Belenos is a band hailing from France, founded in 1995 by Loic Cellier to realize his need for playing black metal inspired by celtic spirituality. It turns out that he is a quite talkative guy, so instead of torturing yourself with a boring preface just read what he has to say about his band, modern metal scene and celtic heritage of his country.
1. Hello! The history of Belenos is quite long,
yet my first contact with your music was last album so far, “Yen Sonn Gardis”.
Because of my ignorance, I’d like to ask you to write shortly about band’s
history, and it’s musical evolution.
I founded
Belenos in 1995 as a one man band and I recorded 3 demos. From the end of the
90s till 2004 Belenos became a real band but the line up was very unstable. We performed
at about 25 gigs, mostly in France, and 3 albums were written during that
period that leaves a rather bad taste in my mouth. A turning point took place
in the mid 2000s when I moved to Brittany (I used to live near Belgium) and I
started on my own again. This period worked out much better, I was able to
record a lot of things and start live performances again on a good basis. This
rather stable situation should continue as such. Musically speaking the style
has quite changed, but Belenos has always been and always will remain a band
which mixes a black metal base with a lot of non-commercial things!
2. You describe your music on your website as
“a mix of black metal (fast and dark) and pagan metal (dark and slow parts with
Celtic choirs)”. Do you consider your band as something unique and original on
metal scene?
No, it has
nothing unique or original and yet! When we take the big majority of bands,
very few of them evolve in both universes at the same time, they are rather one
or the other. The term "pagan black", which I consider correct to be
applied to my music, can be applied to rather few other bands! Will there one
day be a pagan black fashion after the black metal one? I certainly hope not!
3. Also, can you tell me what inspires you when
you’re composing new tracks? You seem to be a fan of old, good Norwegian scene,
but also of doom metal. And what with folk approach, do you often listen to
such music?
I am indeed
a fervent fan of the Norwegian scene which has inspired me a lot, that's for sure!
I used to listen to a bit of doom at some point but I don't that much now. I
certainly listen to more folk music than before but it's not easy for me to
bring out this folk aspect , the melodies being often festive, on a dark metal
basis : to make them both cohabitate isn't an easy thing. The track
"Gorsedd" that you seem to know is a good summary of all the
influences that compose Belenos.
4. “Yen Sonn Gardis” made a big impression on
me. It’s hard to describe it, ‘cause of many tempo changes in each track. You
also use “typical” folk tunes quite rarely, and focus on creating a certain,
mystical atmosphere. A lot is going on here, so the album doesn’t bore even
after many replays. Can you agree with me?
I would say
that it's a rather dark album, not as much as Chemins de Souffrance, but
nearly. One has often told me that it's a relatively brutal album, although not
as much as Chants de Bataille, and it's probably the one that's the most
difficult to perform on stage because it is quite technical, though not
blatantly so. I don't think this album is better than the ones before, I think
it is harder to listen to, it needs to be listened to a few time to really be
able to make an opinion on it. I am satisfied but I can do better!
5. A middle part of “Gorsedd” sounds a bit
similar to Thergothon. Are you a fan of them? And don’t you regret that they
released so little music?
Really? I
used to have one of their albums but I hadn't thought about it, it's true that
this track possesses some doom parts but with some typically celtic
melodies.
6. Until
“Yen…” you were using French lyrics. Now it changed, and you are writing in
Breton. Why did you decide to do it? And are you a Breton yourself?
I am not of
Breton descent ( I actually have distant Polish origins!) but I've been living
here for the past ten years or so.
Little
reminder : Brittany is the peninsula at the far west of France, it is to France
what Scotland is to England: a land where the Celtic tradition is still quite
alive, with therefore the Breton language that has no common point with French.
I chose
this linguistic transition for many reasons : French has lost its originality and exoticness
to my taste, and since I am very linked to the cultural heritage of Brittany,
it's logical for me to somehow be its ambassador throughout Belenos. The next
album that I'm currently finishing will be in Breton as well.
7. Also, I can be wrong, but it seems that the
lyrics are very important to you. Is this true? What they are mostly about? I
mean, not only on your last album, but in general.
I write
texts because I need some to be able to scream something, I admit that I am
much more motivated for writing music than the lyrics! But then I don't like to
botch things, fall into clichés or get external help, so I force myself to do
them my way, and I usually manage it. Working in Breton is more interesting, I
feel freer.
8. I know that you have returned to playing
live gigs. Who are your new companions onstage? And why you play concerts
mainly in France and Belgium? Is there no interest abroad? I think that now it
is, because you’re going to play in Austria and Ireland…
Dealing
with the concert activity for Belenos is particularly difficult, the
innumerable conditions aren't often reunited to allow us to produce ourselves
on stage easily. There have been long
periods where stage activity had to be on standby, between end 2004 and 2010
for example, because it simply wasn't possible.
I found
motivated and technically suitable people to accompany me on stage only
recently and with a lot of difficulty! And we can't rehearse very often at all
because it takes me three hours to get to where they live, plus they play in
other bands (Les Chants de Nihil, Kerifern).
About ten
years ago, Belenos was less or maybe not known at all abroad, that's why we
mostly played in France. Performing abroad is something really recent for us :
Germany, Ireland, Switzerland.. Leaving France is very complicated because of
the distance and the costs that it implies, most organizers aren't prepared to
pay 1000-2000€ for one concert, they would if we were more famous but let's be
honest, we are far from having that notoriety that would make all the
difference and after 18 years of existence, though I don't complain about
Belenos's career, I doubt very much that it will rise at a point where there is
a lot of demand for us.
9. What are Belenos' plans for the future? I
know that you're going to release a new album entitled "Kornog", can
you tell more about it?
I'm working
on it right now when I have some free time, which is rather rare! But the hindsight
is necessary. I am not in a hurry, I'd rather "take" a year than
record an album that isn't ripe. As I write, all the tracks are written as well
as half of the texts, I will need a few more months to clarify certain parts or
structures that deserve to be improved. Only then will I start the final
recording, probably at the end of the year because many session musicians are
required for playing traditional instruments. I'm no good with estimations but
I guess everything will be done before summer 2014...
10. Since 2007 you cooperate with a German
label Northern Silence. Are you happy with it? Most of bands seem to be very
positive about them. Also do you like some of their roster?
Yes everything
is going well with them. I don't know much about them but they usually produce
good stuff, be it pagan or post black metal..
11. Yeah, and about other bands: do you follow
modern metal scene (especially this pagan/folk) or just keep to listen only
what you liked in the past? And can you recommend some bands from France? To be
honest I don’t know many pagan acts from your country...
There
aren't that many pagan/folk metal bands in France! We can find some in Paris
such as : Bran Barr, Heol Telwen, the Nightcreepers, Nydvind, Himinbjorg. All
my favorite albums date from the last century, there are some good things once
we sort out the new stuff, but I don't recognize Belenos in the current pagan
folk scene at all!
12. You were playing in many other bands, and
among them three were death metal. I know that you’re going to release another
death metal album, can you say more about it? You seem to be a big fan of this
kind of playing!
Before
getting into black metal, at the beginning of the 90s, I used to listen and
play death metal. I don't deny this period and it's true that I'm currently
trying to record an album, just one, just for the fun and nostalgia.
13. Your playing a pagan black metal, so I have
to ask you - what means paganism to you? Are you taking part in rituals and
festivals? Or is it only a philosophy of life for you? Because I don't believe
that you treat this only as a "cool" topic, like many other metal
musicians.
Paganism is
vague! For me, I'd say
it concerns my everyday life. I'm not the kind to follow religious beliefs, but
I'm rather a bit of a hermit, being pagan for me is to live close to the nature
and thus far away from cities and all this shitty modern society, eating bio
food from one's garden, looking after one's physical strength, defending one's
culture, values and heritage against globalization and appreciating some kind
of wild liberty.. It's a way of living before being a musical genre.
14. It was always bothering me - the Romans
gave French people language, the Germanic invaders gave you name (Franks), yet
most of your nation treats Celts as their direct ancestors. Why do you think is
that? Maybe because of hidden celtic spirituality in each of your countryman?
Well the
big majority of Europe used to be Celtic more than 2000 years ago. This culture
has remained alive only in a few regions of the west of Europe. The rest of France,
culturally speaking, is closer to countries such as Spain or Italy and much
less like Germany or the UK.
15. How does life look in France now? I know
that there were many protest against your government, especially against this
whole gay-marriage and adoption thing. Your thoughts about that?
Our
beautiful country has been decomposing itself for the last 30 years, and things
have considerably accelerated these last 4-5 years. Our leaders are cowardly, corrupt
and incapable of doing anything, gay marriage is the only thing that seems to
be a progress for them in our country when there are so many much more serious
problems that weight on the society. I don't complain about the quality of life
I have here but it's far from being easy, people are getting poorer and poorer
(except for the rich), the years of glory and prestige are over, decadence is
coming!
16. You're on the scene with Belenos since
1995, having on account 3 demos and 6 longplays. You've seen many passing
trends and fashions. Do you feel like a veteran, haha? And what are your
thoughts about a thing that divides metal fans - internet. Many say that this
is a thing for poser, others that buying CDs and vinyls (not saying about
cassettes!) is just a waste of money. And some says that this is OK for
promotion, but the true heart of music is always on the physical format. Your
opinion?
Yes indeed,
I'm starting to become part of the old ones who have seen all the tendencies
pass, we have a lot of stuff to tell the new generations who haven't known the
rich 90s in real time! Internet turned everything upside down, to pass from a
closed scene where only cassettes and fanzines were exchanged to a virtual
world where everything is accessible was a shock, a lot of adaption was
required. Internet is a good thing for promotion but too much information
reduces its efficiency. CDs are suffering a lot today!
17. OK, that was the last question. Thank you
very much for your time, last word is yours. Good luck in the future, and I
hope to see you someday on the gig in Poland!
Thanks for
the interest you have in Belenos, I hope to one day be able to perform in
Poland!
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Photos: band's archieve.
Interview by Vladyka 2013. Please do not copy this interview without HA'Z permission. Respect the copyrights!
