Blackened Horde: How did the band get started?
Franck: Well, the deep story of ANTEDEUM took place in the 90’s, in a middle town based on the western part of FRANCE. I met Nicolas, the other co-founder of the project and former friend of mine, during the Summer 1993. We quickly started to rehearse and begun to prepare a first act – a raw one inspired by our mutual influences (My Dying Bride, Chorus of Ruin, the first The Gathering -the marvelous «Always»- the first vinyl version of the Celestial Season’s Demo opening with a sample taken I think from the «Aion» Dead Can Dance LP, and more obscure combos like Mortuary Drape, Varathron, Legion of Doom, Darkified, Phlebotomy, Ancient Rites, etc. We fortunately had few connections in Greece and Molon Lave Records at the time as well as being involved in the Fanzines experiences, so despite the absence of the Internet, we were aware a little bit about what was happening in the Underworld of Metal!).
However, the «true» first «official» act from us carried the name of «De Magia Naturalis» and was produced in November 1996 after several months of alternative and ‘discontinued’ recording sessions.
Then, Nicolas decided to disband for the first time and the project became dormant for a while.
However, he and I recorded the second Demo «MkT01» in 2000 but this act stayed a little bit «confidential» even if less than a decade later I found on the Internet some links to Mp3’s downloadable songs of this piece of our history on obscure websites… due maybe to the fact that I sent many CDR’s copies all over Europe following the (not so relevant) advice given by friends of friends of friends of mine who had the (aborted) project to build their own Label but did not.
Sic transit Gloria Mundi.
From 2001 to 2003, a friend of mine named Sylvain (who played with me in various underground ended 90’s and debuting 2000’s underground bands) became the bassist of ANTEDEUM, recorded a Demo with us («Conversant Avec l’Aveugle) in April 2002 and performed a series of few concerts we played together during that period.
The band disbanded in June 2003 after a last show given for the Summer Solstice of this particular year.
Just before and from January to February 2003 and under the name of Sizzle/Sizzl’ (a sort of erzats of ANTEDEUM) we recorded an interesting Demo in the deep countryside of our land of origin called «372215» (the record, not the Land!).
Sylvain left and nothing interesting happened for several months unless my contribution to a Street Punk project named The Claw (now The Iron Claws) and various punctual ideas.
In 2005, I played drums on the first unreleased Demo of the fleeting band called Sizzl’ (replacing «Sizzle») and definitively turned the page of this kind of stuff to focus on a new project that I fed in my head and heart for months before a first release in March 2007: Sub-sequences (a sort of French written act surrounded by Triphop, Electro and various rhythms/loops and samples of my own.
A last reunion of the quasi-original line up of ANTEDEUM took place in Brittany from 2011 to 2013: we recorded a spontaneous Demo based on heavy Rock and Stoner lines under the name of ADM, but due to different perspectives and agendas, Nicolas disbanded again and for the last time.
After several years and when I look in the back, that’s the best thing which could have happened to us: thx dude!
Today and as far as I know I am the only ‘historical’ member of ANTEDEUM who’s still active.
It’s the project of my life in a sense…
In 2019, it has been given to me to meet Deni & Ethan: then the possibility of a come back could be imagined and conceived in a smart way.
«Venite adoremus…» is a sort of re-issue of «De Magia Naturalis»; a necessary operation that I invited my mates to work on before starting to build the post-continuum of that strange but inspired history.
Time will Tell!
Blackened Horde: What kind of music do you play?
Franck: Some kind of musics could be interpretated or listened in different ways of hearing and ‘lost and found’ in the intricate Labyrinth of vibes, styles and musical researches or architectures.
Here I think we have a pure Death/90’s Doom response to the Void, crossed by old European Folk(s) influences for this chapter but not only.
I like to believe that ANTEDEUM could have (and that’s an important aspect of its ‘nature’) the skill to explore many cultural and spiritual shores; you may be surprised next time by the way.
Blackened Horde: How has the fan response been?
Franck: Well, I don’t really know if we have «fans» in the strict sense of the term, but some people who punctually followed (or still do if there are some) us, wrote sometimes encouraging and smart comments about what we’ve recently recorded.
Hope the audience will grow with time and hard workings…
Blackened Horde: Where did the band name come from?
Franck: I founded before joining the Army in the late 1993; a Latin expression which has the particularity of harboring at least two literal meanings but offers other deeper ones.
Blackened Horde: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band.
Deni MARINOVIC: A professional guitarist who’s recorded both guitar and bass parts for the project. As far as I know, he lives in the suburbs of Paris and is still active in many different combos, some we share, some not. I particularly appreciate his ‘plasticity’ or hability (which I consider to be a real skill) to shape an dre-shape his musical horizons considering the project he works on. This is a link where you can hear some of his solo projects:
https://denimarinovic1.bandcamp.com/
Ethan DUCROCQ: A prospective talented and inspired drummer / percussionist; he lives for that and will succeed – I have no doubt! If I’m not wrong he took part to an audition for Belphegor and worked those last past years for many French underground and technical Death Metal bands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atdoTtJXt84
Franck LEMASSON: «Please allow me to introduce myself…»
Blackened Horde: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Franck: One EP at the time and under the flag of the new line up, but from 1993 to 2013:
– 6 Demos;
– 2 Live digital albums;
– 1 compilation of old initiatic rehearsals and early years’ acts;
– a complete reedition of a 1996/1997 ‘Homage’ to Ian CURTIS from JOY DIVISION (a Demo + some studio rehearsals and various recordings + a quasi-complete live performance given in June MCMXCVI°).
https://antedeum.bandcamp.com/
I do not mention all the participation’s I (or we) gave and contributed to from 1992 to present…
Blackened Horde: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?
Franck: This Opus was built between the ending 2019 and the Spring Aequinox of 2021. We worked for months in consultation with each other, then intervene the studio NOORD PRODUCTION (Mr Sébastien GOSSAERT) for the mixing and Mr Alexis BASSALI for the sessions relating to the Mastering.
Blackened Horde: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Franck: The structure of the first EP is modeled on that of the first Demo «De Magia…», but Deni and Ethan reshaped and rewrote the entire project in order to update it while preserving its original spirit.
They produced a great job!
I rewrote all the lyrics I wrote at the time from 1993 to 1995 : I was young at that period and I could not leave them as they were.
Blackened Horde: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Franck: The enigmatic combination of devoted Scientism and the strange ‘arcanes’ of the French / English / Russian XIXth Century Occultism/Theosophical tropisms and other dystopic writings from HP Lovecraft could stand as the very basis of ANTEDEUM’s bibliography; that’s the point but not written in the stone – many cultural or poetical subjects may get my attention.
Blackened Horde: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism? (If this applies)
Franck: I would say «what could be the View of Occultism» about me… In a sense, the very deep meaning of Life could appear as being «occult», non directly «visible» I must say – taking part of the ethymologic essence of the term (occulta / hidden) – so the interactions between the Phenomenon and the Numenon are so intimate that the task consisting of «separate» those both aspects of this curiosity may appear as being very difficult or impossible.
Blackened Horde: Do you have any side projects?
Franck: Indeed. Many for a while, few in a near future!
I am currently working on the clearance of a certain number of ideas which cannot be integrated into the repertoire of ANTEDEUM, which are accompanied by the fruitful collaboration of Deni or which can be tamed by me alone.
One of the main purpose of that series of works is to ‘clean’ my past life manifestations and open the gates to a new Aeon or Path if you like.
This apparently disparate set of projects could eventually take the form of an online Label soon.
https://lafalesiascura.bandcamp.com/
Blackened Horde: Who are some of your musical influences?
Franck: I cannot answer for Deni & Ethan but for me, many musical manifestations or ‘styles’ get my attention from the 60’s/70’s French scene like Georges Chelon or Jacques Brel to extreme forms of experimental Metal like Painkiller, Ministry, Skinny Puppy or Naked City…
I’m into certain aspects of ‘Classical’ or ‘Neo’ Classical music masterpieces like «Sheherazade» or «Peer Günt» (not the Finnish Rock Band which is good too).
I love to discover new forms or new artistic territories ; Bruitism, Electronic projects, Techno parts, Industrial stuffs, Rock ‘n Roll or Rockabilly/Psychobilly/Punkabilly wild bands, etc, get me satisfied.
Blackened Horde: What is the band like when you play live?
Franck: The new line up never played live (under the name of ANTEDEUM); so we’ll see when it happen one day I hope…
Blackened Horde: Have you guys ever played in another country? How big of a crowd do you normally get?
Franck: Not under the name of ANTEDEUM…
Blackened Horde: How is the crowd response when you play?
Franck: Idem. I just hope that if we get the chance or the opportunity to play live one day, the crowd response will meet our expectations in this area.
And this perspective could incite us to search for a full time bass player…
Who knows?
Blackened Horde: What do you think about the underground scene?
Franck: Well, if you mean the Metal one, I’m not really sure that my point of view could bring something new or a stone to the entire edifice mainly due to the fact that I’m not an ‘observer’ of the scene any more and for years now.
In the mid-nineties I was with other guys publishing a Fanzine called ‘Mystifier’ (a name inspired by the Brazilian BM same one band) and at the time we were currently ‘centralizing’ many information’s uploaded from what was really happening in the Underground in Europe, South America or Japan.
For now, I’m not so ‘connected’.
What I see when I work for our promotion on the ‘Social Medias’ is that some very interesting and young bands appeared those last ten years, but those discovering’s, for me largely ‘punctual’, are the result of a sometimes hazardous surfing activity on line.
Blackened Horde: What are some of your new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Franck: Well, some of the most brilliant by my opinion are the following ones:
– DM occurrences: I love the rawness of the first Six Feet Under («Haunted» If I’m not wrong), but I could not stop hearing the fine aristocratic musical power of the Morbid Angel’s «Blessed are the Sick» – many DM bands fit my personal tastes, so many that I could not mention them all… But you could consider Adramelech, the Loudblast’s «Crossing the Threshold», more recently Portal, Grave Miasma, Krisiun, Dying Fetus and in any case the monuments like Vader, Bolt Thrower and Grave;
– BM occurrences: from the historical canal flown from the deepest areas of the Styx like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Samael, Dissection, the early years of Dimmu Borgir, «La Grande Danse Macabre» by Marduk… to other shades like Bewitched, Acheron, Demoniac, Varathron, Beherit, etc – more recently the magnificent Mare Cognitum, the mysterious but theologically interesting Deathspell Omega, the first acts of Arkhon Infaustus, the inspired Culte des Ghoules, the dark poets of MGLA, etc.
There are many more that I forget independently of their spiritual/esoterical orientations which let me as indifferent as possible: I only focus on the music/aesthetical approach.
Blackened Horde: Since the Covid Pandemic has that hurt the band in making music at all?
Franck: Not ANTEDEUM in its current activities and projects, but us personally as live artists like Deni and Ethan or me as a painter who could not expose as much as I would like to!
Blackened Horde: What advice would you as a musician give to a fellow musician just starting out?
Franck: Follow your deep instinct if you can make it intelligible; leave the rest in Hell!
Blackened Horde: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Franck: We (Deni & I) are currently working on 2/3 side-projects and Ethan is studying music in a professional school/way, so we’re a bit busy at the time, BUT a new EP/offer will soon enter its active writing phase! The actual works on the songs should take place next fall.
Blackened Horde: What does the future hold for the band?
Franck: I would love to plan some concerts in 2022, however it’s difficult to program anything given the health international context…
If the second EP could reach its crowd next year, then it could be a great first step of satisfaction as well!
This next Opus is thought to be very different than the previous one ; we’ll see if we’re up to the task.
Contact them at:
https://antedeum.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ro1vZqXItE