18/05/2007
unexpecT - Expect The Unexpected
By: Ofir Messer
Interview With: Syriak (Guitar/Vocals), unexpecT
From the darkest depths of Canada's Metal scene emerges unexpecT, Armed with 7 mad minds doing their best to mesmerize listeners. Whoever survives his first listen to the band would probably notice you need an encyclopedia to classify the band's musical genre, but basically it’s a molding of several ones. It's the band's second release - In A Flesh Aquarium, released last August, that got the band it's share of recognition worldwide, but don't be misled, they've been around for more than 10 years. If this is your first time hearing about them, praise the lord, if you still want to know more about the band which abuses a 9 string bass, a violinist and 3 vocalists - Read on...
First of all, I like your Music. That been said, I must say I don't even know why, so I was wondering if you can help me with that.
Well, I’m not a psychiatrist but it must mean that you’re an intelligent person and a man of good tastes *Laughs*... hum... Or maybe you never recovered from this hypnosis session where the guy told you to listen to mentally healthy songs for a change, thus precipitating a series of events which led you to eat the rabbit he pulled of his hat, spread the blood on a buttered toast and dance on the sidekick dwarf’s head... or maybe you just like our music... you know... taking a bubble bath and listening to some weird metal music is always a must in the metal world... *Laughs*
Did you guys ever expect (I had to use that word) to make your way (With the new album) all the way to Israel? You are even rumored to perform here, and that is quite a big thing.
I’m glad our music made its way to Israel! Ever since we released our first album in 1999, we always had news from a lot of countries, but it seems like Israel only discovered us more officially with "In A Flesh Aquarium". Now I know that there’s quite an active scene over there. As for playing in your country, we hope that this opportunity shall present itself in a near future!
For those who have not been infected yet by unexpecT, can you explain us a bit about the band, and your goals?
First, you need to set your mind to the "open" position and blotch all prejudices you could have about fusion. People are not always hooked at the first listen and it may takes more than one session since there’s a lot going on at the same time... but once you catch the disease...who knows where it will lead you *Laughs* ... We mix all forms of metal with any other musical styles we fancy: jazz, circus, goth, electro, ambient, folk, etc... No barriers at all. But still, the main ingredient is and always will be metal. Fact is, we don’t want to be stigmatized in a particular style and stagnate, we compose as we see fit on the moment. First mission is to have fun after all!
It seems you are influenced quite a bit from the European metal scene, as it shows by your Nicknames (which fit more into a Norwegian black metal band), and even music-wise. What other influences did you pick up from Europe? And in general, what do you guys get inspiration from?
Since everybody in the band is from different backgrounds, inspiration usually comes from a lot of different bands and styles. We all grew up with metal, but our other tastes are definitely varied. Of course, some of our first musical inspirations have been European... Dark Tranquillity, At the Gate, Dissection, Moonspell and a lot of others started the transition toward something else. But now, everything we hear is subject to inspire us, from electronic music to samba passing along by the ways of animal screaming's. As for our stage names, we decided to keep them since it creates a distance between the stage persona and the human being writing the songs. I think it helps to unhook from reality to create this little parallel universe. Life is so real that it’s a must to just pass some time outside its serious borders.
You actually started out in a black metal band, how did you feel moving from that quite one-faceted style of music into unexpecT's unusual style?
Actually, before adding a black metal influence to our music, it was more death/trash oriented...but all songs from that era have been annihilated and never recorded for various reasons. We never adopted the grim attitude black metallers usually support. The music was all that interested us... that and the kind of surreal aura surrounding this kind of epic melodies. The metamorphosis has been constant since our beginnings and you can feel the change in almost every song.
In Magister Dixit [Syriak's previous band] you played keyboards, how did you move to guitar?
I’ve started my musician life as a pianist and changed for the guitar in my teens.... after a while, I started to play both instrument equally. The Magister Dixit guys were friends of mine and asked me to record some keyboard tracks for their first album and I accepted 2 weeks before the recording. I did some shows with them afterwards but that’s about it for my involvement with them. As strange as it may sounds, I always felt more comfortable with a piano than with a guitar.
Do you plan to repay Europe one day with a Tour? If so, what are you waiting for?
Actually, we’ve been waiting that moment for years! We’re only waiting for an occasion to present itself. But I’m pretty sure it’s going to be soon enough, we just can’t wait anymore.
It really hard for me to realize how can a band such as yourselves work with a concept which is so varied and yet, still sounds whole. How do you guys write a song for example? Do all band members contribute for that procedure?
The chaotic process of writing a song is ever-changing. Someone in the band comes with a basic structure and everybody graft itself to the skeleton. We’re working small strike teams to elaborate the parts and then inputs are accepted from everyone. We compose for other instruments than our own as well. I think that’s one of the reasons that the music always sounds whole. A collective of musicians sharing their ideas for the better of the whole and not only for personal tastes.
Speaking of band members, you just got a new violin player. How did he enter your ranks, and how, in your opinion, he even managed to learn to play your music?
Surprisingly enough, Borboën (our new violin player) learned all the songs in only 2 weeks and was even already adding his personal touch to them! It feels just as if he’s been part of the team for a couple of years. We discovered him on MySpace and saw that he had similar musical tastes so we contacted him... And by a strange twist of events he contacted us exactly at the same time for the same reason... just a few seconds after I wrote a message to him, I was getting a phone call from our manager to tell us that there was another candidate and it was him! Talk about coincidences... He’s still studying in composition at the Montreal Music Conservatory and will be a great asset to the band not only as a violin player but as a composer too!
Whenever I try to describe unexpecT to someone else, I cannot refrain from mentioning your 9-string bass player, Chaoth, as its one of the key ingredients in your music. If you had to describe your band to someone else, not essentially music-wise, what would you say?
A bunch of weirdos who like to navigate through uncharted territories and swallow planets before tea. A good dose of musical grotesqueries and melodic technicalities with a touch of humor. A festive collective of people exorcising their inner impulsions for the pleasure of it.
"In A Flesh Aquarium" is a really unique creation. Was it hard to conspire such an album? How many years did the mixing part take?
The process of doing this album took a while. Since budget was limited, we were recording part-time when the studio was available. Mixing this album was a freakish experience... at some point we just re-started everything from scratch because we were going in the wrong directions... it’s quite easy to lose yourself in all the layers, but we finally made it through and learned a lot along the way.
As I look at your album artwork while hearing it, my mind gets an image of crazy circus with sick clowns (like the Joker from Batman) and freak-shows all around. Did I suffer a bad childhood or does it reflect some of your thoughts too, with this whole theatrical aspect of the music?
I think humanity IS a circus in its own way and planet earth is our living theater so since most of the themes are related to human perceptions disguised in metaphorical abstract tales, everything is blended. There’s no precise meaning to the artwork, but we like to play with images and suggest some signs to help juggling with all the ideas traveling in the lyrics. Interpretation is one my favorite sport so I like people to do their own exercises and have their part of fun too...
Do you have any less-favorite parts in the album, which you think are lesser?
I don’t. Every part of this album is different and from different persons / backgrounds. Since it’s a kind of anthology, I have memories for all the riffs and layers of the whole album... thus I’m deeply connected to all its content and couldn’t say if I have a less-favorite part. When you give birth to your children, you can’t be disappointed with them... it would be irresponsible wouldn’t it? *Laughs*
Your live show is considered as one of the craziest ones the metal worlds has seen, or at least as much as I've seen, with your released live video. What drugs, steroids, or drastic measures do you take in order to keep track of your music, and still be able to move around the stage as you do?
First of all, thanks for saying so! We want our live shows to be as dynamic and picturesque than our music. Everybody’s entering a kind of trance when doing a show and we all throw ourselves into the flow for the fun ride. But I must tell you with regret that we’re all sober when onstage... adrenaline does the job. We’re definitely not against psychoactive and mind altering substances but we don’t need them to perform... To build a boat or talk to insects OK... but not to perform... *Laughs*
With all of that, do the band members have any time at all for a personal life, regular jobs, other side projects or anything that doesn't involve needles?
Alas, we’re still all forced to have day jobs to survive so it’s quite hard to combine touring with practice sessions, composing and personal occupations. Having a metal band in our country is definitely not a ticket to Moneyland. If we’re still doing it, it’s because we have a passion for it... we’re not even close to paying a part of our rent with our music so figure it out. As for the needle part of the question, Leïlindel is really fond of acupuncture but it’s the only activity involving needles in which anybody in the band takes part *Laughs*.
What can you tell us about the Quebec / Canadian metal scene, Is it big? What is unexpecT's relationship with it?
Pretty much all of the bands know each other in the scene, it’s a big scene but everybody’s pretty close. Bands like Augury, Martyr, Neuraxis, Kataklysm, Despised Icon, Quo Vadis, Voivod, Ion Dissonance and others are people we see from time to time. There’s an enormous quantity of band when you compare with the ratio of people living on the territory. It seems like everybody’s in a band sometimes. We’re lucky to have such a supportive crowd and involved members in our metal community. It’s definitely more tough to achieve your goals in North America because of the long distances between each cities and the fact that metal is less respected than in Europe.
How many times have you heard people regarding you with the sentence "Expect the unexpected!", and do you know / like the Control Denied song by same name?
I never heard of this Control Denied song but this sentence shall follow us to our grave it seems *Laughs*. Fact is that it’s pure coincidence that the band’s name fits with the style... At the time of the naming, only Artagoth was in the band and he sure didn’t know that the music would take this twisted turn! But it’s normal for people to express that remark and we forgive you all for saying so, it’s not your fault... *Laughs*
What does the future holds for unexpecT? Any plans for re-re-changing the capital letter in the band name? DVD? Growing maggots?
uNexpect sounds good... but symmetrically speaking I’m not sure of the feeling it gives me... capitalization is so un-important but we keep changing it because it makes people talk *Laughs*. A DVD would be something we have in mind, but we’ll be focusing on the next album first... that and getting into Europe. As for maggots, mine are already quite healthy so I don’t think I’ll grow more. They consume a lot you know?
Do you have any last words for the crazed-fucked-up Israeli fans of yours?
Keep the madness alive and always propagate the culture of free-thinking! Cheers and peace my friends! See you one day...
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