Tag: Olivier Pinard

My interview with Jim Gregory of Solium Fatalis

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I recently had the chance to review Solium Fatalis’s sophomore album, and was pleasantly surprised with not only the lineup, but the songs were great. I wanted to reach out and talk to Jim Gregory guitarist and song writer for Solium Fatalis, and Neuronic Saw. I managed to get him on the phone and talk to him about Solium and find out where they are right now.

 

 

 

So I am on the phone with Jim Gregory from Solium Fatalis, What was your inspiration for the last album “The Undying season”?

Jim-Well mostly my military career, some of it touches on politics and stuff like that but a lot of it had to do with the things I saw while I was deployed in the desert and various places. Real life shit.

So that album got released about 9 months ago, are there still any physical copies left.

Jim-Yea actually there are about fifty out of the five hundred that we pressed. I still have more of the first album.

So you have both of them up on Bandcamp, has that been a great resource for you to be selling the albums in digital format?

Jim-So we have a full outlets, we don’t actually sell a lot on bandcamp, I don’t really even know why. I know other bands sell on bandcamp and it works out very well, but we haven’t had a lot of success. It’s being sold on our website, Amazon, iTunes, Google play, CD baby and the record label site. I mean you can go on your Xbox and get it.

So who does the writing for the albums?

Jim-I do all of it, the thing is I write all the songs by myself, and I have already written a few songs for this new album. I wrote 20 songs for the last album. And don’t get me wrong, I can go to Oli or Flo and get their input but for the most part I do all the writing.

So for the most part it sounds like the melody and rhythm are there, and you can go to Flo or Oli and get their opinion.

Jim- Yeah, I mean we know where Flo comes from but Oli was also in Neuraxis, and they were a killer band. Underrated in my opinion but a great metal band.

How did you end up getting involved with Jeff on vocals?

Jim-So I will do my best to give you the short version of the story, haha I’m not great with brevity. I could talk metal with you all night

Hahaha and we have,

Jim-Yea I could totally bullshit with you and talk metal for hours, you’re a cool dude and I love the website and your format for reviews. So I had four vocalists for the first album, and I had them all from one point to another and they would not get back to me, or stop talking. But Jeff would come in to the studio, because he and Ehren have been friends since I think they were kids so I said I think my vocalist is going to quit and I think I might need to ask you to do it. And he said ok I’ll do it. So when we did the second album, I knew exactly how he was going to sound, and what I had to work with, and I knew Flo and Oli can really do whatever they want. These guys could do this stuff in their sleep ha-ha so that’s why Seasons comes off far more focused.

So it was the right place and the right time

Jim-Yea he is a wicked cool guy all the guys are great, they don’t have any egos, they are really cool and great

 

So you are working on new material, are we going to see the same line up as on The Undying Season?

Jim-Yea totally they are all doing it, ha-ha I just talked to Oli the other day and he asked if he was slated to be doing the 3rd album and I was like uh yea dude. You know I am a fan of this music, and I hate seeing lineup change. So yea we are going to stick with the original line up, well the lineup for the second album. The first was based on necessity, and then the second basically came together. Especially when I was at the grid and Christian Donaldson said” hey would you like to use Flo?” and I was like uhhh yea!” and I asked about bass players, and Chris said “well you can use Forest from Beyond Creation, or you can use Oli” and I felt Forest is a great player, but I just dint think he would fit perfectly, and Oli was a fan of extreme metal so I felt  he was the one.

So you are working on new material,

Jim-We have three songs written so far, I wrote a new song every one to two days

So the rumor is that this is going to be a concept album, is this is true that you are doing a tribute album to the proclaimers?

Jim-Hahahahaha WTF, hahahahahahahaha no, I mean yea  it is a concept album, I have eleven tracks slated, and I do have a working title, but it is about mankind. It’s not going to be like the first and second album, I mean you will hear it and know its Solium Fatalis. So when I came up with the concept of the third album, I wanted to tell a story. I think empires die, you know I think somebody could hit the big red button and blow the whole world population up, wiped out. The world will continue, but it won’t be the world that you and I know. A lot of this is based on the world that I have seen, and being in a combat zone, and what people are really like as humans.

So is there anything you want the people to know about the undying season, or the new material

Jim-Well when it comes to The Undying Season, there is more to it than you realize, but the new music is going to be conceptual, complex esoteric, poetic, artistic and heavy!

So there you have it, Solium Fatalis is working on new material, and the line up will be the same. For those of you who don’t know much about this band let me give you the run down.

Jim Gregory is an experienced guitar player, who has served in the U.S armed forces, and loves metal.
Ehren Hill is the other guitarist for Solium Fatalis. He comes from Excrecor where he plays guitars and keyboards, and he runs things over at Iron Hill studios in New Hampshire.

Jeff Demarco does the vocals for Solium as well as for Excrecor.

Flo Mounier is a (legendary) name you should be familiar with, he is an original member of a pioneering  extreme/technical metal band Cryptopsy, he has been blowing peoples minds with his percussion skills for the past twenty years, and has been in various other projects including Digital Doomzday.

Olivier Pinard is the bassist for a few metal bands  including Cryptopsy, he has played with Neuraxis, and Akurion.

 

SO when you look at that line up its a no brainer that Solium Fatalis is a band you should familiarize yourself with.

 

To give you  a taste of what each member brings to the table  here are videos  of each member in action.

 

Jeff- Vocals

 

Ehren- Guitars

 

Oli- BAss

Flo-Drums

 

Jim- Guitars

 

 

Check them out on FACEBOOK

Follow them on TWITTER

get both  albums on Bandcamp

and don’t forget to go over to http://galyrecords.bigcartel.com/ and get some merch \m/

 

 

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solium Fatalis- The Undying Season – album review

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Solium Fatalis

The Undying Season

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2015

Jeff DeMarco-Vocals
Jim Gregory-Guitars
Ehren Hill-Guitars
Olivier Pinard-Bass
Flo Mounier-Drums

  1. To Deliver Us All

The album begins with this great inaugural track, the sound sample that eerily starts things off is like something out of an old horror movie. The band fades in right to an explosion of drums guitars and growling vocals. The song has a great rhythm, some mean verses, and the guitar solo around the halfway point is impressive. The song is blunt, no fluff, just straight up metal.

  1. Salient

This song has a cool perpetual guitar riff that begins the track, and a rhythm that delivers a indisputable groove. It has a bit of a slower feel for the majority of the song, but sinks its hooks right in you almost immediately. It just rocks the shit out of that groove for so long and then gifts we with some fast paced blasting towards the end of the song and one last line from the vocals.

  1. Monolith Of Internecion

A quick drum introduction opens the doors for a really cool rhythm and malevolent melody. The first verse begins with a hail of blast beats, and a driving guitar riff. The chorus is captivating and the guitar riff during the chorus builds up to the post chorus solo. This song is so concise and catchy you will find yourself moving, or head banging to the song involuntarily, and hoping for more.

  1. An Asylum For Penitence

At first we hear an admirable melodic guitar intro that sets things up for the door to be kicked in with a heavy hitting rhythm and menacing vocals. I am really digging this song, the beginning was such a harmonious melody, and then the band joins in. My first reaction was to clap and throw up the metal horns. These guys took me by surprise with this one, and it’s only a third of the way through. This song is like walking through several mysterious doors to end up in the same spot you were in before. Each door is a subtle change and then goes right back to the infectious melodic groove. I fight the urge to say this is my album favorite because it’s just too early to say, but damn is this a solid song that will cause listeners to have that “Fuck yeah” moment. I undeniably listened to this song again due to it being such a good tune.

  1. Corporeal Form

Damn they do not waste any time with this song, growls and ripping drums right out of the gate. I like the guitar riff that plays before the first verse, it sets the verse up well. It has a solid tempo and delivers a satisfying groove leading up to a solo around the mid-point of the song. I really like the tail end of the solo and how it comes out and begins the transition for the last verse of the song. The song ends with a cool subtle guitar riff that fades the song out.

  1. Contagion

Heavy buzz saw distortion and a mean riff begin this song for a few bars and then we get hit with some blast beats from Flo setting things up for the first verse. It has a great tempo, and I can’t stress enough this group really lays down a groove for the listener. There are plenty of bands not just metal that do not build the song structure with a groove. I find these guys make sure to give the listener something to get locked into, something to head bang to, to move to. This song in particular easily encourages the listener to break out the air drums, or air guitar. True to the name of this song, it is contagious from the very first note.

  1. Paths To Obliteration

This song rips right into you with its beginning rhythm, the first verse is solid and straight to the point going back into that killer rhythm again. The song is exactly what you would expect from the title of it. There is nothing more enjoyable than a metal song that seems to get right down to a perfect execution and is unwavering in its brutality. This song is 3:09 minutes of precision melodic death metal.

  1. Corruptor

This song begins with a pleasant melody and a grand rhythm, short and simple verses, and I must say the changes that we see throughout this song leave the listener looking forward to what’s next. This song has a solid groove and has absolutely no fillers. It is straight to the point death metal that leaves you wanting more.

  1. The Undying Season

The title track is here and leaves nothing to chance with this one. Great guitar riff right from the beginning really lays down that groove I have been talking about. The first verse is solid and comes out of it with some really menacing blast beats and guitar shredding. The song just keeps raising the bar after every section, not to mention the whirlwind of a guitar solo around the 2:15 minute mark. This song has so much to offer, and really does a great job maintaining that groove you can follow and enjoy.

All in all this is one of those moments when you hear something for the first time and it blows you away your expectations. The sound quality is great, and there wasn’t one single song that I felt like I wanted to skip and see what’s next. This is a solid melodic death metal album that I can see many enjoying and moving to that contagious groove Solium Fatalis delivered in pretty much every song.  By the sounds of it this album was written for most every metal fan looking for something heavy and melodic to enjoy any time and anywhere. I found myself really enjoying every song and every transition. I give this album an 9/10, and highly suggest readers to check this band out and buy the album. The good news is by the looks of things, if you are like me and are wanting some more, they not only have an earlier album on their bandcamp page. But they are rumored to be working on new material.

To give you a little taste of Solium Fatalis  here is a playthrough video of Jim Gregory playing the guitar for ” Monolith of Internecion”

Check them out on FACEBOOK \m/

Pick up “The Undying Season” today at their Bandcamp page.

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Akurion news and official teaser video!!!

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Some of you may have had a chance to read my interview with Olivier Pinard, the bass player for the legendary Canadian metal band Cryptopsy. Well he just blew me away with the news of a side project he has been working on.

Check this out take Mike Disalvo ( former vocalist for Cryptopsy  from the Whisper Supremecy, And then  You’ll Beg albums) then you have Tommy Mckinnon ( former drummer for Neuraxis) Rob Milley ( guitarist for Neuraxis)  and of course the bass extrordianaire Olivier Pinard ( bassist for Cryptopsy)put them together and you have Akurion!

This news gets me excited, because the first time I had ever heard Cryptopsy was with Disalvo on vocals. Then pair in the fact that the first time I heard Neuraxis they had McKinnon on the drums. This is a super group of members from killer Canadian metal bands. I cannot wait until they put out an album, i will jump on that the moment it is released. This level of excitement you could find me sitting in my car parked. Blasting the music through my speakers. You can speculate that  I may end up breathing heavy and fogging up the windows, that is just how killer this news is. Mike Disalvo had this to say ” “We have been hard at work writing the album and we are excited to release the first wave of Akurion video spots. We all feel that this project has something strong to say””

Don’t take my word for it check out what The Guys had to say on their facebook page;

https://www.facebook.com/AkurionOfficial?pnref=story

Mark my words when more information comes out I will be on top of that, and will make sure I do a review of the album.

-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Olivier Pinard the masterful bassist for the one and only Cryptopsy

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As some of you have seen I was able to interview Chris and Flo from Cryptopsy, now for my third interview I was able to ask Oli a few questions. and to talk about their current indiegogo campaign ( http://igg.me/at/Cryptopsy/x/10796470  )

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When I saw these guys in Syracuse, I got a chance to really talk to all of them, and also get some impressions from all of them. To watch these guys on stage is just a great show. For all the people in the crowd just thrashing and head banging, a pit only broke out a few times, but for the most part there was a group of people myself included just really taking in the whole experience. These guys give it their all, and part of that is because they are an independent band. They do not have a label backing them up and supporting them. They have the fans as their support. When they get the support they need,  they want to give back, and that’s what helps with their energy  to put on a great show. Oli was in the zone, what I mean is that he was like a different person on stage. After their show when I talked to him, he was just the most down to earth guy. I asked him what one of the first things he would do when he got back home after the tour ended, showered unpacked etc. and he said go to his favorite pub with good friends. After they got back home I ended up reaching out to all of the guys from Cryptopsy, and this is how it went with Oli.

Badger- Did you have fun while you were on the Back to the U.S. tour? Also you had a birthday so what was that like while being on the road touring and promoting the new E.P. and crowd funding campaign.?

Olivier-Lot of fun , old and new friends! The crowd were amazing, I think on that tour we got a bunch of new fans ….And for the birthday , it was an awesome night ,We played Amytiville that night and the guys from Suffocation, Internal Bleeding and Dehumanized show up, good times!!

Badger-I have been both a Cryptopsy fan, and a Neuraxis fan for some time. The technical metal coming from Canada has been just brutal (which is why I like it so much) For you how did it feel going from one killer metal band like Neuraxis, to then playing the bass for the legendary Cryptopsy? And how did you get involved with Cryptopsy?

Olivier- Neuraxis recorded the album ”ASYLON” during the summer of 2010 at Garage Studio with Chris Donaldson . I love to think that he liked working with me , otherwise I don’t think that he would have called me for Cryptopsy haha!

But yeah , the trasition was huge , It was a big challenge for me to play with those guys. I spent a lot of days at Jon Levasseur place’s to learn the old stuff and write the bass line for the Self-Titled as well ….So I didn’t have time to waste!!

Badger- Have you always been a fan of metal? Who are your influences for metal, as well as playing the bass?

Olivier- HUGE Metal fan! Since forever.

I started with alot of classic like :

Iron Maiden (Steve Harris …duh!) , RUSH , Motorhead , Metallica , Megadeth,  Testament , Dissection , Martyr , Gorguts ,Augury ,Neurosis , Pantera , Sepultura , Opeth , Emperor , Suffocation, Voivod and 10000 more…

Now , I’m still interested in the underground scene , bands like Ulcerate , Dead Congregation , Gigan are constantly in my CD player!

Badger- After the E.P. is released will we be seeing any play through videos from you in the near future?

Olivier-Maybe , maybe not haha. I’m actually not a big fan of play through video . I understand why people like that …but for me, magic happen on stage in front of people , not behind a camera in my basement.

Badger- If you could describe The Book Of Suffering E.P. in five words. What would those five words be? Again I want to thank you for your time to answer my questions, I wish you guys the best, I hope you guys make it to your goal, and wish you safe travels for your next trip of touring to promote the new music.

Olivier- Extreme , Dark , Groovy , Fresh , Brutal

Thanks , see ya on the road!

So there you go, words from the bassist extraordinaire himself, Olivier Pinard, The guy is just killer on the bass, and a really cool cat. I personally cannot wait until the E.P. comes out, I have been a Cryptopsy fan for a long time. When other bands were playing typical “death metal ” styles, Cryptopsy was playing a much more technical style of metal.

Make sure to click on this link http://igg.me/at/Cryptopsy/x/10796470

Check out some videos of Oli

Bass and Guitars for this one, hey Oli and Chris tearing it up!!!

So go on and click here http://igg.me/at/Cryptopsy/x/10796470  

The pricing is pretty fair, you have to figure the cost of things these days, everything is going up. And these guys are trying to keep the prices competitive as well. The cost of Gasoline, and all other goods out there, everything is expensive these days. However the way I look at it.  I am a sucker for a physical CD. for $20.00 I will get my E.P. shipped to me with a digital download, and while some may argue its too expensive. I believe in spending a little more to get a better quality. These guys offer a better quality, and raise the bar every time. Even if you don’t have 20 dollars for the CD. Do some research, a lot of bands are doing digital E.P.’s for $5.00   So Cryptopsy is on point with that, I have never been disappointed by these guys, and i will always be a fan. So whether all you have is $5.00, or not even that, they have a perk for $1.00 contributions. That way you can at least be a part of something cool, and help out one of the pioneering bands of technical death metal.

-Badger \m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com