UNEXPECT - INTERVIEW

This is an original band coming from Quebec, Canada. UNEXPECT invest in a kind of metal that mix influences of various sonorities: black, death, power, and also classical, operatic, medieval and ambient!!! The debut album "Utopia" is an example of good compositions and dream atmospheres for open minds. Krepuskulum interviewed Syriak (Goblinoid dialect and Strings oddities)  by e-mail.

Krepuskulum: Talk to us about the band trajectory. What is the reason to play this kind of music?

Syriak:  I really think it is only a matter of interest in this musical field that is metal. Even if presently, some of us completely opened themselves to other musical cultures not in any way connected to metal ( but anyway...all music is still part of the same huge family ! We’re all in the same boat as musical fans ! ) we have listened to it since we’ve been youngsters ( we still are) with bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Death. Playing metal has been such a huge part of our lives that it inherently came for us to write compositions in this vein ! We wanted the sheer intensity of this musical genre combined with soft, appeasing moments.glorious passages and trancelike ambiances In overall, music is a lifelong passion and in uniting the major parts of our musical concerns, we found a way to be satisfied by these associations. It is really difficult to express how music can affect our perception of each present moments, cause it is in the realm of the indescribable. A good reason ?? We adore it !!!

What is the reason of the big "X" in UNEXPECT name??

--- First, we wanted one of the letters in our logo to detach itself from the others just for the sake of aesthetic.leaves a bigger impression. Afterward, this letter could stand for the "categorization" of a musical genre , " X Metal " gives the choice to the listener to put the word of his choice ( X being a variable ). We don’t necessarily like the terms Black and Death before the Metal adjective it really does not suits our attitude or ambiance. Since people are always complaining when you proclaim yourself this or that kind of metal, we’re leaving the option to the imagination. A simple curiosity Moreover, X, being also an indefinite coordinate, it may represent the fact that we’re not grounded anywhere when referring to musical travel unknown.who knows where we are going next ? Ourselves ? Hmmmm...dunno... The person hearing our album is also a coordinate lost in the vastness of planet earth ! Position XYZ !! Generation X music !! Ok, ok...I will not exaggerate.even if it IS satisfying….hehehehehe !! We don’t take ourselves too seriously, we just amuse ourselves finding possibilities !!

--- Since UTOPIA has been composed in the space of 3 and 4 years, the songs have been worked, re-worked and re-re-worked. With the huge gaps between the creation of each songs, it is normal that each of them are somewhat different, depending on the music we were listening at the time and all the little things of life that make you react another way when picking up your instrument ! Some moments are the products of an energy period while others are the fruits of passive meditating passage. And actually, the diversity between our songs suits us well, for we want to be known for that particular trait, that is unpredictability and variety of textural atmospheres.  Without exaggerating too much of course.. our goal is not to destabilize everyone with our fancies.

----- A global fact is that we’re 4 in the band who are huge fans of J.R.R Tolkien and his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. The precision of his landscape descriptions, the richness of his story-line and this wonderful parallel universe known as Middle Earth make him a god of fantasist literature. The characters are awe-inspiring : Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo, Tom Bombadil, Galadriel, Gollum ( personal favourites) .their personalities are so tasteful !! You could talk to them in your sleep ! Or at least I would want to. What we would not sacrifice just to put a toe in the golden woods of Lothlorien…. I also read a huge amount of fantasy/adventure books in the AD&D settings of Ravenloft, Spelljammer, DragonLance, Forgotten Realms and others. With such a diversity of authors and ambiances, the travels I did were amazing and incredible, each book was a dimension of its own bringing me into other- worldly scenes.h such melancholy not to live it concretely. Anne Rice ( Vampire Chronicles, Mayfair Witches Chronologie, etc.), Star Wars novels elaborating the original movies,are examples of other books we’ve explored. Just a little note by the way ...While these influences affected our lyrical approach and our imagery, the music has been created in parallel.The themes came after intense listening, inspiring us.

---- Sure...we’re even less normalized humans in our representations than in the booklet ( our other nature being hidden for some by ornamented masks) . We really believe that, while a fantasist image is not required to appreciate one’s music ( the music itself must dominate ), it really adds to the atmospheric dimension. When I listen to a record and I see guys in t-shirts, sunglasses on and arms crossed over their chests, ( I really don’t see any problem with that….they stay true to their nature and tastes, and it does’nt affect their art…) the flash that come to my mind is one of concrete guys behind their instrument in studio….and the music is the result of their playing. It stay true in our case… we’re not aliens…..but the difference is that the representation of characters/musicians adds to the ambiance of the sleeve and brings the person who’s listening to a state where he COULD believe he’s not hearing a recorded piece of music made by 7 humans, but that he’s in fact traveling a whole imaginary universe sang by personas not connected to the "real" world. The pleasure is to be completely spaced out….no reminder for the span of mere minutes of our reality and its restrictions. So Yes ! I definitely think the image can be important for our minds eyes.

---- We always preferred bands with a melodic edge to their sound. My opinion on this is as follow Melody is one of the primary reason to play music, it is the facet that allow us to feel and appreciate the beauty of the flow .even with harder versions of metal, it brings an intensity common to classical music.shivers and head shaking. I don’t think it is a moment fashion , because music fans will always be sufficiently diversified in their tastes to keep this movement alive. If not the fans, the musicians will protect the flame ! As for more brutal bands, I still like them but in a smaller dose. There is a monotony in their sheer brutality that lowers my interest. You’re full of extraordinary energy, ready to break down an entire regiment of furious gorillas….and then after 2 songs I’m bored. Yes ! They are excellent musicians, and yes ! I do believe it brings emotions to some people…..not me. But Slayer was in my personal hotlist ! Viva Angel ( no fascism though…) !

-----Since it has been distributed only in some parts of Quebec and soon Canada ( some copies in Europe too, but we did’nt heard any news about them….), we can’t respond on a large scale. But here in Quebec, the reactions are ( for debutants ) more than satisfying ! The praises are very encouraging and we’re very proud of this momentum ! The local medias support us greatly and the promos we sent in other countries have been extremely well received ! We hope it is a good omen for the future ! Ah wondering…..

----- In fact, no. We’ve played just one gig with them in Montreal and since this is the location where we are the most known and appreciated, the reaction was overwhelming...It really was the first time we played in front of so many metal freaks. I must say we’ve been very surprised by their attitude. An aura of devastating fun was present. Satyr seemed such a cold fish...hehehe... End of thoughts.

Syriak, juggler of thoughts

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Contacts:

Site:  http://Unexpect.TSX.ORG       e-mail: unexpect@death-star.com