Lokurah puts an end to ten years of silence.
Created in 2003 in France, the band now composed of Pierre-Jean Toty (guitar/vocals, ex-ghUSa), Alexandre Gelliot (vocals) and Florian Ménard (bass) announces its signature on Crimson Productions as well as the release of Distorted Truth, its third album, with Aurélien Ouzoulias (ex-Disconnected, ex-Satan Jokers, ex-Zuul Fx) on drums.
It’s easy to understand with Void Factory, the first track, that the band has energy to spread and they want us to know it! Jerky riffs and screams mix with quieter clean vocals, then Intolerant takes over with a powerful blast covered with catchy and groovy sounds. Raw rage meets some more worked leads and a mysterious break, while In Vain develops dissonant sounds to create a contrast with the Groove/Nu Metal influences. We have slightly more melodic influences with Think Twice – Murder One, which will also be one of the most abrasive tracks at times, while Broken Ties focuses on jerky riffs sometimes covered by a heavy dissonance and heady clean vocals. We move on to Copyrighted 666, a rather mysterious composition at the beginning which will eventually prove to be aggressive with a similar recipe, followed by Faith Versus Reason and its slower heavy riffs which allow another approach of violence. The album continues with a quite pessimistic tone on In These Grey Times, a track which does not forget its raw roots borrowed from Hardcore, then The Berserker’s Master will come to offer impressive and sometimes even more complex sounds while letting drums unveil sharp accelerations. The end of the album takes shape with Witchfinder, a rather accessible track which relies on jerky riffs and disturbing choruses, followed by With the Eyes of Reality, combining violence with more melodious vocal parts, and finally Defiled, which will close the album with the heaviest break, where the vocalist will push his limits.
Lokurah’s key word is effectiveness. Whether it is anchored in their Groove/Hardcore roots or more worked ones like dissonance or disturbing sounds, it makes Distorted Truth a catchy album to put in all hands.
80/100
Few questions to Alexandre Gelliot, singer of Lokurah.
Hello and first of all thank you for your time ! How would you introduce project Lokurah without using the usual « Metal » labels ?
Alexandre Gelliot (vocals): Well, thank you too for giving us the time to promote our music! I could define Lokurah as an accomplished musical project, with various things to say depending on the tracks, which for some have several levels of reading. Lokurah is a band that has grown and evolved through its albums and different line ups with PJ as the « red lead » for the musical composition. We try to make Modern Metal by letting ourselves be influenced by bands we like and admire.
Where does the name of the band come from, and how do you relate it to the music you play?
Alexandre: The band’s name means « madness » in Spanish, we can connect almost all the themes of the different songs to this notion in some way. The actions of man through history conceal in their majority a certain dose of madness, even more in our contemporary time. These notions can be found in our last album in almost all the songs: schizophrenia in Think Twice Murder One, religious fundamentalism evoked in Faith vs Reason or Intolerant, addiction to virtual networks and the destruction of our environment respectively in Void Factory and In Vain, etc…
In 2022, the band releases Distorted Truth, its third album. What are the feedbacks on the album?
Alexandre : We have very good feedback on the album, occasionally some doubts, or embarrassments evoked on my clean vocals, which I can find legitimate given the result. Let’s be clear, I’m proud of the work done and the technical progress I was able to make during the preparation of this album. We also made artistic choices which may not be universally acclaimed. However, I know that I still have a lot of progress to make and I approach it with pleasure and as much humility as possible. As for the rest, the bandmates’ composition, interpretation and the Fredman studio’s mix/mastering have been a success, it’s really heartwarming!
How was the composition process? As well as the writing of the lyrics?
Alexandre : Compositions were exclusively worked by PJ. I was able to bring my touch to the writing of the lyrics and vocals’ composition on five tracks of this album. PJ was able to guide me on the rhythm of lyrics and placements.
Was it easy to go back to the studio after 10 years?
Alexandre: For me it was a new experience to record a full album. I practiced and was motivated enough to do my job until the end while keeping my ego aside. The goal was to do the best performance possible and to never flinch and take any criticism constructively. It was intense and not always easy, I admit, but you have to know how to show a little self-sacrifice, in the end I didn’t regret it.
Is there a title that speaks to you more than the others?
Alexandre: In Vain perhaps speaks to me more because it is the subject which seems to me the most important for humanity today. To feel the anguish of the environmental upheaval while people don’t care or don’t want to open their eyes and prefer to focus on the most futile and superficial aspects of their lives. And also because it’s the first song for which I was present on the composition process from A to Z. I really enjoyed creating this song with PJ.
The compositions sometimes draw towards Metalcore or Groove Metal with rather jerky and raw riffs while keeping a place for the more soaring clean vocals, how do you manage to mix all your influences?
Alexandre : For me it’s not really hard, I do it totally by feeling, most of my favorite influences contain clean vocals and I think it’s important to make a good song, it makes you breathe, it gives you chills; when it’s well done (laughs)! I think that when it comes to singing, you can have your influences, things that you like, but you have a range and you can’t go beyond a certain threshold in terms of pitch, and you can’t necessarily sound like the artist that you enjoy the most. I dream of being able to sing like Spencer Sotelo from Periphery or Devin Townsend, but that’s never going to happen, and in a way that’s good, that’s why I’m so excited to hear them.
What are your plans for the future of the band? Whether it’s about going live, other releases…
Alexandre : The plan for the future is to get some shows, to play live! This is, for me, the deepest meaning and the logical end of this whole process, to directly transmit the music’s emotion to the public, doing it with the energy of the stage and a good performance.
Are there any musicians with whom you would like to collaborate? Whether it is for a title, an album…
Alexandre : There are plenty of them! If I had to choose French artists it would be with Dagoba I think. It’s a band that I respect a lot with a huge sound. It’s the kind of Metal style that speaks to me.
Which bands would you like to tour with ? I let you create a tour or a date with three other bands!
Alexandre: Well let’s be ambitious! Let’s be crazy, my dream tour with French bands would be with Gojira, Dagoba and Hacride. Three bands that have always made me musically vibe!
Thanks again for your availability, I leave you the last words!
Alexandre : For the end, I thank you for the time you gave us, I hope that our album will be heard and that a maximum of people will have the opportunity to see us live. And who knows, maybe at the same time I’ll realize my fantasies of touring and featuring!