Believer pour l'album "Gabriel"

Ce n'est pas tous les jours que l'on a l'occasion d'entendre un nouvel album de techno-thrash, qui plus est aussi bon que ce que l'on écoutait il y a 15 ans. Dès lors comment ne pas avoir envie d'aller en savoir un peu plus en allant poser quelques questions à Kurt Bachman, commandant de bord d'un Believer enfin de retour avec un "Gabriel" qui donnerait des ailes aux moins angéliques d'entre vous ... ?!!

I'm more than happy to see you back guys. But it took 16 long years for this new Believer album to come out, so I can't help but ask: why have you stopped releasing albums during all this time? What have you done during such a long elapse of time, and of course what is the reason for you to come back here and now? Maybe you've heard about Atheist's return and it got you to come back in order to stop this evil technical twin brother? ;)

It's great to be back! After Dimensions, I decided to pursue my educational endeavours which led to me obtaining a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine. I then started my own cancer research lab. I still have a research lab but in 2007, I was able to move closer to where Joey lives and where we have the studio. Joey stayed in music and played with many area musicians and also for the band Fountain of Tears, where he met Jeff King who is now the keyboard player and programmer for Believer. It is strange that Cynic, Pestilence, and Atheist all are back also. We didn't plan this so it must be some bizarre cosmological occurrence. We have been in contact with the Cynic guys and also with Kelly from Atheist. There could be some killer shows in the future!


It's really nice for people like me that liked your earlier work to hear that you haven't performed a big U-turn, playing something totally different that what you did in the past. Still, in the meantime have you heard anything noteworthy among the ever-growing metal scene (like groove metal, metalcore, “Meshuggah like” metal, mathcore…) that you might want to try in the future?

We definitely are experimenting with different writing techniques, but I think we will always retain the Believer sound. We strive to push ourselves creatively and of course we are constantly listening to various genres and new stuff. We don't want to sound like others but Meshuggah and Mastodon are being played quite often in our houses and cars. Not sure what our next album will sound like but we will keep it heavy and try some new musical directions.


Was it that easy to come out in 2009 with a production and vocals so close to what you did before? It's not that frequent now to witness such a kind of metal, so how did you manage to come back (or let's say to stick) to that sound?

As I mentioned, we didn't want to sound like everyone else out there today and wanted to keep our sound. Interestingly, it sounds novel by today's standards but for the production, we focused on productions from Tool, Mastodon, and other bands that aren't necessarily thrash metal. Bands that focus more on dynamics rather than compress every instrument to the max volume.


What about the 3 new members, Jeff, Kevin and Elton? Did they find their place easily in the Believer team?

They have been friends of ours for quite some time and were familiar with how Joey and I write. They did bring new musical elements to Believer which is why we wanted them involved. They will have an even bigger role in future recordings, so we are pretty stoked.


To me Believer really doesn't seem to run after the success. Indeed thrash metal is not the most fashion metal style nowadays, or you have to play it “modern” - with hints of Meshuggah & death metal - or the other way around pay homage to the Bay Area good ol' time if you want to get noticed. You're not even full frontal thrash metal like Slayer or Sodom. So where did you expect to find your audience? Among the techno-death worshipers ? Or maybe among curious and open minded people, right?

Definitely among open minded people. We decided to put out new material because we love the writing and recording process. We don't want to be rock stars or make a ton of money. We just want to have fun and write the kind of music that makes us happy. If we like what we hear, then we put it out there even if we know it won't sell millions of copies. It seems we have fans from many genres of music, from tech to death metal to industrial. Our audience is definitely a diverse one.


What is the process that have you compose tracks which are mostly thrash, but that sometimes end with reggae, sometimes feature muezzin praying, or even human beat box? Is that “part of the contract” to include weird material into your music? Or is it because sticking to the traditional stuff is definitely boring?

We have so many musical influences that they just seem to find their way into our tunes. And it keeps it interesting for us and we don't get bored. I think our old fans are familiar with us experimenting with different styles, but some of the newer listeners think we're a bit insane.


You're using more and more “background electronic effects” as well as keyboards. Is that something you plan to go on with for the next albums?

I think so. We really like the multi-dimensional feel it gives to the tunes and it adds to the dynamics. We have a blast with layers and it allows the listener to grab onto something new with each listen.


The 3 last bonus tracks are strange! What's the idea behind? Some hidden message I might have missed (being not fluent in English definitely does not help!)?

There are many hidden things throughout the record and on those tracks. Those tracks were to be hidden, but in the digital age this is near impossible.


I only have the promo CD with no lyrics at all. Can you give me a short hint at the lyrical contents of “Gabriel”?

The lyrics were derived from personal experiences and even from TV, movies or books that we were into at the time of writing. We like the listener to derive their own interpretation behind our songs and make them something personal in their lives rather than us blatantly spoon feeding them the meanings.


Any plan for the 2 or 3 years to come? Have you enough ideas, energy and materials to release other albums or does your motivation and force come mainly from the audience's feedback, which means you might as well disappear for 16 other years before we hear a 5th album?

We have at least another 2 albums through Metal Blade so there is more to come. We definitely are excited to continue writing and playing so no motivation needed from an audience.


Do you think any bands has succeeded to take over from you, Coroner, Voivod, Watchtower and the other old techno-thrash legends? Any advice to Thrashocore readers for good new bands to check out ?

Coroner, Voivod and Watchtower influenced us and I would advise any new thrashcore fans to check then out. There are so many older albums that would blow the minds of the new audience if they would just have an open mind. Also, the new Cynic, Pestilence and Obscura are must haves. For pure thrash, I would stick with the legendary Kreator and Destruction.


What about tour plans? Can we expect – just like Entombed, Unleashed, Grave and Dismember did with their Masters Of Death tour – a Techno-Thrash Legends tour with Watchtower, Voivod, Mekong Delta and you some day? :)

Wow! That would be a blast to play with those bands! A dream come true of sorts. We are rehearsing now and hope to start playing live in the next month or two. We are also planning to put something together with are friends Sacrifice once their record comes out this summer. We definitely need to find the right bands to play with as our style would not fit on just any tour.


Thank you for having taken the time to answer this interview. The last words are yours!

Thank you for giving us this opportunity and we have to thank the fans that have stuck by us all these years and for the new fans that have given us a chance. Please visit believerband.net or myspace.com/believerband for updates on what's going on in the Believer camp. Cheers!!!