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BACK
ANONYMUS
– Instinct Of Survival
By
Adrian ‘The Energizer’ Bromley
Let me first point out that Anonymus have some luck on their side
– British luck, you might say. <br><br>
No, they do not know esteemed UNRESTRAINED! writer Paul Schwarz
(though they should, as he makes great chili and conversation),
but rather world-renowned producer Colin Richardson, whose work
with Carcass, Machine Head and Fear Factory has damaged many a metal
head's eardrums. <br><br>
But how did a Montreal-based act hook up with a big-name producer
to work on their third disc, Instinct (MPV Records)? One wonders…
"It was actually pretty easy for us," says guitarist/vocalist
Marco Calliari about how he and his bandmates -- drummer Carlos
Aray and twin brothers Daniel (guitar) and Oscar (bass/vocals) Souto
-- hooked up with Richardson. "Two years ago we toured with
Anthrax and a band called Out (see U! #8) who had their debut produced
by Colin. They said we should hook up with him to work on our record.
We talked about doing a record with a big-name producer amongst
ourselves, and when we checked out his price it was a good price
for us. He said he'd be over to work with us in three weeks, which
didn't really give us enough time to work on the material. A lot
of songs weren't ready. We decided we had one chance to get this
done right. We practiced like crazy and worked hard to finish the
album in three weeks before his arrival."
The wonderful thing about Richardson's work on metal records is
his unique and diverse style of taking brutal music and making it
very palatable and addictive. Richardson manages to make heavy music
less foreign to music fans who might otherwise ignore that style
or sound. He gives it a chance for the listener to see another angle
of it.
Those kinds of results carried over into Anonymus too. "The
record came out exactly how we wanted it," says Calliari about
Richardson's work. "His certain blend that he puts into his
work is unreal. I mean, look at the new Cannibal Corpse record (Bloodthirst).
I am not a big fan of the band, but his work on their new record
is great. It sounds heavy. He is so great to work with. We were
afraid he was going to put his word on everything he did, seeing
that we hadn't worked with a big-name producer before. He arrived
here in Montreal. He really doesn't look like anyone who produced
most of the Napalm Death and Carcass records (laughs)."
We're you lucky? Would the music have ended up different had Richardson
not been involved?
Calliari answers, "I don't know. It's too weird to say. I think
the songs would be the same, just that his word on how to make them
so much better would have obviously not been there. Sound-wise,
he really did make a big difference. He really did make our music's
sound become stronger."
Going into more detail, he says, "The main thing that came
from our work with Colin is this: we already had an aggressive sound;
it's just that he came in and made our aggressive side a lot cleaner.
It looks good on us that we were able to work with him, and I'm
glad that we had the chance to meet him and see how he works the
studio."
So let us talk a bit about the record. How much does it differ from
your past two works (1996's Ni Vu Ni Connu and 1997's Stress)?
"I think we are at the start of something really cool with
this disc and at this point in our career. We have been building
a mold for this band over the course of ten years, and at this point
in time I think we have managed to piece together all the right
elements into what we are doing."
He adds, "Every year we always seem to be on pace to adding
something bigger and better for the band and add another piece to
the puzzle. With this record coming out, I think it put the final
touches on us finding the direction where the band should be going."
Ten years is a long time for any band to keep things fresh and interesting,
let alone still going. Now that the momentum has started for the
band, what has been the secret? "When we started off when we
were 14 or 15 years old, we were already a small gang of friends.
We played street hockey together and fooled around a lot. Then we
all started getting into music: Iron Maiden, Kiss and Def Leppard.
We started a metal band and went on from there. It's only grown
from that point."
Has it been worth it, all the hard work and devotion that goes into
a band?
"Yes," confirms Calliari. "Every second of it. First
and most of all, the music is what counts and we love playing live
too. If you like us on CD, we are better live. Studio work is cool
too, and even while songwriting has been a little slow over the
years, we have gotten into a groove over the last little while and
things are a lot easier now. Each year it seems to get easier for
us, and that is a bonus."
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