INTERVIEW: Simon Girard – Beyond Creation

As time progresses the new generations of bands breaking into their respective scenes are experimenting and innovating with new sounds more than ever before to ensure they set themselves apart from the pack. A shining example of this is Montreal progressive death metal outfit BEYOND CREATION. Their third album entitled Algorythm is due for release on October 12th via Season Of Mist and we caught up with frontman/master technician Simon Girard to get some insight into his thought processes throughout the creation of this new endeavour and what plans they have in store for the remainder of 2018 and beyond.

BEYOND CREATION’s third album Algorythm is due for release in October. Is there anything you have approached differently with this release?

Simon: I consider Algorythm more of a progressive and dynamic album. I really focused more on the melodies, chord progressions and musical phrases. You can definitely find a lot more textures and musical diversity over the album.

The press release stated that every musician has stepped out of their comfort zone, how did you achieve this?

Simon: We approached different atmospheres and textures we never really experimented with before. There’s a lot of variety in the composition and the goal is always to serve the music so we mixed those different styles, used these influences and sounds at the right moment in a way that it tells a story and keeps the musical flow. To me, composing the orchestral arrangements was also a new step. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I had the capability and everything in mind but for some reason I never really had the right tools to do it properly on a professional record. I composed the piano section for À Travers Le Temps Et L’Oubli even before recording The Aura and every time I was pushing it further to the next album by matter of time and resources. So I finally decided to get the right tools, time and find the right musicians to record my compositions. I’m so glad I did this and I’m really happy with the results. I also started creating film music so this gives me new possibilities for future BEYOND CREATION albums. On the band side of things every album contains at least one instrumental song and with Binomial Structures I wanted to give every musician a place where we could all step out of our comfort zone, play solos and ambiences we never really experimented with before. Also being a big fan of instrumental music it is important for me to let the music speak by itself sometimes.

There is obviously a lot of intricate musicianship involved in your songs. How do you approach the creative process? 

Simon: I compose all the songs starting with both guitars which I record at my place. I put all the melodies, atmospheres, themes and sections together and once I feel that the song is complete I send it to the guys and will jam separately with everyone so I can explain my thoughts behind the structures and significance of each part. I always have a pretty good idea of what I’m looking for on the arrangement side so it’s easier for everyone to add the right emotion to the riffs and songs. Finally, they create their arrangements accordingly to their own style and spices. Afterwards I compose the lyrics and integrate them into the songs. It’s easier for me to create the music beforehand so I can fit the themes and rhythms of the lyrics. Kevin also wrote lyrics for two of the songs on the album and half of the music on Surface’s Echoes. I consider myself as a composer before a guitar player or a singer. To me composing is the most awesome feeling. It’s hard to explain but it’s like creating a whole universe which you can explore and change the way you want. It’s like creating themes: melancholy, excitement, mysterious, glorious, fear, joy and tell a story with it. It takes time but at the end, I’m really happy with the result.

BEYOND CREATION come from a long standing lineage of incredible Canadian bands like CRYPTOPSY, MARTYR, GORGUTS. Were they influential on your writing style?

Simon: QUO VADIS were the first extreme metal band I listened to and they really inspired me because they had a really progressive sound and mixed a lot of different styles which I really enjoy. AUGURY also provided me with a new perspective with their atmospheric sound. MARTYR had such an intricate and unique sound so yes of course we have all been influenced by our metal scene here in Montreal. There’s a lot of metal bands and shows going on here. People are really into art in general and they see most of the shows. So at the end I can definitely say that we all have an impact on each other.

One aspect of your music I’ve always appreciated is that every instrument has the opportunity to breathe and the mix isn’t dominated by one certain aspect. Is this a conscious decision?

Simon: I think that one of the main goals in composition is to learn and work through the music in a way that every instrument plays an important role. Choosing the right notes at the right moment has more impact than playing all the notes one after the other. I like the songs to breathe. Being a huge fan of PINK FLOYD and old progressive rock bands, breath and musical phrasing is what makes a good story. Let the music speaks for itself.

You have released the video for The Inversion, Have you had a good response to this track? 

Simon: Yes, we’ve really have a great response from our fans but also from people that are new to the band. We tried to step out of the conventional death metal music videos and I think people really enjoy it. It gives another perspective to the band and it allow us to push further the creative process not just in music but also on the visual side. We really enjoyed working with Rubicon Pictures & Media. They are all really talented people, they know what they are doing and really have great eye for visuals/costumes/filming interesting scenes. We wanted it to be more theatrical than just a music playthrough and so we’re really happy with the result.

What inspired the concept?

Simon: The lyrics were the main inspiration but we all brainstormed ideas and effects with Rubicon to find a good way to explain the main theme. After a few weeks, Rubicon came out with those awesome ideas and concepts which was pretty nice and concrete. We gave them the creative space they needed since they are the professionals in visual and cinematographic art and I think it came out really awesome. We really loved working with them, they are passionate and dedicated people.

Is this an indication of what we can expect from the rest of the album?

Simon: It shows in a certain way the new approach we have used on this album but all songs have very different and unique vibes so we have a lot of surprises for our fans with the rest of the album!

BEYOND CREATION formed in 2005 but didn’t begin to release any material until many years later. What was the reasoning behind this?

Simon: Well when I started the band I was only 15 years old. I was a huge fan of NECROPHAGIST and bands that were introducing new sounds in metal. I started writing the songs with my good friend Nicholas, our first guitar player but we really had a hard time finding the musicians that were able to play the songs. I was composing the drums and to me it was more important to take the needed time to find the right musicians. In 2008 I was working with Kevin Chartré in a shop and he introduced me to Guyot Bégin Benoit who became our first official drummer. After a few months, Nicolas decided to quit because he didn’t have the time to invest more in the band and so knowing Kevin well I knew he would be interested in playing with us so he joined the band. Finally, in 2010 Kevin reached out to Dominic Lapointe to play bass with us which he accepted so we were now a complete band. At that time pretty much all the songs were composed so only one year later we released The Aura.

What are BEYOND CREATION’s plans for the remainder of 2018?

Simon: We have this awesome North American Tour with OBSCURA in September which we’ll be directly supporting. ARCHSPIRE, INFERI and EXIST are also on the bill so this will be one hell of a tour! Once we have released the new album in October we are doing our first official Algorythm tour in Europe and UK with brand new visual effects and concepts giving our fans a unique experience. We are really excited to play new stuff to our fans! When we come back home, we’ll do our official release show here in Montreal which will definitely be a huge party with our friends, family, long-time and new fans.

BEYOND CREATION have shared the stage with many high profile bands including playing festivals all over the world. What are your long term goals for the band?

Simon: It’s hard to say because you never really know what’s going to happen. The main goals are to keep having fun, improve and create the most passionate music we can. We hope to see many of our fans all around the globe by playing shows and festivals. Doing tours and shows is very intense on many levels but to me it is probably the most rewarding thing you can do as a musician/composer. It allows you to understand and realise just how deeply people perceive the stories and emotions you’ve been transmitting through your hard work as well as an opportunity to connect with fans and see their level of appreciation.

Algorythm is set for release on October 12th via Season Of Mist.

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