By “Jay Rollins”
Eradikal Insane is already back to work on a follow-up to 2015’s Mithra which delivered brutal track after brutal track. Featured on the album were guest vocalists Triv (Kronos), Julien Truchan (Benighted) and Sven De Caluwé (Aborted). How has the writing process for the new album been going and can fans expect any more guests to supplement the insanity?
The writing process is going well. It’s a long process as we are always trying to push ourselves to do better, bringing new influences to the music to raise the technical level. All this takes a significant amount of time and work. The lyrical concept is already there, now we’re working to translate it into music. Obviously, we learned a lot from doing ‘Mithra’, so once the tour is over we’ll return to the writing and create better written music.
About the guests, it’s a good question and to be completely honest, we haven’t thought about it yet. For the moment we need to have the songs completed to figure out if one or a few are suitable for it. One thing at a time.
Shortly after the release of Mithra you crossed the ocean for a ten day co-headlining Canadian tour with Shape the Above. Do you find any differences in how shows are ran in Canada compared with Europe? What were the crowds’ reactions like and did any of those shows stand out for any reason?
There’s no proper difference, each country has its lot of good and bad surprises, especially regarding the organization or accommodations. People have always been receptive to the music like in Canada, for example. The crowd was great every night, happy to be there watching a French band play, and having fun in the pit. We’re often congratulated after the shows, people compliment and encourage us to persevere. Sometimes we’re also asked to come back. All along the tour, we were amazed by how people were friendly, patient, comprehensive and nice.
This is very rewarding and makes the tour really enjoyable, which is a bit difficult to get in France where crowds show more restraint.
There were a lot of highlights to choose from, like playing at The Asylum in Sudbury, sharing the stage with Brought By Pain with Kevin and Hugo (also in Beyond Creation) and Sam (ex Gorod) at L’Alizé in Montréal. Or the breathtaking welcome of the crowd at 4-Barils in Jonquiere. Awesome venues, nice owners and amazing crowds. These are ones of the moments that stood out for us. On a daily basis, it was fantastic hanging with the talented guys of Shape The Above. We had great times together, so much laughter, metal and fun. We look forward to tour together again.
You have been successful doing things independently releasing several EPs and touring. Now you have signed with Alpha Omega Management. In today’s market some artists cater to a niche audience and avoid large deals. Were you always working toward sparking the interests of management teams or were you hesitant to sign with somebody?
Signing with a professional management agency was an obvious move for us. We had a lot of tour opportunities since 2013 that clearly enhanced the band’s visibility, and helped the band to grow. In the early years, we suffered from many line-up changes, members not really involved, even though talented, that kept the band in a sort of stagnant state.
But for a few years now, the band is a solid core, stable, all with the same expectations and desires. Further to an eulogistic review of ‘Mithra’ by a Japanese webzine, Alpha Omega Management contacted us directly with a proposal to work together. Each opportunity leads to another one. Today it’s another step up the ladder, to push the band to the next level come what may. We also hope it will help to get a record label’s attention.
You’ll be hitting the road again for the Contagion Europa tour on Nov. 5th and this time Charles (ex – The Walking Dead Orchestra, session bassist for Benighted) will be taking over bass. He is definitely suited for the feat and will be an asset to the obliteration of fans. How did you come to work with Charles? Was there much of a selection process or was the only person really considered?
We shared the stage with one of his previous band 2 years ago in Dijon, France. He managed the show and hosted us, so we had the chance to bond. He is a nice guy. We recently learned he left The Walking Dead Orchestra, he’s now looking for new projects and/or session jobs. So it went naturally to our minds that he would be a great fit. We’re really happy to have him for the tour. We made an announcement months ago on Facebook, but the discussions we had with the so called interested guys didn’t really lead to a mutual agreement.
With lots of new music and touring planned for the future Eradikal Insane fans should prepare for the musical beating they’ve come to love from the group. Have any of the new tracks written since Mirtha become a staple in your live show yet? Will you be heading out to conquer any new terrain on tour in 2017, places you haven’t played yet?
At the moment, we’re still writing new material to get something out next year maybe. Several songs are in progress but none of them are completely done to be part of the setlist. The set is mainly composed by songs from the album. Conquering new places and hitting the stage all around the world has been our main goal for the last 3 years. Russia, Canada, next month Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bosnia… We are very excited, it’ll be our first time in Eastern Europe. Rumors say it’s a good place to play death metal so we expect a great tour. Good times ahead, we’ve got a bunch of shows that haven’t been announced yet as well. Our signing with Alpha Omega Management will give us more and easier opportunities to tour everywhere. We’re already working for 2017, we can’t wait to hit the road again.
Jay Rollins / Metalheads Forever Magazine
