A few questions – interview with French death metal band SKELETHAL.
Ave,
can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Hi, In early 2012, me (Gui Haunting) and Jon Whiplash decided to vomit some Death Metal. Tuning down our instruments we began to rehearse together. Our inluenceswere and still are the classics : Entombed, Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Autopsy... Playing in the Thrash band Infinite Translation, we've known each other very well, and having the same tastes the songwritting process has been fast. We self-released a demo called "Morbid Ovation", then two EP out on Iron Bonehead. Our first album “Of the Depths...“ is just out on Hell's Headbangers records.
Where
and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge
of sound, production and mastering?
We did the whole work by
ourselves: recording, mixing, mastering, artwork, layout... We did it in our
rehearsal room.
How
many copies were released and which
medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
The US label Hell's
Headbangers released it on cds 1000 copies, Lps 500 copies and tapes 200
copies.
Who
is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the
lyrics deal with?
I'm the author of the
lyrics. My ideas come from the books I read. It's mostly sci-fi and horror. My
favorite authors are: Lovercraft, Simak, Van Vogt, K Dick, Vance, Poe, Jules
Verne, Curval...
It's usually about Forces or Entities from beyond summoned or incarnated to destroy human race.
Who
created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the
website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things
important?
We wanted a one word name, I
found the name Skelethal and Jon had te idea to add an H in it. We designed it
together, it's a pretty usual police in Death Metal. Jon know how to release it
on computer so he did it. Nowadays social network are really important, in the
begining we didn't want to make a facebook, but we finally realized that we needed
it to spread our name and music.
Which
label did you choose for releasing your
album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you
and takés care about you?
Hell's Headbangers is a very
good label and we are in good relation wth them, we are very glad of working
together and really satisfied so far.
Which
bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
Entombed very much. It's our
first influence. But we are also inspired by a lot of band from a lot of
styles. I personnaly listen to a lot of Thrash Metal and Punk H/C, Rock and
70's music too. My favorite bands are : Entombed, Megadeth, DRI, The Doors...
Did
you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the
response?
No we didn't, we already
planned the release with HHR one year ago.
How
many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's
(clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the
best?
We planned like 40 gigs for
now, and I still can't say which type of gig I prefer. I think it really depend
on the crowd answer. Sometimes you play in front of a large crowd but they seem
bored and sometimes it's hell in front of 15 crazy guys. I think our best
performance were at the Fall of Summer festival in 2015 and some of the gigs
during our April 2017 tour wih Mortal Scepter.
What
about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
For now we focus on
promoting the album and play the maximum of gigs in France and abroad. My
personal aim to is to continue to follow the path of ancient Death Metal, have
fun on stage and meet die hards from everywhere to share our passion for music!
How
and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
Our band email is skelethaldeath@gmail.com we
also have fb and bandcamp and a website: www.skelethal.com!
Thanx
for the interview.
Thank you very much! Cheers
from Beyond!