POWERZONE ITALY ( 16/10/1999 )

01. and so the legend of killers never dies!

I don't know if there's a legend of KILLERS but we're still alive and ready to play for a long time.

02. what do you think about the fact to be hailed as one of the living legends in french heavy metal scene?

That's a great pleasure for us and a big victory cause we owe our success to our fans.
They 've always supported us and their faithfulness made us what we are.
During 16 years we have played our music without a big support from national reviews.
It was not a problem, I know that passion is the only way and I'm very proud to be hailed in this way.

03. your band's history is quite long, but i think that it's useful to resume it...

I'm the only one from the foundation of KILLERS. I was just playing rythm guitar at the beginning.
It was in 1984.
We have recorded two albums with this line-up ( 1985 : FILS DE LA HAINE / 1986 : DANGER DE VIE).
The others have stopped KILLERS and I've continued on my way with new musicians.
We have recorded two others albums ( 1987 : MISE AUX POINGS / 1989 : RESISTANCES).
Then our singer has stopped musical activities and I've become the new one in 1991.
We have recorded 3 studio albums ( 1992 : CITÉS INTERDITES / 1995 : CONTRE-COURANT / 1998 : FORT INTÉRIEUR ) and a live album ( 1997 : ENNEMIS EN PUBLIC ).
After the release of " FORT INTÉRIEUR ", I've decided to change the line-up because I thought it was necessary for KILLERS to refresh our passion.

04. what did you learn in all these years?

A lot of things in every domain : musically, humanly and so on.
Leading a band is so absorbing that every day has its own novelty.
Musical experience is great to make you stronger in life.
Playing in a band, it help you to understand yourself. You have to be patient and tolerant.
Another thing is to learn to use your energy with discernment. It's much more powerful and much more effective.

05. owing to your experience i'd like to know your opinion about french heavy metal scene? which are for you the main differencies between the scene of eighties and the contemporary one?

French heavy metal scene was great because bands had their own identity.
They were not trying to be a copy of a foreign band. French lyrics were a kind of particularity.
Bands like TRUST, SORTILEGE, H BOMB, ADX, WARNING, VULCAIN and so on were like this.
Now bands are trying to play like foreign bands without the same audience.
If you can't get the same means, you have to be more creative, it's much more interesting in the end.
You have to develop your own identity and you make Metal richer.
You need to look for a French touch. I think it must be like this in every country.
BRENNUS, the French label is good for French bands but a lot of them are singing in english trying to be international.
That's not a problem for me, everybody can do what he want but I prefer a band like OVERSTEP which is much more interesting for me.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of bands like them and French heavy metal scene is not very big for the moment.
I hope and I think it will change soon.

06. would you like to talk about your new album titled "109"?

" 109 " is the ninth album from KILLERS. We have recorded at home in our own studio.
It contains 12 tracks of pure KILLERS.
For those who don't know us, I'll recommend to begin with this album.
We are always on the french label BRENNUS with 99TH FLOOR for the distribution.
I'm very proud of this " 109 " and I hope that Italian metal maniacs will enjoy it.

07. when did you start to write the stuff enclosed in "109" cd?

I usually write immediatly after the release of a new album a big half of the tracks which are going to be in the next.
So I started to write during the summer of 98.
Everything was ready for autumn and we have recorded during winter.

08. why such title?

In french, when you pronounce " 109 ", there is another meaning different from the number.
The meaning is " new blood ".
There is a track in " 109 " which is called " sang neuf ".
If you translate " sang neuf " in english, you say " new blood ".

09. is there a concept behind the title of your new album?

There is an allusion to the changing of the line-up.
The new musicians have brought a new energy and I wanted to make known clearly that our music was much more powerful than by the past.

10. is there relation between the title and the cover?

The cover has been painted by the father of our bass player.
More than the half of the lyrics is happening during the Middle Ages.
We have decided to choose this atmosphere to illustrate our cover.

11. would you like to talk about the tracks featured in?

I've composed all tracks.
As always, we play Metal with different tempos.
We can play fast and speed but also we play loud.
I don't like to play just on one way.
I think it's much more interesting for a musician to reach different atmospheres.

12. what's about the mood of "109" cd?

The fact to reach different atmospheres contribute to built a particular mood which characterize each album.
I should say this " 109 " CD has a higher mood than predecessors. I think it's the benefit of experience.
Even if there was a change of line up, with the passing of time we can stand back and judge events better.
Another great thing was the enthusiasm of the " new killers ".
I think it's going to grow in the future.
For all these reasons, I'm very happy and immensely optimistic.

13. as usual killers play speed metal true-at-heart...

Yes, it's obvious that speed metal is dominating in my heart.
I can tell you that it's going to expand with our next album. It will be evident.

14. which are the most important aspects of your sound?

I think that we have a very direct sound. We don't like fioritturas.
Now in studio, you can do everything and much more. It can be a trap cause it's more difficult to play faithful when you have to play live.

15. in which ways does a killers' track born?

The first imperative is to keep in mind that the track has to be played live.
We are two guitarists so we are not going to think for more parts than reality.
A lot of bands don't care but I think it's a kind of deceit.
For me it's very simple, I take my guitar and I play trying to think how I'm going to sing with my riff.
It must be natural. If it's not like this I don't go on with my idea.
It's the same thing with words, you have not to look for a long time otherwise it will be a problem sooner or later.
We have our own studio so we can record freely what we feel.
Then we make a choice with the benefit of distance.

16. what's your aim when you write?

It's a real pleasure to write a song. Every step is interesting. The sensation of creation is an incomparable feeling.
You have to progress trying to renew your music. I think that every human being has an aptitude for creation.
The harder thing is to find the domain where you can express yourself.
To write words is also a great feeling. It's a kind of outlet.

17. is there a hope to see you touring in italy?

For the moment, a tour is not possible for us. On the other hand, we are not financially avids for our concerts and we are ready to play in Italy. We are just waiting for organizers to contact us for limited dates.

18. many band have their own battlecry, and you?

Fuck fashions.

19. how do you want to end up this interview?

Asking for Italian metal maniacs to listen to our new " 109 " CD, you will not be disappointed.
Stop to listen to those who are using metal for their own appetite of money.
Support bands which are faithful with real metal.