Black Mass.” What lyrical subjects does Beast explore, and do they come from particular sources or your own experiences?
All the song ideas are just `fantasy` topics , just topics that go hand in hand with heavy metal music . When I was young I really liked the classic horror movies from the 1950`s-1970`s, so when I was writing the songs for BEAST I just thought of different scenes from these classic horror movies and I thought how would the music I was writing fit in this movie ? So, I was driven by the dark side ! lol !
Bassist Todd Pilon (formerly of Witchkiller) and drummer Lucas Dery complete the lineup. How did you connect with them, and what each brought to the group’s chemistry and sound that made them the perfect fit for Powerrage?
As I mentioned Todd was responsible for encouraging me to continue , actually Todd in the late 70`s early 80`s was part of Exciter`s roadcrew , that`s how we met . Lucas auditioned for us after answering an ad I had posted . They both managed to adapt to my songwriting style quite easily because I write simple music but with intensity . We rehearsed for about a year before we actually recorded and as a result the album sounds better than what we originally thought it would sound like .
You mentioned you didn’t want to stick to a “heavy metal songwriting formula” and aimed to be as original as possible. What concrete methods or strategies did you use to skip clichés and stand out in today’s crowded metal scene?
I`ve been writing songs for a long time, when I started playing guitar in the 1960`s, I wrote my first songs a year after I started taking guitar lessons . I always aimed for originality. Even though I absorb all kinds of influences I never never write songs that sound like any other band. I always blend guitar chords that have hooks, when I write songs I`m almost in a dream state of mind , I let the creativity flow out of me ……
Powerrage already has festival dates lined up for 2027. Which festivals will you be performing at, and how does it feel to return to the live tour circuit with a new band after such a long time?
At the moment we only have one European show in 2027, Keep It True fest in Germany.There are no other shows or tours planned, but I`m sure that will change once the BEAST album starts circulating. I am very exciting to play on stage again, I feel very comfortable on stage and in command, so I really miss playing to an appreciative audience.
Mario Lopez painted the Beast album cover. What concept did you have in mind for the illustration, and how does it match the album’s title and overall mood?
Mario drew the photo for the cover based on another idea we had that was lets say more digital looking ? Again, I guided Mario through the exact vision I had for the cover . I wanted a menace/ monster/ transformer type creature emerging from cemetery gates . Basically this creature on the cover is coming to `get you` to get all his rage out of his system which is exactly what the music is all about , it`s about rage and good verses evil , but in this case the evil identity is the “good” , and the evil is try to kill off an even more evil than evil , basically this is the running theme through the 8 songs on the album .
For fans in Greece and Europe who might know Exciter from the classic 80s speed metal period, what would you say makes Powerrage worth supporting, and where do you see the band going after Beast?
POWERRAGE has all the elements of Exciter, because both bands are based around my guitar style. So, if you’re an Exciter fan you should like POWERRAGE which has more edge and intensity, great for headbanging! The next POWERRAGE album will be more of the same, I don`t like to experiment too much, once I have a successful formula I like to stay with it .
