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 YYRKOON - Aggressive Stance
By Adrian ‘The Energizer' Bromley
“I find a lot of the time when it comes down to hearing your album a lot of bands are happy with their albums, but at the same time they find problems with it, problems they wish they had done differently. That isn’t the same for us,” starts Yyrkoon guitarist/singer Stéphane Souteryand about the band’s debut release for Osmose titled Occult Medicine. “We are 100% behind this album and the way it turned out. We put a lot of effort to make sure we wouldn’t end up with regrets or they way we did things. It was a big deal for us to get a record deal with Osmose, so the effort was there to make it a perfect result.”
Do you consider yourselves a studio band?
“Well in terms of studio work, especially for more the amount of time we spent on this record which was 3 weeks, we are not that experienced, but we know going into an album and all the pre-production work what we want out of this. Once we—bassist Voctproen Vilchez and guitarist Geoffrey Gautier and now ex-drummer Laurent Harrouart [who has since left the band]—got into the studio we’d get the initial ideas down and then start to create inside the studio. I’m sure as our experience grows we’ll be able to be a lot more productive in the studio. As for now, it’s safe to say we are still learning.”
“The most important thing that we keep in mind when we are in the studio is to be able to channel all of our thoughts, feelings and emotions into the music. Without that, it is nothing.”
Some bands go on autopilot in the studio.
“True, but that is moreso with veteran bands. I think being a younger band it is much more of a thrill because the experience hasn’t all been digested yet. A lot of this recording rituals are still coming to you and as a young band with 2 or 3 albums under your belt, there is still room to get excited. As a young band you need to retain results with your music – in other words get the right sound/style you want—without bringing too much into the mix and bogging the sound down with ideas, too much over production, etc. You need to bring the magic out.”
The French band’s music is a solid mixing of driving thrash metal and punishing death metal tossed amongst abrasive vocals and some solid guitar work. The band’s sound is going over well with the metal masses these days.
“Yeah, we hear people talking. It is a good feeling.”
Is there pressure to deliver even more now?
“Not really,” he comments. “First, the record turned out great, so there is no problem in that area. And second, we will go out on the road and just tear things up now like we have always done, except this time around our music is stronger and there are a lot more people who know Yyrkoon so the results will be much better.”
Getting back to the reaction to the new album. You guys are getting lots of good press these days.
“I know, and like I said, it is a good feeling. We are very happy with all of this. We changed a lot of things in our sound and style. We’ve gotten rid of the keyboards and stepped up the aggressiveness a bit. A lot of people were surprised with the change in our music, but I think the majority of the people who have heard the new album like where we are headed. Plus, there are a lot of new fans discovering the album with all the press Occult Medicine is getting. Our previous albums didn’t have the great productions or limited distribution so for many, outside of France and parts of Europe, this is their first taste of Yyrkoon.”
Things have worked out well for you guys then.
“Yes,” he says. “It is like a new start for us, really. We are happy to be at that point again but even happier that our experience is much greater than when we first started out.”
In regards to the current sound, what was the reason in changing things around this time around? Were you tired of the keyboards playing such an important role in the band’s music?
“I think we just found the right balance and we will continue to play Yyrkoon’s music with that in mind,” he answers. “Even with the last record [2002’s Dying Sun on Anvil] it was obvious that the keyboards weren’t working that well with the sounds we were putting out. We eventually decided to get rid of that sound from the music and just step up the aggression. We preferred to bring out melodies from the guitars rather than the use keyboards – it was an easy transition.”
He finishes, “By losing the keyboards, we came back to something magical with the sound of Yyrkoon and I think the fans—and most importantly ourselves – are in a much happier state of mind right now” |
