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INDEX
INTERVIEWS
GUESTBOOK
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BYATIS is one of these extreme underground bands that offers a music of quality but they haven't got in my opinion the support they deserve; all the more they live in the same suburb than I do and they still remain not very much known here. So, here's an interview to satisfy this lacking and to introduce their next fulllenght album "In dark abysses of memory" that's actually in the making.
1. Introduce BYATIS to our readers.
BYATIS is a 4 pieces band of death-metal heads : Marc does the guttural vocals and the bass, Flav does the lead guitar and the backing vocals, Phildar is guitarist and Vincent is the drummer. BYATIS is now playing a Death metal that’s at the same time vilent and melodic since 4 years.
2. What are your influences? Are you strictly listening to metal or are you also attracted, do you also interest yourself in some other kinds of music ? And if it’s not the case tell me why !
We’re mostly listening to death metal, prog’ and classical music. So it goes from Krisiun to Guillaume de Machaut and Dream Theater.
3. Why do you play Brutal death ? What does Death metal means for you, and are you the same individual in the « everydays life » and in the band ?
Because it’s
for us the best way to evacuate our aggressivity and to satisfy
our musical curiosity. Death metal is a the same time technical,
violent and even melodic, that can’t be found in another style.
Yes,
we’re exactly the same guys during the gigs and in the normal life.
The tee-shirts and the long hairs are the only things that could
distinguish us from the « normal » human beings, it
can be during the concerts or in the daily life because appearance
hasn’t got a big importance for us, even if it’s and important point
for the band. Our personnalities totally fits ourselves, and we
totally assume it.
4. What
does BYATIS means? This is a band name that doesn’t sound Brutal.
What were the reactions of the underground about this name?
Did
you get some negative reactions from close minded brutal underground
fans about it?
BYATIS is a
deity of the lovecraftian pantheon.
We had been thinking about
calling the band Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel, but it’s
ever used. So we told each others: « why not Angel Corpse
? », but it was also taken. So we took the first name we could
find in a big book.
No, seriously speaking, metal is a music
that’s synonymous with freedom, we don’t have to follow the «
ritual » of using a Brutal name. We try to follow our own
way with doing any concessions. The lyrics of Byatis aren’t Gore,
neither satanical, a name that would refer to these movements and
subjects would so be grotesque.
At first sight, our name had
never been a problem for the band, it seems it has been accepted
by everybody.
5. What are the other members of BYATIS doing besides the band? Are you students, have you got a job, or is it the unemployment ? Are able to deal with both the band and your girlfriends ? Girlfriends are very often going through metallic hating jealousy phasis (The same also happens for computers ! !)
Marc is finishing
an history research degree while working, but not too much. Flav
is finishing his Mathematics and informatic research degree ( and
confirms it also works with the computers ! !. Phildar is an infographist
and he’s looking for a first job. Vincent is doing a DEUG about
communication and cultural mediation. About the girlfriends, there’s
not too many problems, as they’re conscious the band isn’t only
a leisure.
6. You’re actually working on a first whole album. Can you introduce it to us ? What are the differences between this one and the previous MCD ?
« Race of Caïn » was composed of 2 distinct parts recorded at totally different epochs and in radically different conditions. The new album album « In Dark Abysses of Memory » is composed of the main tracks of our gig’s set. We recorded it ourselves, and so we got a lot of more time for the recording sessions. The final result will only be better. We’re actually doing the mixing.
The 7 tracks
represent the evolution of Byatis during the last 2 years. This
album rather follows the lines of « Akhilleus ».
Some fast, violent tracks with quite complex structures. We’re trying
to go far from the usual scheme « Intro - verse - chorus
– verse – chorus – break – lead – verse – chorus ». This is
rather what we could call a « Thematic » music, it’s
build on the developpment of several themes all along the song,
than using a rigid structure than limits the creativity. This is
at this level the prog’ and classical influences are introduced.
About this point, we could notice the presence of a small concept
on the album : « Normes », divided in 3 tracks, on which
this « thematic » aspect is the more used.
The realisation
as a selfrelease is for us a new experience that makes us able to
sum up the situation after 4 years of activity, and to apprehend
the future of the band.
Contrary to the MCD, « In Dark
Abysses of Memory » will enable to listener to really judge
the musical qualities of BYATIS.
7. Your lyrics have got a rather philosophical character ? Aren’t you afraid of smoking too much stuffs before writing the lyrics and to go in some too much « space » deliriums that would be ununderstandable for the listener (or for the reader)?
Marc doesn’t smoke. His lyrics are the reflection of a given vision of the world with some precise references to some authors or thinkers : Mishima, Nietzsche, Homère. It’s maybe a bit hermetic, but this is not a will to make the understanding difficult. This is right if the reader hasn’t got some « keys », and some references, some concepts can seem ununderstandable, but with a bit of reflection, this difficult point is easily surmountable.
8. Speak a bit about your lyrics : the subjects used, influences, elaboration… Are these ones written apart from the music, in connection with what the music inspires you or at the contrary do you start writing a song with what the lyrics evoke?
The music is
composed before the texts shall be written. With a main high line,
Marc organizes his strongest ideas in connection with what the riffs
evoke. This is specially true for the lyrics as « Nornes »,
in which the writings are in perfect adequacy with the leitmotivs
of the track.
The subjects we deal with are varied, but some
kind of an unity can emerge from this. Some mastering ideas can
lead the orientation : the myths, the violence… some very general
concepts are moved on in a different way at each time
9. Did you play a lot of gigs? Can you describe your vision of a BYATIS’s gig? Is your merchandising selling well during the concerts ?.
Not ebough
for my tastes, unfortunately the places for gigs that accept the
metal bands are very few et the metal heads doesn’t go to all the
gigs. Last year we did 5 gigs, from the Somme (A french suburb)
to the belgiul. Each gig is for us a new reward for the work we
did. We think a BYATIS gig must be at the same time musical and
visual. For exemple we try to move ourselves at the maximum on stage,
so that the public lives even more the music.
About the merchandising,
it’s actually bound to the selling of the demos, in general we always
sell a few ones.
10. Are you doing a lot of promo ? You’ve got a website and I regularly go on it since a few months, unfortunately I don’t see the counter’s number increasing very fast. Is it due to a lack of time or maybe you haven’t got the right contacts !
We voluntary
limited the promo until now because of the average quality of the
MCD. We’re going to really launch the process with the album, that
will be released the 29 of june, during a gig at the Infernal in
Calais.
All the more, the time we give for our studies doesn’t
make us able to fully invest ourselves in the band, but it’s out
of question to abandon as long as the band hasn’t reach a given
notoriety. Finally, the site is in french only for the moment, but
the translation will be done this summer..
11. Do you think a band can correctly deal with the promo and keep enough energy to pass through its music to make it of a good quality without the help of somebody that’s not a member of the band (label, webmaster, manager) ?
An external help would really be a good thing for us. It’s obvious the time we spend to organize gigs, to take care of the site, in short all that deals with the organization, the promo, the recording is some time we lost for the music in itself. But we aren’t ready to leave this part of the stuff to an individual or to a label that wouldn’t do more than we do. All the more, some not always unpleasant sides makes us learn a lot of things. But if we get an interesting purpose, we would of course jump on it.
12. What do you think about the french extreme metal scene ? Is there some bands you appreciate musically or humanly speaking ?
We doesn’t know too much the french extreme metal scene, we don’t know the pro bands in fact, but musically and humanly speaking we appreciate a lot the bands with wich we played: Gerbe Of Life, Decline of Humanity, Amethyste, Kortex, Black Dust or Scarvenger. Each one of these bands has got some real possibilities and when we hear some bands that are pro, we wonder why they haven’t got a deal…
13. Your logo reminds me a bit the covers and the artworks of AUTOPSY. Is it volunteer ? Do you appreciate this band? Is it a member of the band that did the logo? And if it’s not the case did you explain your musical concept and your vision to the guy who did it ; did you make him hear your releases, or did he do the art stuff by following his instinct ?
No, we don’t
really know Autopsy, we knew only the name…
The logo was created
by Phildar and Flav during a lesson of engineering while they were
still at school…
14. Have you got some musical projects that wouldn’t be a part of BYATIS ? Or maybe you’ve got some other non musical projects…
No, our only projects are the ones related to our studies and to the Byatis association.
15. What
do you think about the state of decrepitude of the pope? Do you
think it’s sane to expose a so alive image of our beautifull church
to millions of watchers who are confortably sat in front of their
T.V ? (Note: it’s the same thing with the politics.)
Do you
think one person has to reach a given state of fermentation to be
able to work for some privileged fonctions ?
Honnestly speaking, we don’t give a shit about the pop…
16. These last words are yours, thanks for having taken the time to answer!
Thank you!
We
also would like to thanks in particular Gerbe of life for their
support ! ! ! Thanks to all the peoples that move their ass so that
the metal lives ! ! !
And of course a thought for Chuck shuldiner…
SITE WEB: http://www.chez.com/byatis