darkness dynamite julien, junior & cris

Interview by: Lynn Wyeth

Date: 16 August 2009

Venue: Bloodstock Open Air, Derby, UK

Photos by: Darkness Dynamite

MusicXtra was joined by Julien (drums), Junior (vocals), and Cris (bass) of French metalcore band Darkness Dynamite before their appearance on the Sophie Lancaster stage at this year’s Bloodstock festival.

When the English think of France and Paris, they think of the Louvre, or the artists in Monmartre… they probably don’t think of loud screaming metalcore. Is there much of a scene in Paris and France for your genre of music?

Julien: Yeah, yeah. The scene is kinda huge now. There are many, many bands getting known these days. Everyone has heard of Gojira. Many deserve to be well known there.

Are there any more up and coming French bands we should know about?

Junior: There are a lot of friends, like Hacride

With globalisation and the breakdown of borders thanks to the Internet, does it matter that you’re from France?

Julien: Absolutely not, no. It doesn’t matter.

Junior: We don’t say we are French and playing metal, we just say we are playing metal. If they ask where we are from of course we say France.

Cris: We’re just making music, that’s all.

Julien: We sing in English because it feels better that way. The words, they translate better in English often.

Cris: It is easier to express ourselves with people as everyone speaks English.

Junior: I never thought to write lyrics in French.

France has music magazines such as Rock One… who despite having rock in their name then put the likes of Cinema Bizarre on their front pages. Do those sorts of magazines cover the heavier bands like you too? Is there much media support for the more hardcore metal in France?

Julien: Yeah, we deal a lot with Rock One. We have got Hard Rock magazine too.

Junior: And Metallion…

Julien: There’s a bunch of rock magazines that cater for our sort of metal.

Junior: Rock One is looking for the looks though…

Julien: We don’t really care about our haircuts, or our panties, or our shoes! Actually we get much money from H&M because we wear their clothes!

Things seem to have happened very quickly for you, you only started two years ago. What’s the secret to your speedy success?

Junior: There has been some luck inside this, but it was pretty much hard work, we practiced every day, worked hard on the music and the style.

Cris: When we started in France we were the first to make it like three years ago as a deathcore band, our first EP was deathcore. We changed the singer and Junior came to the band, and wanted music from the 80s…. like Pantera and Metallica…

I thought you were going to say Duran Duran!

Junior: Hey yeah, them too!

Julien: Back in the days it was hard to get exposed, it’s so f***ing easy now because of the internet. If it takes 10-12 years back in the old days it takes 4-5 now for the same success. We can do things those dudes couldn’t do. I feel lucky today, but there are a huge amount of new bands.

That’s the problem with the Internet… no quality control. Your guitarist Zakk has said previously he’d love it if the music business could concentrate on good music instead of releasing shit… come on, name and shame… who out of all the big name million sellers do you think are truly shit?

Julien: Oh no, I’m not going to say that!

Junior: Sure there’s some shit. You have a good example already with who you talk about, Cinema Bizarre.

Julien: But the best ever band is Pantera!

Cradle of Filth got bottled off last night, they weren’t popular with a lot of people…

Julien: It is sometimes hard to be popular in your own country.

Junior: In France many people hate us because we are being famous abroad and dong it very fast.

You signed with Metal Blade Records? They have some big names like Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth.

Junior: Yes, the first album is on Metal Blade.

Cris: It’s amazing for us to be signed with this label.

Junior: When I was starting to listen to metal and death metal, and looking at the small logo on the sleeve I thought I will never be on a label like Metal Blade.

So the support from the label has been good for you guys so far?

Julien: Absolutely. They’re the right people to be with. We do our job and they do their job.

Cris: It’s as simple as that.

Junior: We thought, what would be the best label, and we sent an email.

Cris: They answered the next day

Junior: Yes we love it, they said. It was that fast!

So the next time we’re in Paris, where’s the best places to go partying or to listen to metal?

Julien: There is this place called Furieux. A bar we sometimes go to

Junior: It’s the best rock metal bar. And it has good absinth!

Can you give us a useful French phrase that we can use when we next visit your country?

(Cue much debating and discussion in French with the three not being able to agree on the best phrase.)

Julien: Où est le bar?!