Interview with death metal band from France - AD VITAM INFERNAL.
Answered Samuel Girard (vocals), thank you!
Recenze/review - AD VITAM INFERNAL - Le Ballet des Anges (2024):
Ave AD VITAM INFERNAL! Hello to the French underground. Let's get straight to the important stuff. You have a new album out, "Le Ballet des Anges", which is literally packed with honest, dirty death metal. How was the album made and how do you feel about it? What direction has AD VITAM INFERNAL moved in since the last album?
Samuel Girard: The album was made in two stages. Many of the tracks were composed by Jérôme several years earlier.
After releasing “Pandemic” in September 2022, the first album of our SOULSLICER project, we started working on new songs for AD VITAM INFERNAL. After a few months, we already had 8-9 songs structured in broad outline, and I had almost all the lyrics.
But while digging through his archives, Jérôme found some older tracks that he really liked, and he thought it would be more coherent in terms of playing and musical progression to release them first. We reworked them in terms of structure and arrangements over a period of months, and then I wrote the lyrics based mainly on the Book of Enoch and a little on the Book of Jubilees, two books belonging to the intertestamental biblical writings.
We're really happy with the album, we like the 10 compositions from start to finish, everything flows together without any drop in intensity or quality, while adding nuances with the slower, mid-tempo passages.
In a few months' time, after recording SOULSLICER's second album, we'll be covering the tracks we've put on hold for AD VITAM INFERNAL's forthcoming third album. Four years passed between “Infernal Comedy” and “Le ballet des anges”, but we hope to release the third much sooner.
Let's go to the new album. I'm listening to it right now and I have to write that this time it took a while to get into my blood. I popped the album into my player, I'm listening to it in the car. I really like the sound. It's vivid, organic, old school, brutal, and at the same time very clear. I find it slightly different from your previous records. Where did you record and who is responsible for the sound?
It's me, doing it quietly at home, like the first one, while trying to improve the whole mixing and mastering process for a better result. We wanted something aggressive yet clear, so that you could hear all the musical layers on top of each other.
Jérôme recorded his guitar tracks at home and sent them to me as he went along. As for Christophe, he came to my place for three days to record his bass tracks. Finally, I recorded the vocal parts last and finished with the mixing/mastering process.
I think you'll agree with me that the cover sells. Who is the writer for the new record? How did you get together and what exactly is the theme supposed to express in relation to the music?
Jérôme did it. He enjoys composing music while contemplating medieval paintings and tapestries depicting hell. For Infernal Comedy, he was particularly inspired by Michel Collée's “Les représentations des Enfers et du Jugement dernier”, and for “Le Ballet des Anges”, he was inspired by Peter Paul Rubens' “Fall of the fallen angels”. It was while looking at this painting that the album title came to mind. He tried to represent in music all the chaos and intensity of Rubens' masterpiece. Initially, we were thinking of using this painting for the cover, but Jérôme had a strong image in mind that seemed more relevant and personal. He first tried a few drawings of the devil dancing with an angel, but couldn't quite recreate what he had in mind. He then used AI out of curiosity. After a few tries and readjustments, he found the result exactly as the image he had in mind. With Alex from Dolorem records, we reworked and enhanced it slightly using Photoshop. Through this ballet, the aim is to symbolize the superiority of evil, illustrated by its domination and hold over good. This is reinforced by the angel's self-sacrifice in fighting.
We know that the use of AI is not well perceived and we understand that, but it was the most relevant tool to use for Jérôme because he had a very precise image in mind, and he didn't want it to be distorted by an outside artist. The other reasons why we decided to use AI were lack of time in relation to the album's release date, and the financial aspect. A professionally designed cover is expensive, costing between €500 and €1000 minimum for a truly professional result. It's impossible to spend that kind of money knowing that fewer and fewer people are buying albums in CD format.
On the metal encyclopedia it says your lyrics deal with hell. Where do you get your inspiration for them? And who is the author?
Very few metalheads actually read the bands' lyrics, so the theme of hell is a simplification, but it gives you an idea.
So far, I've read everything I can find on apocryphal, gnostic and intertestamental writings. Among the latter, the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees are among the most interesting. Writing texts based on these stories was something I'd been wanting to do for at least 10 years, and as Jérôme wanted a theme around hell, anything that could be closely or remotely related would work for Ad Vitam Infernal.
Le ballet des Anges is a concept album, telling a story from beginning to end. So I was inspired by the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees, and I wanted to write my own version of this story, shorter and with an obviously much darker ending.
I put "Le Ballet des Anges" over and over again in my head and I think what I like most about the album is probably that hard to describe old school death metal, Florida feeling. We seem to be of the same blood. Who was and is your role model? Every musician started out somehow, there are role models that have shaped their signature. What were yours?
We're both huge fans of American-style death, and we've been exposed to major bands like MORBID ANGEL, IMMOLATION, INCANTATION, SUFFOCATION, HATE ETERNAL, NILE, VITAL REMAINS, DEICIDE, MONSTROSITY, DEATH, ANGELCORPSE, DRAWN AND QUARTERED and so many others over the last 30 years.
Apart from Eric Rutan of HATE ETERNAL, I can't say which other guitarists have influenced Jérôme, but as a singer, I've been influenced by David Vincent ex-MORBID ANGEL for his ability to slam down every word and the fact that he places his vocals judiciously without ever loading the songs unnecessarily, Ross Dolan of IMMOLATION, Max Otero of MERCYLESS and Legion ex-MARDUK for their respective vocal grains, Burton C. Bell ex-FEAR FACTORY for his very catchy approach to singing, Casey Robertson of FLESHTIZED for his vocal grain and the catchiness of his phrasing, Helmuth of BELPHEGOR for his ability to bring variety into his singing, Glen Benton of DEICIDE for his rage, power and vocal doubling, Artur Chudewniak ex-TRAUMA for his grain and catchy phrasing, his diction, Dallas Toller Wade ex-NILE for his vocal grain, technical skills in terms of placement and speed of vocal phrasing, Daniel Corchado of THE CHASM and ex-INCANTATION, notably on the brilliant Diabolical Conquest, for his vocal madness, not forgetting Tom Araya of SLAYER for his vocal speed while slamming every syllable. Then there's Miro Pavelic, singer of JUMPIN' JESUS, a band that released just one album in 1991, one of the first death metal albums I ever listened to. Even today, both the music and the vocals still impress me.
I'm also a big fan of black metal, especially the European scene, led by ABIGOR, those guys are geniuses, but also EMPEROR, MAYHEM, MARDUK, FUNERAL MIST, DEATHSPELL OMEGA, BLUT AUS NORD, DISSECTION, WATAIN to name but the biggest, but also WODENSTHRONE, CULT OF FIRE, DEATH KARMA. Coming from the USA, I'm a big fan of NIGHTBRINGER and the bands that revolve around it, AORATOS, BESTIA ARCANA and AKHLYS.
How do you look at the current trend, widespread mostly among young bands, where they try to play as technically as possible, often putting into death metal, for example, saxophone, different keyboards and generally finding their way in a very complicated way. Do you enjoy such bands? I'm confused sometimes when I go to a gig and someone like that is performing. It seems like a jazz school exercise, but I end up not remembering anything at all. What about you and the current trends in death metal?
The technique itself is of no interest to us. The only thing that matters is how we're going to use it to make the song better. If it's useful to have a highly technical passage in a song, we'll do it, otherwise there's no point in making it complicated for the sake of showing off our musical and/or vocal “technique”.
Young bands, which are in part necessarily created by young people, are necessarily contaminated by the effect of social networks. We've got to show the world that we're super good and super technical, that we're the “prettiest” with the best “real” metal looks, that we've got the most beautiful costumes with the most beautiful instruments and that we play superbly well in playthrough videos, and so on.
In AD VITAM INFERNAL, we don't give a damn what people think of us. We're doing brutal death metal, not a fashion show or an entrance exam for a classical music conservatory.
I like bands that write songs that move me, whether the songs are complex or simple, I don't care as long as I like the song.
Going back to the beginning... What was the first impetus for you guys to put a band together in the first place? And why death metal? It's not exactly a style that would gain you much "fame".
The true origins of Ad Vitam Infernal date back to 2009-2010, when Jérôme began composing for the project. The band's name and the foundations of some of the tracks on the first album date from this period, others were written in 2015-2017 and the very last ones in 2018-2019 concerning “Infernal Comedy”. Obviously, the band a deux really started in October 2017 when I arrived. We met at a VITAL REMAINS gig via a mutual friend, it was in 2016 I think. Jérôme also knew me through music because he'd bought “Alpha Theistic”, the debut album by my band ATHANATHEOS. We talked about death metal and soon realized that we liked the same bands. He told me about his project, and I said I'd listen and do the vocals and lyrics if he wanted. He sent me a few tracks, and I got hooked right away. I sent him back a track with vocals, he liked it and we started working on the first album.
As for choosing death metal, it's simply the style we like to play. And we don't give a damn about notoriety; he and I make music because it's a visceral need. If people like it, great, if not, we don't give a damn.
You come from France and play extreme death metal. Our readers would be interested to know how the death metal scene works in your country? To be honest, I've been hearing nothing but great stuff from you guys lately. Does that mean that your scene is very strong at the moment? What about the gigs, how many people come?
There are plenty of excellent French death metal bands, old and young alike: SLAVEONE, MERCYLESS, BENIGHTED, IMPUREZA, GOROD, KRONOS, EXOCRINE, DAWOHL, BLISS OF FLESH, ACOD, CATALYST, FRACTAL UNIVERSE, CREEPING FEAR, DYSMORPHIC...
But the black metal scene is even stronger and better exported internationally.
About the shows, I have got the impression that there are more people around since the end of the Covid mess. After the confinements and curfews, people felt the need to get out and meet up at concerts after going through this mess, which was particularly badly managed by the French government.
From your music you can feel that you are influenced by the American death metal school as well as old European bands. How are you as fans? Do you prefer the original death metal or do you draw inspiration from the new records as well? If so, I would be interested to know which bands had/have the biggest influence on AD VITAM INFERNAL.
We're really into old-school death metal, and the bands we discovered from 1994 onwards have had a huge impact on us. The US bands already mentioned, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, I also like European bands like VADER, NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER, CARCASS, MERCYLESS, the first DECAPITATED album, BEHEMOTH, DAMNATION, TRAUMA, HATE, AZARATH, GOD DETHRONED, SINISTER, BELPHEGOR, ASPHYX, EXECRATION, MORGOTH.
I like more recent bands, even if some have already had a good career, such as SULPHUR AEON, ADE, DEAD CONGREGATION, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, HOUR OF PENANCE, MITHRAS, SLAVEONE, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, AKERCOCKE, OBSCURA, ALKALOID, HANNES GROSSMANN, HEAVING EARTH, DESOLATE SHRINE, DEIVOS, CRUCIAMENTUM, THE FACELESS, BEHEADED, AD NAUSEAM, INFINITUM, MITOCHONDRION, REDEMPTOR, SARPANITUM, SICKENING HORROR, VANHELGD and many others.
But our biggest influence is undoubtedly HATE ETERNAL, for their intensity, speed and brutality. Their first three albums left a deep impression on us.
We are coming to the end and that always makes me ask a slightly philosophical question. How would you define death metal and what does it mean to you? I don't mean now the technique of playing, but rather what it brings to you, takes, how you perceive it in relation to the fans. Did you grow up on it?
Let me put it simply: death metal is a style of music, often intense and aggressive, but ultimately very varied in its many forms. The desire to surpass oneself technically and physically is one of the main driving forces behind this style. Ever more intense, brutal, technical, complex, dark, dense, heavy, fast, crazy, atmospheric, surprising.
This style gives me my daily dose of intensity and strong emotions.
And it takes me a long time to create it, but it's a great source of satisfaction when I manage to compose a new piece.
When it comes to philosophizing and living a philosophical life, I have to confess that I much prefer Nietzsche, Feuerbach, Epicure, Montaigne, Jean Meslier, d'Holbach, Diderot, Comte-Sponville, Onfray and many other thinkers, rather than death metal bands who generally don't have much interesting to say, with rare exceptions...
Thank you very much for the interview. I appreciate it. Now let the music do the talking. I'm going to play "Le Ballet des Anges" really loud! I wish you all the best with the new album and that all is well in your personal lives. Thank you!
Recenze/review - AD VITAM INFERNAL - Le Ballet des Anges (2024):
Recenze/review - AD VITAM INFERNAL - Infernal Comedy (2020):
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