Interview with I, Apokalypse

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• We got into music quite young. I think that extreme metal music, give us the will to create some music ourselves. After that I think you know, he fun of hanging out with friends and making music together. Beside that, we are not doing music full time so we are working full time jobs. But I think that music would be our first choice if we had to choose.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• It's different for each member of the band, but on my side I would say that I like gaming. I found interesting some dark theme that some games have, can be very inspirational sometimes. Beside that, I would say that just to listening to a lot of music and be inspired by what music is done today and was done in the past.

How long has your band been around?

• I would say around 5 years. The first year was pretty quiet, I would say because we were more into rehearsing and trying to find our sound.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• We are based in Abitibi-Temiscamingue in the northern part of Quebec province in Canada. I like to think that our geographical position influenced a lot our music, same as other band that came from northern country. You know, our lifestyle can be different from people from the south. Winter is very inspirational and dark and harsh most of the time.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• We wanted something that had punch and different maybe? Before creating the band I already had a concept around that name, and the type of music was a perfect fit for it. I, Apokalypse means, for us, an entity that would be born to end it all. Something or someone that was coming down to earth with the sole purpose to destroy it.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• I would say it's the first show we did as I, Apokalypse opening for Belphegor. For our first act it was huge. We were quite lucky that they pass in our hometown. It's always impressive to play with a professional band like that.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• We didn't have the chance to play in a lot of memorable venues yet. We did the Foufounes electriques bar in Montreal back in March, and I think we can say that it was an honor to play in this venue with so much history. One we would like to do would be for sure M Telus in Montreal, that would be a blast.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• Hard to get just a few, but let's say that playing on a bill with bands like Dark Funeral, Behemoth

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Practice as much as you can, learn your song, be ready to deliver a solid performance live, and most of all, be patient. It may take more time than you would like to have success, but if you believe in yourselves and don't stop. You will succeed

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• To be honest it's hard to pick one. We did some music and records before that band and never I loved every song of it genuinely like this one. Each song brings something special and I think that I see this album as a whole than divided into song.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• Personally, the one I prefer to play is Soul Scarred. Like the playing of it and the way that it has a lot of different elements in it. I think right now the one who is requested the most is Leviathan Rise. We played it live for the first time last month and I think that people loved it.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• I would say is mainly to sit together in our home studio and create riffs and drum beats that inspired us to create a song. From there, vocals and lyrics all created once the music is done. I like to get the feel of the song first, before putting lyrics in it.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• I would say nothing joyful. More a dark side of reality and our future. With the way our society goes, I think there is a lot of darkness ahead of us, and as human beings, we will have to learn to live with it...embrace it.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Not really. Me (Minos), Marthyn and Amarük have been playing together for almost 15 years on other projects, and we know each other very well. We may have had some disagreements in the past, but when we started this project the goal was to create something that each and everyone would like to play, no drama. As of the other side of the music business and the plans, we agree easily as we know where we want to go and we are all on the same page on this level.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• The goal right now is to record a new song before the end of 2023. Should come out late fall 2023. After that we are planning to go back to the studio in 2024 for sure, the format is still to define but it will be multiple songs for sure, so keep your eyes open. We want to play as many live gigs as possible as well, so we are working on planning shows for 2024 as well. Our next show is in Montreal on the 16th of September.