Interview by Kris Peters
Much has changed in the Sinsaenum camp since the release of Repulsion for Humanity in 2018, with the loss of drummer Joey Jordison central to the personal tragedy, which was compounded by the loss of guitarist and founding member Frédéric Leclercq's father as well.
It has been a tumultuous period for the band, who rightfully took their time with their third album, but the results have seen the extreme metal supergroup of sorts produce what is arguably their finest body of work to date with In Devastation, which will be unleashed on August 8.
Joining Leclercq on this latest chapter are returning members Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Sean Zatorsky (Dååth), Stéphane Buriez (Loudblast), and Heimoth (Seth). Stepping in behind the kit is Andre Joyzi, formerly Jordison’s drum tech and a trusted member of the band’s touring family - chosen not only for his skills, but for the emotional connection he brings to continuing Jordison’s legacy.
HEAVY spoke with Leclercq earlier today to find out more about the new album and the personal nature of the music.
"We've been working on the album for quite a while," he began. "The previous one, Repulsion for Humanity, came out in 2018, and a lot happened in the meantime, so it's been a while, but we released a single a few weeks ago, and it's good to see that the reaction has been good. Throughout the years like it seems like people didn't forget about us, so it's good."
We asked Leclercq to dive deeper into In Devastation musically.
"I think the first album was a lot closer to death metal, like paying tribute to the genre," he measured. "The second album was angry and incorporated more elements of Pantera; a bit more groove and whatnot, and for this one I started writing a good portion of the music in 2019 and there was no there was no agenda in the sense that I just wanted to write music without saying it has to be like this or be like that. There was no limitations. The base would be death metal, but then add whatever I wanted to. Because, why not?"
In the full interview, Frédéric highlighted In Devastation's emotional depth and some new sonic elements, including clean vocals and instruments such as sitar and cello, while maintaining its death metal roots.
We discussed the emotional feelings of playing such personal songs live and the impactful nature of the music, why the album title track was released as the first single, new drummer Andre Joyzi and what he brings to Sinsaenum, the importance of welcoming someone that has had past experience and connection with the band, with Joyzi having been Joey Jordison's personal drum tech, touring plans and more.
Become a supporter of this podcast:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
