Insolvency: Hope For A Better Tomorrow
INSOLVENCY are hopeful about the future. Somehow, despite their latest album Illusional Gates revolving around ideas of escapism, fear and longing for a new utopian world, it appears the last few years has enthused optimism within the band. The time spent looking forward has offered hope, a rare and beautiful find on a planet that is slowly destroying itself, and INSOLVENCY are here to tell the story that details this adventure into feigning mental health, geographical isolation and sparks of innovation that kept them going.
The French four-piece released their debut Antagonism Of The Soul in 2018. It was an atmospheric metalcore offering, stacked with lyrical laments, fervent technical sentences and an enchanting dual vocalist dynamic. It captured a cult fanbase, appealed by its throwback sound, however it lacked in dynamism and memorability. We speak to Pierre Challouet (bass/vocals) and Bruno Blackstard (guitar/backing vocals) to uncover the lessons learnt from their debut, moving forward in a global pandemic, missed chances and reinvention.
“The first album was a learning experience for us,” Bruno starts. “So it’s not the same approach we had for the new one. We put in too much technique and wanted to push a lot of things on the first one. We needed to think more about the second one, to try more demos and be more careful about everything. We’ve tried to be more accessible to people, which is a completely different approach. It’s a more mature approach.” Though the growing pains aren’t obvious on their debut, when put side by side with Illusional Gates, it sounds and feels like a different band entirely, with only the most fundamental DNA translating across. Pierre continues, “the first album was a teenage project. We didn’t have enough experience, so we put a lot of things [in the album] that don’t align with the approach we have today.”
Their album in question, Illusional Gates, summarises a combative relationship with mental health throughout the pandemic, acting as a conduit through which to purge their collective feelings. The musings and reflections of vocalist Valentin Gondouin’s last two years paint an album that exudes an air of escapism. This escapism proves a major player in the direction of the album. Even the name ‘Illusional Gate’ itself alludes to a fantastical pair of pearly gates that offers respite from the repetitive drudgery of daily life but instead ends up being a figment, disappearing as soon as it has appeared. The struggles with mental health and overbearing isolation are a shared experience of the outfit, making the process of the album cathartic for all involved.
This collective group mentality acted as quasi-therapy during the worst of the pandemic, with Gondouin’s emotions being expressed through insolvency’s lyrics. Bruno speaks on behalf of the whole band, as they shared a similar headspace when writing and recording over the last two years. “It just pushed us over the edge. Depression was just an addition of the main feeling we already had.” Not wanting to bring back any unwanted memories from a trying time for the band, Bruno recalls the moments they spent in the studio and reassures us that “we’re very happy to have put these feelings on the songs.”
Illusional Gates certainly conjures up a wealth of feelings, that transport the listener right back to the studio environment. From overt escapism to a more nuanced hope in the future, the themes the album covers are broad but brought to life by INSOLVENCY’s personal marriage to the subject matter. Bruno reveals “it’s about dreaming of another world. We all hope for a better world with less financial pressure and more human consideration. More understanding and more good people. We’re all slaves of companies and that’s really deep within us. We just want to escape.”
It seems that the downtime allowed the band to take a stock check, consider their output and the reception of their debut LP, and attack Illusional Gates with previously unseen zeal. “It’s crazy how the lockdown pushed us to bring more ideas,” Bruno continues, “to be honest with you, we had big dreams with labels. And lockdown didn’t let that actualise. So we tried to think what can we do by ourselves, and that was bringing in crazy ideas.”
“The game is changing,” Pierre adds. The duo seems all too aware of the fractious and crowded musical landscape they are trying to enter, both holding an acute understanding of their requirement to stand out as a band, and even as a brand. Illusional Gates could certainly hold the key to open the first door, but to ascend to the calibre they desire, more groundwork needs to be put in. The drive is there, the delivery is just biding its time.
From having their musical careers stunted by lockdown, to subsequently embracing the solace of it by innovating their intense metalcore with global collaborations, a more rounded understanding of their fanbase and a new breath of life, INSOLVENCY have proven they are able to make the best of a sour situation. We can only imagine the leaps and bounds they will take in a more free-moving world, with the return of touring and more relaxed border rules apparent, and with the black dog no longer looming so close. They’ve weathered the storm, now it’s time to soak up the rays and deliver their newfound vibrancy to a public starved of live music.
Illusional Gates is out now via self-release.
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