40,000 people scream Kronos

interview with Mike on 04-11-2004

Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
Kronos was founded in 1994 by our guitar player Grams and myself. We were very young at the time (he was 14 and I was 13!!) and we had only started to play music by covering songs of AC/DC, METALLICA and we also badly covered songs by Jimmy HENDRIX or Eric CLAPTON. Then after several changes in the line-up, we evolved more and more towards a more brutal, fast and technical style. Finally, when Tom joined in as a bassplayer in 2000, we really began to play brutal death metal. The band was quite stable for a while but in June 2003, we have had a new change in the line-up as Richard came to replace Tems as a guitar player. We have now found a new balance and we do hope that it will last because a new Osmosis has been created.

Why did you beg to be interviewed?
Because it guarantees a great promotion for a band. In an interview, a band can speak about themselves and their music, so people can discover them. It’s the reason why being interviewed is really important for a band like us, but for any band too.

Don't you think the bandname will always be connected to the singer of Venom?
Maybe it will, but in fact it’s not really important for us because the singer of Venom is a great guy, who used to play in a very mythical band we all respect in KRONOS...

Why did you change style from the beginning? What is the drive for brutal death metal?
As I said before, as we improved and as we grew older, we started discovering different musical styles and that is how we quickly fell in the brutal death of the early 90s. from then on, we have kept trying to play music that is faster and more extreme. We now play brutal death and we are really pleased with it because we really appreciate that music.

Do you think people take you serious like Johnny Holiday or Charles Aznavour?
No, unfortunately, I don't think so. It is a shame especially because we live our music as deeply as these 2 excellent singers. But that's how things are, metal is not well thought of in France.

Why are you fascinated by Greek mythology?
Simply because we think these stories are fantastic and because we feel they really illustrate our music. We are really pleased to deal with mythology, it is fairly original for a death metal band as well as being interesting so...

Also interest in Greek food or the Greek sexposition?
Well, not really! I have already tasted Greek food and to me, it's not what you can qualify as exceptional even if it is far from being disgusting! About the second part of your question, we are 100% straight... ;-)

Never felt the urge of taking French history as a subject? Subject enough like Joan of Arc, Nostradamus, Platini?
It could indeed be interesting but it is not our thing. We have chosen a concept and we stick to it. What's more, there is a French band who already deals with French history and they do that very well. I speak about Misanthrope, of course.
What do you expect from your label? Already some profit?
A good promotion and a worldwide distribution. That's what we expect from them. It is the case at the moment so we are very pleased and optimistic for the future. Let's hope that it will go on for a long time.

Why is French coffee taste like water with a brown colour?
I never drink coffee because I don’t like it, so I don’t know sorry ! ;-)

How easy is it to create new songs? Where do you get musical inspiration from?
It is not easy to create new songs, that is why we really take all the time we need when we compose. We rather take time and create a ’square’ song instead of rushing and do crap. In this view, we turn every plan upside down so as to get the best finishing aspect. Our influence are varied and diverse. We all listen to very different things from metal or other styles and that's why our songs are usually diverse as far as atmosphere is concerned.

Do you still practice drumlessons? Did you study or DIY?
No, I haven't had time to study the drums for some years because of my studies. So I haven't taken lessons for a while but I deeply regret it.

What are your tricks to play such drumstyle? How can you play that tempo a whole concert?
I really like extreme drumming. I like to play them at full speed!! It is hard but it is so much fun that I am really delighted with it. To do so, I work a lot on my flexibility and my physical condition. That's how I can play a whole concert. So I practise a lot of sport as well as playing a lot of my instrument. I think it is essential to be efficient.

What do you wanna achieve with Kronos or in your personal musical career?
We'd really like to go as far as possible with the band. Why not become professional and live out of our music even if it is a complete utopia, unfortunately. Well as we say in France, ’impossible is not a French word’ so we will see? For the moment, we don't worry too much about it and we keep on working.

Are there things you wanna do before you die?
I'd like to play at least once on a huge stage (for example a stadium) in front of 40,000 people who scream our name... after that, I could die in peace!! ?

Say something shocking that will make people start thinking?
To all our Dutch friends: how come that the Dutch national football team has not been able to win a single title for years when they have so many excellent players?? ? (I really like to know that, thank you!! ?) <Because they all suck when it is coming to play together and represent their fucking country. Looks like they are in for the money or think they are a big important guy... Twan>