----------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX                           INTERVIEWS                     GUESTBOOK
---------------------------------------------------------------
 

 CARMINA is a Death metal band that includes 2 ex musicians of ANANDA that begins his promotion, and we should hear more about them soon!
Do not to judge them on their band's monicker because you'd have some surprises! Their Death metal is brutal, obscure and quite chaotic!
I had the good surprise to find their website (well stocked in Mp3s!)
on a forum, and their music has nicely grown on me!
They fastly found themselves on a split tape called OBSCURE INFINITY I've juste released, as well as on this webzine for the interview you will read!

1.Hello ! Introduce the band! Even if you play together since 3 years, you seem at the very beginning of promotion and gigs.

Stu : We are at the very beginning because we took our time. This way, the tracks one can download on our website aren’t anymore very representative of our current compositions, even if we keep on playing these. Now peoples can listen to Carmina, we’ll maybe have more opportunities to play gigs…

Michaël: At the beginning, we formed Carmina Stu (Guitar and vocals) and me. We were conveniently rehearsing together (I mostly had to learn how to play drums again !!). At the beginning it was a ‘side project’,  it slowly became a full time project. So we had to find a bassit and a guitarist. We offered Alexis to play the 2nd guitar and he accepted (He’s mostly before all a friend of ours !). It was quite a problem to find a bassist but we succeeded in finding Damien (who also does the vocals) who played in Denehg. So we were able to begin writing compositions. We don’t want to rush things. Then we bought some hardware to record ‘at home’. Some time was also needed to masterize all these hardwares, the sound engineering… And we are all working during the week, and sometimes it’s not easy to have a maximum of free time!

2.At the basis,  some musicians of CARMINA were a part of ANANDA! Why did you create this new project being quite different on a musical point of view?

S.: At the time of Ananda, I was listening to quite a lot of Death metal and I wanted to do something in this vein. We began with Mitch@hell et here’s were we actually are.

M.: With Stu, we wanted to form a « Pure death metal » band, at the beginning it was only an idea, we were having fun during Ananda’s rehearsals ; and I also wanted to play drums again, even though I stopped few years before!

3.Why did you chose this kind of obscure, heavy and quite chaotic Death metal? Didn’t a more technical and more controlled death metal interest you? What are the main influences of CARMINA?

S.: Carmina began in this style, but we started to find a real identity of our own with our last tracks. We’re actually really more focused in fast compositions with few mid tempo parts. It’s certainly the influences of bands such as Hate eternal or Fleshtized… The first tracks are quite raw and less evolved than the last ones, it’s mostly less fast.

M.: We didn’t say ourselves «We must do that »… Unfortunately (or hopefully ;o) !) the tracks being actually released don’t reflect much the current identity of the band. We are actually more technical and faster!! I can tell you about MY influences, not the ones of Carmina !! Internecine, Hate eternal, Immolation, Gorguts, Morbid angel, Cannibal corpse, Nile, ………

4.Even if you play a rather obscure kind of brutal death often reminding of IMMOLATION, or eventually INCANTATION by moments, it seems to me you are not totally immerged in the Death metal world: your band name sound rather Hardcorish than Death metal-like, some of your riffs sound a bit like Ananda or have an Hardcore/ Emo out-taste, and where the fuckking shit are your wigs? Ah Ah! Do you try to play something original melting together a bit of your Hardcore past in your current death metal?

S.: As I’m the one who mostly composes, it’s clear this way of composing was prevailing on the first tracks. The really emocore parts (I know the ones we are talking about…) weren’t all brought by myself. We begin into the Death metal thing and we are motivated to progress more and more, we are working on that and Hardcore goes away more and more… Personally speaking, I don’t want to mix the two styles, and at the same time I try to find something personal for the compositions.

M.: I hate clichés (it also makes me laugh !) metal : long hairs, ultra tight jeans or leather trousers, evil faces, unreadable logos…  We all have evolved a lot into the Hardcore scene, developed our own identities, it can please or not every individual on this earth!! We are a music band, that’s all!! Personally speaking, I had long hairs when I was 15-18 years old, but nowadays it’s more some kind of bald head that haunts me!! We play the music we enjoy, it’s our identity. There are good things in Death metal as well as in Hardcore, I don’t want to enclose myself in a given style.

5.Your track entitled « Le sens du silence » (The meaning of silence) has an out-taste of CANNIBAL CORPSE ‘Gallery of suicide » embalmed in a chaotic and abrupt side à la INCANTATION (« Mortal throne of Nazarene »). These two bands are obscure, insane and brutal. Do you think Death metal might be more favorable to the expression of the really insane, nauseous and pervert sides of the human being while Hardcore would be more ‘light’ ?

S.: Our music is maybe insane, but lyrics are rather full of rage than of satanic beliefs. It’s rather introspection than murder propaganda. Hardcore has always been a victim of its political side, but these limits are what makes the tracks remaining interesting (when it’s understandable). In my opinion, Death metal build many more links between the musical and lyrical violence to the contrary of Hardcore.

M.: The music can seem obscure, insane, brutal but it doesn’t mean these bands are!! When you see Cannibal Corpse on stage, they are more having fun than playing the insane guys !! The same goes for Nile who really live their music on stage (I remind a Nile gig in Anvers, the blond guitarist was screaming between every tracks, because how much he was into his music !!). One more time it’s about the stickers we put on each music to characterize it.
The New York Hardcore often seems more brutal in its attitude than many metal bands !! Carmina is the proof one can play Death metal with a ‘nice’ attitude!!

6.Why did you choose CARMINA as a band’s name? For it’s bleeding aspect? (Carmina refers to ‘carmin’ in French, that’s a bloodred color. Gab). Your website was also built in red colors… and if I don’t do a mistake, ANANDA had also red color covers… Shall the blood spurt?  

S.: Carmina for the color, the Orff opera and this little latin touch that has its charm.

M.: Carmina comes from Carmina Burana, written by Orff, we are really fans of this! And the red color also… but nothing gore !! We like the red, it’s this way an not an other (it might come from my anarchist/ libertarian side !!)

7.Tou recorded and produced by yourself your first recording session. Two tracks will be featured on a split Ep with MORGUE (released by Shogun/ Evilbiker), the 4 remaining ones can be downloaded on your website. Was it easy to record and produce this tracks by yourself ? Did you learn on the mile or did you ever have some experience for this matter?

S.: Doing the recording and production by ourselves gave us a lot of time, even if it’s not very tight on some tracks. One gives more of himself when he has to do everythings by himself, and it’s pleasant to control everythings. The experience comes from our past, both as musicians and in the studio, and it keeps on growing, then it’s a question of talent and hardware.

M.: Oh no!! Stu and I, we had both the experience of recording in a real studio. This is mainly myself, with the help of Stu, who worked on the sound recording, the mix and lately the mastering. I learnt how to do it by myself mostly to be independant. But also because I really wanted to work the recording. We were at home, it’s less stressing than in the studio when you have to pay!! There’s not the pressure of time and money. We have recorded with a numeric 16 tracks mini studio, 6 microphones, 1 pre-amp, 1 stereo parametrical equalizer, a stereo compressor, and that’s all !! I especially want to thank Frank from «  Hangar 19 » and the Audiofanzine community  (http://fr.audiofanzine.com) for their precious help!

8.Your lyrics are in French, it’s a rare thing for a Death metal band. Is it some remains from your hardcore past? What does it deal with ? Do you give more importance to typically Death metal lyrics (The morbid, the insane, total destruction…) or to rather Hardcore ones (The social edge…)

S.: The lyrics are in French because I speak French everydays and I hardly see myself singing « Ouaneugaine », even if I speak English. French is a very rich language and I don’t give a fuck when I open my mouth during gigs. The lyrics are maybe the only Hardcore thing that remains in Carmina. We are dealing with introspection and experience.

9.Why did ANANDA split up while the band started to have a quite good name in their scene?

S.: Ananda is dead.

M.: It’s a Carmina interview, right ??? ;o)

10.I know some IMMOLATION and INCANTATION fans who didn’t enjoy ANANDA. Some will maybe cry about a betrayal…? How would you convince them about your honesty?

S.: I don’t think I have to convince anyone. Ananda didn’t sound like Immolation… and then? Speaking for myself, I enjoy Jacques Brel and this doesn’t mean I want to do something in this style. I don’t see any betrayal, each thing shall be done at the right moment, that’s all. I’ll maybe play bossa nova later…

M.: Ahah!! We are used to critics !! Carmina isn’t Ananda, nor the contrary. We are simply playing the music we enjoy, the music that comes from our guts! They can come to a Carmina gig and discuss with us, then they’ll can make their own mind! I don’t want and I’m not able to please everybody (hopefully!) !!!

11.Which Death metal albums kicked your ass recently? Which hardcore ones?

S.: this isn’t really recent albums, but rather a general list:
HATE ETERNAL –KING OF ALL KINGS
IMMOLATION – UNHOLY CULT
VILE – DEPOPULATE
MORBID ANGEL – HERETIC
NILE – IN THEIR DARKENED SHRINES

M.: Death metal: Internecine (studio band of the Hate eternal bassist with the drummers of Nile and Hate eternal) and the last Decapitated.
Hardcore: Nostromo for ever, Overmars.

12.How is the underground scene in your suburb? Are there some bands you’d advice us to listen to? Which French bands will take more underground importance in few years in your opinion?

M.: The underground isn’t so great in our suburb. The metal scene begins to grow again since 2-3 years on ‘Mantes la Jolie’. We have started a little association, Damien, a friend and myself, we organize gigs around Mantes. I hope it will work a minimum. Speaking about it, we’ve scheduled Act of Gods (Absolute death metal – Bourg en bresse) + Shall not Kill (HxC – Nancy) + Headblast (Metal – Limay) on the 15/05/2004.
KYO is a band full of promi… no I’m joking, it’s really some big shit!! There’s Pitbull in the nursery that kick the ass well, 7th Nemesis also, but I’m not a very good visionary !!

13.Did you listen to SOLEKAHN? They play a strange and obscure Death metal being also near of IMMOLATION, and their last album shew some real progresses in the obscure side!

M.: No but I’ll put an hear on them!

14.What are your future projects? It’s you to conclude this interview!

S.: Only trying to play well and fast.

M.: We will record some new tracks, play a bit more gigs, don’t hesitate to contact us !! Thanks you, as well as all the readers, the peoples we love…

  Website: http://carminagrind.free.fr

>