Interview: Intronaut
Intronaut might not be the biggest headline grabber in the ever-expanding world of metal, but they are a heavy hitting up and comer. With ex-members of Uphill Battle, Impaled, Exhumed, and Anubis Rising on board, Intronaut unleashed a well received EP earlier this year (entitled Null) and now continues with their pummeling force with their debut full length, Void (released on August 22). While the Isis/Neurosis clones still seem to be popping up everywhere, there are very few bands that are creating something new in the world of bone crushing monoliths.
Void is a captivating mixture of textures and sounds. Touch points would have to include Kayo Dot and Mouth of the Architect, but really only in the sense that they could share a bill together. Their closest metal relative would probably be Old Man Gloom, but OMG never had this sense of atmosphere and scope. It's a unique and ambitious mixture of space and force. At one moment it's busting at the seams with tremendous guitars and deafening drums, the next is tranquil peace with an ever-present feeling of impending doom.
The CD has been in heavy rotation around here. The car, the stereo, work… wherever I can fit it in, I have. Besides the new Mouth of the Architect full length, I haven't heard another album in this vein this year that has drawn this kind of effect from me. I love it. So I figured I would try to track the band down as they traveled back and forth across this continent, and guitarist Sacha Dunable was nice enough to take some time out from locating bassists Joe Lester's shoes to answer a few questions.
Intronaut - Gleamer - MP3
Intronaut - Iceblocks - MP3
The name, I know it's a cheesy question, but you have to explain it.
Well it's a cheesy name! Like, an astronaut travels in outer space, and an intronaut travels in inner space. The inner traveler, if you will. Yeah. Deep huh?
The shape and state of underground metal seems to be changing to me more excepting of experimental bands, where do you think you guys fit in with this new crowd?
People are definitely more accepting of more forward-thinking stuff these days, and I'm not sure what that is due to. Music evolves and peoples' tastes evolve along with it. I'd say we fit right in to whatever that is.
Your EP seemed to garner a bit of buzz, how are people responding to the new songs?
We haven't really received a response from press or anything yet, but people I've played the CD for are generally into it. Probably just saying that to my face though.
With all the other bands connected to Intronaut, did you guys worry about being able to establish the band as its own force rather than just being another project?
Yeah, and in some ways we still have to deal with that. Flyers will list off all our old bands or whatever. I wouldn't say it really hurts us, it probably has its positive and negative effects though. People will mostly expect something totally different than what we are doing, and depending on their tastes, they will be surprised in a good or bad way.
Who do you guys look up to or look to for inspiration?
Well… musically I guess its all over the board. Personally, Yes, Dystopia, and like Slayer are my all time favorite bands, but I mean, we've all been playing music seriously for over 10 years a piece, and at this point we're sort of set in our own ways and are really just inspired by our own dumb retarded ideas.
How is the tour going? Any horribly embarrassing stories you feel like getting off your chest?
Joe has lost his shoes like three times on this tour! I'm actually embarrassed for him! I mean what a fucking dumbass, right? Other than that, this tour is going great. All the shows have been lots of fun. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh were shitty. Don't ever play there. We've been on tour with Mouth Of The Architect and Century for two weeks, now we're in Canada about to meet up with Fuck The Facts and later on Black Cobra. All these bands are amazing and we are totally stoked!
How do you describe your sound?
When people ask, I just say "metal". I guess there's lots of ways you could describe us, but asking a band member to do that usually makes them uncomfortable. We (musicians in general) just don't like describing our sound to people, because its too revealing of what is going through our head, and, basically being as insecure and lame as we are, we don't want you to know what we're thinking because you will laugh at us.
When you were recording the LP, was there another album or band you wanted the sound to emulate?
Leon brought the Boss HM-2 pedal so we would sound like Entombed's Left Hand Path, but we didn't end up using it.
With so many ex-members of a million bands, how does the writing process work for the band?
Most songs on the new record are a collaboration of ideas we come up with, at rehearsal or individually. A couple songs I did myself at home with a drum machine and just presented them to the band. That's really how I prefer to write, but a big collaboration has its benefits. It's a much more painful process though.
Have you gotten feed back from bands of your past bands?
Fans of our past bands? Yeah, I think most are into it. Maybe some Exhumed or Impaled fans don't like it because its not 100% derived from Carcass's Symphonies, but that'll happen.
Prog has become less and less of a dirty word, who (or what) caused that shift in?
I have no idea, though I totally agree. I still hold back describing something as prog to some people because it's not totally cool yet, but yeah. I think that a lot of people think of that lame, noodley, 4/4 shred metal as prog, at least I did when I was younger, and they don't realize that you might be referring to the cool shit from the 70's. I think once bands started busting out expensive effects pedals or playing in a variety of time signatures, kids might have gone and checked out older stuff that did the same thing.
I've heard from some other heavier bands that Canada is easier to tour than the US (turn out and merch wise), has that been the case for you guys?
Nope. In some cities up there, we had our worst shows of the entire tour. Some places are just behind still. Also, you've got crazy ass drive times up there compared to most areas of the US. It didn't all suck, but I wouldn't say there is anything easier about it.
What music have you guys been listening to in the van?
Wesley Willis, Kool Keith, Rotten Sound, Flaming Lips, and old metal have all been spun numerous times.
Who in the avant-metal scene isn't getting the respect they deserve?
I think the whole new crop of forward thinking bands deserves more attention, and some bands probably will get it. I find some bands more interesting than others, but there is a lot of validity around. We've had the pleasure of playing with bands like Genghis Tron, Mouth Of The Architect, Rosetta, Black Cobra, and a shit ton more on this tour and I think each of those bands has something awesome to offer. As far as getting respect, with music like this that's still pretty underground, you really have to go out and earn that shit. So with that being said, I think the bands getting the most respect right now probably deserve it.
- Jake Haselman | 2006-08-14
