1. First off, what are
the roots of/inspiration for the band's name?
Diamatregon comes from Diamargareton, my name for evil sounds. Diamatregon
is a French word for a medieval medicine. Anyway, the way the word sounds
is more important than the signification. It’s all a matter of feeling.
2. What is the «intent» of Diamatregon 's music, both in general and specifically to 'Blasphemy for
Satan', as far as what you want to instil in listeners? I mean, I can imagine
everything from disorienting one's sensory / mental / physical capacities
to overwhelming the listener with ridiculously unhinged chaos and beyond...from
your perspective, then, please tell!
Diamatregon is born to be evil, even evil for the evil lovers, if you know
what I mean. First demo was a TOO MUCH demo, for instance, a track is only
improvisation/solos bass through a distortion. It brings shit on the whole
shit. Also I made the mix and at the same time was speaking on the phone with
the girl I was in love. Evil I must be. For “Blasphemy for Satan”,
it is less telephone, and the link between the song, or even concept if concept
there is, is DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH until you die like the beast which
is dead at the end of the album. I would say the album is 45 minutes and are
like the stretched second you live before you die. Even if none of us died
during the process of the album. Anyway, it’s like any creation man
do, it’s against death, or because of death. I guess we wouldn’t
create anything without death kicking our ass.
3. Regarding 'Blasphemy
for Satan', there are some conventional BM elements on the surface - namely,
speed and aggression - but they're taken to such ridiculous extremes that
they more so become «your own» elements; then, conversely, there's
a number of elements that are fairly «unconventional» for BM -
doom, chaos, noise, psych-drone, even a Misfits (!) cover - that make the
album that much more unique 'n' extreme. Thus, compared to your slightly more
humble earlier material, was this indeed the goal with 'Blasphemy for Satan':
namely, to turn convention into «unconvention», and then go further
out on a limb with even more undeniable unconvention?
Hum, I would say we are fan of metal and music in general before being BM
lovers. I mean, most of BM people tend to stop with anything else, and after
a while, they even stop BM to techno or stuff like that. It’s like 10
years we are into metal, it is metal that made us crazy about music, but we
also discovered other stuff, we are all fans of Guns ‘n roses, Nick
Cave, King Crimson, Leonard Cohen, Danzig, Acid mothers temple etc …
But in Diamatregon, we want kind of formatted songs but twisted inside. It
has to be easy, but abusing. For instance we feel that the song Blasphemy
for Satan is really pop FM structured. It’s between the devil and the
deep blue see, near from the most basic clichés ever and far somewhere
lost…
4. I've heard from Andee
at Tumult that your tastes are (respectably) diverse, so would you say you're
trying to channel those tastes into BM or perhaps channel BM into that diversity.
Is it really « respectably » to be impure? I just hope we don’t
do respectably Black Metal. I think we just add elements that are black and
dark. We don’t suddenly stop in our song to play pop or reggae. It is
mainly a question of dynamics. Sometimes, in our diverse non black metal tastes,
the songs are really close to Black Metal, they would just need a little something
to end pure black.
5. Speaking of Andee and
Tumult, a curious choice for a label, being 'non-metal' and all (fucking great
label, though, always reliable). What so attracted you to it?
Actually all path lead us to tUMULt, even if we didn’t had any tUMULt
release. I mean we met Walter Weasel during one of his most satanic performance
with The Flying Luttenbachers, here in Grenoble. Me and ‘URL were blown
up by his drumming, we immediately though of Fenriz way of playing (actually,
he uses a lot a blasting with a second kick between the kick and the snare),
so we went speaking with Walter Weasel after the show, and he gave us a Hatewave
demo, killer demo I have to say.
So, when I was in Denver, I found the LP version of the album released on
Up Jumps the Devil records. The CD version of the album has been released
by tUMULt. Also, we went to see acid mothers temple playing again in another
of theses squat of the city, the show was totally psychedelic violent and
crazy, we bought a bunch of CD because it was so good. Acid mothers temple
also released a 10”EP on tUMULt. But I finally discovered tUMULt records
on the NEUROSIS website. NEUROSIS is my favourite band, because they are more
than a band. Actually I saw them 3 times live, and the first time is the best
experience I get from a band on stage. SO, I think all those NON-black metal,
but very good and meaningful musical experiences we get lead us to tUMULt.
When I saw they had also some Black Metal acts released, I thought it was
the label we needed. I sent a bunch of CD promo of “Blasphemy for Satan”,
but I add a letter explaining why we wanted to be on the label only to tUMULt.
We are quite proud, because you know labels often signs band they know, and
very rarely from a demo or CD they get in their letterbox. Finally, we feel
much more comfortable being on tUMULt with band we like at side than being
on a “one more“ label that doesn’t makes any difference.
6.Similarly, 'Blasphemy
for Satan' got scant coverage in the metal press, at least what I'd seen.
Is this more due to being on a non-metal label, or more so that Diamatregon's
take on BM is just too unique 'n' extreme for most to handle?
Hum, we have few reviews in webzines but I would say we are not too much focussing
on promo. The most important is to make music, if possible to release it.
For sure, if we had been on Napalm records, Osmose, Adipocere etc, labels
would have pay the $$$ for full color advertisement and the good review that
goes with … But, what the fuck, we don’t have 10 000 copy to sell.
“Blasphemy for Satan” has been released by tUMULt records for
US and by Infernal Waves in Europe, 500 each. Infernal Waves had nearly all
their CD gone through trade with Asia and South America. And I guess Andee
from tUMULt have his own congregation at least through Aquarius shop in San
Francisco.
7.Your fine country of
France has had a very long history of KILLER BM, but during the past five
years or so, I've noticed a new(er) breed of 'brutal BM' , if you will: AntaeuS,
Temple of Baal, Battlehorns, Arkhon Infaustus, Deathspell Omega, Eternal Majesty,
Fornication, Garwall, etc., and obviously Diamatregon. What so inspired such
bands to bring back chaos 'n' filth into BM, nearly taking some death metal
elements and turning them unequivocally 'black'?
I guess the « long history of killer BM » is the black legions…
It was only 4 or 5 bands though. I would say that in France, it has been always
hard to play metal, even if we have maybe the biggest labels. French bands
have been fed up to be looked as shit from the other country, and even from
people from France. Now it is changing a bit, I think Herve from Osmose gave
opportunities to French bands like Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus etc, also Oaken
Shield (BM division of Adipocere records) proved with Nehemah, Temple Of Baal
that France can be also a filthy strong and very neither the less professional
(more to contrast with amateurism, cause none of theses bands make enough
€€€ to live with their music)
8 . However, Diamatregon
is fairly separate from the 'scene' - is this wilful or incidental? And that
suits you just fine, I'm assuming?
Yes, we are « fairly » separated from the scene and it is quite
wilful. Also we are not from Paris, which makes natural distances that we
like in the end. I guess we are not that social, especially with national
socialists bands.
9 . You're currently writing
songs for the third album - how's that shaping up? Like, what can we expect?
Actually, we recorded in January 2003 the material for a 7ep called “CHAROGNARD”.
It will be released theses days of July by AGONIA RECORDS from Poland www.agoniarecords.dm.net.pl and by Paragon Intl from NY www.paragonrekords.cjb.net
About DIAMATREGON III : “Crossroad”, it will be different from
the “Blasphemy …” for sure, more in the limbs… Also
the album will not benefit from all the rehearsal we made before the “Blasphemy…”.
It will contain a cover from Leonard Cohen and for those who can get a hear
on the exclusive version we made of the first song of the new 7ep for the
tUMULt compilation, it is quite representative of what CROSSROAD can become.
10 . I also understand
that you insist on taking your time with this next album - why so? Have you
become something of a perfectionist, or were always one from the beginning?
The fact is, I lived 1 year in Trondheim / Norway and will go half a year
in Guyana. The drummer, Krukka, now live in Bergen / Norway, and ‘URL
might go for a certain time in Indonesia. So we have to wait until our road
cross again to concretise the ideas we have. Also, I guess everyone have been
fed up with the releases of MARDUK, and at the opposite, everyone is waiting
for the new GORGOROTH … 2 years are the minimum between 2 albums, otherwise,
it becomes production of a machine and commercial interest.
11 . Okay, to end on a
potentially obtuse note here.... See, I've thought «forever» about
what the 10 greatest records were, and then finally came to the conclusion
that I should narrow it down to the grandest of aesthetic pursuits: the search
for OBLIVION; to wit, records like Darkthrone's 'Transilvanian Hunger' to
the Stooges' 'Fun House', from Godflesh's 'Streetcleaner' to the Cure's 'Pornography',
Current 93's 'All the Pretty Little Horses' to PJ Harvey's 'To Bring You My
Love', and just about anything the Birthday Party released (esp. the last
two 12"s). That said, I see an equally noble sonic-pursuit in Diamatregon,
so would you agree that your band «consciously» seeks oblivion?
If so, would the band HAVE to disband if it indeed «reached» oblivion?
And fuckin' A, why don't more metal-oriented bands strive for the «true» abyss, being mental and/or physical oblivion?
Yes, we try to reach some special feelings. The voices are often apocalyptic,
and beyond the craziness it can reach a level that is what you describe. I
think NEUROSIS manage to make a song something more than a song. For sure,
it is something really important, more than technical leads or stuff.
We are obsessed by the masterpieces ; A BLAZE IN THE NORTHER SKY, MIN TID
SKALL KOMME, ENNEMY OF THE SUN, THROUGH SILVER IN BLOOD, ALKAHEIST, YOUR FUNERAL
MY TRIAL, NURSE, PRIEST OF SATAN, LUCIFUGE, DEAD MAN, RED , PLACE DE MA MOB,
THE ETHEREAL MIRROR, STATIC MAGIC, URBAN DISCIPLINE, etc... These albums are
thrilling me just thinking of it.
We often discuss it with ‘URL, theses masterpiece, we nearly can’t
listen to it anymore… It’s like loosing it’s magic. Maybe
we don’t want to listen to the music, to the song being afraid of loosing
the level beyond we once get. Sometimes it works, or still works, sometimes
it is useless and it is better to keep the feeling pure.
But, you know, for Diamatregon, we are just a garage band, we are not going
to dominate the world ahhaha.
