Azelma meets death with its first EP.
Entitled Swallowed By My Own Sins, it is brought to us by Nice-based Maelan Lopez (drums), Arthur Valerioti (bass), Romain Viale (guitar) and Tristan Raverdino (vocals), in collaboration with Nova Lux Production.
We discover the band’s modern, technical approach from the very first moments of The Greatest Moment Of Your Life, a groovy first composition where rage and rhythmic complexity dominate. The vocal parts are not to be outdone, alternating between fury and raw power, but the track is short and gives way to the disquieting Prometheus, featuring jerky riffs with a touch of darkness. Some more dissonant passages than others are strangely soothing, but piercing screams snap us out of this quietude, heralding a devastating break that fits in perfectly with the massive approach of Swallowed By My Own Sins, the eponymous track and the next to play on the complex side of the rhythm. There are wild, slower Brutal Death touches, but the track is relatively fast, like the furious leads of I’ll Be Dust Again, which follows with its crazy cutting patterns, but the track gradually moves towards as aerial as precise elements, including that intense unexpected soaring final. The atmosphere becomes wilder again with Perception Fatale, which offers constant bursts of groove and violence, whether in the riffs or the vocals, then Under The Rug takes the reins with its scathing guitars that lacerate us in an approach borrowed from Progressive Death, where each instrument complements the other before the final union, then liberation.
If I hadn’t known Azelma were such a young band, I’d never have guessed it. Although a little short, Swallowed By My Own Sins is rich, diverse and powerful, giving us a clearer idea of the combo’s influences. I’m already looking forward to the sequel.
95/100
A few questions to Arthur and Tristan, bassist and singer respectively in the band Azelma, on the occasion of the release of their first EP, Swallowed By My Own Sins by Raven.
First of all, hello and thank you for your time. Could you introduce yourselves and tell us how you feel?
Tristan Raverdino (vocals): Hi, I’m Tristan, I’m nineteen, lead singer of Azelma.
Arthur Valerioti (bass): Hi, it’s Arthur from Azelma too, I’m a bass player and I’m twenty-two.
How do you feel? We’d love to get to know you through this interview!
Tristan: This is our first time at Hellfest. We got in by the back door, because we didn’t actually play with Azelma at the festival, but we got in thanks to a side project we had with the members of Azelma, which was actually its last concert, a tribute to Gojira. We’re really happy to be here, it’s a real pleasure, it allows us to meet some great people, people we’ve been seeing and following for a long time, and it allows us to experience this festival, which is a dream even as a festival-goer, and it’s going to allow us to experience it in the best possible conditions.
How would you describe the band Azelma without ever mentioning the words “Death Metal”?
Arthur: For me, Azelma‘s music is juvenile, aggressive, thoughtful and thoughtful. It’s music that’s experienced live, and that’s meant to be festive, where the musicians get up on stage to celebrate life and death, everything that’s real in life.
Tristan: It’s actually going to be very easy to describe us without using the “forbidden” word, because we try to emancipate ourselves from it as much as possible. That’s the basis of our approach, it really revolves around that. But in reality, we’re more musicians, artists, and we want to create something that’s our own. In fact, we didn’t set out to do that, we set out to make music that sounded like us, and once we’d achieved that, we sat down and said to ourselves: this is it. So, we’re not looking to create the forbidden word, we’re really looking to create our story, our music, our sound, our identity.
The band played at the Hellfest Off on Tuesday, how did the show go?
Arthur: It gives us great pleasure to be able to start exporting our art and our vision of music. It’s the first time we’ve played so far away. Until now, the farthest we’ve played from home was maybe Montpellier or Aix-en-Provence, given that we’re from Nice. So, a week after our first show with Igorrr, we were able to meet an audience we’d never seen before and share a moment together. It always warms the heart. What’s more, the reception was really friendly. We had a great time.
How did you prepare for this show? What can we expect from an Azelma live show?
Arthur: We’re a group that’s lucky enough to be able to rehearse very often in a week, which means we can meet six or seven times a week to work on technique, do a lot of exercises, rhythm and work on our compositions. We’re really lucky to be able to give ourselves over to our art. So I’d like to say that there’s no war that’s won in advance. We were lucky enough to be surrounded by very good technicians. We were able to do some great residencies at the MJC Picaud in Cannes, so we arrived confident, prepared for potential problems and, above all, we arrived with an art form that transcends us and that we enjoy enormously. So really, it’s just been a piece of cake. And from the feedback, I think people liked the set.
Tristan: It’s really interesting what Arthur was saying about the way we work. Because we’ve had a lot of meetings grouped together, we’ve focused a lot of the band’s work over the last few months on stage preparation, show preparation and so on, and we’ve had a few dates stuck together, one in Aix, one in Montpellier and one in Paris, one in Montpellier and one to finish off in Aix and in fact we prepared so much for the one in Aix that after the tours, well the rest of the tour was really a formality in quotation marks because in fact from the moment we saw that 6Mic liked it so much to the moment we got so much positive feedback. Because we’d actually played a week before, opening for Igorrr as well as 6Mic, in front of a crowd that went absolutely wild. We were able to really connect with the people and there was a very strong moment of exchange. Because you asked me what an Azelma show is like, it’s above all a lot of emotion. Even beyond the music. Because I think that if you come to see us or if our listeners come to see us, you’ll immediately feel the complicity that reigns on stage, simply because we’re first and foremost brothers in arms and brothers before being musicians or even working together. We work with Michel, our engineer, who is unfailingly professional and rigorous. He’s very much in tune with us, he’s very good at what he does and he’s extremely reassuring and extremely good at giving advice, so it’s always a good thing that you can’t get stressed out if you’ve got Michel with you.
Your debut EP, Swallowed By My Own Sins, will be released in September. How do you feel about it?
Arthur: I think I speak for the whole band when I say that we’re extremely happy. We released our first single last month and now we feel like we exist. In fact, we feel listened to and there’s a lot of joy in that, we’re really happy with the result. We were recorded at Mr Seb Camhi‘s, then mixed by Mr Gautier Serre of Igorrr once again and mastered by Mr Thibault Chaumont too. We’re delighted to be working with Gautier, not least because, a few years ago, we used to look at the recordings and just go crazy. So to be able to release our music with his mix for us, it’s really, really crazy. And we’re really happy with our video, and the one that’s coming out very soon too, really. We couldn’t hope for anything better for the band’s debut. We’re really very happy, and above all there are a few dates coming up to celebrate, which are very nice.
Tristan: We’re not going to go back over the compositions, we know that we did them from the heart, that there were hours and hours and hours of hard work over many months, because the band dates back to October, but we’ve been working in the shadows for two years now, working like hell without getting the slightest recognition for our work, because we simply didn’t exist. That’s why Arthur talks about this feeling of lightness. That’s how I feel, knowing that we already exist. We’re born and it’s just so gratifying on a daily basis. And what I’m expecting from the release of this EP. It’s a relief more than anything else, because I’m really looking forward to it. I’m so euphoric at the idea of sharing all these compositions, all these lyrics, all this work in its entirety, that from the moment it’s released it’s just going to be an explosion of absolute joy, and whether we have ten listeners or a million, I know they’ll like it either way. A million would be better, but maybe not for a first EP, because that might leave its mark, so I don’t know if we’re ready (laughs).
How did you go about composing the EP? Looking back, is there anything you’d like to revise or improve?
Arthur: It took two years because there are four of us in the band and we’re four composers and we’re four people who are relatively sensitive to music, and it’s a very interesting creative process. In other words, everyone comes with their own sensibility. We’re lucky enough to be able to put our egos aside and listen to each other? I’ve spoken to quite a few people who’ve told me that it’s relatively surprising to work like that, but we’ve really fallen in love with this way of working, so it certainly takes longer, because you have to, you have to keep everyone happy, but in the end you see the result. In my humble opinion, I’m very proud of this EP. I’m very proud of the compositions, they all suit me, they all please me, whether I listen to them at home with my headphones. So really, once again, I’m rolling in dough. Everything’s going well for me.
Tristan: Yeah, me too. I’m extremely proud of the result. In fact, if there was one thing I’d change, it would be not to change anything and move on to the next thing. Because, in fact, anyway, even if mistakes have been made, they’re part of the creative process, part of this moment in our lives. It’s a reflection of our souls at that moment. And even if it’s imperfect, because it’s imperfect anyway, it can never be perfect. And that’s just the way it is. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to get as close to it as possible. It’s still very authentic. And my only desire right now is to get back home and start composing for the album, and even if it’s an EP that we’re going to release, it’s still a work in its own right. You have to see it as the band’s infancy, so it’s a short period because there’s going to be less than twenty-five minutes of music, but it’s a cornerstone, because it defines a little bit the way we’re going to grow as a band I think.
I’m a little intrigued because you said we’re four composers and you talked about ego and I’m actually a little surprised. Isn’t it too difficult for each person to put their ego aside and listen to the others? In terms of communication, do you manage to communicate well on this? Are there any specializations within the group, or does everyone do a little bit of everything?
Arthur: At the beginning, we were a bit afraid of each other’s place in the group, with all that pride and ego, but in fact we’re really close before making music, so there’s this desire to be happy with the other three members, so if an idea doesn’t appeal to everyone, it’s not just kept and we look, we scratch, we dig until we find the idea that appeals to all four of us and that’s why I really love this EP, it suits me as much as it suits my friends and on stage you can feel it, so it’s really crazy! ! As far as composition and writing are concerned, we really leave room for everyone’s creativity. Everyone comes up with their own ideas, whether it’s lyrical ideas, rhythmic ideas, compositional ideas or whatever. I know I’ve come up with ideas for lyrics a few times, but he’s always got that little something to make it sound better.
Tristan: It’s really interesting what Arthur says, because you have to realize that even when it comes to the distribution of rights, we’re all twenty-five percent on the lyrics and twenty-five percent on the music, so that makes one hundred percent in the end. That’s a quarter each. Why is that? Because even my lyrics don’t necessarily feel like they’re specifically my lyrics, because I see myself more as a lyric arranger than a lyricist. Because, in fact, we all have so many stories to tell that each one has its own moment, each one has its own themes, each one has its own stories, each one simply has something to share. And as we were saying earlier, you were asking us if ego wasn’t a hindrance, but in fact, personally at least, I know what I’m worth, but I know that I’m nothing without these three other people. So I have blind trust, even if we all have an opinion on something, we still have blind trust in each other. And that’s really lucky and exceptional. Because I’m a little younger than them, but I’ve seen them in previous bands, when they were musicians, I’ve seen them compose in the past and I knew even before joining the band that they were people in whom I believed, competent people for their obvious age. We didn’t become Azelma in a day, and we’re a long way from Azelma in its final form, maybe in ten, twenty years’ time. We’re still in our infancy, we’re still no-one, but as a result, yes, trust really reigns, as well as listening and simply managing to give importance to the other’s point of view and that sort of thing.
I really appreciated the mix of influences, from pure technique to more intense parts. Which bands could you name as your influences?
Tristan: Bless you! Bless you, my favorite band (laughs). It’s very complicated because, as you said, there are a huge number of influences, but there’s one band we can name fairly easily, and that’s Gojira, even if it’s not necessarily in the music. The musical parts of Gojira that are in our music at the moment are really going to be on the first two albums. But in fact, our inspiration from Gojira comes mainly from their rigor, their lifestyle, their work hygiene and their determination, their will and their sense of adventure in fact, and of not limiting themselves. After that, if we’re talking purely, musically, we’re going to have some very Death Metal-influenced mixes, because that’s the music that unites us all, in quotation marks. But there’s also, for example, me on vocals, and I know I bring a very Black Metal side to things, because I grew up in that music, it’s my identity, it’s my “heart family”. So I really come from Black Metal, so I bring that side to the table. After that, there’s some very modern stuff, and sometimes even a little more Deathcore influences. So we’re really trying to cast a wide net, but you have to remember that there’s one band that unites us all. One band we all agree on is Toto. So people, listen to Toto XX, it’s an excellent album.
Arthur: So, yes, Toto is great! But as far as Metal goes, I’d have to say the band Death, where we really found ourselves in Chuck Schuldiner‘s compositions. It was very inspiring for us. There was also Cynic, and most recently Cattle Decapitation, which really touched us. And Toto again. Atheist too.
On the track I’ll Be Dust Again, there’s a very different ending to the other riffs. How did you come up with the idea of creating such a transcendent passage?
Arthur: The funny thing is that I’ll Be Dust Again was composed over maybe almost a year, and the ending came much later in the composition. The first demo was quite different, and there was a very particular rhythmic pattern that we find in the final version, and that’s what was in the diamond. In fact, the four of us rehearsed this particular rhythm for hours on end, and the ending came naturally during the jam. And Tristan let out this really long scream at the end, and it was pretty mystical, you could say it came to us. We were very happy, we said to ourselves “we’re going to go home, we’re going to record this, we’re going to make this little demo”. At that point, we knew the song was finished.
Tristan: It’s really interesting, because there was… I wouldn’t say it was a blockage, but there was this shelving for over six months, and then one day we got together and said, guys, this is the day, and it was the day, because just by putting it on tour etc… the four of us locked ourselves in a kind of time loop and it came to pass, I don’t know, we were all plunged into a state of trance, as if in fact it was the call of Azelma‘s follow-up that was resonating within us, as if it was something greater than ourselves that had given us this inspiration. There are some tracks on the new album that will explore these vocal techniques, particularly the more melodic ones, so I can’t explain it, but it was a very special feeling. I know there was a real sense of relief that night.
Swallowed By My Own Sins is released with the support of Nova Lux Production. How is the collaboration going?
Tristan: It’s going really well because it’s a team that really listens, that’s very professional and that has answers to all our questions. We know that it’s managed by JB Le Bail, who’s actually the singer of Igorrr, and it was he who steered us towards Gauthier for production and sound, because he saw who we were and thought he was the right person for us, and that it was a collaboration that would work, and I think he was right, because it was also a revelation. So we’re very grateful to JB and Nova Lux for this little revelation. And yes, he takes care of our distribution, both digital and physical through Season of Mist, and he also manages us.
The band launched a crowdfunding campaign for the creation of physical supports, which ends today. How did you come up with the idea, and what experience have you gained from it?
Arthur: Well, it’s basically an idea that I came up with, and there were doubts at first, which is normal, as there always is when you come up with something, because you don’t want to do anything stupid. But in the end, I think it was a very good idea. So I’m glad they agreed, and I’m glad I proposed it. And why crowdfunding, because we wanted above all a way for people to pre-order the EP, while covering the pressing costs and being able to offer a little exclusive goodies for our very close fans. So crowdfunding was really perfect for this, because it allows us to use greater resources to create more unique items. We have cassettes thanks to crowdfunding, which is quite unusual. There was even a limited edition of five copies with a pyrographed wooden case with a madman’s varnish and a certificate of authenticity in the spirit of the band. This enabled us to realize that, without pushing people to buy and without trying to make people feel sorry for us, we still managed to raise more than three thousand euros, even though we’re an emerging band, to enable us in fact already to amortize these costs and to create the highest possible quality. Because beyond the support aspect of the band for us, it’s very important because it’s going to be a true reflection of our identity and of people’s belonging to our movement.
What are your plans for the future with Azelma? Have you already started work on a sequel?
Tristan: At the moment, we’re constantly trying to project ourselves six months ahead, even more, but we’re really getting down to the nitty-gritty. We know what we’re going to do in the more distant future, but for the moment we want to let the EP live and die. We’re also working with a very talented set designer who’s helping us create our image and our future on stage and in video. We have lots of ideas for clips. We really like our music live, and we also want to share our music in a recorded and filmed way. So we’ve still got lots of projects, we know where we’re going, we know where we want to end up, and as long as it’s just the four of us, everything will work out fine.
Arthur: As far as future projects are concerned, we’re artists, musicians in particular, and that’s why our art has to remain our absolute priority. We see the future as we see it today, but with more means and perhaps with more following. We just want to have more means to carry out our ideas, to be able to make things bigger and bigger, and to be able to bring our vision of Azelma upon the earth.
Are you also planning to see any bands today?
Tristan: There are quite a few bands I’ve been dreaming of seeing for quite some time. Right now, I’m especially looking forward to Suffocation, a band I really like. I’m also keen to discover Batushka, I’ve heard a lot about them, so I want to see them in person. I’ll let myself be carried along by the scenes. Earlier, I was able to see Immolation too, and I was very pleased. I was also able to give Slaughter to Prevail a listen. We’re going to look at a lot of things.
Arthur: For me, the bands I want to see are the dream bands like Metallica. I think anyone who’s ever held a guitar in their hands has played three or four Metallica riffs, so if I survive until Saturday, I’ll be pretty happy to have seen Metallica at least once in my life. It’s on my wishlist, and then there’s one band I really want to see, Emperor, because it rocked my whole youth… which I’m sure isn’t over yet, because I’m still quite young, but it rocked my childhood in particular. And then, in general, all the Black Metal bands programmed this year are top quality. And I want to see everything. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see it all, but I want to see it all. And there’s one French band I’m really keen to see, Landmvrks, because not only do I think they’re one of the fastest-growing bands in France, but what they offer is hyper-quality, both in terms of show and music. And for me, it’s a real pleasure to see them on the Mainstage at ten thirty, it’s just great to see France here. And also because we’ll be playing with them on November 9th at the Esterel Arena as part of the Distortion festival. It’s taking place in Fréjus, so we’ll actually be playing just beforehand, with whom we’ll be playing for the second time. And we’ll be finishing the evening with Landmvrks on that show. So if any of our listeners are down south, I’d really advise them to come along, because it’s going to be a cornerstone in the band’s history. We’ve already got all our scenography ready for that show. I think it’s going to be the most important ceremony of life and death we’ve ever done.
What bands do you dream of playing with? I’ll leave it to you to imagine an EP release date with Azelma opening, and three other bands.
Tristan: It would be very complicated because there are only three bands. That’s mean, but it’s good at the same time. I was going to say Igorrr, but it’s already done, so I’m already very happy with that. It would be Dissection, because that would bring back the man who helped me forge my voice on this earth, so that would be nice, even if the character… was what he was. But for me, Dissection is perhaps the band that most forged my musical adventure, as guitarist, composer and singer, since I learned to be a musician thanks to them. Then, it would be Death… because I want to see Chuck on this earth again, because I’ve never been able to. The character, I don’t know how you can’t love him. And really a hyper-fantasy, hyper-big band. That would be Gojira. Now that’s going to be complicated for you, because I’m stealing Death and Gojira from you. But yes, for us, they would be, I think, the three dream bands to play with.
Arthur: I do, Gojira in common with Tristan, obviously. Suffocation, they have an impressive riffing intelligibility despite their style, and from what I’ve been told, live it sounds really good. Why not Cattle Decapitation too? They’re quite fashionable and I like their latest album.
Last question: what dish would you compare Azelma‘s music to?
Tristan: It’s very complicated. It’s really very complicated. Well, it would be a gastronomic dish… although not necessarily. I don’t think so. I think Azelma could be breast milk. No, it’s not a joke (laughs). Because Azelma is a feminine name. Why a feminine name? Because it’s a reference to the woman with a capital F. It’s the mother, the one who brings you into the world, but who condemns you to death the day she does. So, that’s why I think Azelma would be mother’s milk, because it’s the first “dish” you’ll eat, and it’s the dish that tells the whole world that one day you’ll die.
Arthur: Yes, I’d go for something from childhood too. Strawberry, that’s it, a little Proust madeleine, something sweet, something hard to find.
That’s my last question, and I’d like to thank you for your availability, and leave you with the last words!
Tristan: First of all, I’d like to thank you for this interview, because it’s excellent work. I’d also like to thank the listeners, because it’s thanks to your support that we can all stand and exist. Without you, we wouldn’t exist. Without you, we’d be in our rooms doing the same thing, but without concerts, I think. I hope you’ll come and discover us, whether on album or in concert. Don’t hesitate to send us messages, we’re all very open to discussion, because that’s what Azelma is all about.
Arthur: Thanks for listening, do what you love and I hope you’re as happy as I am right now.