Defined as Extreme rock and roll, a French band composed of veterans ... Comity presents us the latest Throatruiner release called "The Journey Is Over Now", they also reviewed his entire discographic work and we learn something more about the cultural and personal tastes of each one... Then not to be missed... below!
Nuno Ribeiro - Thank you for taking of the HeavyHardMetalmania.net questions and I`ll start asking precisely (for those who do not know) who is the "Comity"?
Comity - COMITY is just a bunch of people trying to play the music they’d like to hear. The band is from paris france and exists for almost 15 years, even if the line-p evolved throughout the years. From the beginning only remains francois and myself. But one thing is for sure: today comity got his best line-up ever.
NR - "Doing an exercise and forgetting that the HHM is usually black ... very black and assuming you are talking to a pink magazine" tell us the influence of each musician in the band , their strengths, their secrets and dreams.
Brilliant Nicolas (drums / backing vocals)
I currently listen quiet and ambiant music like Boards of Canada or Mogwaï. There's always a Neurosis, Keelhaul or Bloodlet album who's play in my stereo in a week.
I'm a huge fan of every type of minimalist music from Steve Reich to Plastikman. Lots of avant-garde jazz like Marc Ducret, Hilmar Jensson, Tim Berne and recently the last album of my friends from Le bruit du [sign]. I'm not a man with secrets and my dreams are actually my strength.
Yann Daniel (guitars / saxophone / backing vocals)
I really enjoy a lot of stuffs from jimi hendrix to frankie goes to Hollywood. My strength comes from people like rob alford who did a lot for the gay community in a very homophobic metal scene. My dream is to follow his path and to help the hardcore scene becoming more tolerant toward people like me.
François Prigent (guitars / lap steel / sitar / backing vocals)
I listen to all kind of things, from neurosis,, coalesce, bloodlet to led zep, king crimson… i listen as well a lot of indian music, grime, dubstep and some classical music: Varez, berlioz and Gabriel fauré. I like music which can make me trip, which impress me, which teach me something or which can make me dance, laugh, share, discover. All those artists whom gave me the srenght to experiment , to always renew the way I write music, who push me to learn new instruments. To do everything we want to. I don’t have secrets, my strength is my close circle.
Zanghellini Thomas (bass / soundscapes / lead vocals)
This last month I was a lot into the last high on fire, black cobra, gaza, khanate, keellhaul, blut aus nord, gorguts, his hero is gone, tragedy, 90’s hip-hop, grime and as always a lot of shubert, wagner and karl orff. I will keep my secrets…secret and I ‘m not the kind of person with dreams.
NR - Well, continuing with a theme that makes sense at this point, why abandon the "Candlelight Records" to enter in the "Trendkill" and now in the "Throatruiner Records"? Why and how it was done this way?
Comity - We were not directly signed on CANDLELIGHT records, we signed with APPEASE ME records, which is a sub-division of candlelight. It was a great honor to work with this structure because vince from BLUT AUS NORD was the guy behind the name “appease me” and we’re absolute fans of this band, and also because it was great to be alongside so much great names. But as you may know it’s very difficult to sell this kind of music, it takes a lot of time and a label like candlelight doesn’t spend enough time to promote bands like comity. On a big label like this one your record only lives for three months, and afterward you’re on your own. Anyway, we didn’t “abandon” candlelight records because at the end all the bands from appease-me were fired…and that’s how we understood that maybe it’s better to be a big fish in a small lake than a small fish in a big one. And that’s why we worked with TRENDKILL which is a smaller label, and the boss was a friend of us, with a good back catalogue and a lot of contacts. but the truth is he did absolutely nothing to promote the record. And here we come today, signing for our new L-P on THROATRUINER, which is a small structure, but working more than anyone, and Matthias is definitely a passionate guy, he’s an absolute fan of every record he releases, spending his whole time on promoting bands, just take a look at his catalogue, every single band is incredible! This collaboration is beyond perfect so far!
NR - A life connected with music and a cause, explain to us the concept behind each album, starting with:
• Syntax Project Catharsis (2001)
Comity - We all were in college at this time, very young, naïve and full of energy. I think it’s the point with this record. It’s our first move toward a more elusive and maybe less straight forward music. You got to know that we use to play some kind of classic mix of hardcore and death-metal, while we were already listening to experimental and progressive music. So this record is more like a first try to mix it all. Maybe a bit maladroit but feed with passion and adolescents kind of energy. The title and the words finally summarize very well what we had in mind at this time.
• The Deus Ex-Machina As A Forgotten Genius (2003)
Comity - This is our first l-p, a concept album. We spent a lot of time on the writing process. It was the first one so we wanted everything to be perfect, we we’re still very young and we thought at this time that it was very important. So everything is maybe a bit over worked, specially the words. I think the songs are too “crazy” in its structures, but this album is very dark in its feelings, very depressed, filled with everything we were feeling at this time and we’re still pleased when we listen to it.
• The Andy Warhol Sucks EP (2004)
Comity - The concept is very simple. Andy Warhol said that everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes, thanks to art. That anybody can be an artist. But we think that “art” isn’t about glory, we don’t give a fuck about glory. “Art” is all about passion and guts. Because of this guy, anybody can call himself an artist, COMITY included. In a way he’s responsible for all the shit you can hear every day. But on the other side, we, as people are aload to male music thanks to him. This is our paradox, and this E-P is all about this paradox, it’s like hating your own dad. We consider ourselves as artisans by the way, not as artists.
Comity - When we started to write this album, we had a lot of troubles as a band and in our lives, we didn’t had a label anymore at this time and we didn’t know were the band went. So we started to play music again, with no special objectives at all, we started to write music again only because we needed it. This album is all about this feeling, a mix of frustration and passion, when it’s so disturbing that your guts hurts, and then it becomes hate… to me this album is full of pure hatred. As everything is a tragedy is a very sarcastic title, because feeling something that strong for something that much abstract is totally futile, but unfortunately it’s the biggest part of our lives, and it will die with us. The concept is about considering that we’re all like small gods, because we’re creating something everyday, but we shall fall, and everything we’ve done shall fall with us. So in a way we can consider that what we call god will fall as well.
• You Left Us Here (2009) – Trendkill
Comity - You left us here is our first record after we split-up. It’s the first try with our new drummer and myself playing bass as well as singing. On all other records comity was five people. Now we’re are only four, it’s kind of comity v2. the title has three ways of understanding. You left us here talks directly to the audience, it means that we’re still the same band. It’s also about the drummer that left us after ten years and made us split. And it’s also about what we call god, who left man here, and we don’t know why, or what we have to do, what is our function, why we exist. The story is inspired by the novel “to our scattered bodies go” by P.J farmer.
“The Journey Is Over Now”, the first full-length in five years, Comity is defined as a band more ruthless and musically ambitious than ever before. Four tracks delivering 52 minutes of an oppressive but finely worked chaos : a maze of winding riffs and unique melodies.
• "The Journey Is Over Now" (2011) Throatruiner Records Comity - The journey is over now follows the path taken by you left us here. The concept is still inspired by P.J Farmer. We don’t know who left us here, why and in which goal. But some decide to leave and seek for answers. But at the end, there is no answer, there’s nothing else, the journey is over.
NR - Here, explain to us the idea underlying track-by-track
1 - Part I (11’40)
2 - Part II (8’22)
3 - Part III (9’01)
4 - Part IV (21’58)
Comity - I think that you can’t listen to this album piece by piece. This really is a whole package, you can’t pick apart one song. We didn’t write it this way. And I hope people will listen to it this way. The structure of the album is frozen. Starting with voices only, then 20 minutes of usual comity, a 10 minutes breack with acoustic and unusual approach (not in the comity way I mean) and then 20 more minutes ending with voices only.
NR - Let's talk a little of the concept in the transmitted message. The Journey Is Over Now is based on the will to live and never-ending quest for absolution, Philip Jose Farmer's novel "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" served as inspiration.
Comity - The answer is just above. But there are a few more sources alongside Farmer works: Nietzsche, Schopenhauer or the sisyphe myth.
NR - Comity is an apocryphal band?
Comity - I think so. But not in the religious meaning of it. I’m kind of agnostic. I don’t believe in the god described in religions. I think that god is an unconscious creative force.
NR - Looking at the level of life every day more run down, this question has to be done. In which parts of society do you think echoes this positivist message, in the few who live well or in the millions those in difficulty?
Comity - There is no positivist message. I just think than mankind is not aware of its own nihilism.
NR - Defined as: abstract, without end or goal. With a goal to convey a multitude of emotions of feelings with maximum intensity. Whether it’s riffs, structures or through integration of new instruments : lap steel on all tracks, “distorted” saxophone, “grinded” sitar, bass synthesizer or choirs & vocals interwoven and inseparable, The Journey Is Over Now is an absolutely fantastic work, Is detected perfectly a great musical composition, result of know-how of the veteran members.
Do you think Comity reach the highest level so far?
Comity - I hope not, If we reached or highest level yet, we have to stop making that kind of music. The goal is unreachable, and that’s why it’s very exiting.
NR - What are the future objectives?
Comity - To tour as much as possible, to meet interesting people in unknown places, to keep pushing our limits as far as possible, exploring other ways in making music.
NR - What is the feedback you have received so far from The Journey Is Over Now?
Comity - Considering the album is not out yet, we have pretty good feedbacks.
NR - One last question, who goes to see Comity live what can be sure they will find?
Comity - Some extreme rock’n roll played with sincerity, passion, and guts.
NR - Thank you again for your willingness and desire to you and Matthias (to who HHM always has the door open) a big hit with The Journey Is Over Now
Comity - Thanks a lot. It’s always great knowing people that far are interested in our music
"The journey is over now" has been recorded, mixed and mastered following the old school way. No digital bullshit : the louder you play it, the better it sounds !!
We'll stand still, slowly drowning in this black sea... Staring at you again.
Everything you are is lost again, as everything you were is ours, again.
Broken circle.
Now that eveything else has failed, what will come crashing down?
We could be more than useful matter but
there's nothing left for us here,
where atoms eat atoms.
We'll trip with you, we'll trip the shadow, but not now.
You chose to leave but there's nothing ahead. Waiting for us on the other side,
Please stop your rest,don't go where we can't follow you,
We're already too far away from the anchorage
black ships from the past are sinking now.
Every scrached sail looking for a wind on oceans of failure.
No earth ahead. no wind to ride away.
We left the anchor backwards but the journey is over now.
François Prigent : Guitars / Lap Steel / Sitar / Backing Vocals
Thomas Zanghellini : Bass-guitars / Soundscapes / Lead vocals
Yann Daniel : Guitars / Saxophone / Backing Vocals
Nicolas Brillant : Drums / Backing Vocals
Music and lyrics by Comity
credits
released 08 December 2011
Head Master Sylvain Biguet
Recorded by Amaury Sauvé
Mixed by Sylvain Biguet
Mastered by Carl Saff
Artwork by Anthony Gauchy & Comity
2X12"+CD available on early december
Throatruiner Records (FR)
Enjoyment Records (UK)
Find COMITY:
