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[b]Radio Metal : It’s been two years since the Hellenic Terror. What is new with you?[/b]

[b]Tom (bass)[/b] : So, actually, for this tour, we are here to promote the reediting of our first album that we’ve done with Rupture Music and which is a package quite complete, that we’ve issued under a digipack format, with actually the whole of The Titans Awakening, as well as 3 or 4 demos for bonus, and also a DVD on the second disk loaded with bonus and videos: it goes from The Killer Fest recorded in 2005 (which is nicely filmed with a good frame camera and so a very nice sight) as well as many lives that we had shot on the Colossal tour and also very old concerts, especially a concert dating from 93.

[b]Where do you stand on the next album? [/b]

So for the next album, we’re still working on it. For the moment we’re pretty much satisfied with what we’ve done together. The hardest for us it to rehearse, because as you know, we are spread all over France: there are two in the Vosges area, myself I’m in Paris, and two more are over in Tours. So you can imagine how the rehearsals can be difficult; this is why we need to be organized for composition, in particular everyone tries to compose at home, be it Richard and Mike that compose in Tours, Graf who works on his computer, we sometimes rehearse through Skype to send each other all of that and to know what everyone think about it; it’s actually quite funny to know that. But it’s actually pretty difficult to manage since whenever there’s a tiny change, you need to send it back to everyone etc. well actually all is going smoothly et it sounds just the way we wanted.
[b]
Your latest album The Hellenic Terror, that I actually found very heavy and much less direct than Colossal Titan Strife, was It a wish to make an album far more complex?[/b]

I’m gonna tell you something: what changed on the Hellenic compared to the Colossal, it is that the titles were composed with Richard, and that you have to know since the titles on Colossal weren’t created by Richard, thus we were 3 composers. For the Colossal, it was the latest guitar player Stef who had composed much things, well then Richard only had to play his solos and so came to record the Colossal in the studios. This time compared to the Hellenic, he has also composed and it’s also true that we share for the better the composition, and if you like as we don’t listen all the same things and it’s quite difficult to keep a line. I think we actually managed to keep the sound of Kronos in our music all the while modifying a bit the style, you know what I mean. But that’s also our force, because if you take for examples our three first albums that we’ve done: Titans Awakening is truly at the limit of grind death trash, whereas the second is more melodic death and the third is much more straightforward. We wanted the Hellenic to be intense, that’s what we wanted and it is true that this is an album that is really direct, that gives all it has to give, for me it is technical enough, with some sequences that are not too hard to play, and actually that is the compromise: to avoid doing an album that would be too complex to listen to, and so we tried to keep the compromise and so to keep the whole intensity of the music.

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[center](Tom) : « [i]There’s some jazz that is easy listening that is done for people who manage to like jazz and then there’s the jazz made for musicians, a very complex jazz, some free jazz etc. It’s very difficult to listen to that. I think it is the same thing with the metal.[/i] »[/center]

[b]That’s exactly what I meant. Don’t you think that the tendency to bid always higher in technical terms can be harmful, a kind of loss of efficiency, especially when you see some bands where it becomes a hardship to listen to their music instead of being a pleasure? [/b]

But I think it is the case in any kind of music. You see, there’s some jazz that is easy listening that is done for people who manage to like jazz and then there’s the jazz made for musicians, a very complex jazz, some free jazz etc. It’s very difficult to listen to that. I think it is the same thing with the metal: if you look it up, it’s true that the riffs tended to be real simple at the time, when you listen to bands like Sepultura or bands like that; it wasn’t really that hard to play, it was really vivid. Now when you are a musician, you’re looking for difficulty. You know, after a while playing E notes on your bass, it’s not what’s the most interesting, even if the music is still there, and the most important is what you’re feeling, you’re still looking for difficulties. It’s actually obvious with the drum players: if they really want to express themselves and to show themselves at their best, for sure you cannot keep playong AC/DC style tempos, that’s for sure and that’s why we looked a bit for that. You know, now, we got Richard, who is a guitar teacher; we got also Mike, who is a drum teacher; us as well, we got some kind of skills, be it on the bass or on the other guitar, even on the singing. Which is why it gives you the will to express all of that, you want to show and to use all that you know, and that’s what’s important, all the while trying to keep a small base. As for the other bands, if you want to talk about let’s say Decrepit Birth or In so flesh, or whatever, I see what you mean, it’s a little bit difficult to undo. You see for myself I really like it, I totally bond with that, I’m a huge fan, but I can understand that at some point you gotta say: « stop to the arrhythmia, stop to too much technique, and a bit more power « .

[b]Precisely, do you have a main line for the next album? Are you going to go back to the groove? Is it going to be in the same vein as Hellenic? [/b]

I’m going to confess that we’re going with the flow. That’s what we’ve done for the 3 first albums. What was important for us, it was to feel it, feel what was good, and you know while we’re composing it, we’re recording everything that goes through our heads, there’s some riffs meant for the trash, that’s for sure, stuff that we will never use or that we’ll sell to Celine Dion if need be, stuff that we absolutely cannot use because they are too corny, but you need to record these stuff, even if you have to throw away lots, so that you won’t miss the one, that will be interesting and will expand your music. So that’s why I really cannot tell you how it’s going to sound at the time, I know that there are a lot of heavy stuff who sound a bit the Hellenic, I also know that there are some stuff more melodic who sound more like Colossal , you see, some things that are a bit more placed, some ambient riffs as well, so actually telling you really what will prevail in our music, I’m unable to tell you. You’ll know when we’ll release it, even me I don’t know.

[b]And roughly when can we expect the release?[/b]

Well I absolutely have no idea. I’m going to tell you that this album, it is our fourth and it is out of the question to release it in a rush. We want this album to last a bit in the ears of our fans, while reflecting that this album has been super well done. That’s why we’re really going at it, how to say, being sure of everyone; I mean that anytime someone has a riff, for example, you need to have the five to agree: Ok this one is good, we don’t touch it anymore. And that would be the same for all the other parts: for the riff, for the bass lines, for the singing lines, for the drums lines; that is really important, we need to be able to say: here you go, we’ve done our best, everyone agrees on that, it is the best we can draw from it. In that case only can we go and record it and then release it.

[b]So I’m going to ask: can you a bit broach the subject, because it’s always out of the ordinary, gore or Satanist common in the death metal? [/b]

Concerning the gore or Satanist part in the death metal, that’s for sure it is here be it in the death metal or the black metal. The gore part doesn’t attract us that much, because you’re not under the obligation to have guts or missing members, well you see what I mean, to showcase your music. We actually chose to speak about Greek mythology, besides that’s how we came by our name, and I think it is important, because it is all that’s being said on the Hellenic Terror for example, the myths and the monsters that terrorized the Hellenic world; so you see each song has its own monster, I don’t know if you’ve listened to us or read our lyrics…so the meaning is to talk about stories like that, without especially being gore. Gore, that’s fine for bands who chose it, it’s a fact. Actually it’s the fame of Cannibal Corpse, for example, it’s normal and it works well for them, but all the same, it’s not at all what we want to discuss, even if sometimes, in a music like that, you have to explain that things happened violently, even on stories about Greek mythology, but you don’t have to go overboard, you don’t have to in music, well not for Kronos in any case.

[b] Actually, death metal is often a violent and aggressive music that treats violent and scary subjects, whereas most of the musicians that play that music are lovely people, almost peace and love. Isn’t it strange and especially for you? (Dixit: I have a friend who saw you three days ago and he told me that the bass player of Kronos was a sweetheart). Do you feel that ambivalence between the fun and cushy guys and all the rest? [/b]

I think that our style of music is an outlet, if you want. When you go up on stage, it’s really to release some energy, and that’s why we try our best to be always on the move on stage: you don’t plan what you’re doing, it’s really gut instinct, and it’s an hour where you’re going to give everything you’ve got. You don’t know how you’re going to give everything, but you need to bust everything and that’s the main goal. But that’s true that when you’re off stage, for example, or in real life like going to work etc. , inevitably we’re not like that, you don’t go anywhere screaming your head off « yeah how are you tonight ». We’re not at all like that, and that’s true also that we listen a lot to other kind of music, and that’s why we don’t have an only-metal spirit. It’s only that we try, since we’re listening to a whole other range of music (like pop, jazz, movies soundtracks, a mix of everything), there’s a moment where it works on your personality. It’s also true that when we were 15, or even 18, we were wholeheartedly metal, we only listened to metal, and it rules our lives. Now as you’re defined as a musician, more than being a metal head, you still like playing it, you’ve become a musician, you bind with other things, so there, there’s necessarily a moment where your state of mind changes. It’s not because of that that we’re going to become mean, and then you know, we’ve never had a calm stature, to try and have a brand image, to show off. You know us; you’ve already seen us, so there…the goal is to have a good time with the audience, not only us!

[b]Actually have you gone round the hall? How did you manage to be so many on stage? And then, you are restless on stage, so on such a small space, are there some of you who will go in the audience? [/b]

I have absolutely no idea. I simply will tell you that it is really hard, because as you know the working of a stage: you’ve got the returns, if you move further from the returns, you can’t hear anything anymore, so it’s really difficult to play under those circumstances; or you chose a song that you master and that is not too hard, in that case, you can try anything…well after that watch out!!! If you go off stage and that you can’t get back on, it doesn’t give out the same impression. We’ll see how it goes tonight. It’s true that the stage is small but we’ll do with it and that’s all!!! We’re going to give the best of us tonight.

[b] The French scene for metal hard rock, and especially extreme metal, seems to be taking off. You’re part of the old ones now, well at least since 94 which is a long time! What is your outlook on the subject? How can you analyze this evolution? What are your feelings regards to these events, the fact that extreme metal is having a bit of recognition? [/b]

This is a thing I’m really happy about! True that if you were asking foreigners a few years back if they knew French bands, there were very few who could answer and give you some names, maybe two or three, they named Massacre and Loudblast, OK, plus maybe two or three other who were more underground , for people who were more involved in the French scenes. But now, we’re beginning to see foreigners talking about French bands; of course, there’s Gojira now who is flying the French flag; but there’s some words out about Benighted for example, of other bands like Dagoba or Scare for example, and here we’re really starting to build a name for the French scene, so that foreigners are starting to realize that something is happening on the French stage. So we’re really happy to be part of this movement, and really there are a lot of bands coming up: you can really see this happening with the opening bands on tour, where you see them and « whoa, that’s us ten years ago »so that’s cool! There’s something coming up. Me I’m under the impression that Kronos will be a springboard, I hope i twill be a springboard for other bands!!! That is to say that something is happening in France and that people are interested in that and that they also get something out of it.

[b] Did you ever thought about going to play and live in the States? Because with your style, your level and the quality of your music, you would be without any doubt much more famous over there if you spent more time on the American market? I see a band like Seven Gates, who built a street team in the States, and who will probably tour there soon; you have the style that can match this American death image with much technique, well played and well produced, like obviously Morbid Angel; have you ever broached the subject?[/b]

To go and play in the States, yes for sure that would be our next steps: to tour there, especially while playing a music that they’ve invented, if I may say so, it would be a great adventure to go and represent the finial of French death metal, even if other bands have already done it, like Goroth; as for us, yeah, that would be great to go there. But as for living there, I won’t export myself, well actually I don’t think we will export ourselves for a musical style. It might be an insecure way of living, we don’t really know how it’s going to work out, you know how music business works: one day everything is on the roll, then you release an album that is not as good as the previous, and bang, you’ve got another band who took your sunny spot. So you cannot base a life on that. At the same time, I’m going to tell you that we have some Americans metal heads who already know about us, so going over there, I’m not sure if we would get more recognition even if we toured there. But you know as well that the clubs over there, they’re not really full, and all the friends I have who went there to tour, some explain to you that you play in small bars while the guys play darts, you know what I mean! It might not be in the best conditions. So I think that for us living in the States, that might not be very interesting, I’d rather represent the European side of the music by staying here.

[b]Do you want to add something that seems important for you, that we never tackle in interviews, or that I didn’t really touch and that feels important? [/b]

No, nothing in particular!! Just that’ I’m glad having so much people having the metal scene broadening its horizon and starting to get more important, be it webzines, well what we have for the moment, and radios like yours. For this I’m really glad. The bands that follow us as well, this is great; the bands we play with, there’s still our friends from Benighted (in an aside: joke about the way Benighted sound like the word for holy water font), that came tonight, they are really great friends. It’s a great kick, you see, it has to go on for a long time, like also the guys organizing concerts, etc. everyone that does everything they can to have the metal in France reach the level it has today.

Interview conducted April 24th, 2009 in Lyon
MySpace Kronos : [urlb=http://www.myspace.com/kronostitan]myspace.com/kronostitan[/urlb]