SERPENTCULT Interview with Frederic Caure

XM: Let’s start off by letting our readers know what SerpentCult has been up to this year.
Frederic: We have just released our new album Raised By Wolves in July, apart from that we honestly haven't done very much this year.

XM: ‘Raised By Wolves’ is your 4 track latest release. It sounds like a very personal album. What was the recording process like for the album?
Frederic: Long, laborious but extremely rewarding. I think these words summarize the whole process. It took us more than 2 years to finalize this record, on year longer than expected, we've gone through a tabula rasa where we scrapped 80% of a completely written album, we've had our singer leaving the band, and we've been struggling with the composition and recording of this album until the very last moment. But now that it's finished, we're extremely happy with it.

XM: The average song is usually around 4 minutes long, what is the creative process like when you are making songs that hit around the 8 minute mark?
Frederic: We did not do this intentionally, the songs simply evolved like this. Our way of working on this album was different from the previous albums, so this new approach has also resulted in the new sound.

XM: How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Frederic: The 3 of us have been playing together for many years now, and the easy solution could have been to just make the some old record all over again. This however is not very interesting to us as musicians, and I'm sure no one wants to hear recycled versions of our old albums either. We have matured as a band. We keep on discovering new music all the time, and this influences us constantly. That's also why our music has evolved so much over the years. I can't compare the songs I used to wrote in 1993 with the songs I'm writing today, and I'm glad I can look back at it as a positive evolution.

XM: What kind of beliefs does each one of you hold and what kind of messages do you all want to bring across in the music of SerpentCult?
Frederic: We are 3 individuals with very distinct opinions and views upon life. We all have our own beliefs, but one does not need to have a specific belief to 'understand' what we're doing. It is free for interpretation. We also 'advertise' this free will in our music. Raised By Wolves is about the individual, about following your own path, your own ideals.

XM: How did the band hook up with the French label Listenable Records?
Frederic: When we announced the departure of Michelle and our plans for the new album to Rise Above Records, we knew the future with the label would be uncertain. That was understandable.
Rise Above asked us a demo of the new album, but in 2011, recording a demo costs as much as recording an album, so we decided to record the album ourselves. When the deal with Rise Above fell through, Listenable signed us promptly.

XM: Michelle left the band early last year, do any of you still keep in contact with her? Have you considered looking for a new vocalist as of yet? Or, have you perhaps considered finding some guest vocalists instead?
Frederic: We're not in touch no, but she lives 2 hours away from where Steven and I live, so that might be one of the reasons. I think Cozy hears from her from time to time.
We have worked with guest vocalists on the album, and plan to work like that in the future as well. We never considered taking another full time frontman/woman; it doesn't really fit the concept of what we want to do with SerpentCult nowadays.

XM: If you could have been involved in the recording, production or writing of any album which would it be and why?
Frederic: I don't know, maybe the White Album by The Beatles… I'm quite happy with all the records I worked on, especially the SerpentCult albums. It was always a very creative process with all the people involved.

XM: What’s your take on music downloading? Do you have a preference among digital, cd, or maybe even vinyl?
Frederic: Oh, I'm all for it digital music! You know, I used to be a (modest) vinyl record collector, I still own over 2500 CD's and a huge cassette collection from my tape trading days. I've sold all my vinyl this year, and I never listen to my CD's or tapes anymore. Why? Because of this fantastic invention called the IPod, it's all on there. I know it's 'not done' at all to say this in this 'metal scene', but who's fooling who honestly? I understand there are nostalgic feelings over vinyl and CD's, I used to collect them for years as well, but then I came to the point where I asked myself what this was all about? I care about the music! You can buy digital downloads everywhere, and bands offer their demo's for free on the net, so that's fantastic, and it's all on a small box, even smaller than a cassette. I've taken a more Budistic approach to music; it's not the physical thing that counts, it's the music and the message the music brings. Of course I do still appreciate artwork and the physical copies, but they're not a 'must' anymore. And whenever a band (or we as a band) makes a physical copy, it needs to be worth it. It needs to have the added value.

XM: I read a comment made on Facebook in which you gently advise everyone to read more books and drink more tea! What kind of tea do you suggest and what kind of books do you enjoy reading?
Frederic: Oh, ha, it was a bit tongue in cheek honestly and posted there because in my opinion there's an overrated craving for partying and going wild in the metal scene. There's nothing wrong with it in general, but this whole alpha male behavior becomes a bit annoying after a while. The comment wasn't completely serious honestly, and I'm all up for a good party from time to time.
About books; I enjoy reading about history, anthropology, science in general, because I want to understand. I also enjoy reading travel literature, because it takes you to places you cannot always reach within a lifetime. When I read fiction, I prefer reading pre-World War II literature such as E.A. Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Knut Hamsun, …

XM: Between the three of you how many languages do you speak? Which do you feel more comfortable speaking and in which language do you dream?
Frederic: The amount of languages we speak doesn't really matter, does it? As a band, our language is in the sounds and images to bring our message. That's also how one dreams. The spoken word is often superfluous and overrated.

XM: What has been the greatest sacrifice you have made for your music career and how have you grown from that?
Frederic: We never had to make any sacrifice, neither creative nor financial. It is of absolute importance that SerpentCult remains an independent band, and our integrity as musicians is vital to us. Everything we've done with the band was a deliberate choice, and we have enjoyed it all along.

XM: Are any of the members in SerpentCult working on other projects?
Frederic: Yes, our drummer Cozy just started a new band together with Roel from Sardonis. The project is called Hedonist. Also Steven plays bass in another band called Alkerdeel. Myself, I don't have time to start another musical project, SerpentCult takes up enough time already, and it's my main project as well.

XM: Could you briefly let us in on what the band has planned for the rest of the year?
Frederic: SerpentCult is a project based band; we only come together when there is an actual purpose. I'm working on ideas for a new album, so that's one thing. Maybe we'll play a concert with the album at some point, but we'll have to see about that.

XM: On behalf of xplosivemetal.com I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Is there anything else you would like add that we may not have covered?
Frederic: Thank you for your interest in SerpentCult, we truly appreciate it!