Guillaume Bideau

Mnemic

After a while, since their line up change, of forging new material, the Math / Groove Metal band MNEMIC released "Mnemesis", via Nuclear Blast Records, gaining additional points at being rather special in comparison to plenty of other modern examples running throughout the scene today. Femme Metale had a chance to talk to the band's vocalist, Guillaume Bideau, about the new album and the band's progress.

By Karila "Femme Metale" Shannis

• September 10, 2012

Hello there Guillaume, how are you doing? Thanks for the time for this interview.

Hi there, I'm doing fine. Well thank you for your interest!

"Mnemesis" is the first album in which your newest lineup is settling in. How has the new lineup impacted Mnemic's original sounds?

Actually not that much because we still really sound like Mnemic and still used the same producer. The sound hasn't really changed but they brought a new freshness and motivation in every aspects of the band.

What's been the general feedback so far since the release of a leaked version of the album on iTunes which gives 30 second snippets of each tune?

Well so far it's being kinda very good. Of course a few bad reviews from stubborn fuckers but overall it's been very nice. We get a lot of mails from fans and people telling us that they're really digging the Mnemesis. Apparently it brings back to the band some of the old Mnemic fans.Even if we do music for ourselves first, the more people like the our music the better!

Does any of the album's material pick up from parts of where the older lineup left off, or did only fresh material make the cut?

Only fresh material. We started from scratch. We had some material before but it's a better introduction for the new members.

Your previous album "Sons of the System" is infamously quoted as having a distinct theatrical and eclectic sound, as you were experimenting with electronic music at the time. What sort of trademarks does this album carry, and how do they differ from Sons?

I don't really know because we didn't ask ourselves many questions while composing and recording the album. It's been a faster process than on the previous albums. It took less than 6 months to compose the album when the other albums took at least a year or so. So it's a pretty spontaneous album. But I guess it's some kind of a mixture of the old Mnemic and the actual one. A lot of people mentioned that but we don't really realize it. It was part of the original plan but we did not keep it in mind during the composition. People also mention that Mnemesis is a little less complicated than the other albums but we still have some weird structures and patterns. We'll see what the next album will be made of, hehe..

To record the album, you entered Antfarm Studio in Scandinavia w/ Tue Madsen (KATAKLYSM, THE HAUNTED, BEHEMOTH). Why has Tue been such a key contributor to your discography?

He's been with the band since the very beginning and he likes to experience like us. He understands what we want and where we wanna go but he also has his things to say. He's like the sixth member of the band and he's a really cool guy.

What inspires you most in the song writing process?

Life in general. So it's a bit dark as the world is going down on almost every levels. I like my life but not really the world I live in. When you read our song titles on Mnemesis, you can feel the darkness and pessimistic approach, hahaha!! But we're funny guys nevertheless!

What sort of concept, if any, are you trying to present to your listeners?

With Mnemesis we have no concept. Just our visions of life as it is right now and of what it could be in the future.

How does the rest of Mnemic feel about your simultaneous commitment to your side project ONE WAY MIRROR? Does it affect the rest of the band positively or negatively or not at all?

They like this band. There is absolutely no problem with them that I play in other bands. And One-way Mirror is very different than Mnemic. It's 2 complete different bands.

Guillaume, thanks a lot for your time on taking this interview. I wish you the best with the new album and hope to see you live one day. Any last words?

We wanna tour a lot with this new album so we might be visiting your town, hehe..
Thanx for the interview man!!

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