When Graham Harris made the cross-Atlantic move from Scotland to Calgary, Alta., he had no idea where to see a good live metal band, let alone join one.

“I did some searching on the Internet and came across Alberta Metal,” he recalls of the locally run forum for metal fans and bands across the province.

As it so happened, guitarist Don Stenhouse, who formed Reverend Kill in 2004, had just posted an ad looking for a new vocalist. The band had decided to pursue a heavier, more death-influenced sound, and needed someone with the chops to pull off that style of heavy metal.

“We got in touch, I went along to jam a couple of tracks, and that was that,” Harris explains.

More recently, the band utilized Alberta Metal yet again, this time to find a replacement bassist for Kyle Farrell.

“AJ Kovar joined us only a few months ago,” Harris confirmed. “And he’s doing a good job.

“We feel that our change of bassist is enabling us to continue down the musical path we wanted to tread. Live, AJ is much more of a showman than our last bass player, which encourages the rest us of to get crazier on stage, too.”

But that’s not the only new development: Reverend Kill just signed to Painkiller, a sub label of Apollon Entertainment UN Limited that, through Apollon Records, has released works by the likes of Nevermore, Orchrist and Nocturnal Breed. Apollon was founded in Bergen, Norway in 1982, and has been focused on distributing metal ever since.

“We’ve been asked by a fair few people how this came about. To be honest, we don’t know,” Harris reveals. ”They contacted us via Myspace. I don’t know if they heard of us before that, through a review, or if maybe they were passed one of the albums we sent to other record companies in Europe.”

Regardless, it’s a promising step forward for the group who already have two albums on their own label, MercyKill Records. And the most recent and only full-length of the two, His Blood, Our Victory [MercyKill, 2008], is set for re-release through Painkiller later this month, on Sept. 28.

“These guys do have access to publicity and distribution that we don’t, so we’d have been daft to say no,” Harris enthuses. ”Fingers crossed it all works out!”

What can you tell us about the new full-length Reverend Kill has in the works?

We are currently finishing things up. This will be the third Reverend Kill album, and is going to be called War and Conflict. We’re pretty excited about how it is sounding so far.

What can listeners expect this time around?

I think this is a natural evolution of our sound. The songs are probably heavier than on His Blood, Our Victory but I think the Reverend Kill sound is still there: plenty of solos and lead breaks, growling and screaming vocals, ferocious drumming and underpinned by solid bass work.

And how would you define the band’s sound?

We’re melodic and heavy. We try to write songs that people can follow, where the music is more important than the technical prowess and where all the instruments play a part in creating a whole, instead of competing against one another for attention.

Are you currently performing any of the songs live that will be on the album?

We’ve been playing a couple of the songs, such as “Deathgrip,” for slightly over a year, and most of the album is now a staple part of our set. There are others, like “War, Custer Falls,” which we’ve played only once or twice.

What’s the reaction been so far?

Judging by the moshpits, so far, so good! We had a fight breakout in Medicine Hat, Alta. as we played “Empire of Blood,” which I consider a great compliment.

When are you aiming for completion?

As soon as we can. We have some more work to do in the recording studio, and we have artwork to be finished. With a bit of luck, we’ll be wrapped up by the end of September.

Where are you recording?

We’re working with Joe Sikorski again on the recording, so that’s great too. Working with an engineer who lives and breathes metal means we get an excellent representation of what Rev Kill are all about.

How did you prepare before starting the actual recording process?

Practice, practice, practice! Individually and together, we just practiced the songs as much as we could.

You must have learned a few things to make the process go a little smoother each time you enter the studio. Can you give us any tips on how to record an album independently without losing our minds and/or our entire life savings?

You know, it is obvious, but what costs when you are recording is time. If you’re not properly prepared, and you keep having to redo sections because you’re making mistakes, or if you’re only writing parts when you’re already in the studio, of course it’s going to end up costing you more. You need to make sure you know what you’re going to do before you get there. As the vocalist, for example, I take multiple copies of the lyrics for each song, and highlight on each sheet the different voices (growls, screams, shouts) I use on a separate sheet. That way when I record the voices I don’t trip myself up. It’s also important to try to play the songs live before recording. Sometimes that doesn’t happen, but often songs change for the better the more you play them live, and you want to capture the best version of the songs you can when you record. Finally, make sure you all know what tempo the songs are supposed to be, and then use a click-track.

How has the band’s sound evolved since His Blood, Our Victory was released last year?

I think we are heavier than we used to be. The music has a more aggressive edge to it, and is more firey than before.

How have you evolved as musicians?

I think that one of the great things about the guys in the band is that they’re always striving to improve as songwriters and as players. I don’t think you can ever consider that you have no more to learn, no matter what you are doing. Personally, I feel our biggest improvement has been that our live show just keeps getting tighter.

Why did you decide to start your own label?

That’s was Don’s idea. But if you think about it, the only way to put your music out there, unless someone else is fronting the money, is to do it yourself.

What were some of the challenges in doing so?

Printing up and assembling CDs is a pain in the ass.

Do you still encounter challenges as a result?

Sure. We’re all busy people with jobs and other things in our lives. It takes time to devote to making up the merchandise and sometimes we forget to communicate with each other and end up at a gig with little or nothing to sell to anyone…oops.

What makes those challenges worth it?

Who else is going to do it?!

What are some of the main benefits – obvious and not so obvious – of starting your own label?

The two most obvious benefits are control over your products and ownership of the proceeds. But that has to be balanced against the effort and cost involved in doing it.

You’ve obviously done a good job promoting yourselves and getting the band name and sound out there. What are some of the other things you currently do, or have done in the past for promotion?

We’ve mostly relied on the Internet and gigs to get attention, but have also sent out promo CDs to webzines and mags to try to get reviews. There are so many bands out there, that I think the best way of promoting yourself is to play in front of people.

It seems a lot of bands lately are foregoing a proper website and solely relying on things like MySpace and Facebook. What are some of the benefits of having an actual website for Reverend Kill, specifically?

Having the www.reverendkill.com site is cool because it’s more flexible. We can control the layout and content more easily.

Aside from the new label and wrapping up the new record, what’s next for the band?

We are hoping to go and tour Europe next year. We’re in the process of trying to organize that now.