Kataklysm: Command & Conquer

We’re living in unprecedented times, experiencing an ever-evolving situation unfolding in front of our eyes. As a civilisation and as human beings, we’re being pushed to the brink of our physical and mental capabilities. Whilst the age-old mantra of ‘survival of the fittest’ feels somewhat toxic in the 21st century, it’s frighteningly fitting. We have to adapt as we move through a global pandemic and it’s wave of repercussions. We must show our resilience and our strength to carry on. We must remain Unconquered. It’s a sentiment shared by melodic death metal maestros KATAKLYSM on their aptly-titled 14th album Unconquered.

Whilst it was written way before we really knew what Coronavirus was capable of, the album focuses on overcoming the insurmountable, brought about by vocalist Maurizio Iacono’s struggles with anxiety, a feeling the band feels matches the current climate. It’s for this very reason, as guitarist JF Dagenais explains to us, that they fought so hard for Unconquered to be heard this year.

“The label wanted us to wait and release it next year, because they thought that it’s such a good record, so they told us not to waste it this year because things are so weird out there in the industry” explains JF. “We fought this with the firm belief that for our fans, it’s not going to matter whether we wait a year or not, they’re still going to support us. I think good music is good music, and people need music right now to help them get through these crazy times.”

The ideology behind being unconquered flushes through the veins of KATAKLYSM, acting as the beating heart at the core of their drive, even in their 29th year as a band. They’ve yet to be conquered by the music industry, and they’ve got no plans for a pandemic to bring them down either. It’s a privileged position they’re proud to have, but pull no punches in admitting it’s not as easy for others, explains JF. “We’re blessed in the sense that we’re in a position where we can go through what we’re going through and we can manage to survive somehow, we do well enough as a band to face it whereas some of my friends are not so lucky, and they’re really having a hard time right now,” he says. “I feel for everybody in that position, it sucks, but I think this pandemic is not stopping metalheads because we’re so passionate about this music, we’ll still go out and buy records, we’ll still listen to music no matter what. I’m not going to change my day to day stuff that I do, like whenever I get in the car and drive somewhere, that’s when I play music most usually, and when i cook some food, I put on my music and I think it’s still something to be consumed.”

Consuming music, in all of its glory, can be attributed to KATAKLYSM’s ongoing longevity within the scene. Across their 14 albums and 29 years, the French-Canadian’s have adapted and evolved, just as we as a human race are doing so now, to outlast extinction in a genre that moves forward fast. Unconquered is perhaps KATAKLYSM at their heaviest – if you’re looking for a touchpoint, think back to 2006’s In The Arms Of Devastation and 2008’s Prevail – but also their most accessible, enthusing their penchant for melody into their death metal destruction more than ever before. For JF, this came about by revisiting both his, and the band’s, roots.

“It comes back to that thing of pushing things further, because my mind is all over the place when it comes to music. My roots and my heart are in the extreme underground stuff that I grew up on, but I also love all kinds of different types of music, and I like to incorporate some of the stuff I love and bring it into our own music, and that way you push yourself further as an artist, and I think Unconquered is a great melting pot of all of that,” he explains. “This record was more me and Maurizio writing the songs together, because that’s how we did it back when we started the band, as we’re the two original members and we wrote most of the stuff back in the early days and we wanted to get back to that way of doing things, and I feel we have a certain chemistry when writing. It’s important to bring new ideas and new ways of doing things, I like a lot of more appealing music, but it’s weird, I don’t listen to music because it’s mass appealing, I listen because it touches me in some ways, so I bring those elements in, whilst staying true to the roots.”

Staying true to their roots is something KATAKLYSM are ardent advocates for, however there are some elements of their past JF would’ve preferred saving for the history books. This includes inviting back their iconic and infamous mascot, The Beast, to their artwork. As the de facto leader of the band, he had to find a happy home between his head and his heart. 

“When they first talked about the idea of bringing The Beast back, I was totally against it, because I’m the kind of guy who likes to look forward to the future and not revisit the past so much” explains JF, adding, “the beast was here for a successful era of the band like 10 years ago, and it was our mascot at the time, and we retired him after a while, and they brought us the idea of bringing him back, and I didn’t like it too much, but when Blake Armstrong sent us some sketches, I was like, ‘no, it’s a great idea, I’m sorry guys, it’s perfect’ and we were so happy with it.”

Ideas are ten-a-penny in camp KATAKLYSM, and whilst they’re the first to admit when they’ve got it wrong, they’re empowered by their ability to throw spaghetti at the wall and see if it sticks. This is where the future meets the past for JF, as he pops on his producer hat and hops behind the desk for Unconquered, allowing the band to stay true to their roots whilst driving themselves forward, although it’s not always easy playing the balancing act. “It’s good to have both hats and both visions, because sometimes my producer self is conflicting with my guitar player-self in my bedroom. The reason why we started doing the production ourselves is because we always were a DIY band and we always wanted to do everything ourselves from managing to merch to writing and producing and recording music. 

“We try to do everything on our own terms, and wearing the producer hat allows me to feel like we don’t have to have somebody else come in and change things around. At the same time, I want to make sure our ideas come across in the right way, but I also want to make sure everybody expresses themselves. Sometimes I have to say stop, or I have to be mean, in the sense of taking some parts out, or having to tell the other guys ‘okay do it again, it’s not good enough’ but I know how to do that with those guys because they trust me and I’ve known them for so long so it’s easy to put things together.”

KATAKLYSM, no matter what obstacles are thrown in their path, are driven by their desire to adapt and evolve alongside death metal’s trajectory, and much like the world we live in today, they aim to remain Unconquered.

Unconquered is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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