French extreme metal is in a rude state of health at the moment, and one of the brightest stars comes in the form of black metal maestros Deathcode Society, who released debut “Eschatonizer” towards the end of 2015, causing a stir within the extreme metal underground. As well as having the privilege of reviewing this opus, I was given the opportunity to bounce around some thoughts with DCS mastermind, Arnhwald……
AN: How did Deathcode Society come into existence, and how has the band evolved over the intervening years?
Arnhwald: Well, I would say, mainly as a side project for me and Grégoire, our drummer. We both played in more or less established bands and were huge fans of extreme metal. We felt the desire to express our creativity by writing a fast, intense and over-the-top music. After a couple of bad attempts, I finally found the shore, and completed the first version of ‘Seraphic Requiem’, our first song. Greg and I were satisfied and we thought we were on the right path. Then it took us a couple of months to complete the line-up. Though, the band kept inactive for a long time, for reasons which would bother me to sum up. In 2009 we recorded a 2 song demo together with Greg and the singer we had at that time. In 2011, we changed the line-up and everything really started – sometimes, it’s just a matter of who you work with. I finished the writing process in 2013, we recorded the album, inked a record deal with Osmose, and here we are!
AN: What is the underlying ethos of the band? Is there a message the band is trying to deliver through its music?
Arnhwald: You are always expected to answer something very precise to that kind of question, but in our case it is not that simple, I mean, not that easy to express. There are many things we deliver through our music. What can lead a man to write and play black/death metal, which symbolises evil, fear, ugliness while, at the same time, wanting to make it sound magnificent? I don’t have any answer. I often have the feeling that I was made to horribly chant the never-ending ending of the things.
AN: There was a six year gap between 2009’s “Ite Missa Est” demo and “Eschatonizer” – What were the band up to during that time?
Arnhwald: Almost nothing I fear… I think I was busy with other stuff, never finding the force or the will to complete the album. But it kept haunting me, like a parasite, all that music wanted to get out. I must have started to write a couple of sections, maybe the choir in ‘NooS’ and the four parts guitars part of ‘The Mark of Caïn’. As I said, 2011 was the year. I chose to stop every other musical activity that had nothing to do with Deathcode Society, and worked every day on the completion of the album. To be fully honest, I also had to learn a lot. My expectations were quite high, and my writing skills had to improve. I took the time to listen to a lot of musical works, especially symphonic music from the 19th-20th century. You can’t learn if you are not educated, I mean, if you don’t know the masterworks, the sung ones and also the unsung. I remember quite well having read a music encyclopaedia and going on Youtube to find the works of famous and lesser known composers. I think you can feel their influence on ‘Eschatonizer’.
AN: Eschatonizer is a complex album with many layers to the music, as well as melodic and choral interludes. Can you talk us through the writing and recording process?
Arnhwald: I did write all the music and lyrics. I usually write a couple of riffs on my guitars, or write down something I heard in my mind while, I don’t know, while driving for example. Then I build the harmonies on the paper or on the computer with a scoring software (guitar pro works well for that purpose), record the demos, rewrite and arrange everything until the result is cool to my ears. Then I send the parts to the guitar players, record them in my home studio. I write guitars first – we play in a metal band. Then, drums and bass. Everybody in the band can add his own touch. When the guitars are recorded, it’s time for the drummer and the bassist to go to the recording studio. After a couple of post-production editing, the vocals are tracked, and finally, all the electronic and orchestral stuff.
The choirs were recorded in a small studio by five people, 2 ladies and 3 men. We doubled the tracks several times to give the feeling that it was sung by 40 singers. Some people asked us if we borrowed these sections. Absolutely not: we wrote then. It was long and hard. 4 voices writing can’t be improvised, and unfortunately, I had to learn alone, with my books and my ears.
AN: With the benefit of hindsight, are you happy with the finished product?
Arnhwald: Yes, indeed. It’s a beautiful and rich album. It’s a solid piece of metal, but also a solid piece of music. But I also know we can still improve, and we will show it with the second album we are currently composing.
AN: The album closes with two great covers, Judas Priest’s “Metal Meltdown” and Emperor’s “With Strength I Burn”. Why did you choose those particular tracks?
Arnhwald: Thanks ! We chose “Metal Meldown” because it is a dark and brutal song we know we could turn into something even more aggressive and dramatic. “Painkiller” really caught the essence of heavy metal, and covering “Metal Meltdown” was a tribute to pay to our elders and a statement : we are a metal band, not a bunch of elvish sissies (Rob Halford may be gay, but never was a sissy at all !). We covered “With Strength I burn” because we love that song, obviously, but also because it seemed to us the only tune in “Anthems” (by the way maybe the most incredible black metal album ever released, at least if you only consider the writing skills) which could be improved by a good production and a more accurate performance.
AN: I understand the band recently did their first live show – How was the show? How was the music received by those lucky enough to attend?
Arnhwald: It was stressful but really good and the reactions were incredible. You know, until this summer, we weren’t that sure we wanted to play live. We wondered how to play that album with the required skills. But we tried. We found a way to rehearse and prepare our shows in a concert venue, on a stage, with our sound tech, etc. And it worked ! The people I play with in DCS are amazing musicians, and dedicated to the music we created. We all worked like horses, and the result is good. More important, it seems that the audience was really captivated, which is precisely what we like. OK, seeing people moshing to your music can be fun, but when you see in one’s eyes something like “what the fuckin’ hell is that !!?!”, you know you have won.
AN: How did you go about recreating the songs from Eschatonizer in the live environment, given their complexities?
Arnhwald: As we are not rich enough to hire the Bergen orchestra, we use samples on stage. Then, we do our best, by working every day, to be better musicians, so that all the difficult parts are played flawlessly. As I said, that was our main concern was did we have to absolutely play ‘Eschatonizer’ live, with the risk of not being able to do it? The answer is yes. And it’s good to play that album in front of people !
AN: Any plans for any further tours, specifically any UK shows planned?
Arnhwald: Unfortunately, I have to say that, despite our will, and all the people we try to contact and convince to make us play, we only have three or four concerts in our schedule, but some good news might be about to be announced.
AN: What is the next step for Deathcode Society?
Arnhwald: Playing live, promoting ‘Eschatonizer’, and finishing the writing process for the second album. We have several songs that have been started, and we are proud of the direction we are working towards.
“Eschatonizer’ is available via Osmose Productions
Interview Andy Pountney
https://www.facebook.com/DeathcodeSociety
https://deathcodesociety.bandcamp.com
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