Interview: Douaumont
Tell us about your latest release: the main concept; what fans should expect; what were/are your goals with it:
Chironex Fleckeri is rooted in a conceptual state of looking at one how sees him/herself through different lenses. Dividing this record into two sets of four tracks allows for there to be a clear dichotomy between larger ideals (both musically and lyrically), but this concept is yet further explored from track to track to maintain continuity.
Within this concept lies a monolithic layer of exclusively bass guitars spanning many influences- some rooted in modern technical/progressive death metal, others from 19th and 20th century classical music. One of the main goals of the album was to simply “write music on this instrument” – rather than “try to make this bass sound like a guitar.”
Did you have a specific sound in mind when you formed the band, or did that grow and evolve as you played together?
Having Chironex be the first release with traditional “metal” instrumentation to follow Rictus’ Leprotic Mass (Pale Noise Media 2018 – led by Matt Wees and Andy Meyer), it was with intention to keep whatever this release would become to a more… straight forward approach to writing music in this area. From this, to satisfy the urge to put out music with a higher level of complexity, sections and parts written on the basses were composed in a more angular and generally more dissonant way than that of Rictus, and creating grandiose themes that refrain more symphonically was not a primary focus. There are definitely themes and ideas that come back and are recited across the album, but track to track, Chironex seems to stand more like 2 sets of 4 pillars, rather than a single mountain.
How does your writing process normally work out?
The writing process for Chironex was a little more ‘impulsive’ than previous releases following this instrumentation. With a central lyrical theme of identifying what one lets through his/her filter when being creative, it was consciously decided to allow this to seep through into the instrumental composition. Rather than taking years to refine, condense, and re-write material- if something felt right, it stayed, and if it no longer felt right before that instrument’s phase of tracking was completed, it was changed.
What are your ambitions and how far do you want to push your band?
Douaumont aims to add a new name and sound to the Pale Noise catalogue, while simultaneously generating new artistic concepts to be explored in future releases. Our hope is to promote introspection and a mindful increase of self-awareness such that daily interaction, whether positive or negative, always ends in civil growth.
What are your influences/musical references and the impact those same influences had in your sound?
Various Technical Death Metal and Progressive Black Metal bands, and some notable composers; Giacinto Scelsi, Arnold Schoenberg, Claude Debussy, Ben Johnston, Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern, amongst others.
These later mentioned composers were studied while attending University at the time of instrumentally composing Chironex. Much of the harmonic technique and formal reference comes from what these artists were exploring in their works.
What’s next for you?
Matt Wees and Andy Meyer are currently in the process of creating another brand new concept and project to be released under Pale Noise Media in the coming months, as well as following this release more immediately with new material and print sets from In’Sect. It is with every intention to follow Chironex with promotional merchandising and with another release from Douaumont within the next 12-18 months.