Origin pour l'album ''Omnipresent''

Vous le savez sans doute déjà si vous avez lu ma chronique de Omnipresent, je trouve cet album vraiment mauvais. Mais ça je ne m'en doutais pas quand j'ai accepté de conduire cette interview... Du coup c'est l'occasion de demander à Mike Flores et John Longstreth pourquoi ils ralentissent autant sur le dernier album, mais aussi d'évoquer la difficulté et le plaisir à tourner autant, et leur emploi du temps ultra chargé. Chose amusante, alors que j'hésitais à leur poser une question sur la date anniversaire de John à Nantes en 2012, ils l'ont évoquée par eux-même... Il n'y a pas que moi que cette date a marqué !

Three years after Entity, Origin comes back with a much expected sixth album, "Omnipresent". What does this title mean ? Did you do the things differently now that the line-up has been completed with Jason Keyser on vocals?

MIKE FLORES: The name "Omnipresent" came from the idea that we all live in different places. Origin started in one place and branched out. We've been fortunate enough to play many places all over the world. You can't see music, but it's been heard all over. The recording process for "Omnipresent" was not really all that different from what we normally do. It didn't seem as stressful to me. With Jason there to do the vocals, it made things a lot easier. We all had a job to focus on and it didn't seem so multitask like. Jason has great lyric ideas and vocal pattern ideas.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: Yes, this time it was nice to have a person that was meant for the role. He has his own opinions and methods. As awesome as Mike and Paul did last time, it was a very stressful manner of doing things. Having that fourth opinion definitely makes it feel like a full band again.

Surprisingly, Origin sounds less brutal and aggressive than before, slowing the tempo much more than ever. While constant speed was your trademark, aren't you afraid you'll displease your fan base changing your sound so much?

MIKE FLORES: Its not so much of a change as it is an evolution. We've already recorded a "fast" album. We still play fast. "Omnipresent" just has more of a twist to it.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: Constant speed can only bring you so far as a band. I think because of the constant speed, Origin may be under the gun a little more than a lot of bands when experimenting. Even so, how can this be considered experimental when what we are experimenting with is obviously some classic modes that fit nicely with the trademark speed. We like watching the crowd move.

"Continuum" shows one of the most unexpected sides of Origin : a short, melody-driven ambient song, full of slightly delayed tapping and keyboards, which reminds me of Morbid Angel experimentations. What's the story behind this song?

MIKE FLORES: It's a piece Paul came up with. It's kind of a interlude just before "Unattainable". It's has a theatrical sound to it and kind of creates visions in your head when you hear it. It's not your average Origin piece, but I don't think it's anything that we haven't hinted at before.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: it's mood music for the Origin fan!

How hard was it to write some new material with your very busy schedule ? Did you write it while touring or in between tours?

MIKE FLORES: Paul writes most of the material. He'll come up with riffs and record demos and work with John and myself via Skype. We send tracks back and forth via email and just do the best we can while we are in our home towns. Once we get together we can really work things out.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: Yea, once we demo everything with guitars and drum machines, the easiest part is rehearsing it in the jam room. It's also the most fun part, considering everything is pretty much written by the time we get in the room.

Since you've been touring so much and will be touring even more in the near future, did you think of this album as "live material", maybe a less challenging one to play?

MIKE FLORES: I feel like we all get better at what we do. There are some difficult things to play on this album. There are still hard part for me on songs we have played for years. I like playing death metal because it's difficult. There are things on this album that came natural for me, but Paul always throws something at me that stumps me. I think it makes me a better bass player when I have to come up with a bass line to some of the riffs he writes.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: In my opinion, everything a metal band records should be considered "live material", because that's where a metal band truly lives. We're prepared to play this album front to back on stage if that's what people want.

As talented and skilled as you are, how hard is it to actually play live some very fast and tricky songs every night over the span of a month without ending up completely exhausted?

MIKE FLORES: The first couple of shows just kind of loosen us up. It seems like it gets easier the longer we go. Once you've got that tour tightness from playing every night it's not really that difficult at all.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: as long as we can stay on tempo, and not go to plaid. Getting into warp speed is a by product of getting firm control over the songs on stage, and must be watched closely. I don't think it's as much of an issue for Mike, and Paul, but I have to be careful or else things can get too fast to play correctly.

You've been touring in Asia recently, which is becoming a more common thing nowadays but remains a nice reminder of your popularity worldwide. How different was it from touring in Europe or the USA?

MIKE FLORES: We just toured SE Asia and it was awesome. The crowds there were great and the people were very friendly. Those shows we're really fun to play. The main difference was the method of transportation. We had to fly everyday from one show to the next so we were always sitting in the airport, sleep deprived.

Origin will be back in Europe next autumn, touring with Aborted, Exhumed and Miasmal for a month. How is it hitting the road on the old continent, and especially playing in France (which you'll do five times in December)?

MIKE FLORES: We haven't toured Europe in a few years so I'm really looking forward to it. We've play in France before and it's always been great. I think John had a birthday in France one time, I'm not sure.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: yep! Birthday in France. Would you believe that this close to 40, they got a man in a g string to dance and jump off stage for me? I figured maybe a pretty lady, but nope! Not when ya play drums in Origin! :-)

(Note : j'y étais, et un concert d'Origin avec du Ricky James, du Berlin et la BO de Rocky, je n'aurais jamais cru ça possible...)

Origin didn't exist back in the early 90's, when death metal bands had a legitimate hope to sell tens of thousands albums and make some money out of it. Is touring so much, pleasure aside, a way to tackle the collapse of disc sales and earn some money to ensure the band can keep existing?

MIKE FLORES: If you don't tour you don't exist. People want to see it for themselves. They want to hear it live. We love playing music and want to play live as a band. There is a certain adrenalin from playing live.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: yea, everyone has to tour. Music sales are dead, and people don't care regardless of how hard someone works at their craft. I know that's rough to say, but it's the truth. If it's free, most people are going to take it, and not look back.

As successful as you are, you probably can't make a living out of Origin alone, since very few death metal bands can. How do you manage to devote so much time to Origin and still manage to have a job and some spare time?

MIKE FLORES: We all have our own situations. I'm very fortunate that the company I work for knows what I do musically and allow me to come and go as I need for the band. They have been super supportive. My wife and family really help out a lot too.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: same here. Understanding job, understanding home life. Even though I have a day job, the band dictates what kind of day job I'm allowed. So in the end, Origin is my life, and a day job is just a day job.

Have you been surprised by your ever growing popularity since Echoes Of Decimation? It seems like Origin is now widely regarded as one of the most successful death metal bands in the world.

MIKE FLORES: We really work hard at what we do as musicians. We all have made many sacrifices buts it's really awesome to meet a fan of Origin. Like I said, we play the music we play because that's the kind of music we listen to and what we want to do. Its awesome that people like our music. That makes me happy. I'm amazed that we got to play shows in places I never thought I would be. Music has been really good to me.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: It's always surprising, and it never gets old. So we keep at it.

Origin is considered as one of the pioneers of the "technical, hyper-fast, gravity blasting death metal" (to sum it up) trend that became popular in the late 2000's. Did you ever think you'd become such a major influence on today's death metal scene?

MIKE FLORES: Not at all. We were just doing what was fun. We were trying new things. New ideas. New techniques. Trying to play faster and crunch out the slow parts harder. We're were just creating Death Metal as we saw it. How we heard it and how what we liked. It's awesome that we have influenced other people to create Death Metal.

What can we expect from Origin in the future?

MIKE FLORES: A lot of touring in the near future. We'll be on the road for the next six months in Canada, the US and Europe. We are looking forward to playing the "Omnipresent" material live.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: Mike is being humble. We have singing, keyboards, and techno parts for the next album! :-P

Which bands are you listening to those days? Any albums you're expecting?

MIKE FLORES: I've been listening to tapes lately. Old 90's Death Metal. Great stuff. Other than that, I haven't got to hear the new Misery Index yet. I'm really looking forward to that. I dig Putridity, Jasad, The Vile Impurity, Beyond Creation.

JOHN LONGSTRETH: Scott Walker, Deathspell Omega, Morbid Angel, Slayer. I love the new Behemoth, and a ton of audio books, strangely enough.

Thank you very much for your answers. Any last words ?

BOTH: HAIL SPACE