Gorgon is one of the pioneer bands of French Black Metal. We interviewed their leader and founder, Chris, who does the vocals and guitars. This is the result of the interview, Metal maniacs!!!
Chris: At the end of the 80s I mainly listened to Venom, Celtic Frost, Bulldozer, but also Wasp, Zodiac Mindwarp, and Black Metal being the music that attracted me the most, that's what I decided to reproduce in acquiring a guitar. Having learned the basics, I looked to recruit musicians and I found a drummer who had premises. That’s where the adventure started, and we started straight away by working on my own ideas to put together a repertoire.
FBM: How did you manage to play several instruments in Gorgon? Do you have formal music knowledge or are you self-taught?
My main instrument is the guitar, for which I had to take around twenty lessons in the 90s, but I know how to play the bass at a modest level, and I also sometimes compose on the keyboard, where I have some notions to practice it. In the studio to save time, once the guitar is finished, I record the bass takes, to save time and maintain a similar rhythmic attack. I happened to play keyboards on an album, but on the last one, a guest did it, offering a result that I could not have achieved. I can hold a mid-tempo rhythm on the drums, but that's it, also this instrument has always been made by someone else in the studio, Hellesylt, our drummer, as far as our recent album is concerned.
FBM: When you started Gorgon, did you think it would only be a few years?
When I started the group, I had not yet done my mandatory military service in France, so it was for pure pleasure that we played with the aim of one day recording our compositions. Then the question of concerts arrived, that of changing the line-up, ....but no long-term vision, we didn't think about it. This ease that groups have today in releasing albums on CD for example did not exist. Making a demo on cassette was already a great success because very few groups released vinyl, especially in France. The extreme scene was dominated by Thrash and Death Metal, where only a few groups had already released recordings with a label. We were a few years after the beginnings, everything still had to be done.
FBM: Gorgon's music has several stages but always taking Black Metal music as its main base, what do you think?
Yes, we are a Black Metal band and we incorporate everything we consider necessary to produce good songs. If a track has a Thrash riff or needs a Punk drum passage, we won't hesitate to include it under the pretext of respecting predefined codes. I have total artistic freedom when I compose, and I use it to extract what I consider most appropriate for the group. We have already had female vocals and bagpipes on an album, and if tomorrow I think that a harmonica plan can enhance a passage, then we will include it. Some groups compartmentalize themselves, but we don't want to. Melody, brutal passages, slow and fast rhythms, everything, we use all the ingredients that we think are useful when we develop a new song. Sometimes ideas that we thought were interesting don't give the expected result, so we find others, but we had to try to make sure we explored all directions in order to offer the best possible title.
FBM: In “For Those Who Stay”, you notice a progression in your music, more personal, is it your best album?
It's not easy to say because past opuses also have their charm and are linked to the time and context in which they were recorded. This 7th album is however the one that I would give priority to listening to a person who does not know us and who would like to take the plunge. This progression that you note comes, in my opinion, from this desire not to repeat ourselves, and therefore to accentuate the strong points of what makes the group powerful. We've already done this, so now let's do it this way to take it a step higher. It's not easy after so many albums to find parts that will surprise listeners who know us well, and who have our old albums as a benchmark to judge the value of the latest one. But we owe it to them, and to all those who will discover us, to produce the best album possible so as not to betray the trust they place in us. It’s almost a pact between the group and the public, and we must not disappoint them. Despite everything, there will always be people who are more focused on this or that style who logically will not like what we put out, or who will not find their full benefit there.
FBM: Comparing “For Those Who Stay” with your other albums, surely the method for composing has been different with each recording, what is the method you use to compose a song for Gorgon? Who participates?
In the 90s, many titles were co-written by two members (Brice and me, both guitarist), and this collaboration was very fruitful. On the last albums, it hasn't been the case, and without projecting too far in the future, I think it will continue like this, it's a formula that suits us, even if I am open to outside ideas. In fact, as I am the only original member, there is also probably a greater consistency concerning the direction to follow musically, if I manage the whole thing. So I find the ideas alone at home by playing the guitar again and again, plans that I improvise, or sometimes the keyboard, then if a sequence of notes appeals to me, I put it aside for a future title or try to integrate it into a title already under construction. Once a track is completely finished musically in my opinion, I record it quickly and send it to the drummer so that he can listen to it and start working on his parts taking into account the suggestions that I submit to him. When we have 2 or 3 titles to work on together, then we meet to put it together. It takes me 3 hours to make the drive back and forth to his place, where we have our premises, which is why, outside of rehearsal periods for concerts, we only see each other when several titles have to be put together. On site, we try different rhythms when necessary, or different ways of playing a particular part in order to keep the one most appropriate to our expectations. We already have a good vision before starting, but we must try all possible possibilities to be sure not to miss those which would have the most impact. The break in the lyrics only comes later.
This way of proceeding is the one used on the last 3 albums, because in the 90s, the pieces took on more substance in the rehearsal room because we saw each other more often due to the proximity and I had less possibility of recording ideas as they come.
FBM: Gorgon currently seems to have a stable line-up for live performances, did that happen in the past?
Indeed, we have had quite a few line-up changes in the past, but for almost 2 years now, we have found stability with Hellesylt on drums, A. on guitar, Nia Vile on bass, and me on guitar/ singing. With these members, in addition to various places in France, we have performed in Romania, Canada, Spain, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, and this will continue with Germany in a few months. In the past, we had roughly 4 periods in terms of line-up: 1/ that of the demo-EP (1992-early 1994) with which we played with Sadist (Ita), Samaël (Swi), Exulceration (Swi) 2 / the period of the first 3 albums which saw us playing mainly in France 3/ the line-up of the 4th album which did not last very long 4/ the live line-up formed with the return of the group between mid-2019 and early 2023 with whom we performed in Finland, Italy and Portugal. The reasons are varied to explain these changes ranging from the distance to travel to come to rehearsals, including demotivation, the desire to stop music, to do another activity. Playing in an underground group and performing in underground concerts inevitably leads to this type of situation that many groups also experience.
FBM: Gorgon, I understand that you had a period of inactivity, what were the reasons?
During the recording of the 4th album, our drummer at the time warned us that he would leave the group once the sessions were finished because he was stopping this instrument and now taking up the guitar. So we had to find a new drummer, then train him, which took time, and after 2 concerts with him we finally decided to part ways with him because he didn't meet our expectations. Faced with this waste of time and energy, we then chose to put the group on hiatus for a while before bringing in a new member, and the years flew by.
9.FBM: What is your main source of inspiration when writing the lyrics for Gorgon?
The inspiration comes from the title of the song. It’s something that I always find first, a catchy title, that attracts me, and from there I develop the story and the lyrics then. For the last 2 albums, I have been helped by our bassist Nia Vile, who brings me ideas that I select according to what I need in the phrasing that I will deliver on the musical parts. Since the music is always written beforehand, the texts must adapt to the passages where I have decided to include voices. There has to be a reason to put vocals on a particular part, so we never have too many texts that would require extending the music because they are never written beforehand. I store, when I come across some through readings or films that I watch, ideas for future texts, but just sequences of words, a sentence, nothing more. Our lyrics are also based on facts, reflections and personal events, scattered here and there.
FBM: In different songs and throughout some of your albums you use the keyboard, what do you want to transmit in general with your music?
Power is the main thing I want our listeners to feel. Our songs are not there to make you dream, feel sorry for yourself, give hope, dance or whatever else, but just to release energy that our fans can capture. Everyone experiences music differently and does not come to it for the same thing as their neighbor does. Where some will judge the technical performance, others will be attracted by the aggressiveness, others by the darkness. Furthermore, as we do not all have the same background, the same references, the perception we have of it is very personal. The listening context and the environment are also important. The keyboard, which was used more in the 90s, was mainly placed on parts that we wanted to highlight. It was necessary for us to do it because we saw the pieces like that. Without this instrument they also worked, because the basics were good, but with these additional keyboard tracks, apart from the fact that this brought variations in the sound when listening, they enhanced the titles concerned. On our new album, upon request, a “guest” made us 3 keyboard parts remotely in intro, outro, and at the end of a song, and we added them before the mix. We can clearly see that our music is not going anywhere, but it is not impossible that we will use more of it on the next one because I have ideas in that direction. A long time ago, we had a person who took care of the keyboard parts during our lives, but since our return to stage in 2019, we have evolved without it, just as a quartet.
FBM: Osmose Productions has edited several of your recordings on several occasions, in what way has this promoted the band to become known in other countries and outside of Europe?
Being signed to this label, created the same year as us in 1991, is a good thing for Gorgon. Ease of communication, due to the common language, is also an asset. Their reputation built with the groups they signed over time, and the importance that this had in the emergence of the global BM scene, brings credibility to subsequent signings including ours. They have a distribution network for their productions from which we naturally benefit. Indeed, being known abroad is one thing, but your recordings must also be available there to attract those who wish to support you. In terms of promotion, they have access to articles and reviews on global webzines where, in my opinion, a self-produced group or a small label cannot have a place, because it is not “important” enough as a source. We have total artistic freedom on this label, and we benefit from their support with each album release, so we are very happy with this collaboration. They released our last 3 albums on CD, vinyl and cassette, each time with a t-shirt linked to the album in question. In addition, they reissued our demo on CD, and our first 2 albums on CD and vinyl, all in a remastered version and with new artwork in the spirit of the original.
FBM: Gorgon is one of the pioneer bands of European Black Metal, do you agree?
In fact, yes, in the same way as Bestial Summoning in Holland, Ungod in Germany, Decayed in Portugal,… all these names appeared at the same period, 1991 as far as we are concerned. In December 2019 we played with Countess from Holland, an old group created in 1992. The Portuguese group Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, formed a year after us, also released their last 3 albums on Osmose Productions. It's nice to see veterans still active. It also makes me think of the Italians from Necrodeath who I saw 3 times in concert and who I learned some time ago that they were going to stop. I knew the drummer Peso, when we played twice with Sadist in 1992, where he was officiating then, and the singer Flegias, when he was in Opera IX with whom we played in Italy in 1994. Inevitably over time other groups will also cease their activities. One last anecdote to finish this question on the old European groups of BM, and it will be dedicated to Samaël. This is the first BM group I saw (in June 1988), and the one I also saw the most with 11 dates over the years. But as much as we don't deny our past, proof being that we have tracks from the first album in our set, we look to the future to continue moving forward.
FBM: Please, can you answer a question for me? Reading Wom E’ Mer #3 from 1994, I came across a very curious fact for this interview, a band called Gorgon with some female members, and some musicians from Witches, is it another band called Gorgon? Please clarify my doubt….
There are and have actually existed other groups named Gorgon over time, all created after us, and coming from Japan, Russia, Mexico, and even France (between 2013 and 2019). However, the one you are referring to, is about us and concerns the first official line-up of the group which was then 2/3 female. I played guitar/voice as I do now, but the drums were played by Patricia (ex-Witches) and the bass by Céline, a friend of hers who had joined us. With this trio, we gave 2 concerts and recorded our only demo in 1992, with Céline also playing the keyboard. These 4 titles have been available in CD format since the Osmose Productions reprint a few years ago. There is also a vinyl version, remastered, released in 2018 by 2 associated French labels. If you like anecdotes here is one that I have never told, it will be exclusive to you. Following the release of this vinyl, a guy from a French webzine arranged to meet me for a face-to-face interview in the city where I am located. He arrives with this record (our first album since the reformation, “The Veil Of Darkness”, which would only be released by Osmose in 2019, so he couldn't own a copy yet) and asks me to dedicate it to him in indelible black marker on the front . Knowing his first name on the internet, I start by writing it down on the cover before ending with the signature and then he tells me to stop. His internet first name was a nickname, like he didn't call himself Mike but called himself Alan, which I didn't know. I saw all the misery in the world on his face. Impossible to go back on this black and white cover stained with this first name which was not in fact his. So I covered it with the outline of an inverted cross, and put the correct first name on it. This drawing ended up covering a good part of the artwork, aha, aa,a h.
FBM: The sound of French Black Metal is highly appreciated by many Metal maniacs around the world. Bands like Anorexia Nervosa, Deathspell Omega, Merrimack are some of the most notable examples. What do you think about this? What can you tell us about the development of French Black Metal?
This French specificity in sound is sometimes communicated to me, so it must be true, even if I don't actually feel it. We are more renowned for the general quality of certain bands. The development of the French scene followed that of the major countries of the style in my opinion. Groups oriented towards Satanism/occultism, around 1994 we also saw groups defining themselves as pagan, then we had our small share of “vampiric” groups with the success of Cradle Of Filth. Subsequently, the language of the country also began to be used by some... Today we have a lot of bands, but many are studio projects, often one man bands. There are only a few groups playing abroad, while on CD, there's a wide choice. We have our bands with hoods or masks like Uada. We also have the inevitable groups defining themselves as BM even though they don't understand the spirit of it, and for me don't play the music. Most of them play soft BM, with mainstream lyrics, and play this style because they like 5 or 6 groups who practice it. Alongside the bands, we also have quite a few rather specialized labels which release productions regularly. These are generally low print runs, but this contributes to saturating the market which is already quite full. We finally have rare festivals dedicated to this style, no specialized radio and just a few paper zines, nothing more.
FBM: In your perception, how is the current state of Black Metal worldwide?
Just like France, in my opinion, there are too many groups. It is so easy to record and release the result that for a long time now we have not been able to keep up with the new releases, and we inevitably miss out on groups that we would appreciate. A good part of the underground aspect disappeared with the arrival of the Internet in everyone's home. This is an element that has helped to open this style to a wider audience, most of whom are only interested in leading groups. This exposure of the style to people who listen to it for fun, or because “it’s cool”, has led to a whole business (patch, t-shirt, etc.) in which many opportunistic sellers have entered. And I'm not talking about all the videos or photos circulating that ridicule this style. Despite this, good things are still coming out, credible groups are still there, underground activists are spending crazy energy promoting groups in which they believe in. And even if I have often read that BM is dead, or that some claim to only listen to what was done before the 2000s, for my part, I think that would be missing out on integral groups who believe in their art. I am more distressed by the numerous and ridiculous names that certain groups use, Post BM, Red Anarchist BM, Cosmic BM, Medieval BM……everything is BM in their eyes!!!!!
FBM: In a Black Metal band it is fair and necessary to have all the symbolism and content necessary to transmit dark music and in some way it is a different style of art and music like Death Metal or Thrash Metal, what do you think of those bands for which the visual image is more important than the music?
We've all known bands who had already posted photos of themselves wearing makeup at night, taking grimacing pics and yet hadn't released anything yet. It alerts you to the creation of a new entity, but listening to the music that ends up arriving later on is often disappointing. It’s specific to the style, this emphasis on the image, I agree. And this is a global attitude, as much in Europe as in South America, in Asia. I don't know if the image is more important than their music for them, it's more that the guys don't know how to play in fact . They want to reproduce the music of the groups they like, but do not have the technical or creative capabilities. Also this results in boring, predictable recordings, without any interest in the end. To primarily listen to this style, and while I admit that tastes may vary between individuals, I maintain that there is a high percentage of crap going around.
FBM: Which Black Metal bands from South America deserve your respect and consideration?
One of the very first EPs I had in physics was the Death Yell/Beherit split, then the EP “Morbid rites” by Death Yell. I only had a copy of their first demo. I had the first Sarcofago album in 1989, and for me it is the best album I know from South America. “Rotting” was good too, but the sound bothered me. From Brazil I corresponded for a while with GoatPenis in 1993, then we lost contact. We played with Beelzeebubth from Brazil also in Finland 3 years ago, but I have a preference for Mystifier who I saw once live, not far from where I live. In fact, I haven't seen many groups from South America in concert like Sepultura, Angra, Krisiun, etc. We're playing this summer in Germany with SexTrash, but as you see, it's mainly Brazilian groups that I quote, although I know Hadez and others.
FBM: Gorgon has shared the stage with many well-known Metal bands and has played around Europe and if my mind does not betray me in Canada they have played as well, but in South America they have not played, would you be willing to play in South America if the conditions are right? What expectations would you have?
We have only actually performed once on the American continent and that was in Canada in 2023. We were approached about a year ago to play in the United States, a few months ago to play in Mexico and in Colombia, but this did not lead to a concrete result. At our level, to perform in South America, we would need to have our air fares paid as well as accommodation on site. We're not crazy about this, but we could borrow the instruments to avoid paying a baggage fee, even if we would be less comfortable playing with those on stage. The cost of transport is necessarily what blocks the most from playing, even here in Europe, because it is a budget for the organization and you need the certainty of having people show up to make the event profitable. Expectation-wise, I often read that the crowds in South America are the craziest that many bands encounter on tour, so I hope that if we play there one day, I can say the same. It’s a reputation that you will have to defend, aha, aha
FBM: We have finished the interview thanking you for your time in answering my questions, if you want to send a message feel free to express your ideas.
With all the subjects that we have discussed here, I think that we have given a good presentation of the group to your readers who do not know us. However, if there are additional questions that they do not hesitate to write to me, I will respond to their request. We talked about the past, and in the 90s, we didn't have as easy access to listening to recordings as is the case today, so I invite your readers to go to the sites of their choice for us discover and judge what we are worth in 2025. This approach is also support for the group, so I hope that it will be productive and that we will soon count them among our fans.
Contact:
https://gorgonblackmetal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/official_gorgon?igsh=ZjlwanV1bzdrMWIx
https://youtube.com/@gorgon-official3612?feature=shared
gorgonchris@yahoo.fr
Tormentor.
#gorgon #metal #blackmetal #blackmetalmusic #bm #metalnegro #interview #osmoseproductions
No comments:
Post a Comment