Do not be misled by the name of this new French metal band! Klone have actually managed to create a totally unique sound dripping with innovation. Their new record ‘All Seeing Eye’ is released through Season Of Mist’ and surprises with a completely original mix of extreme metal, grunge, rock and psychedelia. Guitarist/vocalist Guillaume Bernard introduces the band and tells us all about this so-called new wave of extreme French metal.
To start things off, congratulations with the release of ‘All Seeing Eye’, your debut album for Season of Mist! Since it is only your second full length release, could you start off by introducing your band and music to our readers? Klone exist since 1999. We are six musicians: a drummer, a bassist, two guitar-players, a singer and a saxophonist, who also adds the samples. We have played a lot of shows in France and we had a show at the Hellfest Festival last year. Klone plays modern metal, that is influenced by bands like Opeth, Gojira, Isis, Porcupine Tree and different sounds, which are not necessarily based on metal. Our last album "All Seeing Eye" is in store since the 18th of February and we are very happy to work with our new label Season Of Mist!
I must say that you immediately left an impression with a pretty original approach to heavy music. According to yourself, what elements of Klone’s sound sets you apart from the rest? Thank you very much for this compliment. For us it is a natural process to compose this kind of music. In my opinion we have a different approach that leads us to a more melodic approach. We also use alternative instruments like saxophone, harp and electronic sounds that are not so common in metal. Our vision is to create our music like a big orchestra does.
When did you realize that you guys were really onto something really distinct, sound-wise? We don't really realize something outside of the music when we play it. That is the more the sphere of a journalist. We just play big music that is rock and metal with a lot of atmosphere .
You obviously take inspiration from a lot more than heavy and metal music alone. Could you give a few examples of non-metal bands that have had an influence on Klone’s sound and say why they are important and/or special? There are a lot of no-metal bands and today I do not really listen to something with a metal sound. There are King Crimson - an exceptional progressive-rock band that seems to have no limits of creativity. I also enjoy the Beatles, which is still the best pop band in the world with a great approach to harmonies. Then there are Pink Floyd for the psychedelic influence and so many others that are just too much to mention, but have all influenced us in a different way. I also like dub music or orchestral music like Stravinsky, Chopin or Moussorsky. Any music I listen to will somehow influence me as I find good elements in every style.
And which metal bands does Klone take influence from the most? We were listening to a lot of metal bands like Pantera, Opeth, Metallica, Soundgarden or Coroner.
How would you react on the following statement: “Klone is too soft for the metal scene and too heavy for some kind of mainstream scene.” Do you think it is true and do you see it as a problem? Yes, I think that might be partly true, but I do not care about it either. We are here to compose and play music. To us that means a sincere artistic effort, so we don't have to ask ourselves this question. That is probably much more a problem for our label Season of Mist.
‘All Seeing Eye’ is the first record that you release on the Season Of Mist label, how did you come into contact with them? Happy with everything so far? When we played at Hellfest last year - a big festival in France - I met Michael from Season of Mist. I just told him to give our new CD a quick listening as we already had a lot of offers. On the next monday, I received a mail with the deal. In the end we had a choice between Listenable and Season of Mist and after a lot of discussion and giving it much thought, we signed a deal for two albums with Season of Mist.
On the album I hear instruments like saxophone and harp that are very uncharacteristic for metal. Where did the idea to use so many different instruments come from? How difficult is it to work these instruments into your songs? Matthieu Metzger has been with us since the beginning days of our band. He comes from the jazz scene and also has a classical musical education. We are always trying to experiment with his contribution to get the maximum out of this cooperation. Everything is possible! Matthieu is very good in any kind of music. We want to stretch our music as far as possible, so this is a natural way for us. There is no difficulty in adding a special instrument to our music. It is just a matter of having good ideas of how to use it.
How do you reproduce these sounds live? I imagine that you use samples for that, do you think that the use of samples takes something away from the spontaneity of a rock show? We play are putting as many instruments as possible live on a stage. There is only a small problem with the harp, but Matthieu plays the melody with a saxophone instead. It is well worth to see Klone live, because we are as immediate, direct and spontaneous as any other rock band. We do not use playback, which has become a part of many other metal shows these days.
On the title track of the album there is a guest appearance of Joe Duplantier of Gojira. They are obviously one of the most successful French extreme metal bands of the moment. How was it to work with him? It was a great experience! We very much enjoy Gojira's music. We have seen the band turning into a monster! They had something special going, which kept them different from other metal bands. They have a great attitude and an open mind, which is something very rare in the metal scene today. We keep this collaboration as a great moment in our memory and we hope they will go very far!
For us outsiders it is not that easy to see, but how big is the influence of Gojira’s success actually on the French metal scene? Gojira seem to have opened a door for all the other good French bands. Everything seems possible now as time goes by. They have set an example which others like us can follow. There are many other good bands in France like Trepalium, Hacride, Mistaken Eelement or GTI that deserve much more public attention. We just have to be patient and continue to make good music until our time comes.
Recently the French scene actually seems to produce a lot of quality metal. The label even speaks on your promo of a ‘new wave of French extreme metal’. Do you feel that this is indeed the case and do you feel part of it yourself? This is just a marketing punch-line, that we do not really care about. It does not bother us either. There are many great band all around the globe. In France we have a lot of band that play the same kind of music. I would guess that only six bands here have a good potential. The others are only trying to sound like something American. There is no pleasure in listening to a copy!
Have you got any listening tips for the French underground that our readers should check out? Indeed! Please listen to Trepalium. Their new album will be amazing. Hacride (Amoeba), GTI (very funny, but with a brutal sound), Mistaken Element, Anthurus d'Archer – crazy guys – or Clampdown. Anyone checking out their music will surely like it. Most have some songs and videos out on Myspace too.
I am almost out of questions, one of the last things I would like to know is: what is a Klone live show like? Everybody will soon be able to find out for himself without leaving his living-room. We have filmed a great concert in France and we are currently working on four live videos. We will put them out for free on Myspace, Youtube and Dailymotion in about two months time. All I can tell is that a Klone concert is very intensive: Rock with a special ambiance and psychedelic sound!
And the logical follow-up: when will we be experiencing this in Holland? We hope to come to The Netherlands as soon as possible. I am trying to get booked for some shows in September. We would love to play in your country and meet a lot of people there!
Thanks a lot for your time and hope to see you perform over here soon! Many thanks for your questions and we hope to meet you very soon too!
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