Spearhead pour l'album "Decrowning The Irenarch"

Decrowning The Irenarch jouissant d'un buzz porteur dans les milieux avertis, quoi de plus normal que d'interviewer Spearhead pour en savoir un peu plus sur ce groupe pas encore très connu mais au potentiel plus qu'intéressant.

Hi man, I'm Keyser from Thrashocore webzine, what's up? Let's begin this interview with a short biography of Spearhead!

Founded in 2003, Spearhead recorded the debut Full-length "Deathless Steel Command" in mid-2005, later released through Invictus Productions in 2006. Following the release of the promo EP "When the Pillars Fall", Spearhead entered Hertz Studio to record the second album "Decrowning the Irenarch" in June/July 2007. "Decrowning the Irenarch" was then released under the banner of Invictus Productions in December 2007.


Naming your band Spearhead can seem presumptuous. I read your introduction on the Invictus Productions website and it sounds the same way. You seem to make a point sounding like an elitist band. Don't worry, I like that haha. What do you think?

It depends what you mean exactly. Elitism in the sense of arrogance is somewhat pointless. Whatever you interpreted from that description, I could only say that most band descriptions are written in a biased way in order to convey a sense of superiority. Of course, everyone knows that most of the time those descriptions turn out to be “all-talk” and largely unjustified. I wouldn't like to say whether we are elitist or not, but we have high standards and we are selective in who we associate ourselves with. Whether that's elitist or not you can decide for yourself.


Where do you place Spearhead in the metal spectrum? Black metal? Death metal? Thrash metal? I described you in my review as a band who plays a mix of those three metal genres but I don't think you are war metal either. What do you think?

Spearhead is predominantly a Death Metal band. It could be argued that we exhibit influences from Black and Thrash Metal, although I think their contribution to our sound is quite small. That is my opinion after all. Attitude, production and image have a lot to do with it nowadays anyway. For the record, I don't really like the “War Metal” tag. It's quite vague and it more often than not gives the wrong impression. I'm not sure what people expect to hear when they read about us, but if they're expecting Spearhead to sound like Axis of Advance or something like that, they would be very surprised, since we sound nothing like most of the bands who are usually labelled with this tag. People should expect to hear Death Metal in the vein of Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, and Carcass. However, further insight will reveal Spearhead is an entity unto itself, with a clear sense of identity, purpose, and characteristics that separate us from the rest.


I never heard your first album “Deathless Steel Command” but it was apparently more black metal than “Decrowning The Irenarch” that takes a more death metal direction. You also changed your logo a bit. And I read you even wore corpse paints back then. How do you explain those changes?

We're a very different band to how we were during the time of “Deathless Steel Command”. To be perfectly frank, I'm not even a big fan of that album anyway, and I wouldn't want people to link our present-day activities with it at all. We sound like a different band now and quite a lot has changed. The guitarist responsible for writing half of “Deathless Steel Command” left shortly afterwards. We subsequently recruited a new member. We truly realised what we wanted and raised our standards considerably.


It's been more than 3 months since “Decrowning The Irenarch” was released. How are the reactions to it so far?

The reaction so far has been very positive; you will find links to a number of reviews on our website. A lot of work went into that album, it's important people remember that. I am therefore pleased to read that the album is viewed favourably


I wrote in my review of “Decrowning The Irenarch” a few negative comments. I think your music is a bit too polished and clean and that it lacks of savagery and raw brutality for this kind of extreme music with war as the major concept. That's why I didn't label you war metal. What do you think? That I'm a dumbass haha?

Actually, not at all. I have to admit, when it comes to Black and Death Metal, I listen to a lot of old-school bands and I particularly look out for feeling. This stuff is meant to be played with feeling and power, after all. Anyway, I think you perhaps expect our riffs to have more of a chaotic edge to them; in other words raw brutality, as you put it. However, we've thought long and hard about this sort of thing, and we knew that the result had to sound super-tight. So, I guess some people will naturally think it sounds too tight and polished. That's fair enough. Next time round you can probably expect something more organic in its playing, yet with a crushing production. The problem is that pro-productions often go hand in hand with the cleanliness of the playing. Production is complicated - I could go on and on discussing it.


Another criticism I made is about the production. It is good of course but it could have been better. Among other things, the sound could have been heavier. I also had some complaints about the drums sound that is not natural and powerful enough. Are you satisfied with the sound of “Decrowning The Irenarch”?

I suppose I hinted at some aspects to this question in my previous answer. Yes, it could have been heavier, but so could many albums out there. In my opinion, it does sound very loud and heavy overall. I'm not going to dwell on the drums, because in some respects I agree with you. Indeed, if anything could have sounded heavier it would be the drums. It's difficult to get the perfect sound, but I think “Decrowning the Irenarch” does have a good sound.


I still gave you an 8/10 despite those little bad points because “Decrowning The Irenarch” is a really good album overall. You have a lot of qualities that are pretty rare nowadays. The most important thing is that you have your own sound. We can hear some influences here and there but overall, your music is personal. I especially like the riffing. There are some great riffs (my favourite one being the main riff in "In the Face of the Absolute") and the solos are pretty cool too...I also dig the vocals a lot. I think your singer has a great voice with a very catchy flow...

Thank you.


Where do the samples on the CD come from?

War samples in the intro come from some war film - I forget the name. The sample in the interlude comes from an old production of Shakespeare's ‘Julius Caesar'. And the WWII samples in ‘Absolute' and ‘Aftermath' come from a CD the vocalist has of BBC archive radio broadcasts from WWII.


I think the covert art for “Decrowning The Irenarch” is absolutely amazing. Who drew it? What does it represent?

Yes, I would like to think the cover art does stand out. It definitely makes a change from all the tiresome and cliché cover arts out there. The artist is Manuel Tinnemans, who has also done artwork for Urfaust, Pentacle, Bunkur, etc. The cover art represents a depiction originating from a seal for the Rhine Confederation (Napoleonic era), but overall it is fundamentally a bold/military statement.


By the way, Irenarch is not a very common word. I think an Irenarch was some kind of a police officer in Ancient Greece, am I right?

Irenarch is not a common word at all; in fact, it isn't a true etymological word. It is used in the album title in a poetical/symbolic sense; that way not referring to a specific figure, but allowing for its general meaning to encompass all of the lyrical elements found in the album. Its dictionary definition is “An officer in the Greek empire having functions corresponding to those of a justice of the peace”. The key part we used it for is “ruler of the peace”, which when you put into accordance with the other 2 words in the album title, should make sense.


Your lyrics deal with wars, history and philosophy. There is a song about the Austerlitz battle (didn't you lose that one haha?!) for instance. Can you tell us more about your lyrical concept? Who writes them? And what is so attractive about wars?

The British weren't involved in that battle at all I'm afraid, only the Russians, the Austrians and the French. You must be confusing it with another battle. Our vocalist writes the lyrics. Lyrical concepts for this album concern the strengthening of society through war in ancient civilisations; this idea appears later in many eras of more recent history. Also, the strengthening of the individual through war to the point of a serenity beyond life and death, seen throughout the Indo-European mythologies of the world: Valhallian concept, the yogic concept in Indian myth, the triumphant death in Greco-Roman mythos etc. The argument is that these ideas are fundamental to humanity, and our losing of them in recent times has caused a great deal of decadence and lethargy. This is all explained in the foreword to ‘Decrowning...'


You only talk about past wars. What about current conflicts that take place all over the globe? What do you think about the war in Iraq for example, a war that your country has always been in favour of? Do you think wars are sometimes necessary?

It's true to a certain extent that war has been about seizure of power, whether through land or through resources. However, current conflicts unfortunately share little, ideologically speaking, with so many past wars, in that they benefit only governments, not civilisations nor particular individuals. The conquering of land is a nobler ideal anyway. I have no opinion on the war in Iraq – it is of no interest to me, nor any relevance. Wars are often necessary, of course.


I didn't know Invictus Productions. Can you tell us more about your label? How is your relationship with them?

I was in contact with Invictus Productions quite long before they approached us regarding interest to release the debut Spearhead album. We consider Invictus Productions a friend as well as a label. Darragh, the label owner, has released many decent LPs over the years: Gospel of the Horns, Slaughter Lord, Sigrblot, Kill, to name a few.


What's your opinion of today's extreme metal scene?

In my view, today's extreme metal scene is largely characterised by a proliferation of generally uninspired, and unnecessary bands; although fortunately I'm pleased to say that among these, there are still plenty of great bands out there, releasing material with the right attitude and that remain ‘relevant'. There is a constant cycle of different generations, yet you can arguably say nothing much changes. The majority still preoccupy themselves with fickle trends; meanwhile amazing releases appear and disappear. I'm not pessimistic about Extreme Metal's future, but I do lament the fact that everything is becoming very digital. The fact some people would rather have a collection of MP3s rather than a collection of CDs and vinyl, is beyond me! That sad fact aside, I would like to hope that it's still a strong force. Are ‘extreme' bands getting more exposure than they used to in the mass media? I don't know really, but I'd be inclined to say that is the case. There are certainly a variety of tours. Furthermore, networking is easier nowadays. It's not as charming as the old way of trading and keeping in touch by post, but there are definite advantages.


UK is famous for the NWOBHM. As far as extreme metal is concerned though, especially death metal, it seems your national scene has not the same influence (except for grindcore). Being a part of it, it's interesting to ask you about it so what do you think about the UK extreme metal scene?

In terms of Death Metal some classic bands include Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Carcass, Devoid, Cancer, Necrosanct, Warlord, etc. Obviously NWOBHM is the biggest influence this country has ever had on metal. Sadly it's quite hard in the present day to find British bands playing fresh/unique/exceptional Extreme Metal. I basically dislike 99% of the bands in this country. One excellent band is Esoteric though, of course.


What do you English people think about the French brutal scene? Do you know some French bands at least haha?

I cannot speak for ‘English people' in general, but in my opinion France certainly has a number of notable bands.


You are going to tour Europe with Impiety in September. What a great bill! Did you finally manage to book a few French dates?

Almost. The tour line-up is Impiety + Dawn of Azazel + Spearhead.


I'm afraid it is the end of the interview. Thanks a lot for your time Jim, keep up the good work! See you next September! If you have anything to add, it's now or never!

Thanks for the interview. For the latest news check our websites http://www.spearhead.ws and www.myspace.com/spearheadofficial

Imperium sine fine!