Sebastian Chabot

Galderia

Unlike a lot that have been stating that mankind has to be saved, redeemed, or rather to succumb to its own fate of destruction and chaos, there is another perspective that is in need of a thought. To think that people can unite under a single banner, and restore their future, as a world, as a whole, now that is extraordinary. To have faith in people isn't something that can be bought, it has to be believed in. Circling around the latest Galderia band, which recently returned, and their new "Endless Horizon" album, Steinmetal took a shot and talked with the band's veteran, Sebastian Chabot.

By Lior "Steinmetal" Stein

• January 10, 2023

Galderia's Sebastian Chabot: "We are a part of a whole

Hello Seb, it is great to have you over for a talk about the latest news on the Galderia camp, how have you been doing?

Great thank you! 🙂

Generally speaking, we had a rough couple of years, and nothing is perfect, as always, and there are still events that have been consuming us, the people over the world. Finding that light in every tunnel, now that is something that is not that ordinary in the human condition view. In your view, and I am talking on the higher level, is it easier to raise awareness to all the negative things in life, in order to make them better, or being positive?

Positivity is a matter of inner view of things. You can train yourself to be a positive person and see the good things in everything. Like you train a muscle. Whatever the situation is, you can see it as a good opportunity to grow and expand your own consciousness. It's a matter of choice.

It has been five years since the last Galderia album, and the Covid-19 pandemic, which lasted more than two years probably didn't help much. Talking about that particular era in time, did you rather take the pandemic as an opportunity for soul searching, thinking things through in concern of Galderia, or was it normal day's work so to speak and onwards to the next album?

There was a period of time when we were unable to see each other to work on the album, so, on my side, I used this time to start working on a side project of mine. A space opera metal with a whole concept story. Really speed metal stuff. I am still working on it, but I hope to be able to release it next year.

Surfacing back on the scene with the new "Endless Horizon", a wholesome of positivity and intent to show the better aspects of life once again are right in front of our faces, and also blasting our ears. What is that endless horizon that you are referring to in the title, is it like the sky's the limit sort of phrase?

It's the infinite possibility that life is. The endless horizon that opens for us when we just open ourselves to the heart of Creation. The core of everything. We are a part of a whole, and there is no real limit to what we can achieve or become. Our consciousness can expand endlessly and maybe one day be a complete part of this whole. This is the meaning of « Endless Horizon ».

I have to give it to you that you do not give up trying to find that fine line between people in order to gather them together, even though it is way tough because ego and other elements play part in the division of folks. For a second there, and in light of "Endless Horizon", didn't it feel, even for a moment, as if you are banging hard on a brick door?

Not a single time, because I don't wait for anything. I speak the way of my heart. I share my truth through my words, that's all. I don't oppose consciousness and unconsciouness anymore. Life is made of light and darkness and we absolutely need the two of them to grow as a human being. When someone is ready to hear with its heart, so it happens. Before that moment, he will surely take walls in the face, again and again, until the time he wakes up. But you can't force anybody to change, it's a big mistake. You can just send little lights on the way, and the rest is not up to you.

Let's focus a bit on the emancipation of mankind. The first question that can be asked about this issue is can mankind be saved at all? Similar to what I asked about banging on a brick door in the previous question, in what way can mankind be saved in your view?

The way I see it, mankind doesn't need to be saved at all. We are on a way of evolution through our own consciousness, and as we grow individually, we allow humanity to grow up with us in its own consciousness. Because we are all connected. We are one, in a very deep way. The universe is an ocean of vibrating energy and the same goes for mankind. We are bound by our collective consciousness and each one of us brings something to the whole. So finally, the only way to change things is by changing ourselves, individually. If I open my heart to the core of the universe, I let the core of the universe be a part of mankind. If I open my heart to the love and the beauty of life, I let this energy enter in the consciousness of all humanity. This is our power. The choice is ours. We can create anything we want. We just need to make a choice.

It has been said, and not by me but others way earlier, wiser than myself, that man was born evil. From the perspective of the band, it is not. What is your take on this phrase, how do you find it?

For me it's all bullshit. We are absolutely not evil. The human soul is pure love; I've felt it since I was 5... But the problems come when we put our ego in the first place in our life. Our ego is our principle of survival, if we put it forward, if we let it dominate our lives, it will only react like animals do. Domination or submission. And it creates sad situations everywhere. If we make the transfer and put our soul in the front and ego in the back, life harmonizes. We let the vibrating energy of love inside of us take the guidance of our existence, and it changes everything. The choice I was talking about is here. We must decide to put the soul in the front, all the time, until it becomes something natural.

Showing that European Power Metal has gone through a path over the last three decades, "Endless Horizon" plays with intensity and heaviness, nonetheless, finds the angle on how to be big, pompous and closer to an operatic stage show of occurrences. What is the edge that you believe that you found through the musical aspects of the record?

We wanted an album of songs. We focused on how we could make the best songs possible. In keeping what we love the most, the big choirs, vocal harmonies and of course great melodies.

I mentioned being big, and with such a vocal production, you reached the position of doing whatever you wish with the capability to produce a choir. Elevating the impact of the songs, "Endless Horizon" as a whole sounds as if it is ready for arenas. What is your take on the vocal production on the album? What was your initial vision in regards to it?

We worked with Simone Mularoni from Domination studios on this album, and what you can hear on the album was exactly what we wanted!! :-D. He gave the album an extraodinary sound, and the choirs and vocals are extremely well presented. We recorded everything in our own home studios and sent it to Simone for the mix/master. We are so happy of the result.

Finding the hook was the name of the game on "Endless Horizon" as a core element, nevertheless, it sounded to me as if you were trying to find those different angles in order to spice up songs in order to make a little difference between them. What can you share about the songwriting process of the record?

We worked very closely with Tom, the lead guitarist of the band, on the songwriting process. I bring the basis of the ideas, and we work together around it to find the perfect match. It's a long process. We don't try to do something in particular, we let the song show us what it wants to say. For this album, I brought 20 demo ideas in the first place and with Tom we kept only 10 and worked on it together.

I have always said that Simone Mularoni, of the DGM fame, is a sort of wizard when it comes to the engineering, and production, of music. The sound of the record is modern, strong and it complements the band's music. If I am not mistaken, it is the first time that you worked with Mularoni. What is your assessment of the sound of the record? Did it fit the vision of what you expected for the record to sound like?

Yes completely, as I said he made something incredible!! We love this guy! He's a genius. And a very nice guy.

Featuring some of the best hooks that I have heard in a while, and I can understand why it was chosen to be the band's lead single for the record, "Striking The Earth" is one of the many great phases of European Power Metal, it has of course power, great energies and amazing execution. What is your take on this song? What is the source of its power in your view?

Maybe the most powerful song of the album! It's the most instinctive song, the most animal one. We are striking the earth with the power within. All is said!! haha.

"Gonna Change It All" features three of you singing in a wonderful effort that creates a vision of unity, and excitement. There is a lot of willpower going on the songs, and the music also finds its way to find that cohesion. What can you tell about the experience of making this song?

I wanted a song with the three of us singing. Because Tom and Bob are great singers too. It's a real pleasure to compose a song and to have great singers on it. And yes, you captured the spirit of the song well. That's exactly the feeling we wanted to share through the song. A union of souls gathering for the transformation of mankind.

Other than the two songs mentioned, were there songs on the least that had you going for your peak, making you sweat, taking you to the next level? Which were the most challenging to write?

Not really, we took the same time and energy to make all the songs. Tom achieved something extraordinary with the guitar solos. Maybe these are the hardest parts on the album. Simone, who is also a great guitarist, said that the guitar work was exceptional. Tom is really good. It's a chance to have him.

If I am not mistaken this year is the tenth anniversary of your debut album, "The Universality". Even though there is the need to support "Endless Horizon", do you have any plans for a few shows in order to maybe play the entire debut album in its entirety?

We already play a lot of songs of "The Universality" in our shows. So we don't plan on a special event or show with only songs of this album. We want to focus on our new one.

If we talked about shows overall, what are your plans to support "Endless Horizon" live?

We got plans for next year. But it's always hard to play in France... It's not really the country of heavy metal...

Seb, thank you so much for your time for this interview, it was good to have you. Best of luck on supporting the new album, all the best

Thank you! It was a real pleasure.