Black
metal with eerie passages with mystical atmosphere and orchestral
embellishments from the enchanting French shore where one can experience
outstanding Bordeaux wine and eternal beauty Lacanau… This is Khaos-Dei. They
have released Opus II: Catechism album from Osmose Productions at the end of
2016. There has always been many things to talk with these charismatic guys
Patrick and Fabrice, on the same time one of the influential musicians of dark
arts…
Hello, how are the things going
on for the band lately?
Patrick: Pretty good, we released
CATECHISM and for the moment all is well. It is the continuity of our first
album, based on our evolution. We are obviously proud of all this but it is
part of a natural approach. It is always the result of the work done for a time
but it is only a stage in our personal evolution towards the light of the one
who dazzles us. We will continue to work, we cannot tell you everything but we
are still in a boil. We are united by the belief that KHAOS-DEI is the reason
we had to meet. You cannot miss out on that.
Latest album Opus II: Catechism
is released on December 2016. I am very fond of “Tell Them Lucifer Is Her”e
album but “Opus II” made me to experience the Luciferian light while dragging
through eerie passages with its mystical atmosphere and orchestral
embellishments. How do you define your experiences in psychological and musical
sense for “Opus II: Catechism”?
P: KHAOS-DEI is a continuation of
life and indeed “catechism” once again consolidates the foundations of our
foundations. We erect our temple as a philosopher would enrich its culture.
Step by step. It is not a particular part that we build but a life of personal
enrichment. In the end our music is almost secondary. We use its vibrations to
get our message across. KHAOS-DEI lives daily, from the inside is what we call
our black art. We are obliged to build the temple of our knowledge and not to
look too much at what it is doing around us.
Please tell us the composition
process of “Opus II: Catechism” album. What were your influences? How did those
songs come to light?
P: From our lives. We do this
naturally, KHAOS-DEI is not an inspired farce. Musically old black metal bands
and spiritually we draw our knowledge in the theory of chaos we apply to our
own lives. Catechism is the natural evolution of our first album. We are locked
in our temple, where everything happens. We could write a book of all this but
we decided to make it simply musical vibrations largely surrounded by texts. It
is necessary to know that the words are rather complex in the symbolic. “The
child of the Devil” speaks mainly of the general atmosphere of the moment and
how we are there, our birth. Although it is very personal and codified, each
member of the band can easily identify. This is the kind of lyrics I wanted to
write for a while and that I suggested to the other members. I wanted to take
stock of the past, speak present and especially the future. “The nucleus of
Chaos” allows to return directly in a much more black metal atmosphere. We
speak of awakening of black flame. “Where you fall” tells how we must serve,
always in a spiritual way. Under the black banner can be legitimized by a
parallel we create between war and our faith. It is somewhat the principle of
all religions… more or less asserted. “An entire army”, one is typically in the
absolute, the ritual, the end of the mass, ecstasy. The last couplet is purely
ingrained in deep faith.
You used many orchestral works
for Opus II album between songs. Especially “Là où les mots ne parlent plus” is
an enchanting track. Which orchestra did you work with? How is their reaction
to Khaos-Dei music?
P: It was in November 2014 before
the release of our first album. Here again we were in the continuity of the
musical composition, the construction of KHAOS-DEI. I imagined this music in
several parts. It is Fabrice who brought the idea to add classical
instrumentations. I did not agree, we discussed it a lot and finally all agreed.
Our friend Johann Soustrot is the first violin of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra
in Sweden. We offered him a base of classical music. In the end, he played the
violins entirely. It was a total success, we were satisfied. The album could
not be finished better.
F: It was a challenge
without falling into caricature. Our keyboardist has composed everything and
the idea has come to include a violinist friend who lives in Sweden. It stuck
right away and as Patrick says, we are surprised the good returns of this
track.
For me, “Une Armee Entiere” song
sounds like coming from Pandemonium…
P: There’s no different vocal
style. I always sing as I wish or feel at the moment.
F: Pandemonium? Very good choice,
yes for my part I think it’s a good comparison, this song IS “the capital”… You
understood everything.
What are the plans for Khaos-Dei.
You had a tour with Mayhem, so, any other live shows? Videos? Albums in the
near future?
P: We continue to work and we
cannot communicate on it at this time. There are things foreseen but until the
last moment everything can tilt. Not because of KHAOS-DEI but again and as I
say very regularly … some people who say they are reliable turn out to be a
little less when it comes to making things happen.
F: We just saw it… without going
into details … I think KD is a cursed band in a way but it suits us. We learn
every day, the more we are disappointed the more we advance!
Tell us more about album cover.
What kind of impact do you want to create by this?
P: All religions will be led to
take up arms one day or another. We have proof of this lately. All extremists
have inevitably gone through the learning of their religion, the construction
of their temple. We laid the foundations of the building with our first album
and we are now in the total development of all this. The message is simple… We
will all be led to take up arms. Just choose your camp and the right time. Ours
is obvious. Our battle is sacred, our gods are sacred. Everything is in the
album.
How is the black metal scene in
France lately?
P: We have very little
relationship with the other metal bands. We make a music that bears the label
of “metal” but it stops there.
F: The French scene is doing
well, very well! We have some contacts with certain groups or some members,
references of the style also that I will say for me.
As being a horror story author, I
have been working on why we are into horror themes of darkness, demonology,
dreadful stories, unknown realms, mystical doctrines, death. Black metal has
strong interests in these topics in its music and its image. What do you think?
Why are you into if you think so? Is it something natural-born?
F: Strongly agree with Patrick,
that’s exactly it.
What do you think about the
future of black metal? Could you predict what kind of influences will be strong
on black metal in ideology and technique? In terms of scene, will it be
narrower by time after new trends or stabile with die-hard fan as ever as?
P: I think there’s something
happening about black metal. The media are increasingly interested in it
because they realized it was something other than all the shit we wanted to
swallow. However I live in my own bubble and I have very little contact with
the people who make this music. So it’s hard for me to answer. I do not know.
We will continue to do what we want to do.
F: I totally forbid myself now,
we make our way without worrying about others, and we are in our sphere.
