The Canadian black metal band INCANDESCENCE has returned after four years with a new album titled “Hors temps,” and it truly caught my attention. The record has been rotating in my player for some time now, and it definitely doesn’t look like I will be getting rid of it anytime soon. The band fully embraces the rawness and aesthetics of the second wave of black metal, without abandoning the signature style they established in their previous works. I am convinced that INCANDESCENCE is becoming a strong representative of the Quebec scene; I have already introduced some of the most well-known bands to you on Rumzine. I’m glad that the time has now come for INCANDESCENCE. I had a chance to talk with Philippe Boucher, the main composer of the music, about the creation of the album, its concept, and the perception of life and death.
Hello, I warmly greet you. INCANDESCENCE are returning after four years with a new record. Is releasing a musical work still a kind of special occasion for you? What kind of feedback have you received so far for the album “Hors temps”?
Hello there, thanks for having me. This album means a lot to us, in other words, it’s our proudest work. Feedbacks are really good but this album don‘t have the same effect as the previous one. It divided a couple of listeners who have been following us. What I find interesting is that the black metal crowd loves it, whereas the fans of a more ‘polished’ sound did not enjoy it. This is EXACTLY what I wanted to create with this album: a record that is highly inspired by the second wave of black metal. A record made for fans of black metal like myself.
“Hors temps” is a raw, dark album, yet in certain moments incredibly atmospheric. Where do you see the biggest shift compared to your previous release “Le coeur de l’homme”?
I think I embraced my number one influence: the second wave of black metal. I accepted it, i just went into that direction. We did go for a raw and darker sound too. “Le coeur de l’homme“ may be a bit more ‘epic‘ but “Hors Temps” definitely has a lot of darker moments and deeper meaning (regarding lyrics as well). There is still some epicness as always but I wanted something well-balanced. The only thing I really wanted to add was some clean guitars but it didn’t fit anywhere. So instead of forcing it without being 100% satisfied, I decided to let go and keep the album the way it is.
Your lyrics have a strong philosophical dimension. What inspires them? Are some of the themes connected to your personal experiences or life stories?
I have to give all credits to Louis-paul regarding the lyrics (except the song ‘Sécheresse‘ which is the only one I’ve written). So it’s pretty much about the human mind, the way we live, the way we think regarding others and regarding the goals that we want to obtain. The way we judge what a successful life is VS what is not. How we manage the time we have left, with the uncertainty of how/when it will be the end for each of us. There is an interesting and poetic way that Louis-Paul approaches the subject in the album. This has guided me during the process of the music writing. Lyrics are a grand critique of the way Humans see Life and Death in the modern age. The way we justify what is ‘good’ and what is ‘evil’. There’s a very thin line that separates them, and we tend to forget that they are closer than we think they are. It’s almost in everyday speech: People will valorise their life and tell others to live in a certain way because it’s the RIGHT way. But there is no right way at all. It’s a concept created by us. We are weird and complex creatures. Some humans will do the most awful things during their lives but still, they will think they are absolutely rightful.
The album “Hors temps” feels to me like a terrifying soundtrack to some demonic film that hasn’t even been made yet. Moreover, all the tracks are perfectly interconnected. Was this your intention?
It may be repetitive for some but it was absolutely intentional to connect all those songs together. The intro connecting with the outro was 100% intentional. Some riffs are even pretty close to each other. It’s a concept album so it made sense to feel a sense of familiarity throughout the entire thing.
What exactly is depicted on the album cover? The image truly has a horrifying atmosphere…
It was the goal and Mitchell Nolte (the artist who made it) definitely reached that dark ambience we wanted. Basically, it’s a dead body buried in a hole, a spirit (or representation of Death) having sand falling from its hand, slowly transforming into blood the closer it gets to the ground. The meaning here is that our time is limited, our death is impredictable. While we live, we are each day closer to our end. Behind, against the walls are souls that have already passed, and eyes of the mortals who still live to see the one who just passed. People want to find a meaning linked to their life, they want to show that they have ‘succeeded‘ to the eyes of everyone but what does success means anyway? It’s based on nothing. We think it matters because it lifts us, it gives us hope. So the cover art is horrifying but at the same time it reflects what we think of ourselves and the others.
You released the album on all three physical formats. What does that mean to you? I have to admit, the vinyl in particular looks absolutely beautiful…
Thank you, props to Chimère Noire who did and amazing job working on the vinyl and CD versions. It is absolutely important for me to release on physical format (thanks to Chris from Profound Lore here). An album is a true piece of art from A to Z. I’m a collector and I love to hold a piece of art in my hands. Lots of artists work so hard on every release: musicians, photographs, graphic designers, painters, sound engineer, etc. So it is absolutely crucial for me to obtain the ultimate piece of art that is an album.
Does your music reflect your personalities? Or are you, on the contrary, cheerful people who enjoy entertaining others, going to hockey games, etc.? Some musicians are exactly like that…
I would say that deep down, I am definitely angry about a lot of things and not happy 24/7. Like anybody, I deal with my own demons regularly but I try to stay positive the majority of the time. I can be cheerful and have a party with lots of friends and then the next day I don’t want to interact with anyone at all. We all have weird thoughts and insecurities, that‘s what makes us Human I believe. Every person deals with their inner fights, with their inner obscure thoughts. There is no light without darkness and there is no darkness without light. Everything is about balance. So instead of running away from my demons, I dance with them and make music.
It’s quite interesting that you create music only as a duo, yet this doesn’t prevent INCANDESCENCE from performing live. How complicated is all of this? Is your team of collaborators stable, or does it constantly change?
We have Mathieu Meunier (guitar) who’s with us since our second show. Also Louis-Paul’s brother Simon joined a few years back on bass. Recently, we have recruited a brand new member, Francis-Carl Pelletier as lead guitarist. A friend of mine who’s been doing couple of merch runs for us (Patches, pins, etc.). I would say that we are very lucky of having the most talented and motivated session members ever. When I finish an album, I put everything on guitar pro and then I send them all the tracks. For the recent gigs for the release of ‘Hors temps‘, they learned the songs incredibly fast. It’s definitely not a struggle for them to learn my songs.
The black metal scene in the province of Quebec often evokes a strong circle of bands similar to the one that existed in Norway in the 1990s. Is this similarity at least partially relevant? What is it about your northern scene that produces so many interesting bands? Which ones do you consider the most important?
I think the band FROZEN SHADOWS were one of the major black metal bands that opened the path for all of us. A couple of years later, FORTERESSE (being my favorite BM band from our province) had also created something very unique. It wasn’t as strong as the European scene but it definitely has their similarities. Cold winter helps I would say. It helps me.
How is black metal music received by the public in your country? Have you ever had any problems because of your image?
Not at all for us. Black metal is always well received in our country. Well, there is always a certain group of persons that are triggered by certain black metal bands. The same type of persons who wants to cancel everything. But apart from that, I think black metal is doing well here.
Some time ago I read that there was a strong community in your province supporting Quebec’s separation from Canada. Is this still a topic today?
Yes it still is a topic, and it should be. We have our own language here in Quebec which is french, and I believe it is utterly important to keep it as a primary language. We should keep it alive more than ever.
What are your plans for the future?
I will continue to created more music, always. Whether it’s black metal, death metal or whatever, I’ll always create new stuff as long as I am alive !
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you many more successful releases!
Thanks for having me. Cheers !
ALL