Sunday afternoon cook-outs? Running errands? Sleeping in? Who needs that shit. Live-Metal.net spent Sunday, April 29, 2007 in downtown Baltimore, Md., for the Invaluable Darkness Tour featuring the mighty Dimmu Borgir, Unearth, Devildriver and the purveyors of Canadian hyper-blast, Kataklysm. Before the show, the Live-Metal.net staff met up with Kataklysm guitarist J-F Dagenais outside of the venue. During the afternoon, we sat on a park bench and talked about the tour, the band's feud with Devildriver and Kataklysm's new member, the Heartbeast.
I saw your comments and praise of Dimmu Borgir on your web site. Has the tour been everything you've expected?
J-F: So far it's been amazing. With a lineup like this you can't really go wrong. Every night it has been 100 people or 1000. It's great exposure and a great party, as well. All the guys from all the bands are super cool, so every night backstage we're sharing drinks [laughter]. There's been pretty crazy evenings so far.
You guys were in Philly last night? Usually Philly has some crazy crowds.
Yep. It actually was, especially this place, Electric Factory. It was the second time we played that place, and it was amazing. It's a really nice venue and sound system. People were going crazy. It's like we're the opening band, and they really made us feel like an important band on the bill. People came up early, and at one time there were, like, four pits at the same time in the corners of the room, and we were like, “What the hell? Horns up!”
What is the meaning of the album title?
The Arms of Devastation—When we started to look for titles of the record, at the time we always saw war reports and everything, and we just wanted to represent the world we were living in with everything going on. Thats pretty much the story and concept and lyrics of the last album. I though it fit perfect for the album—seal of approval.
Now that the album has been out for some time and then re-released, has it fulfilled expectations?
Even more because we didn't know what to expect with today's market with all the downloads and Internet and everything, and it seems like we're selling more and more. Our goal for this album was to sell 50,000 records and we're getting really close to that worldwide—20,000 copies in the U.S. and 25,000 in Europe. We are very close to that mark, and you can't ask for more this day and age.
[In late 2003/early 2004] there was a lot of animosity towards Devildriver, with you guys trying to get on the Opeth tour and Devildriver got put on there instead. You guys even said that you didn't care for their music. [READ PREVIOUS STORIES HERE] Has the situation been ironed out?
Yeah, we worked it out before this tour. We knew we had to share some stuff and we're actually sharing a bus on tour. And since we are the two openers of the tour we have to share gear and make things work, so we had a talk with them. Basically for us the situation was not even personal; it was really political. We got pissed off about the way things happened and got bumped out of that tour for political reasons. We acted naturally by getting pissed. “Who are these guys?” At that time, we had never heard of Devildriver, and then they're coming out and bumping us off the tour? But it turns out they're actually nice guys, and we're having a good time. Everything's cool.
Who are some of your influences?
For me, personally, classic metal. Bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer and old school stuff. I'm also into the newer generation, bands like Arch Enemy and stuff like that. When we first started the band, it was old Cannibal [Corpse], Suffocation. That was the stuff we listened to when we were growing up. That stuff really influenced us when we started. We wanted to be the most extreme band in the world. Now we try more for good songs and structure and that we're happy with all the music. Our goal nowadays is not to be as extreme but to be a good metal band and work hard on our songwriting. We still keep our roots. We'll never change that but just simplify it. Not that it's more accessible, just better songwriting. As we grow older, we just wanted to be happy about our music. “Are we at a point that we are really liking our stuff or are we just doing it for the sake of being heavy and extreme?” So that's what changed with the years and getting more mature.
What are some of the lyrical topics on the new album?
Mostly its war and psychological, getting inside the mind type of lyrics. I wish Maurizio was here to talk more about the lyrics because he writes them. I help sometimes with the hooks and arrangements. We like more realistic subjects because our old singer liked more fantasy stuff—underground magic and whatever. Maurizio is more into reality. The topic of the last record was mostly about war.
You just got a big [guitar] endorsement deal?
Yeah, that's amazing. I went to visit Washburn in the office and got to meet everybody working there. Washburn is like a big Wal-Mart of guitars [laughter]. Every department made me choose every piece of the guitar and what I wanted to get. I'm not a big gear freak, but I got to pick everything I really liked. And they made it for me. I went three weeks later to pick up the guitar and was like, “Oh my god!” So they gave me the guitar and two Randall stacks and two bass stacks. I guess they really liked the band and really wanted to support us. [the guy from] Randall told us they really want to work with bands they like and really have talent, so we are very honored to work with them.
So it's a signature?
Yeah, the Heartbeast. Washburn saw it and were really impressed and think they can maybe sell it, so we'll see, I guess.
Speaking of the Heartbeast, you have a new band member?
Yeah, he's gonna be there on the album covers, and we're thinking of crazy T-shirt designs for him. We actually started thinking about bringing him on stage on our next album. We were talking to Nuclear Blast about it and think it's gonna be a big thing for the next record. So far on this album we're keeping things they way they are. We're just gonna finish. I think we have six months left of touring for that record. But after next album I think we're gonna try and step up things and have something really cool. [Note: The Heartbeast character first appeared on the album cover for 2006's In The Arms of Devastation - pictured below]
Have you started working on new material?
Yeah, we have three and a half songs done, and we're really excited about the next one already. When we have a break next summer we'll write some more and hoping to be in the studio by November or December, so we can have an April or May release. It's kind of similar to what we did on the last record but a little more intricate or more technical stuff. Maybe a little more longer songs, too, but it's really interesting and we can't wait to see how it sounds recorded.
Is there anything else we need to know about Kataklysm?
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who came out early out on the tour and everyone who bought our record. We never thought in our lives we'd be a band able to sell 50,000 records. This kind of music we're playing is crazy, so that's a big thank you to everyone. Here's a question that we ask all the bands. Are you a big Guns 'N Roses fan?
Yeah. Totally! [laughter]
Ok then, when do you think Chinese Democracy will come out?
I don't know, Hopefully soon. I'm curious to hear it. For me Appetite for Destruction is the record, and I don't think it can blow it away. You never, though. It's Guns 'N Roses.
