Prediken over hellevuur en uitgebreid lullen over de bijbel is niet bepaald een recept voor succes buiten de Bible Belt, maar Flaming Fire kunnen er verbazingwekkend genoeg aardig van leven. Denk aan harde gitaren, ritmewisselingen, af en toe een demonische grunt, electronische drones en mooie samenzang en je komt aardig in de buurt van wat wij alleen maar kunnen omschrijven als liedjes regelrecht uit het gezangboek voor een post-Apocalyptische EO-Jongerendag.

Live gaat het er overigens behoorlijk wild aan toe. Iedereen rent schreeuwend in het rond en spreekt in tongen. Bandleider Patrick Hambrecht is trouwens ook de maker van een e-zine met als titel God Magazine, en hij maakt een strip over een generaal uit de Amerikaanse Burgeroorlog genaamd Cuniglius Cronk. We spraken met hem over allerlei zaken, waaronder godsdienst, filosofie en bands…

VICE: What was Flaming Fire like in the beginning?

PATRICK HAMBRECHT: The idea of the band was that it would be a big chorus but also be something you could do in your house. We’d have these big chants and big samples that would go on and on. We tried to do that, but nobody wants to show up and be all like, “KRRAHHM, KRRAHHM, KRRAHHM” with 40 other people because everyone in New York thinks they’re a rock star.

What’s with all the religious business?

I’m a Christian and come from a long line of Baptist preachers on my mom’s side. My dad is also a preacher. I’ve made decisions to deliberately thwart becoming one if the thought occurs to me later in life. Being in this band certainly helps that out. I’m deeply afraid of God annihilating all existence. It came out of reading lots of rapture books when I was a kid.

So it’s Him we need to be worried about, not so much the Devil?

Kind of—should we pray for Satan? Does he need our help? Is he somebody that God wants us to interact with because he’s around? I don’t know if we need to have Satan to have evil or if he’s just an extra bonus.

What are your shows like?

They are kind of a religious experience. I think that people who have a heavy reaction to church enjoy us. When we tour the South we get a much better reaction than when we tour the East Coast.

Any negative reactions?

We had an altercation with the dude from the Reatards where he pissed in a band member’s drink. They had this weird screaming match. Oh, and there was a show in Chicago where this Russian guy jumped on the stage. He started screaming and smashing out the windows. But that’s not normal Flaming Fire stuff, it was just some drunk.

You have a song called “Kill the Right People.” Who are the right people to kill?

In New York people like that song because they think I’m talking about right-wingers.  In Chicago they’re all about death—they think it’s a Satanic put on. Who the right people are to me is intentionally unclear. If you know who the right people are you’ll probably like that song.

Would you try to kill the right people if you knew who they were?

If I thought that it was right to kill some people, I guess I would. But I don’t.

The new album, When the High Bell Rings, is out now. Check their MySpace page for more details.

ROCCO CASTORO