Act Of Gods

Posted on Aug 3, 2006

by Anders

Act Of Gods is an exciting French death metal band that really caught my attention with their new album "Maât", an excellent album showing great songwriting, brutality, speed and a nice technical touch. And on top of that, the album is a lyrical concept album dealing with quantum physics, I had to dig deeper into that and got hold of vocalist Ventylator who eagerly answered my questions.

Hi there, how are things in France as we speak?

Pretty warm! We can hardly breath that's insane. We think about moving the band to Greenland... To be serious, everything is great, big festivals are coming together with the holidays, so that is perfect.

Will you please start off by introducing yourself?

I am Ventylator, the vocalist of the band. Together with Phil and Guillaume we have been here since the beginning of the Act Of Gods era.

A small introduction of the rest of the band, together with a bit about what they accomplish to the band with, will be great as well!

Phil (guitar) is the originator of the band, he used to play in Mutilated with Guillaume (drums). Mutilated released two demos and split-up in 1994. Then Phil asked Guillaume and I in 2001 to help him release a demo under the name Act Of Gods. With this line-up we released the "Dies Irae" demo that got a big success. Then we recorded the "Stench Of Centuries" album 2 years later with the help of Damien (guitar) and Bertrand (bass). After a tour with Impaled Nazarene, we started  writing the new album that we recorded in Italy at the Dissonnant Studio. Bertrand left the band right after because of professionnal reasons and we asked David to join us.

You are now ready with your second full length album, how do you in the band feel about it?

We are very satisfied with the new album, we consider this album as our milestone, it is full of variations, melodic, brutal and still intense. That is what we wanted to achieve. People seem to like it too and that is the best reward a band can get.

What do you expect from it?

We expect this album to bring us forward. I mean every band would expect the same. It is good to know that there are some people that like your music. At least you don't waste all your dedication, passion and energy for nothing. And we also expect a lot of shows and a possible tour.

As said, it is your second album, and the first I have heard from you, how is "Maât" compared to your first album?

If I refer to the reviews, "Stench Of Centuries" is far more brutal. It is pure sickness all the way through, even though I think that each song of the album stands for itself with a different feeling. "Maât" has a hell more of variations, we included a good deal of mid tempo mindblowing parts. The job Phil did on guitars is amazing he was able to include the old death metal feeling to the songs without altering the intensity of the album. We included more melodies in the solos to catch the listener's attention. "Maât" is far better in my opinion, everything is well balanced and defined!

You have chosen to make the album a concept album, dealing with quantum physics, how did you get that idea?

Simply because that is something I am fascinated about and something different at the same time. I mean there are tons of bands dealing with gore and stuff. We did so with the demo and a bit with "Stench Of Centuries" and we do not want to repeat ourselves. Reviewers and fans always complain with the lack of originality of the lyrics so it was a good opportunity to deal with a subject I am very interested in. I read a lot of scientific books about the theory, it is very upsetting and sometimes disturbing. It will drastically change our future for sure. This album deals with quantum physics and astrophysics as well.

How have you worked the ideas of quantum physics into the music and lyrics?

First we write the music. Then I listen to the songs a lot to determine what I want to express. It is like a dream, you let your imagination operate. When I have the idea of it, I try to make a link with a branch of the quantum theory. I never try to be closest as possible to the theory itself, there is also a part of imagination to make it fit the music. Songs are projections of theory within a frame coming out of my imagination. You don't need to be a student in quantum physics to read the lyrics. They are kind of science fiction stories based on true assessments. A good way to get to learn more about the subject.

Hasn't it been a difficult task to make a whole album and keep it within the boundaries of the concept?

Very difficult in fact. I wrote tons of stuff before I succeed to find the good approach. It is hard to make stories out of it without being too "scientific" in a way. So I had to widen the boundaries of the concept to work with a general idea. It would make no sense to copy theory books.

Do you care to pick out your 3 favourite songs from the album, and tell us how you have worked quantum physics into the music and lyrics, what the lyrics are about and so forth?

'Inside The Hypersphere' deals with a machinery with extra dimensions where time and physical reality do not exist. A kind of mind destructive trap. 'Irreality In Reality' is a song about what we perceive as human beings, Is it really the reality or an illusion of it. That is a concept developed in the attempt to unify the quantum theory and Einstein's theory of general relativity. It is rather disturbing. If what we are living in is not real, what the hell are we then living in? 'Scums Of Emptiness' deals with a branch of astrophysics that states that there are many universes floating in a kind "scum". Imagine our universe in a kind of bubble floating in nothingness.

Is the quantum physics part only regarding the lyrics or have you also used mathematics when composing the music on "Maât"?

No it is only regarding the lyrics. On the contrary the music is created upon a rather spontaneous way. It is full of energy!

How do you work when you make music in the band, do you compose the music together or… and who are the main songwriters?

This time Phil and Guillaume wrote the whole album. I came up later to put my lyrics on the songs. Each member is free to bring his own ideas. Damien wrote the half of the solos. His solos are more melodic and bring air to the songs.

Where do you find inspiration when you write the music?

Probably in every day's life, I don't know. You know everything you experience probably affect the way you write music. Phil started playing in 1986 so I think his range of inspiration is rather wide and complete.

What do you wish to tell with your music?

We have no particular message. We just play a music we like, music we are dedicated to. Music in my opinion should not be a way to spread a message. It is to me a way to escape reality, something that makes me feel good after I listen to a good album. Politicians are here to spread messages, like the medias and a lot of other programs or organisations and jobs... so when I listen to music I want to clear my mind of all that shit!

Your music is a furious blend of brutal and heavy death metal, blended with insanely fast and technical parts, what do you find fascinating by delivering such a slab of music?

That is the definition of death metal. That is the reason to be of that musical genre. If people want to listen to something smoother, then there are other kinds of music. The way we use our instruments in death metal implies that this music is intense and brutal.

For the recording of the album, you choose to go to Italy and record the album together with Lucas Minieri, how come and are you satisfied with the production?

Phil is a good friend of Lucas. So it came up naturally that we decided to record our new album in his studio. He is a cool guy to work with and he is very talented as a musician and as a producer too. We are very satisfied with the job he did on our album. We needed to experience something new. In my opinion it is never too good to record in the same place if you want to sound different.

What else, besides Act Of Gods, has Minieri produced?

Bloody Sign, Illogicist, Kronos plus a ton of other Italian bands. He is also working as an engineer for the Italian TV. He knows how to do his job very well and I am sure he will soon become a major producer.

How do you look upon the future of the band, are you going to tour or just go directly on with making new material for the next album?

Both things... We have a tour planned but I can't tell you more for the moment, nothing has been decided yet. And we will soon start writing new material. We have tons of new ideas ready to be put together.

What is your mission with Act Of Gods?

To have fun playing the music we like and to play live as much as we can!

Do you care to share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal horde?

In no particular order, Suffocation "Effigy Of The Forgotten", Emperor "In The Nightside Eclipse". Terrorizer "World Downfall", Morbid Angel "Altars Of Madness", Slayer "Reign In Blood". It is a hard question, there are so many great bands with so many excellent albums...

Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!

Thank you for your interview. It was a very interesting one. I wish you the best of all with your webzine. I would love coming to Danmark to play a few shows. I did my master degree in Århus a few years ago so that would be a real pleasure to be back for such an occasion. Vi ses!

Act Of Gods website

Review of "Maât"

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