There comes a time when we as listeners feel like we should take a break from listening to various extreme metal sub-genres, and just enjoy some good old heavy metal. Of course, this rule also applies to musicians who work or have worked on many various bands and projects, that suddenly decide that they should just instead work on something catchy, simple and effective, without an excessive need for over-saturating their music. The case and point here is the heavy metal two-piece Impending Triumph, formed by François Blanc (Angellore, Abduction) and Déhà (Wolvennest, Drop Dead etc.). Both dedicated themselves to form a heavy metal project which will focus on a fantasy setting of their liking, while the main goal is to make music inspired by the likes of Accept, Helloween, Running Wild, Manowar, Grave Digger etc. So for this occasion, I've decided to share a few words with these two fine gentlemen and see what they have to say about the story behind their project, Impending Triumph.

Vladimir

Greetings! First of all, I'd like to wish you a warm welcome on behalf of the MetalBite crew!

François: Thank you and thanks for your interest in the band! 

The beginning of Impending Triumph dates all the way back to 2020, and fast forward 3 years later, here we are with your debut EP which is soon to be released via Jawbreaker Records. Could you please tell us something about the project's early days? What truly inspired the two of you to start Impending Triumph, considering the fact that both of you are coming from a background of various extreme metal bands/projects?

The whole adventure started in the most unusual way, actually! Some time in May 2020, a drawing artist I admire posted covers of old books he found in his attic on his Facebook page. These were all fantasy stories from the 80's, with epic visuals showing stuff like dragons and barbarian warriors in flashy colors. When I saw the post, I commented and wrote something in the vein of "wow. How cool would it be to have a drawing like this as the cover of an old school heavy metal album?" And, rather jokingly, the artist answered and said: "you do the music, I'll take care of the artwork". That totally took me by surprise and really got me to think. After all, I had been a heavy metal fan for as long as I could remember, as my sisters, who are much older than me, were addicted to this music when they were teenagers and blasted Manowar and Accept all the time at home when I was a kid – much to my parents' dismay. I had always wanted to sing in that style but genuinely didn't think I had the right voice for it. But these past years, I had worked a lot on my clean vocals, especially with my progressive black metal band Abduction and my confidence grew. Déhà had always been the best of producers and vocal coach for me, so I thought this random Facebook comment could possibly be the sign I was waiting for without even knowing it. I asked Déhà if he would be on board to start a heavy metal project with me, as he is a skilled composer that can also play many instruments. And turns out although he had always been into heavy and power metal as well, he never had the opportunity to express himself in that genre either! So, we decided to give it a try, and see what we could do together. And as soon as we finished ‘Armies Of The Conqueror', which was the first song we did for the project, we knew that there was something there and decided to go further with it. And to conclude the story, the comic book artist that involuntarily started the project did provide cover artwork that was absolutely stunning, but a bit too far from what we had in mind. We might use it someday, but meanwhile, I asked another comic book/graphic novel artist, Sébastien Grenier, to do the artwork. He's the metalhead, he really is into that type of sword and sorcery universe, and he fucking nailed it. Sorry, that was a rather long answer, but that's exactly what happened.

Heavy metal music and epic fantasy has been the most common combination utilized by many bands throughout the ages, and you certainly seem to be an exemplary band that keeps the tradition breathing. Are there any specific tales, movies, games, illustrators/painters, writers of the fantasy genre that inspired the world you crafted for your project?

Yes! Since it was a comic book artist who gave me the initial push I needed to start the project, I decided to hide some references to the graphic novels and comic books I loved as a teenager in the lyrics. Aside from the introduction "Dawn Of Death", all the song titles in the EP are taken from comic books that I love. They are famous here in France or in Belgium, but probably not so much abroad. I still advise your readers to check the Thorgal saga ("The Invisible Fortress" is the 19th book of the series) and The Quest For The Time Bird, which is an incredibly deep and moving story. That's how I got the idea for the "Temple Of Oblivion". The lyrics of our songs have nothing to do with these books though. Aside from that, books and movies like the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, the old "Willow", "Dark Crystal" and "Neverending Story" are definitely inspirations, and regarding illustrators, I would name Frank Frazetta, Ken Kelly, Jean-Claude Gal, Victor De La Fuente and Simon Bisley as my main idols. I also love more classical painters like Peter Nicolai Arbo. Just looking at their paintings makes me wanna create music. An endless source of inspiration!

How do you perceive this entire "New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal"? Do you look at this so-called "wave" as a revival for the old school sound or more like a preservation of traditional heavy metal music in the modern age where everything rapidly develops?

I would say both, to be honest. I think it's a great and fascinating scene, and a very active one. You can tell that most of the bands that brand themselves "NWOTHM" are playing this music out of pure passion, and not because that they want to become millionaires. I love that! It preserves the original heavy metal sound, but it's also kind of funny to see that while all the bands in the eighties were working hard to get the best possible productions for their records, most NWOTHM bands are trying to align to these old standards instead of abiding to today's norms. They feel like they need a dirtier approach if they want to sound "real" or "authentic". And as ironic as it may seem, it usually works very well.

Considering the fact that we've touched the subject of "New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal", were there any bands particularly in this category that you specifically looked up to and inspired you to do heavy metal music as well?

When I entered the vocal booth to record my very first vocal lines for Impending Triumph, I thought "okay, I'd like to sound like a slightly more aggressive Markus Becker (Atlantean Kodex) if I can!". But that's it, really. I love bands like, well, Atlantean Kodex, Enforcer, White Magician, Freeways and a few others, but although I was inspired by their approach of the sound, with the big reverb on the vocals and the slightly gritty, crunchy guitar sound, when it comes to the music itself, we took inspiration from the pioneers and not from any band of our era.

According to your official source, the tale behind the EP is that it's about a fictional empress which presents herself as a defender of liberty, but is in fact a tyrant in disguise, while her story is told by one of her most loyal followers and biggest admirers. Could you explain a bit more in detail what exactly is this story which is being told?

The story takes place in a medieval type of universe, where mythical creatures are real and brutal fights rather common. The typical heroic fantasy decorum, and the perfect setting to describe epic rides, fierce battles and depict weird, ominous characters. We thought it would be the best possible way to emphasize the importance of always being critical and really think about what's going on around you without sounding like arrogant, annoying preachers. I like to keep the lyrics rather vague so every listener can make of them what he wants, but we thought it would be interesting to walk in the steps of this unknown soldier, who is blindly following orders and is deeply convinced that Puritania is the best possible ruler for the queendom. He literally worships her and would do anything she asks without a single hesitation. But in due time, the events are going to deeply change his perspective and he's about to experience a rough awakening that will completely change his perception of life itself. That story will be developed later, on future releases. So, yes. Impending Triumph is all about the rise of a hypocritical, self-absorbed, evil ruler in a fantasy world. Hence the name of the band!

I hear quite a lot of influences in your songs, varying from Running Wild to Grave Digger and even Manowar. While working on your songs, did you directly focus your songwriting on aspects of these specific bands or was it more on the fly?

Actually, your first hypothesis is correct. Before starting to work on a song, I would play to Déhà some of my favorite heavy metal tracks so we could draw inspirations from them. The idea was never to copy one song or another, or one band or another, but just to analyze some elements of songs we loved and try to make them ours. For example, I took the idea of having a leitmotif for the second part of "Temple Of Oblivion" from the Accept song' "Princess Of The Dawn". These two songs are nothing alike, but you have the same idea of having one simple yet catchy idea as the basis of a long, epic composition. And before writing "The Invisible Fortress", we listened to "Thor (The Powerhead)" by Manowar. I thought it would be awesome to give more space for the vocals in the verses, and to have a lead guitar playing with the choirs in the chorus. It was very pleasant and so far, we've been keeping the same approach on the upcoming album. But nevertheless, the songs were kinda written on the fly as well. Déhà is very quick to come up with some ideas and a very efficient songwriter. When we start to write, we don't stop until the song is finished, because once you get in the right mood, you just feel the passion burning and you follow your instincts. Sometimes something magical happens when you sing a vocal melody or play a guitar solo for the first time. And that energy can never be perfectly recaptured, so we tried to save those precious moments when we could.

Although it is still a bit early to talk about your future plans since your EP is yet to be released, what are your next steps that you'll be taking if this EP succeeds?  Will you be working on a full-length album or perhaps even some live shows with additional members as well?

The success of the EP won't have any impact on the course of Impending Triumph's career. Of course, I hope some people will dig what we do, but even if we end up selling ten copies, we will keep on working on our first album, which is already half-written and recorded. We are so much into it and can't wait to share our new songs with the world! Regarding live, we are definitely up for playing some shows as well. We are too busy to tour, unfortunately, but one-offs here and there would be awesome. We have some talented friends that have already expressed some interest about playing with us so time will tell if the next step will be our first album or some shows somewhere in Europe. If a festival wants to book us, that might speed things up on the live front!

This might be a bit of a difficult question to ask but how would you sum up your music, especially with this fantasy setting of yours, in a very picturesque manner?

That's a great question, and not an easy one to answer. I feel like the cover artwork pretty much sums up the essence of our music. Check out "Haggarth" by Victor De La Fuente or "Epopées Fantastiques" by Dionnet and Gal – that's pretty much what I have in mind when I write my lyrics or sing them. Shadows of warriors in silver armors riding through untamed, desolate land below a blood-red sun, with smoke coming up from the soil. Something epic, big, empowering, and deeply melancholic at the same time.

There are so many great releases already out this year and plenty of more are along the way, including your EP. Are there any upcoming releases in particular you're excited about, besides yours of course?

I'm a big fan of Tenhi and Saturnus, and both bands are releasing new albums this year, so that's exciting. Sorry, this is quite far from the heavy metal universe! Aside from that, I don't know. I don't have much time these days, but I'm always up for some old-school heavy metal. One can make great discoveries just by going from band to band on YouTube. And Déhà and I both have several releases coming up from our other bands and side-projects that we are excited about.

Thank you so much for doing this interview! Are there any final words you'd like to leave to all the people reading this?

Thank you for reading this interview, hope my answers weren't too long and that you dig what we do. Déhà and I both thought these were really interesting questions and hope to talk to you guys again when the album is done!

Do you miss that feeling you got as a teenager when you were watching live videos of all your favorite 80's metal bands for the first time? Do you really wish to see bands once again tear the stage apart with their primitive heaviness and evil rock ‘n roll, revolting against musical consumerism and revive what was once crucial in both the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal movement? An exemplary band that really throws you back in those days when wild bands like Venom, Tank, Metallica, Slayer and Exodus were really on the rise, is the South Carolina based black/heavy/speed metal band Interceptor. After 2 years since their inception, they released their highly anticipated debut full-length album "Tales Of Mayhem" via Motorpunk Records, showcasing some violent heavy metal action with a bulldozing sound production that sounds like an overheated jet engine. These guys became really popular with all the youths that are into oldschool metal, and after a while they started looking at Interceptor as a Phoenix that arose from the ashes to bring back those sacred traditions. A week after the album had been released, I had the pleasure of talking with vocalist/bassist Blake "Bulldozer" Arenvurst and guitarist Johnny "Reaper" Faiella, regarding the release of their debut album "Tales Of Mayhem', the overall feedback that they got, as well as their initial goals as a band when they started out in 2022. Stick around, grab a beer or two and inject yourself some dose of violent heavy metal.

Vladimir

It's been few weeks since the album has been released, how are you guys feeling about it? How has the fan and critical feedback been for you?

Bulldozer: I mean the fan feedback has been great so far, people are digging it, the records have been almost sold out on Motorpunk Records, so people watching this, go get yours!

So, it's been already sold out in just one week and I still see people posting that album on social media, whether it's on Facebook or Instagram. So, I wanted to ask you guys this really quickly about the making of "Tales Of Mayhem", this album really stands out to me because I was always a big fan of first wave black metal, and of course a lot of the NWOBHM, and this album really kicks ass because it's got a lot of that old 80's necro sound production, can you guys tell me how did you get that specific sound?

Bulldozer: Well, a lot of that comes from using Marshall amplifiers, that's the big thing for the tone, we didn't wanna just sit there and use modern micing techniques, we didn't want to make it sound big and empty in the room, so we put the microphones few feet away from the amps. We do all that, and then we made sure to get a fine tape sound after we recorded it on GarageBand, because we don't wanna spend bunch of money on real DI's, we just wanted to make use of what we got and GarageBand has worked with me before. But obviously with that you get kind of a clean sound when you just use that, so we ran it through tape and then spit it back out, and it sounds old, it sounds like it came from tape.

Reaper: We originally wanted to record all three of us together, but with Tyrant living in Tampa right now, we couldn't really do that, so we recorded all tracks separately, which wasn't ideal, but it got the job done.

Bulldozer: Yeah, he recorded his drums in a home studio in Tampa, which we've never even figured out where it was, so that's why we just credited it in the album as a "random home studio in Tampa", and then right after that I recorded everything here in my home in the garage, bass, vocals and guitars, we just ran it real quick. The final drum recordings didn't get done until three days before the release of the album, mixed it all that night.

It's funny because I originally thought that Tyrant was present there during the recording of the album, because everything sounds like it was recorded on place. It's just got that demo quality, like I already said before that it has that first two Venom albums, as well as their demo tapes, because you really sound like you guys were all there in one room, recording that whole thing together. When you were recording that album, did you feel like some kind of presence there in the room, that something was going on?

Reaper: I mean, I haven't even met the guys since after the album was recorded, so we didn't record to his drums, we recorded to the demo drums that were just programmed, and he recorded after we put them in.

Bulldozer: Some of them we did record over his drums specifically, but then the last bit, the studio time gut put off, because the guy recording it had stuff to do, so first few checks we recorded over his drums, and then the other ones we just had to go program some drums and then go overlay his tracks over ours, you will have to guess which ones they are because I don't think you can't hear too much of a difference.

I really see that you guys are pretty much going back to the old days when people weren't frustrated to have as perfect sound as possible. I had this issue lately, for the past couple of years, that the US metal scene was talking too much about originality, and also about having as much of a polished sound and music, there is a lot of pretentiousness going on here and there, and when you guys showed up it was pretty much like you were basically saying "Fuck you!" and then just kicking it right up with the ass with the album it came out. Would you agree with that?

Reaper: That's it, that's what it's all about.

Bulldozer: Absolutely, I loathe the modern production, it steals away from music, especially metal. Metal is supposed to be something that is raw and scary sounding, it's supposed sound like a fucking motorcycle, peeling out on your fucking face. It's not supposed to sound like clean and pristine, like all these shitty modern metalcore and nu metal bands that record their music videos in like a white room, just kind of hanging around with no amps and stuff. It's not what metal is supposed to be about, it's not supposed to sound like you are playing through a glass window, it's supposed to sound like you are playing in a big empty stadium or a giant cave, that's how it's supposed to sound.

That's like the very big human factor that's been taken away after everything became so digital and processed after so many years. You are definitely right about the fact how everybody records their music video, it's always like in this one studio room where there is just like no color, no amplifiers whatsoever or anything, it's basically like they are trying to make a rap music video, but instead you just pun on some guys with guitars and goofiest haircuts possible. I think if you guys come up with a music video, it would be like a weird VHS recording that would be a nice throwback.

Reaper: We definitely have plans for that.

Bulldozer: That's the plan, we plan on recording maybe three or four, hopefully withing about a month or so, probably will be released in about a month or so, hopefully within a month we can start recording them and then get some stuff done. We want to show off the kind of aesthetic that we wanna replicate in our music videos, because we have little promos here and there that do a decent job, we show the people the kind of aesthetic we're about. You know, full-length music videos, those will kind of take it down.

Also, on the other side I have to say that this album is met with a lot of simplicity, but there is a lot of catchiness to it as well with the riffs. It's not like one of those instances where you can just hear the album and say that it's trying to be something but it's not anything, because you have headbanging tunes like "Slut", "Wehrmacht", the title track, the self-titled track, even "Witch's Dance" and "Into the Hellmouth" as well. You got very nice solid material on here, but I really want to know, where you having challenges while you were making Tales of Mayhem?

Reaper: Well, the drums was probably the main one. The reason we didn't get them until three days prior was because Tyrant actually recorded all the drums good, but when we were finally mixing it, we realized that couple of songs were not recorded to the right demos, so we had to scramble and really get into this guy's ear to make him record it before the album had been released.

Bulldozer: He had to go back in the studio about like 9/10/11 pm one night, so it was like the last-minute thing.

Reaper: That's probably the only mishap. Well, for me though actually, the solo to "50 Megatons", that one took me a real long time to record it, I just couldn't do it. Blake said it sounded good, but to my ear it didn't, so I recorded that probably about 15 times before the final take.

Those are the kind of difficulties you face as a guitarist, because you want to nail that solo right just to get that real feeling, it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be right.

Reaper: Yep.

I really wanted you ask you guys about the whole background of Interceptor, what were you guys initially planning to do as a band, what kind of goals did you have as to what kind of sound or energy did you want to resonate through the music?

Bulldozer: Yeah well, so, when I originally started Interceptor, it's funny enough, because "Into the Hellmouth" is the remainder of what we started as. I loved thrash metal, that was my favorite genre, like '87 was the best year, so when I started Interceptor I wanted to sound like Persecution Mania, I wanted to sound like Power and Pain, I wanted to sound like Kill ‘Em All, straight thrash sound, but at the time too I figured I really also dug this game called Ace Combat Zero that was on a PlayStation 3, it was a jet-fighter game and it was one of my favorite games growing up. I wanted us to be themed as like an Ace Combat, not exactly by the game, but an air combat type of themes, like all our songs are about fighter jets and arial combat and stuff, that's what "Into the Hellmouth" was, it was our first song like that. The demo was pretty different from the album version, but that was kind of the one remainder of what we wanted to start out, it was fighter jet themed thrash metal and slowly our sound kind of traveled back in time a little bit, and here we go with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, speed metal and first wave black metal sound. The thing is, I feel like we've pulled from good few genres, I see thrashers that like our music, I see the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal crowds that like our music, we got black metal fans like our music, and our music ends up on Black Metal playlists. So that's why I say we're just "violent metal", because at the end of the day you see videos of us playing onstage, we're pretty damn violent thrashing around.

That's one of the things I remember, how I actually discovered you guys, someone posted a video with a caption "POV: You came to the Interceptor show", and it was you Blake shredding that bass like crazy, I went like "Jesus Christ, this guy is fucking nuts!".

Bulldozer: Actually, the thing about that show, Tyrant recorded that video before he was in the band. He was a fan, he came down to Tampa, this was when we had "Double A" and "Poltergeist" in the band. We played in Tampa, it was a great show, and Tyrant was down there, he was actually a fan at the time and he's the one who got that video with a few others, and he made it look that it was real wild in there.

If you take that video and the whole performance, including your highly anticipated debut album, even here in Serbia fans were asking when is the album going to come out, everything kind of exploded all at once, I just kept saying to myself "Damn these guys are more Venom than Venom is today", like you know what I am saying?

Bulldozer: Oh yeah. The thing is we don't want to necessarily want to capture one band sound. I mean, Venom are one of our biggest influences, but we also take influence from bands like Tank, Motörhead of course that was a real big one, also Warfare, even Carnivore here and there, and little bit of Iron Maiden with some stuff, and other bands too, I mean like "50 Megatons" was inspired by Ted Nugent, and "Slut" was inspired by AC/DC. Some people immediately just write us up like "Venom clones" and yeah, we were pushing a bit too close to that, but the thing is we're trying to go towards our own sound, while sticking to the rawness and the power that Venom had, the rock and roll sound, that just evil rock and roll. I think with what we're doing right now, we're on track to fully develop into our own thing while still sticking to the raw heavy metal classic sound that we got.

That's one of the things I actually mentioned in the review, that you can tell that there is more stuff than just Venom, you can tell that there is stuff like Tank, Warfare, Angel Witch and of course Discharge and GBH from the hardcore punk stuff, because let's be honest that's one of the things that basically built the foundation of this "violent heavy metal sound" that we would be calling today black metal or as first wave black metal as it is. The part about being labelled as "Venom clones", I actually read a review from some other guy on the Metal Archives that basically left a 0% while stating that.

Bulldozer: That guy right there, man let me tell you about this guy. Every post that we make, every post that someone makes about us, every comment that we make, every comment that someone leaves about us, that guy right there, his name is Zach and he goes by his name as Slam on TikTok. He's our biggest fan, he comments on every single post, reply, comment, everything that mentions us, and in all honesty, we're thinking about sending him an Interceptor product package, just for his dedication to always replying to anything that mentions us. That review was not a serious review, he just hates us that much for his own personal reasons. If you go look at the other reviews he's left, he's left 90% ratings on Lorna Shore and other deathcore bands. He's got a personal vendetta, because I am pretty sure I insulted the deathcore bands he likes in the past, he took it way too much to the heart and now he's just being a baby about it. But no, I appreciate him very much for always having the dedication to reply to every single comment and post that mentions us, including our own.

Damn, I mean that part where you said that he's really into Lorna Shore, honestly that band has been so overblown and so hyped to death that it makes me go "Fuck off!", because I didn't listen to bands like Hellhammer and Sarcofago just so Lorna Shore can be considered as one of the primary black metal acts in the 21st century, even though it's got nothing to do with black metal at all. It just has some elements of it, but it's still metalcore/deathcore. When I saw who that guy is and saw that he's into slam and grindcore, it's no wonder he doesn't like Interceptor hahah.

Bulldozer: Exactly. That's goes for a lot of people too because at the end of the day, when I look at our fans, for the most part they're real headbangers, they're keeping it true. The people that hate us, I go look at their videos and the videos they're making, they're the guys that are in those big 2000's jeans, like triple X T-shirts, sitting there and doing like rap photos, but they're slam fans and nu metal fans. At the end of the day, I don't care, I don't want those dudes to be our fans. You know, if some bands are too afraid from alienating some people, I say that's not who we want to be our fans, I don't want people to be looking at them like "Yeah, it's an Interceptor fan right there dude".

Reaper: I'd rather have a hundred loyal fans, than a thousand fans who just follow you on TikTok and come at your show to just look the other way, like the guys standing at the bar and just chill.

That's one of the things I really hate about social media when people feel really entitled when they say that they are into that band, just because they jumped on the hype train. About people at shows with caps, shorts and everything, whenever I see a guy like that, I can't imagine him climb onstage with a band. When I interviewed Bobby of Pentagram, he said that every time he sees a guy like that, someone like that looks more like he's on his day off, like how is anyone supposed to take that seriously, there is like no stage presence whatsoever. Imagine like fifty or a hundred of those bands onstage, honestly you have to be very low minded level person to be into that, but of course with Interceptor, like I said there's a lot of kids here in Serbia like 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds that really dig you guys. They are really getting into this stuff and honestly, I can't recall seeing local kids be into a band that is just coming up and they are really digging this stuff. It's not like "Oh this band sounds like Venom and it's cool", they are like "These guys fucking kick ass", it's honest.

Reaper: That's great because people's perspective of metal has been jaded for the last 20 years, what it used to stand for and what it used to be was just angry people wanting to kick your ass and shit like that, but now it's just like you said, people with the baggy jeans, it's just not the same. It's great that there's young kids that aren't falling into that type of metal, they are staying true to what it used to be, it's great that there's young kids still out there that are liking that stuff.

Bulldozer: I've had people tell me "Oh your fans are kids", I am like we're kids too, we're 18/19 years old, most of our fans are from 14 to 16/17, that's like the majority of our fans we've noticed, and that's the thing. We would rather have these kids that are banging their heads, like so what, they are practically our peers, we would rather have these kids that are practically banging their heads than just some old bald guy sitting up there and doing the Benito Mussolini.

Reaper: Those are the guys that are gonna be our long-time fans. When they listen to us as kids, they are gonna listen to us as adults.

Bulldozer: Yeah, they'll be able to buy our records, unlike the old dudes that are gonna die too quick hahah. We'll be around.

I have to say that even if these kids aren't into vinyl, at least you can expect at some point that they will pick up a vinyl on a gig and they'll take it home, but when you see those guys at the big shows, the bigger bands that we're not into, you will almost never see them buy a physical copy, although they might buy a shirt. There is something really so special when you hold that physical copy in your hands, and it's not like when you have that album downloaded on Spotify, because you don't touch the cover, you don't see the band pictures and everything, that's one of the things that got me into collecting vinyls at the age of 20, because I wanted to really feel it. That's the human factor of it, and that's something you don't get that much from contemporary bands, you only get that from oldschool metal bands like you guys.

Bulldozer: That's right. That's the thing I've noticed. While record sales are back on the rise again, it seems like metal bands don't like to sell the most records and cassettes. Actually, we've sold a higher percentage of the cassettes than we have the records, whether that be just because it's cheaper or whatever, but I think people like to hold the music in their hands. These days, like you mentioned, digitally you just get to look at it on your screen and that's it, but with the physical music you get to hold it, you get to hear it, you get to look at everything inside, you get to see the band, and sometimes what's cool about is that you don't get to see all that much about the band. You don't go to social media where you see every single thing, you see the image that they gave out, and you're not like "Oh man, this guy, he lives here and he does this for a job", you just say "That's that guy, he plays this instrument for this band and these are the songs he played on", and that's it, that's the image you have in your mind. All the while you can almost feel closer, knowing them not on a personal level, and knowing them from what you see on the record, than you do from social media and just digital music.

I think that's very ensuring and a heartwarming fact when you see kids do the same thing when they buy records, it really throws you back in time, when people were actually wanting to connect with the band as much as they possibly can. Nowadays, people can connect with the band just because they have social media. I think that there is something much more magical when you buy that record and you take it home, it's like the DNA imprint of the band that's sitting in the corner of your room alongside that album cover. It's not like when you download the album, you can basically erase the download after a while when you get bored of it, but when you have it on vinyl or cassette, you're like "Hmmm, I haven't listened to this one in a while, I could take it with me an put it on my record player and that's it". Honestly, I really have to wonder what kind of stuff you guys can come up with next, because this is like you said, a violent and wild heavy metal record, and I can only see this getting more violent and wilder than it was the first time. With the demos it was gradually building up, and once the album came out, it's really taking shape, almost like a final form. What are you guys currently planning after this album's been out for some time?

Bulldozer: Well, I know we've got the Gulf tour, we're just doing four dates across the Gold Coast in the United States, we're in Tampa, Pensacola, Lafayette/Louisianna and Houston, and it's all spots where bands like us are around. For each one of theses shows, we've got, at least for the most part, oldschool sounding bands, because we want to stimulate the rising scene for that as much as possible, because there are so many bullshit bands. We've played with great bands, very nice fellas, but it is not our scene sometimes at all. We've played shows with some guys that sound like one of the bands at our local church, like a local megachurch band, and they were metalcore bands. It was just strange stuff, I figured we might as well just get people out there that are the real true fans, rather than just getting some random folks just standing there, we don't want those kinds of people at our shows out front. We want all the kids banging their heads, we want everyone to be out there just going wild, going crazy, we don't want like people standing around. I figured this next record that we'll come out with, hopefully we'll get it out within a year just because I like to keep a solid flow of music coming. It's gonna be heavier and faster, but when I say heavier, I don't mean we're gonna bring up seven string guitars and do breakdowns, none of that crap, I just mean the power that you feel through the music. I'll tell you what, stuff like Withcfynde, they are about as heavy as AC/DC, when you think about it in the modern heaviness terms, but at the end of the day, they are heavier than bands like Slipknot or like Lorna Shore with their breakdowns and stuff like that. People sit there and go like "Oh Lorna Shore is so heavy", I am like "No, bands like Witchfynde are heavier than that", just because they got the rock power to it, that's what it's about. So, we'll just keep putting out music, we'll just keep putting out evil rock and roll.

I like the fact that you mentioned Witchfynde, because I always looked at Give ‘Em Hell as one of those quintessential NWOBHM albums, because it's heaviness through intensity, and I always think that a lot of people don't take that term "heavy" the right way, because I always said that there has to be like a nice balance of intensity and the musical suspense that keeps you on edge. I think it really is more effective than a breakdown, because with breakdowns I can imagine almost any band doing that, but the way how a band like Witchfynde throws those kinds of moments in their music, it's very occult and atmospheric as well, and it has a genuine feeling. About being as heavy as AC/DC, I mean you are right, I mean I think they basically come from the same cloth and I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to go heavier in that term.

Bulldozer: Yeah exactly, what you mentioned about the atmosphere, that is a big part of our music. Not just our music, but music in general. These days you listen to a band, especially with black/speed metal bands, so many bands do not get the atmosphere and the aesthetic down. Bands like BAT, they got the right idea, but they don't have the right execution of it, because yeah, they are playing the black/speed metal, but they do not have that atmosphere at all. They are trying to play stuff but with Slipknot kind of production and atmosphere, like it is so modern and clean, and the problem with that is the modern record labels, because we got buddies in similar bands and they wanted it to sound raw, and then Metal Blade told them "No, you have to make it sound clean so you can appeal to a more mainstream audience". These big record labels that were once bastion of real true metal, all they are doing now is just stimulating sterile and overproduced crap that doesn't have the same atmosphere, when literally all they are doing is just taking away from the music and they are taking away from the fans that would truly enjoy the music and then giving it to all just mainstream people that are like "Yeah, this is kind of cool man, I am now gonna go listen to Slipknot now".

Reaper: You can play all the right notes, but if you don't have the right atmosphere, you are not taking somebody to a place that they are not in. When someone listens to our album, when somebody listens to "Wehrmacht" or something, they feel like they are in the middle of a battlefield, and that's what we want it to be. It's all about the atmosphere, because you can't just play the notes and rob them of emotions.

Exactly, because I think that's the problem with consumerism in metal nowadays, it really destroyed the human factor of it. You mentioned Metal Blade, it really is like that. You have like a nice band catalog over there, but on the other hand you have those bands that really just seem like they want to appeal to a wider audience, just because of the production side of things. That's one of the things why I don't like the fact about great bands doing their albums at Andy Sneap's studio, because as much as I love the early stuff he did with Sabbat, I don't like his production, it's very sterile and it's like they are trying to make the perfect record from the production standpoint, not from the performance standpoint as well. I think that people should really feel the heaviness of the riffs as they are, not the way how it's produced, and I think it's really impossible to revolt against that. But the fact that there is always this cult underground movement, standing up for itself, it really brings hope because these guys don't care that much. We are all simple people, we don't care about these things, we just want to have fun. That's one of the things that I really like a lot about you guys and your fans and anybody else who is getting into bands that are in the similar vein as Interceptor.

Bulldozer: Definitely!

It's been really nice talking to you guys, I really hope we'll get a chance to share a beer and see you perform in Europe, I would really love to see you guys because I think it's gonna be very wild. Are there any final words you'd like to leave for all the fans?

Bulldozer: Go buy Tales of Mayhem before it's sold out, that's the biggest one. Stick around, because we have a lot of stuff coming, we'll be coming to Europe.

Reaper: Where metal only gets more violent.

Bulldozer: Yeah, where metal only gets more violent, like he said. Stay heavy!

Reaper: Don't conform to the Metal Blade standards.

Bulldozer: Yeah, don't sit there and play your music all crappy, play your music loud and play it raw, play it rude, go and smash beer cans on your face, stuff like that. Don't be like one of these modern pussies.

Reaper: Do what real metal was intended to do!

Vancouver's Tribunal have bewitched fans of classic doom across the world in 2023, with their fantastic 20 Buck Spin debut full-length "The Weight Of Remembrance". MetalBite caught up with Soren and Etienne from the band over a transatlantic Zoom call to hear more about the recording process, plans for the future, and how the band failed to turn into Wintersun, despite the seemingly never-ending pandemic. Although the pair may have been nursing hangovers from the previous night's Death To All / Suffocation show, they were thoughtful and engaging company throughout, and this writer's fingers are crossed that they do indeed eventually make it to Europe to treat fans across the pond to their brand of rich, elegant heavy metal.

Benjamin

Although Tribunal appears to have emerged from nowhere, 2023 is far from the beginning of the story, with the band having been playing together since 2018. How did you develop from that point to releasing your debut this year?

Soren: Yeah, it has been quite a while now, even if the pandemic creates a strange blurry period in the middle. We met each other when we had just moved to the city, and we met and became friends, and through talking, it became clear that we had both had projects in the past, and we were both interested in getting something together. So, we ended up talking about doing something in the doom realm – dark and slow were the main adjectives that we tried to use for framing our early jams. We started jamming together, the two of us in the summer of 2018, so quite a while ago now.

Etienne: I remember you were the one certainly pushing it more initially; I think you were very excited to get back to making music. I remember feeling a bit uncertain after my last project had fizzled out, and for our first session you brought over the riffs that became 'Initiation'. I remember playing those through in the space and feeling surprised by how excited I was, at how things were coming together, and things just snowballed from there. We put together an initial line-up and played some shows that had a pretty decent reception, and then during the pandemic some things happened, the band became just the two of us again, and we buckled down and put together the record. It took quite a lot of time between recording it, producing it, and finding the right partner to release it, but I think it ended up feeling really worthwhile.

Soren: Yeah, definitely. We took quite a long time with the recording process, 'cos these songs had been written for a number of years. We were playing most of the songs off the record live before the pandemic.

Etienne: We had 'Initiation', we had 'Apathy's Teeth', and we had the earlier version of 'Without Answer', although we threw out all of the lyrics and the melodies, and rewrote the vocals for it, I think right before we went in to record it.

Soren: These songs have been around for a while, we've been playing them for a while, but we recorded the entire thing ourselves, which is something that neither of us had done before. Everything except for the drums. And I think, when you have an infinite span of time as we had in the pandemic, and you're learning a new skill, we stretched it out and really took our time with the recording process. So, it's very exciting to finally have people hearing these songs that have become very, very familiar to us over a number of years. It's exciting to hear the fresh reception from people hearing it for the very first time.

Your sound doesn't follow any trends. Do you think that operating in relative isolation in Vancouver has helped you develop something more timeless, not rooted in a specific era?

Soren: I think that it's helpful, in that I don't feel there are many bands around here or in the scene that are doing things that are exactly on the same pathway, so I think in that way you're less likely to get consciously influenced by what's popular. Maybe that leads us to be more independent with our sound, but we are drawing heavily from the groundwork that has been laid since the nineties, but it's hard to say how it affects our sound. What do you think?

Etienne: Honestly, the band and the record very much came from a genuine place of just wanting to make music and mess around a little bit. I don't think, certainly when we started, we even thought we were going to make a record, let alone get picked up by a label, or start to get a response around the world like what's happening, so maybe if we'd have had that goal in mind in the beginning, we might have thought more about what's cool, what's happening, how can we set this up to get traction? But we really weren't thinking about that at all, it was just "what do we enjoy doing? How do we get the intersection between what music you enjoy making, what I enjoy making, what the skills we have naturally lend themselves to?", and it just naturally arose itself from that.

Soren: It felt very contained, just within our own musical tastes and interests. I'd been interested in making this kind of music for a long while, and so I had ideas in my head, but I was not so much influenced by ideas of what would kick off right now. At least where we are now, it's more stoner-doom that is the more popular style, and we're an outlier. But that can also give us an advantage in the local scene, in that we've gotten to play some exciting shows, where people have remembered us if they're into this particular style of doom, because they don't hear it around very much, so I think that has been an advantage for us.

What were your expectations when you sent your demo to 20 Buck Spin?

Etienne: No, no real expectations there! The demo policy on their website says that they love when people reach out to them, but they get so many demos that you're not going to hear back unless they want to work with you. We sent a lot of demo submissions to a lot of different labels, just because I'd had an experience of doing a record in the past where you put in all the work to record it, and then you just put it out there, and maybe nothing happens. And so, after the incredibly long and very challenging experience of making the record, we said that we really want to put the work in to giving it the best shot possible. So, we went through every band we thought was comparable, or potentially comparable to us: who was their label? We sent a ton of emails, the vast majority of which, understandably, they never got back to, because again, there are so many bands doing that, but… you only need one hit! And, I honestly wouldn't have expected 20 Buck Spin. I dig them a lot, I dig a lot of the cool underground death metal stuff they're doing, but they do a lot of different things. And Dave (Adelson, label owner) is keen to pick up bands who might not have much of a following, but who might have potential, and to help them to reach that potential. So, I think that was probably the coolest moment in our band, when we got that email back less than a month after we sent it. He emailed us back to say 'Hey, I finally managed to hear the record, would you be interested in working together for a release?'. We were both like:

Both: 'WHAT?!!!!'

Soren: Yeah, that was really exciting. I've been a fan of the label for quite a while - I got my partner a shirt with their logo for Christmas a few years ago - so it was very, very exciting for us. Certainly not one I really would've expected. I know that 20 Buck Spin do try to have a diverse roster, and not to just be a genre-specific label. I think he's quite resistant to being pigeonholed to only being a death metal label, or only doing this other style, so once we did get the offer, I feel like you can look back to their catalogue and see 'that makes sense'. But it was very, very flattering for us and very exciting, and it ended up feeling very satisfying. We didn't know anybody there – it was purely sending our record off into the ether and seeing what happened.

It's notable that there's no possibility of interference in terms of your sound. You've made the record, it's totally your own conception, the artwork is produced by Soren, and there's no one asking you to sound a bit more like someone else. Is that level of control something that you want to retain in the future?

Soren: Yeah, I think I would remain open to input, but I don't think the label has any desire to control the work we're doing. They're there to support us, but that doesn't seem to be an attitude that I've gotten from them.

One of the things that excited this writer about Tribunal, was how holistic the whole package is, from the name, to the symbolism of the artwork, through to the name of the band. There is a clear and consistent thread, which I think is often the case for some of the best bands. Was there a lot of thought that went into making Tribunal work cohesively?

Etienne: Yeah! I'm really glad to hear you say that, because I think that's something we really try to do. I think that bands are a work of art, in and of themselves. You can make a record, and that's art in a way, and you can make cover art, and you do all the different pieces, but I think each piece is a smaller part of a greater whole that is a single work. Honestly, I think Soren has a very strong aesthetic sensibility in terms of coordinating our visual art and colour schemes and whatnot, so…

Soren: Yeah - I really love when a band has a unified aesthetic – that's something that we certainly talked about, something that we try to be consistent in. We don't want to be policing ourselves in terms of presenting completely seriously all the time, and calling our shows 'rituals', and that kind of thing, but I've always really liked that about a band, and when there's an album that I like, I find I have a very strong aesthetic sense. When I think of the album, I think of the imagery of the art, and I think of the place that it transports me to, and the images that it brings up in my mind, so I really value having the framework for that in our own project. And I feel I've always had a very clear visual image of what our music feels like and what it should look like, so I was trying to bring that into how we present.

Lyrically, the album seems to be about 'Judgement' as a concept, and the moral and ethical challenges of life. Is that correct?

Soren: Those are themes that both of us are very interested in exploring, and I think in our future work we're going to get into those things more explicitly, but they are certainly themes that were on our mind when we were writing this, and the record ended up being a bit more introspective than that, but the idea of 'judgement': at least in my own lyrics, it feels like it comes through how you internalize judgement from external sources, and how that affects you, and then your own internal judgments of yourself and your worth, and if what you are doing is right. Yeah – those are certainly things that figure into the broader concept of the band. How much they're reflected in these specific lyrics…

Etienne: I think 'Apathy's Keep' probably has the most of that. The lyrics I wrote for this record were, as Soren said, much more introspective, and I think a little bit more self-obsessed maybe, about my own experiences and changes over time. You get that in 'The Weight Of Remembrance' and the reminiscence of times past, but I do think for our next record, we're looking at a concept that is much more moral and judgement-based. And I think we're excited about that.

Soren: Yeah, I think that some of the nature of this record was that the tracks were something that emerged basically, without the idea necessarily of an album at the end. With both of us keen on having a creative outlet, some more personal reflections work their way into the songs just by virtue of the reason that we were writing them at the time.

I imagined that the title 'The Weight Of Remembrance' is about the oppressive nature of the memory of things that have happened in the past. Is that the case?

Etienne: I think you can take it however you want to. Like any good album title, it's meant to be interpreted. I definitely do think it does have a nostalgic edge to it - it's missing the way things used to be, missing opportunities, or "could things have been different if I had made different choices?", or "the way things changed, was that always going to be inevitable?".

Soren: I think that both of our songs reflect a bit differently, just because of our different experiences. Some of the things I was reflecting on a lot throughout were, and it's reflected through the title – we're remembering past values, and past ideas of what you thought it meant to be to be a good person in the world, and what it means to act responsibly, and be the best version of yourself, and how those things have changed over time, and the angst that can come with that. Agonising over whether you've made the right decisions, and whether your views have changed too much.

You're thoughtful people generally. Is that a natural part of playing the kind of slow, reflective music that you do? Do those two things go hand in hand?

Soren: We are very over-thinking people! So maybe this ponderous music is a good thing for us in that way! I think that having songs that are often slower and heavier, there's not the same demand for the spirit of aggression and intensity that you might have with other metal. Feeling that you need to be telling an epic tale. I think the sound lends itself to exploring some of those themes.

Etienne: Definitely I think it fits together well with the kind of lyrics we end up writing.

One of the most startling elements of Tribunal is the cello. As soon as I heard it, I was surprised that there weren't many doom bands with cellos – the richness of it seems to work so well with this kind of sound. What I loved about it was that it didn't feel like an afterthought, it felt as if the cello lines were an integral part of the songs themselves. How do you go about writing, do the guitars and bass come first, or does the cello come first?

Soren: It's surprising to hear you say that, because a lot of this record, the earlier versions were written without cello! We did spend a long time during the recording process reworking songs, and rethinking: "maybe this guitar melody can be on cello, or maybe this could be added here".

Etienne: 'Without Answer' was very fundamentally written sitting in my old apartment sitting jamming with me on guitar and you on cello for a very long time. But I think that was the only song we wrote with cello in hand. And the rest of them were composed with the intention of being a more traditional band set up, and then "ok, how can we bring the cello into this?".

Soren: And our first shows were played as a standard four piece, we didn't have the cello, and I didn't really have an idea of how we would be able to play it live. I thought it might be something that maybe we could do more on the album, or maybe we could do an intro here or there – things were written with a more standard line-up in mind. But then, when I started experimenting with the electric cello, I didn't really know if it would be possible at first, because I'm already playing bass, and I have to get to the mic stand and everything, but with a lot of practice, and faith in my straplocks, we made it work. Once we realized that it was feasible in a live setting, it became more exciting to work it into our songs. I don't think either of us want to have something on the album where you can't have a similar version of that live. I don't want to have big chunks missing, or just have backing tracks, so after we realized that that was possible, we started working it into the songs a lot more, and we did really take our time with it, and spent a lot of time trying to make the cello a natural element of it. I think that's been the biggest thing that we're thinking about in terms of our next album. We're really writing with the cello first in mind, and the keys, because we also didn't play with a keyboardist on the first album, so a lot of the keys were added on later during the recording process. But also, now that we have a keyboardist live, it's really changed our thinking about the role of the keys, and it's expanded the palette that we have to work with.

As you work on your next album, which you've said previously will be more of a refinement of your sound, do you see yourself expanding what you can do with strings, or will you always gravitate to something that you can reproduce live?

Etienne: I think we want to stay in a place where we can reproduce it live. As Soren said, we're keen to try and write from a place where we're thinking about the cello being more of a fundamental part of the songs, but as of right now - violins are great, I think having a whole string quartet would be very fun - but I also like the idea of sticking with a more stripped-down approach, keeping things more achievable.

Soren: And I love the sound of the cello, and there's so much diversity that the cello can bring. The electric cello that I play is also a five-string, so there's also a bit more space to move around on there. Currently I have an extra low string, but I've been thinking of switching it off for an extra high string since I end up playing quite high on the cello a lot of the time just to be able to cut through the mix, so, with that in mind, there's a really, really huge range of sound that we can get.

Do you see the appeal of doing something completely different, like Ulver or Pestilence have in the past, or do you see Tribunal being very consistent?

Etienne: I like the idea of respecting your name and the concept of your project. But, I think we'll grow naturally, and I don't want to put any limits on where that will go. At the same time, when it comes to this kind of project, nobody's making you continue to use the name, so if you want to do something different, just do it in a different set-up. There's a diverse range of music that I enjoy, and there's a diverse range of music that Soren enjoys, but I think that if we were going to do something that made no sense in the context of Tribunal, we would just call it something else.

Soren: I think that resonates with my attachment to bands having this particular aesthetic, or particular vision, and I would like for the project to at least remain legible as still being Tribunal.

Etienne: You can grow over time. I look at somebody like Paradise Lost for example, they got very weird at some point with Host, but if you look at it on an album-by-album basis, each record doesn't sound that different. Draconian Times doesn't sound that different from Icon, and then One Second is not that different from Draconian Times, and then once you're at One Second, Host isn't a huge departure from that. So, I could see us potentially making that kind of slower transition from album to album, though I don't think we're going to go full Depeche Mode! Rather than just doing a total abrupt change, which would be different.

Soren: Maybe just on the weird side-project or something, if we get the urge!

One of the most noticeable characteristics of your brand of doom, in contrast to the more drone-oriented bands, is that there's very much a metallic, riff-based core to it. Are you a traditional metal band at heart?

Soren: I would identify with that. I really like traditional styles of doom, and I always want to have memorable riffs, and I want riffs that feel good to play live, and feel good to see people responding to live, so I feel that I'm pretty motivated by a classic metal ethos. I wouldn't want to lose the heaviness completely to orchestration. One of the joys of playing live as a metal band is having the response that people have at a metal show, and I think that I would really miss that if we were not to do that kind of work. I love making music that's heavy, making riffs that are memorable, so I suppose in that way, I'm fairly traditional.

And what inspires Tribunal? It would be great if you could recommend some music to the MetalBite readers.

Soren: It's very rainy and dark in Vancouver right now, so I've been enjoying a lot of funeral doom. I listen to Profetus quite a lot – The Sadness Of Time Passing and As All Seasons Die. I listen to those two back-to-back quite a lot in the gloomier months. That's the first thing that comes to mind in terms of what's on repeat for me these days.

Etienne: I haven't been listening to that much music right now, but we've got a real exciting rack of concerts coming up our way, so I've been spending a lot of time listening to bands I'm excited to see. With the weather as it is, I've been listening to the new Insomnium record a lot.

Winter's Gate was amazing. They just get better.

Etienne: I think Winter's Gate is the greatest melodic death metal record ever in my opinion.

The new Katatonia album is good if you want a rainy-day album!

Etienne: I love Katatonia, I think it's a fantastic record as well.

Finally, what does the future hold for Tribunal?

Etienne: No huge curveballs. Just as you say, we're working away on our second record. I think we're keen to take advantage of the momentum we have, but at the same time it's an interesting challenge, because now we have an expectation. Working on this first record – it was indulgent, it was a project of our own, something we were doing for a bit of fun. So, it's a very different context now, writing something with a bit of expectation. There's an audience who are actually waiting to hear it! We want to make sure we don't let them down. We're keen to try to play live more, obviously – busy lives, busy schedules: that can be hard. But, we've made a couple plans, we've announced Covenant Fest in Vancouver, we're going to be appearing there, which is going to be really fun, and a few more things that we're going to hopefully be able to announce over the next couple months. But I think at least as of right now, we're sticking to Western Canada, although we'd be open to other offers if we could make them work.

Soren: Yeah, it would be great to have opportunities to travel more broadly. There are always challenges with that, with visas and everything. We're right along a great line of cities here on the West Coast of North America, but you unfortunately cannot just pop down to the United States on a week's notice and play a string of shows, so it'd be great if something broader came along. But we're continuing to just try and play, and get back into the writing mode, and as Etienne said, it is an odd time right now. It did feel as though we were creating the album in such isolation, and when I was making it, I would have a lot of moments where I would think "Will anyone want to listen to this, does it really work?". But it's nice to have some validation that people are really connecting with it, it's hard to ignore when you're in the writing process. A lot of the songs on the second record, we've already had full draft versions of for a while. Now, revisiting those drafts, it's definitely in my mind how we relate to the fact of people having a bit of an expectation of our sound right now, and how much that should influence it or not. Certainly, there's a lot of momentum and excitement about going into the next record and starting to jam out some of those songs.

I'd love to see Tribunal come to Europe, but I know it's a long way, and it costs a lot of money!

Soren: I'd love someone to bring us to Europe!

Etienne: We would absolutely love to if it all made sense, but 'one step at a time'!

And with that, Etienne finishes his (presumably strong) coffee, Soren departs to take care of the dog that has made a few amusing interruptions during our time together, and we all look forward to the next chapter in the story of what promises to be a band to watch very closely indeed.