Interview Despised Icon

Despised Icon is een deathcore band uit Montreal, Quebec, Canada. De band is in in januari 2002 ontstaan uit bandleden van de toen voormalige bands Neuraxis, In Dying Days en Heaven’s Cry. De band staat bekend om het gebruik van twee full-time zangers, Alexandre Erian, (ook bekend als een van de leden van de rapgroep Crimson Syndicate) die zingt met een “mid-range scream” techniek en Steve Marois voor de extreme “low growls”, “high pitched screams” en “pig squeals”. Despised Icon is vooral bekend om het werk in de ondergrondse muziek industrie. Ze speelde zondag nog het dak er af in de Effenaar (Eindhoven) als hoofdact tijdens de Imperial Never Say Die! Tour, waar wij van DutchScene ook aanwezig waren (review komt zo snel mogelijk). Wij kregen de kans Eric Jarrin (Gitaar) te interviewen en die hebben we ook zeker niet aan onze neus voorbij laten gaan. Fotografie door Jeanine des Bouvrie (komen zo).

What is the band’s biggest inspiration?
Musical heaviness and crazy fast brutal riffs. Every time we write a song, we want to achieve that. If one of our song doesn’t make you want to eat a baby or punch your mom in the face, we failed.

What were your main reasons for starting Despised Icon?
To play brutal music that will get the drunkest dude headbang until he pukes his guts in the back of the venue.

How did you know each other before you started the band?
We all used to do drugs together and go see shows. Then, in a moment of lucidity, we found out that we all played an instrument and started to write songs while smoking pot. Then it all got serious and quit drugs, got jobs, invested in gear and saved up some money for recording our first album.

Does the band’s name contain a deeper meaning than just words?
No. We came up with that name because we had to find a band name in less than two weeks because we had our first gig booked with Deeds of Flesh in Montreal. Back then, that was the best name we came up with. Now we’re stuck with it.

You seem quite proud of your french(-canadian) background (The lily in your merchandise, for example), does your background mean a lot to you?
Absolutely, we are proud of where we’re from and want the rest of the world to know about Montreal. I think our city and province are renowned for its metal but still, we want the world to discover what’s coming out of Quebec.

How is it like to play with bands as Whitechapel and Oceano?
It’s making me feel old. All these bands walk up to me saying that they were influenced by us when they were younger so I guess we’re grandpas playing metal.

You’ve been working with Marie-Hélène Landry, one of the world’s best female vocalists in this scene in my opinion. What was the reason for her to leave?
She married a Norwegian guy and wanted to go there about 6 months every year. Therefore, she couldn’t commit to touring and wanted to step out so the band could find someone fully available. No hard feelings, we’re still friends with her.

“Day of Mourning” has been released in September, are you guys proud of the result of all your hard work in the studios?
Absolutely. We are very pleased with Andreas Magnusson’s mix and I think the songs came out great. He did an amazing job. Felix, our artwork guy, came up with our sickest album cover ever. It matches the brutality of the songs. I think we brought the band sound to another level on this album.

We’ve heard rumours that you dislike being noted as “Deathcore”, is that true? And if so, why?
Truthfully, I don’t really give a shit. To me it’s just metal! Call it deathcore, grindcore, metalcore, death metal, I don’t care, we’re just doing our thing.

Are there bands you could compare yourself with, either in a personal or music-related way?
Red Hot Chili Peppers because I like to walk around only wearing a sock on my dick. Oops, forgot to mention in the dressing room only !

How does it feel when you see the crowd getting all excited when you’re playing?
It’s great. It’s the best feeling ever in the world. Being so awesome makes me realize how much better I am than everyone else! No, seriously, some days I don’t get it but we worked hard for many years so I guess this is how it pays off. You get the people’s respect when you put effort into something. At least this is what I like to think.

Got anything left to say to your fans?
Buy our records or Max will kick you in the face. And order merch online too or we will disappear, fading away in today’s over saturated metal scene. And thanks for supporting us over the years!

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