Widespread Disease is back with a new EP.
Created in Île de France, the band counts today on Sylvain (guitar), Pierre (guitar), Théo (drums, Dagoba, Master Crow, Exocrine) and Éric (vocals, Assiah) for the release of Widespread Disease, which signs a new era of the band.
We begin with The Condemned, a track which features some pretty dark sounds before unleashing the strength of Deathcore with a devastating groove and a tuning so low to serve as a basis for those massive screams. The majestic atmosphere created by samples and jerky riffs turns into an apocalyptic final which guides us to The Tide, an ominous track which develops mysterious leads to create a contrast with raw violence. The break lets the vocalist offer us diverse tones before the final charge, before Slaughterhouse offers extremely effective Old School influences coupled with powerful howlings and unhealthy sounds in the background, creating an as vivid as contrasting mix. There is also a soothing interlude before the Hardcore roots take over again before the majestic final throwing us into Creator Of All, which immediately sounds like a massive and unstoppable composition on all levels. The few softer parts remain heavy and dark, creating a wave of unrelenting rage before Widespread Disease, the last track and eponymous song, reveals more than ten minutes of oppression. This track has everything that makes up the band’s new identity between its raw jerky riffs and dissonant leads, hosting aggressive screams accompanied by samples. The track seems to end, but it starts again with the intervention of Vincent Hanulak (Frctrd) and epic tones to lead us to Metalcore sounds.
I’ve known Widespread Disease for a while now, and I can assure you that the band has always been effective, on album or live. But with Widespread Disease, the band has clearly taken a step forward to fully express themselves in their darkness.
90/100
Some questions to the Deathcore band Widespread Disease.
Hello and first of all thank you for your time! How would you present the band Widespread Disease without using the usual « Metal » labels ?
Pierre : Widespread Disease is a mixture of various extreme influences mixed with the desire to share emotions. Basically, it’s a sharing.
Théo : In truth, 4 assholes who do tremolo picking on blast beats and silly break, with extra piggy screams.
Where does the name of the band come from, and how do you relate it to the music you play?
Sylvain: When we started the project in 2011 we wanted to focus on Grindcore and we wanted some trashy and unhealthy name, Widespread Disease came quite naturally. With hindsight and the current musical orientation, we don’t talk about trashy subjects in our songs at all and the name now reflects more a state of mind: wanting to spread our music as much as possible like a disease that spreads!
Eric: Lyrically I wanted to express the idea of a « Widespread Disease » which at the end of the EP (spoiler alert!) turns out to be the human race and the hatred it transmits like a poison.
Your new EP, Widespread Disease, is about to be released, how do you feel about it?
Eric: There’s always a form of anxiety with a new release, with its load of questions, is it going to be enjoyed, are we going to reach the maximum number of people? But we like the final result, and we know that we put everything we had in this CD so we are confident!
Pierre: We are totally autoproduced, so everything has to be prepared beforehand, and there is always this little side of « did we plan everything », « did we make the right choices », it’s actually quite time consuming. We hope to have good results!
Sylvain: Super proud of the work done, Pierre, Théo and Éric did a remarkable work on this EP, I personally had the « blank page syndrome” and I totally let the others express themselves! I adapted to their compositions and the result is great! I’m really excited about this release and I really hope that it will seduce the greatest number of people!
How was the composition process ? As well as the writing of the lyrics?
Pierre : For the composition process, it was quite classical, during the lockdown I started to write riffs because I felt the need. We had just gone through a period that wasn’t great for the project, there had been some departures and I wanted to turn the page. Once a part of the riffs were sent to Theo (and an order of triple cheese burgers), we made big sessions of writing at his place for guitars, and Theo composed the whole orchestrations and a very big part of arrangements. Then we made a test-mix with several people, we wanted a different sound, more modern, cleaner too, and Florent Salfati (Landmvrks) came out of the crowd.
Eric: About the lyrics writing, you have to know that the guys gave me carte blanche, without any restriction, so I had a total freedom that allowed me to explore many different subjects. So the writing process was quite simple, I had the instrumental version, I first wrote the voice placements, imagined the different styles of singing, and then put words to it, sometimes inspired by the dark sounds of the instrumentals, and sometimes simply by my state of mind at the time of listening. The final output is something quite personal that the listener can identify with, but at the same time with a narrative that puts a little distance, with for example the personification of addiction in Creator of All or a cult guru acting as narrator on Slaughterhouse.
We feel a real evolution since your last release, which is now more Blackened Deathcore-oriented with disturbing samples, how did this change happen?
Pierre : It’s a logical change. When you listen to The Walk on the Chaos album, it’s kind of the beginning of the change of direction. I actually come from Symphonic Black and to be able to mix what I like from Black Metal with what I like from Deathcore was a challenge. I’m very proud of the result.
What is the track that speaks to you the most on this EP, and why?
Pierre: I think for me it’s The Condemned, it’s really the comeback single, with a new line-up, a new image and it’s the first song that was written and finished.
Theo: It’s such a difficult question, because deep down, we all love them, but if I have to choose only one, I would say Widespread Disease, the eponymous track that closes the EP, for me this track is a horcrux.
Sylvain : Ouch, it’s a difficult choice! All the tracks have their particularities but if I had to choose only one it would be The Tide! This hyper energetic track has memorable riffs, soaring parts and very efficient breaks! I can’t wait to defend it on stage!
Eric: They all speak to me, but as a listener it’s Slaughterhouse, the variety of sections, with notably the « soft » passage with a clearer voice than usual, but also some damn Death passages… Four different answers, we’ll have to fight on stage! Haha
The track that intrigues me the most is without a doubt Widespread Disease, the eponymous track, which is also extremely long. How did you orchestrate its creation, as well as the featuring with Vincent Hanulak from Frctrd?
Theo : It’s a long story, whether the writing of this EP was relatively simply and naturally done, it’s not the case of this last one, we finished all of the other tracks and there remained only this one of unfinished, we had certainly some « bricks » but far from having enough material to make a song. We were stalled, and there was a series of personal dramas which was the trigger to find the missing ideas, the structure etc… Like a kind of compensation to what I was living. From there, once the whole structure was in place, I started to work on orchestration and sound design which for this track were much more consequent than usual. But it was also the will to have on the end of the EP something more orchestral, more « beautiful » but also darker at times. I personally like the idea of finishing a release with a longer track where you can try things out and have time to explain your message.
Pierre: The feat with Vincent was quite logical, he’s been a friend for quite a long time, he always supported us and we absolutely wanted him to be there on this Widespread Disease renewal.
Eric: On a personal note, when I announced my arrival in Widespread Disease, Vincent was the first one to congratulate me and to warm me up like never before, with good advices as a singer, I thought it was normal to make him a place in our history!
What are your plans for the future of the band ? Whether it’s about live performances, other releases…
Pierre: We have a show with Demande à la Poussière in February, we have several other things in the making, you will have news quickly!
Are there any musicians you would like to collaborate with? Whether it is for a title, an album…
Pierre: I would have liked to collaborate with a guy like Alexi Lahio, but since he’s dead, we’ll fall back on SCH.
Sylvain: I would love to do a feat with a vocalist like Adam Warren from Oceano or Will Ramos from Lorna Shore! There is so much talent in this scene that the list is long!
Eric: Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa straight up! Not sure if they’re up for it but you never know!
What bands would you like to tour with? I let you create a tour or a date with three other bands!
Pierre: A big 100% French date: Ten56, FRCTD, Hurakan.
Theo: A bit of a cliché given the hype right now but a Lorna Shore, Humanity’s Last Breath and Winds Of Plague set could be nice.
Sylvain : I would love to tour with Hardcore bands like Terror, Nasty, Get the Shot…
Eric: My current favorite: Malevolence! With Bilmuri and Hollow Front.
Thanks again for your availability, last words are yours!
Pierre: Thanks to you for taking the time to listen to the EP, we hope you liked it!
Sylvain: Thanks especially to you for this interesting interview! Good continuation! We hope that this EP will please the greatest number, we will defend it on stage as it should be!