Hanna Tsepesh: Salut Michel and Vincent! Thanks so much for accepting this interview and Welcome to THE GATES OF METAL! First of all: how are you and how are the things doing with your concerts?
Michel : Well we are fine, thank you ! About the tour with Exmortus, we had to postpone it for the moment due to the lack of competence from the touring agency, but still we’ll play some shows this summer.
V: Also in France in Nov/Oct/Dec and certainly another tour in march. I think that we do all ourselves to be sure of All.
Hanna Tsepesh: For those who do not know The Seven Gates could tell us a little how it all started?
Michel: It started back in 2005, Vincent and myself had been playing in several bands before we joined forces, and we both wanted to play the same kind of music. We started as a 4 pieces-band. I think this is the best set-up as a death metal band.
V: We released a mcd 2 years ago, a video last year, who appear into the collector edition of the new album “angel of suffering”, out just now!
Hanna Tsepesh: What inspired you the most to create the lyrics for The Seven Gates? The band writes the lyrics first or first the band creates the riffs to comply with the lyrics?
Michel: It all depends.. Sometimes we build up both lyrics and music at the same time. What inspires me is the obscure side of things, what is unseen, what makes me angry.
V: Our inspiration is from our daily suffering, we denounce and exorcise all of them into our music and lyrics. Death metal is a good taste for that.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are your favorite bands? You have any singer and bass player that you admire the most?
Michel: My favorites bands are: Nile, Possessed, Nocturnus, Black Sabbath, I could go on for ages! But I also do listen to stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Sinatra, early Bowie, Roland Dyens, and things like that. By the way, Dyens is a hell of a guitar-player!
V: My favorites are: Lemmy, tom Araya, David Vincent …the reasons are logic! About my favorites bands, it’s difficult to say, I listen a lot of kind of music, my favorites one is original soundtracks from stuff like Conan, Hellraiser, Dracula,….Also I like Shinning, Emperor, Slayer, Bolt Thrower, Deicide, Bathory, Fields of the Nephilim….and ton of others!
Hanna Tsepesh: Cool Vicent, i like a lot this soundtracks too! When you start to play bass? Any reasons for you pick this instrument? Also, you have or had any guttural technique lessons?
Vincent: In fact something like 25 years ago but I’ve stopped during a long time to learn each instrument, when I released 2 solo albums 10 years ago. I taken bass into T7G, 4 years ago by hazard, I was only singer, and I finally add this option. ..It feel my vocals more ingressives! Some lesson? Ok, the only way is suffering! (Laughs) and controlling your breath!
Hanna Tsepesh: (Laughs) thank you for your answer! The band has a new album called “Angel Of suffering”. I am very surprised with The Seven Gates talent! I liked so much this album and I think that have all the essence of Death Metal. For people who don’t listen yet can you talk about “Angel Of suffering” and what the band want to accomplish?
Michel: The best thing to say is: we are death metal fans and we want to play the music we’d like to listen to that no one has yet played. We’ve been playing death metal for years now, and we like it! So we just create on our own, and this mostly is an egocentric pleasure!
Hanna Tsepesh: Everything went well at recording studio? The band feels proud with the final result or you think that miss something?
Michel: You can always improve yourself, of course...Well, actually, I recorded all the guitar parts within 2 days, so I feel my work is being pretty fair.
V: We was ready when we entered in studio, I recorded all my vocals in 2 hours! The result is better than my hopes.
Hanna Tsepesh: How has the response been to the album by the media and fans?
Michel: For the moment, we had excellent response to it, and that is great!
V: Some delay, some guys who can’t understand our stuff…but in generality the chronics are very positives, and a lot of fans are manifesting their enthusiasm onto our MySpace.
Hanna Tsepesh: If one of our readers wants to buy your album safely, what they can do?
Michel: You should order it from your local music store, crush it, buy another one, grind it, buy another one, smash it, and buy another one...
V: Our distributor into Europe is Plastic Head from UK. He distribute after to all distributors into Europe, I’m sure that there is a society in Portugal who work with them. If not there is Season of mist!
Hanna Tsepesh: what is your favorite music in this album and why?
Michel: “Angel of Suffering” because I came up with this track so quickly it’s like playing a cover of a song I didn’t write, and which sounds terrific!
V: ”Quake of the hammer” for me, it’s an epic picture of war! This song send a lot of images and emotions! She is the despair!
Hanna Tsepesh: The band is thinking about a European tour? You guys have plains to include Portugal in your tour or something?
Vincent: We really hope and are open to all propositions. Our light engineer is Portuguese, so there is no any problem of logistic and language. Our tour bus of death is ready to burn!
Hanna Tsepesh: How is the metal scene in your country (France) is easy to get some kind of support by Radios, Magazines, webzines, etc.? What is your opinion about the Metal in our days? Did you thing is poor or better?
Michel: The French scene is really great! There are some ass-kicking bands like Mithridatic, Bloody Sign, Offending, etc.. Metal music has evolved a lot through the past years, and leaves less and less space for amateurs. This is very important when you want your music to sound extreme and brutal, and metal musicians are going better and better here in France!
Hanna Tsepesh: Do you want to send any message for the people who going to read this interview?
V: burn your soul!
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanks o much for your answers and time. THE GATES OF METAL wishes the entire band a great success with “Angel Of suffering”! We hope to see The Seven Gates very soon in here…
Vincent: Very thanks for your support Hanna, Hope to come on tour ! Listen to the song of the dead!
Hanna Tsepesh: You are very welcome Vicent! For sure we will see you guys in here!
By: Hanna Tsepesh
To listen to some THE SEVEN GATES music’s and for future information’s go at:
www.myspace.com/thesevengates
