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The Distrolution / Distrolution Merch team had the chance to participate in the Hellfest Festival from June 19 to 26, 2022. On the program, concerts, meetings... and several interviews, which you can find every week in FR version on Distrolution Merch and in EN version on Distrolution! Discover without further delay our interview with Chris ICARD and Chris CESARI from the band Heart Attack!
Hello Heart Attack. To start, could you introduce yourselves one by one?
Chris Icard: I'm Chris Icard on drums.
Chris Cesari: I'm Chris Cesari and I'm the guitarist. Lots of Chrises!
How was Heart Attack formed?
Chris Icard: So Heart Attack was originally a band formed around 2007/2008 by Kevin, who is the singer and guitarist. And now, he's the only one left in the band. He fired everyone... or nobody can stand him, I don't know, it's obscure. So it became a bit more serious, let's say, in 2011, because we both arrived at that time. Visually, we were more focused on composition to tour more, do more important dates. So we recorded the first album called "Stop Pretending" in 2013, the second album "The Resilience" which came out in 2017 and now, the very latest, which came out on June 10, "Negative Sun", on Atomic Fire Records.
You played on Friday, June 17 on the Hellfest mainstage. How did it feel on stage?
Chris Cesari: The feeling was... it was gigantic! Just being on this stage that's almost 30m long. Just that alone is very impressive, even if we had done nice stages before with Megadeth, at Motocultor, on the mainstage too. But here, everything is multiplied, even the number of people working on it, it was quite amazing. And when the concert started, we saw that there were many, many, many people. We were quite surprised by that, because at 10:30 am, you don't know what to expect! But we had a lot, a lot of people. The audience reacted very, very well, it was perfect. Even if we had some small technical issues... But well. We pushed through, it worked and honestly, it was perfect. It was an incredible moment!
Photo: Christo Malum
And regarding the heat, wasn't it too difficult for you?
Chris Icard: We were lucky, because we played at 10:30 am.
Chris Cesari: For the older ones, it's tough!
Chris Icard: Yeah... well, you would know! (laughs) And so, no, I think we avoided the worst! We avoided the worst, so it was okay. We felt a bit sorry for the bands playing at 3-4 pm.
Even in the morning, for the audience. I was surprised myself to see so many people, especially with the heat.
Chris Icard: Yeah! We didn't expect it! Then here, people arrive in the morning, they get in place, all that. We didn't think we'd see so many people arrive finally. We had a half-hour set, so it goes very, very quickly. But seeing all that, all the people, from the second song making a circle pit, it started right away! There was a guy from the technical team who told us "It's the first time I've seen a wall of death that works on a mainstage in the morning".
Chris Cesari: At 10:30 am there.
Chris Icard: The guy was hallucinating!
Chris Cesari: He said "It's the first time we've seen this", and it's true that people were hungry, they were overexcited. Almost 3 years without Hellfest... And it's true that, well, for us, it worked well!
Chris Icard: Yeah, yeah. We did it automatically and when we saw that it was following... it's great, you know.
Chris Cesari: Very, very good set. We're very happy!
Chris Icard: Only positive feedback... Mission accomplished, we could say!
Chris Cesari: It's good for us to see that we can hold a mainstage at a festival like this. We're also happy with our evolution! It's perfect!
Since we're talking about Hellfest, is there a band you absolutely want to see among the lineup?
Chris Cesari: Ghost!
Chris Icard: I was going to say... Yeah! Ghost, tonight! After that, I'm not here for the second weekend, but well, I would have gone to see Metallica or Scorpions. Let's go with Ghost!
You are unanimous, it's Ghost!
Chris Cesari: Oh yeah! We're fans! But you can feel it a bit in our music, despite the extreme side, there's always this slightly melodic, epic side...
You had never seen them before?
Chris Cesari: Yes! I've seen them 3 times, I think. But there's always this aspect that influences us, with the synths, the choirs...
We might run into each other there!
Chris Cesari: Yeah, maybe! Given the crowd! (laughs) You'll recognise me easily, I'm dressed in black! (laughs)
You mentioned it earlier, you've just released your new album 'Negative Sun'. How long did you work on it?
Chris Icard: Well, surprisingly, it was quite quick. Well... Quite quick. It's an album that we mostly composed during the first lockdown. So it's true that we had a bit more time to create, to do all that, with the "handicaps" of not being able to see each other. Everything was done a bit remotely and it's true that when I arrived, we recorded in June 2020, it was just the end of the first lockdown. I recorded, I laid down my drum tracks, we had never played the songs together. We never rehearsed them together! Everyone worked on their own! Chris (Cesari) has his home studio. He composed with Kevin remotely and sent me the tracks. We did it like that. Oh, we spent what? Maybe 5-6 months or so on the composition?
Chris Cesari: Less, even!
Chris Icard: A bit less?
Chris Cesari: Yeah, because we really, really started composing in early March. So March, April, May and in June, we were entering the studio, and in 3 months, it was done! And it's true that yes, as he (Chris Icard) said, it wasn't quite remote, because Kevin came to my place a lot during the lockdown. So we were often at my place, the two of us and our guitars, recording, laying down ideas, you know... recording, discarding, modifying, re-recording etc. And that's how it was done. Then, we would send it to them, they would give us their feedback "Maybe we should change this, maybe we should add that", and we would correct almost in real time!
So, this album was released on Atomic Fire Records. How did this collaboration come about? Did you approach the label, or was it the other way around?
Chris Icard: Actually, what happened was... We have our former label, Apathia Records, which we salute by the way, because we're still on very good terms, who... who couldn't continue. So from there, we thought... We continued a bit on our own, we started to recompose and all that, then we said "Let's try to find a structure to help us anyway". So it was Kevin who mainly handled that, who must have sent to all the labels in the world, everywhere... With responses that were either negative, or responses given the current context... Even big labels that were interested but told us "Well, currently... There's the lockdown, it's the end of the world, we're all going to die, it's complicated".
Then, it's a friend we met on a tour who put us in touch with Markus Staiger, who created Atomic Fire and who comes from Nuclear Blast. And one day, naturally, Markus Staiger contacted us saying "Look, I love the album". He's a guy who works on gut feeling, actually. It exists. It's rare, but it still exists! And apparently, he really, really loved the album. He was listening to it non-stop and he told us "It's a deal, I want to sign something with you and collaborate with you". That's how it happened! After that, it was very quick, we received the contract, we studied it and then bingo! It's on!
What does this new label bring you additionally?
Chris Cesari: Well, it brings us... First of all, it's a big, big label. So even if it's a recent label, it's all former Nuclear Blast people, including Markus Staiger who created Nuclear Blast. So they bring us their experience, their network and their passion too, because they are people who are ultra passionate about music, about metal and they just want... Actually, they believe in us. They want to grow the band and make sure it works for us and it works for them, because they get totally involved and they practically become part of the band. So it's a total experience and really new for us!
Chris Icard: It's true that we see the difference, even just here. Here, we're at the beginning, but on the promotion of the album that just came out, we've never had so much visibility and that necessarily... there's no secret! Even if the label we worked with before did a very, very good job, it worked very well, there's no problem, but here, the network is not the same anymore! For us, it's all benefit! It's true that for us, it's only positive!
Speaking of collaboration, you did a featuring with Decapitated on the album. How did that go? How did you conceive the track?
Chris Icard: Actually, initially, the idea of the featuring... We had toured with Decapitated in 2018. We did about ten dates with them in France and we had stayed in contact, on good terms with them. Kevin naturally asked the singer, Rasta, if he wanted to do a featuring with us. At first, we thought... We didn't think he would be okay, we thought he was going to say "Yeah I'm busy, I don't have time", but no, no. He said yes right away! And so, we focused on the track which, I think, is still the most aggressive on the album. And it matches well, yeah! It goes very well! We're happy.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. At worst, you would have received a negative response...
Chris Icard: Absolutely! Exactly.
Chris Cesari: We got on well during the tour, we were always more or less in contact. The thing was to know if he had the time and he did, so he did it super nicely and that's it!
Let's talk about visuals. As a music fan, I attach particular importance to album covers. Which artist is behind the artwork of "Negative Sun"?
Chris Icard: The artwork was done by Flow from Chromatorium. We come, we propose ideas... Then, he spent time, it was heavily retouched, because well, it's still complicated to all agree, and he did a fantastic job, incredible, in record time! And whenever small modifications were needed, it went very quickly. And now, the result is magical, we're really happy!
Who came up with the idea of the character on the cover? We also see it in your music videos!
Chris Cesari: It's an idea that came gradually. Because we wanted... In fact, we always have a character on our covers and here, it's an idea that came little by little. Because at the beginning, the character wasn't like that. But as the lyrics progressed and the theme of the album began to take shape, we came to this character who represents a bit the dark side that everyone has inside. And so, it happened quite naturally, gradually, by discussing, trying things...
Thank you. That was my last question. I'll let you have the final word for our readers!
Chris Icard: We greet everyone, all the people who follow us, who we see at concerts. And here, having done this opening of Hellfest, having had all these people in front, all smiling, having a blast, spinning, moshing... But really all in an atmosphere like that well... That's why we're here and we hope it will continue! So thank you all!
