Interview to EMBRYONIK (France)
To start off, how does the local landscape of Annecy and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region shape your creative process ? Does living surrounded by peaceful mountains contrast with or fuel the aggressive energy of your music ?
A : First of all, Annecy is a very touristic and calm town. Alternatives and metal cultures are not really part of the landscape. We are surrounded by mountains and they do shape the weather here. Short and hot summer, long and rainy fall and winter, so we have to make good use of that energy and make it count !!! It is also true for our riffs, which are focussed, tight, and have a purpose. We are fuelled by the sensation you get when you listen to a heavy and cutting riff, by the impulsion that makes you bang your head and start a mosh pit to destroy everything !!!
In Embryonik, we want to make music that'll piss off old people and tourists and, hidden away in our mountains, we are preparing for Embryonik's World Domination !!!!
You official genre is rooted in Speed and Thrash Metal. Which classic bands from the 80s and 90s crossover era inspired you to pick up your instruments and start Embryonik ?
A : We see ourselves more as Thrash, with loads of influences, from Old School Death Metal, Crossover, Groove. We listen to a lot of different things in the band.
Our influences are, of course, the Bay Aera thrash but we like the aggressiveness and groove of a lot of 90's bands like Sepultura, Pantera. The violence of Havok, Power Trip, Warbringer, Lost Society (3 Firsts Records), Municipal Waste, Sylosis has brought some deadly ideas into our song writing.
The word « Embryonik » hints at something in its earliest, rawest state of development. Why did you choose this name, and how does it represent the core concept of the band ?
A : The word was temporary during the first months of the band. It was the name of the chat group. “Embryonik” because at this point, the project was still in its early stages. It was a kind of a work name. But it actually had everything a good band name needs, short, easy to remember, ear catching. Deep in our minds we rapidly thought that this name would kick ass, so we kept it !!!
You released your self-titled digital EP, Embryonik, independently. What was the biggest challenge of handling the entire process by yourselves ?
A : I think it's the coordination between all the tasks, the order of everything. Everything was homemade, so we made a lot of mistakes but we’ve learned a lot too. For a first try, we’re really proud of what we made.
For someone who has never heard your music before, how could you describe the sonic signature of the embryonik EP in terms of guitar tone, vocal style and rhythmic pacing ?
A : We just want to make music we like, inspired by the stuff we listen to. We all have different influences in the band. True black or death, for some, industrial and nu for other, but what we love is how easy it is to play together some heavy and fast fucking Old School riffs, backed up with pure cutting madness on the bass, raw organic drums and proto death vocals.
Why did you decide to launch the EP strictly as a digital independent release ? Are there any future plans to work with a label or press physical formats like vinyl, CDs or cassettes for metal collectors ?
A : Actually, we also pressed a few CDs that we sell at our merch stand when we play gigs. For now, as a newly formed independent band, vinyl production is something we'd love to do and we definitely will with next release. As a new band, we were eager to release our songs at the first opportunity, and we had to go independant for this EP but signing with a label is something we'd like to pursue in the near future, and would definitely help us reach a larger audience !
Can you walk us through the lyrical themes of the EP ? Speed and Thrash Metal often deal with social critique, political issues, or internal struggles – what specific messages are you trying to convey ?
A : All the lyrics were written by Matt, our singer. They’re inspired by his own experiences, particularly personal struggles that everyone can relate to.
For example, “Burn N’ Die” is about a conflict he’d had with a previous boss, while “Embryonik” is about how you’re treated at school when you’re not like everyone else. “Nothing” is more about the emptiness and abstract ways of life nowadays while “Wastelands” captures the dark and wild energy we are bringing on stage.
There are no political lyrics, even though tensions are currently very high in our country.
You’ve been bringing your heavy sets to regional venues, including your performance at L’Aparté in Evian-Les-Bains. How does the energy of an intimate, local crowd compare to your time in the rehearsal room ?
A : The crowd reaction has been amazing so far and we shared great moments even after the shows !!! This is the result of months of hard work in rehearsal together and separately.
Both are really different, in rehearsal, we have less pressure and we’re familiar with the place. In a venue, you have to adapt to everything, take possession of the place and prove your worth on stage in front of people who don’t really know you for the moment.
We give everything for them so they’ll remember us !!!
Metal shows are heavily driven by the crowd’s reaction. What is the ultimate « mosh pit track » from your current setlist, and what goes through your minds when you see the crowd explode during that song ?
A : Our “mosh pit track” from the EP, is clearly the mosh part in “Embryonik” and an unreleased song we play during our sets called “Revolt”. These songs drive the audience wild !!! With reactions like this, we just want to jump into that goddamn pit and unleash hell !!!
France has a legendary and diverse Metal underground scene, from avant-garde Black Metal to Heavy Thash. How do you feel Embryonik fits into the current French Metal landscape ?
A : Thrash is making its way back up slowly. We offer something organic, true and far from the new trend of heavily processed Metalcore. We believe we can make a name for ourselves in the French and international underground scene. The most rewarding thing for us would be to earn recognition from our peers.
Playing independent Metal shows often relies on community and solidarity. How important is the network of local bars, underground promoters, and fellow bands in keeping your local scene alive ?
A : Local bars and promoters are vital for us !!! We did our first gigs thanks to them.
With fellow bands, we share tips with each other, we need to stick together to keep the local scene alive. There are some really cool bands around and although it may look like competition, we actually help each other out.
Speed Metal requires absolute technical precision and fast tempos. Could you share a bit about your musical backgrounds ? Did any of you have formal training, or are you entirely self-taught metalheads ?
A : We all did a little bit of formal training for learning the basics of our instruments but the big part is self taught, except for our bassist. He is 100 % self-taught !
In France, a metalhead as a music teacher is very rare. We had to fend for ourselves using online masterclasses, tips and tricks of many tutorials. Considering where we are now, we'd say it has worked quite well !
For the gear nerds out there : what specific guitars, amplifiers, or drum setups did you use on the EP to achieve that raw, biting, old-school thrash tone ?
A : For an old-school style, you need old-school instruments, so we play with Jackson for the guitars and BC Rich for the bass.
For the amplifiers, all the guitars were recorded with a Marshall JVM 100 W head cranked up straight into a 4x12 Peavey 6505 and a Hartke HA 3500 for the bass.
For the drums, the main piece of the sound are the cymbals Paiste Rude, saturating the mics in a brutal and energetic way. Drumkit is quite simple, straight to the point, with no fancy toys, aimed to be in your face when you hear us live ! We use only our stage gear for the recording, our state of mind is to have the same sound on stage and on the EP.
Since the release of the EP, have you been writing new material ? Should your fans expect a full-lenght album soon, or are you currently focusing on playing more live shows ?
A : Absolutely, we already have some new stuff !!! We have 6 new songs done and more to come. We are improving them every time we play them live. For now we want to play live and unleash thrashing hell over the Alps ! We have plenty of dates coming up and we are focussed on playing tighter, faster, and heavier ! Recording those news songs in a professional studio is on the agenda but we need to mature them before this next adventure.
Finally, looking ahead, what is the ultimate milestone or dream stage for Embryonik ? Where do you want to take your music next ?
A : It’s a tough question, there are so many places we want to play like Brutal Assault, Motocultor, Hellfest, Resurrection, but our biggest dream stage is the Wacken in Germany. There are plenty of other venues we'd love but we can’t name all of them here.
We are proud that our music has already reached Peru !!! But we want it to reach as far as possible, why not make it onto the Billboard charts !!!
One final word from Emrbyonik : We want to thank Rotten Pages Webzine for its time considering us and our fans and families for their support.
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