1.There's no specific date for Fäust's debut, however, your first self-titled demo will be released around 2022. Can we say that Fäust began around that year? What led you to create Fäust? Why did you choose the name Fäust and what does it refer to? Did you have any issues with other bands with similar names, namely Faust or Faüst?
“Yes, absolutely. I started this project in end 2020, at the end of the Covid19 crisis. I had just left one of the bands I was playing and touring with in end 2019 for personal reasons, and the other one was up for a long time hiatus. I already had some bits of riffs here and there, but I really started to write songs during the pandemic.
Even if I mostly played in Traditionnal Heavy Metal bands, my songwriting has always been influenced by Jon Nodtveidt and Quorthon, so I decided to write songs in that way, because it was my natural way of writing songs. The most difficult for me was to take care of the lead vocals, as I never went as far as backing vocals on my previous experiences.
Fäust is the symbol of the quest of eternity, knowledge, there are many ways of interpretation of the Faust story, I think each one can do its own one.
I had no issues with the other bands, in the same time they play really different style…”
2. Your second album, "Crypts of Eternity," will be released soon, if it hasn't already. However, you are, or have been, in the past in other bands related to heavy metal. How did the desire to form a black metal project come about? Was it always clear to you that you would be a one-man band?
“It was pretty natural, as I said previously, my songwriting was always influenced by Dissection, Bathory and other bands. Meanwhile those bands were also influenced by Heavy Metal as well, so it was a really natural thing, and also, it was a long time I wanted to do a Black Metal project. The fact to do a one man band was clear from the very beginning, I wanted total freedom in every aspect of the ‘band’. Songwriting of course, but also visuals, lyrics, promotion … it’s a lot of work of course, but in the end it really worth it, everything is really personal in the most sincere way. That’s something I really need for Fäust.”
3. "Death from Beyond" may have surprised more than a few listeners, but with "Crypts of Eternity," everything has become a reality—a reality in the sense that it's a full-fledged black metal album. Did you feel any pressure to follow up on "Death from Beyond"? Did the positive reception from the press and the public come as a bit of a surprise to you?
“It was a melt feeling, because I knew the songs were pretty solid, the mixing and mastering were really great too. But in the same time, I came here from nowhere, had no fanbase, no following audience, that was just something released in the total unknown, so yeah I was really surprised by how good the reactions were. It was a really good surprise, also due to the month of the release. December is never a good month to release an album in my opinion, but anyway, it finally turned out pretty good.
For ‘Crypts of Eternity’ it was a pretty different approach as I released an E.P between the two albums (‘At the Dawn of Life Demise’), with two original songs that were originally planned to be on this new album. All the songs for this new record were written shortly after ‘Death From Beyond’ album, there was no real pressure, or will to top the previous record, just once again a natural stream of inspiration.”
4. How did you approach the writing and recording process for the new album? What do you think has changed between the two? How do you approach the whole process of having to write and record the album alone? What brands of instruments did you use in the process?
“The writing session took place shortly after the release of ‘Death From Beyond’, but everything went really naturally, I never forced myself to write songs that have to sounds like something else, or songs that have to check all the Black Metal standards, or songs that will be big labels hits… I just write things that I like, if there is a song that I don’t like, it will not be on the album. For me this new album is really different because I think you can hear a more ‘Heavy’ side of my songwriting, specially on the guitar work, where the riffing is way more thunderous than on ‘Death from Beyond’. For exemple, the title track, and ‘Sorcery’ are really branded by this alliance of melodic and raging guitar playing.
‘Crypts of Eternity’ is different than the first album to me because I think guitars are really in the centerfold of the album, as I used mostly drums as a driving force on the first one.
The recording … well it was pretty chaotic. The album was recorded twice because my studio set-up, computer and saves crashed down after I recorded 95% of the album. It was a really frustrating situation, but finally I re-record everything and in the end everything went pretty fine.
I used LTD guitars and ENGL amps for the guitar recording, I got two LTD EX400 that I use since 2010, those are amazing guitars, perfect for fast playing and with great EMG pick ups.
I already recorded few albums since 2015 in my own Soulreaper Studio but it was my first experience of mixing. Of course working alone allowed me a lot of freedom in the creative process.”
5. The album maintains a black metal sound with classic influences, with notable elements such as the guitar sound that balances raw elements with melody, without neglecting a certain reminiscence of a retro sound, even a certain heavy metal tone, and vocals that strike a balance between raw and dark. What influenced you when composing "Crypts of Eternity"? How would you describe the album's sound?
“That’s great that you feel it that way, because I personally think that ‘Crypts of Eternity’ have a more ‘Heavy Metal’ side, and there are less ‘blast beats’, I think the aggressivity comes from elsewhere, mostly from the guitar riffs than from the drums or the velocity of the songs. I come from the Classic Traditionnal Heavy Metal scene, and this is a huge part of my influences.
Those influences comes from Iron Maiden to Jon Nodtveidt work, from Quorthon to Judas Priest or early Running Wild. I think that this is this patchwork that make Fäust really interesting and pretty original. I’m not into calculating songs to make em more raw, more ‘Nuclear Blast mainstream’ or more in a way to please the fans. I just do it the way I want em to be. It’s a kinda hybrid style, and it’s not the best choice to be popular… Because you are sometimes too Heavy to please the Black Metal fans, and too much aggressive to please the Heavy metal fans … but to be honest I don’t care anyway… If people like it, it’s perfect, but if they don’t, I don’t care as long as I like it.
The darkness can be found elsewhere than in pure raw aggressivity.
‘To The Fire, To The Death’, ‘Night Terror’ and ‘In a Ghastly Silence’ are the most classic songs I would say, because they were written shortly after the ‘Death from Beyond’ release.
‘Crypts of Eternity’ is a ‘mid tempo’ song, has a real heavy drive on it, the guitar work was really well worked to fit the atmosphere of the whole song and create a really oppressive sensation.
‘Sorcery’ is a melt of Bathory and Iron Maiden influences.
‘And Then Blows the Funeral Winds’ is my favourite song from this album, it’s really the perfect match between my influences, and this is surely one of the best song I’ve ever wrote.
There was something mystical when I recorded the vocals of this song, specially in the last part.
6. Satanism and magic are themes you include in your lyrics, which are not far removed from common themes in the genre. Why this theme? Where do you find inspiration for them? Do the lyrics adapt to the music or vice versa?
“Satanism is the true form of rebellion and the reject of oppression in all its form, may it be spiritual, religious or anything else. Religion is definitively the cancer of our world, the hand of oppression that force you to think what they want you to think, to act as they want you to act … and all in the name of a so called god… This is a symbol, but this is also a spiritual fire, a power, a natural force, something coming from the below, may it have a name or not, but something that can bring you what you can’t find in the regular path … in a place where Metal is no more dangerous or frightening, this force is also the voice that spit in the face of this world branded by social networks and trends, the one that keep metal dangerous..
Satanism is the path, magic is the vessel … at least this my way of seeing things, I don’t see it as a cult at all, but as a way and vessel of free-thinking.
Occultism is really fascinating, I find inspiration in books and daily life mainly.
I would say that music generally comes first and then I bring the lyrics, the music is also one of my main inspiration so yes, I can say that the lyrics adapt to the music.
But the lyrics are as equally important as the music.”
7. It's also striking that you recorded the album at Soulreaper Studio. First, congratulations on the final result. Second, how did you approach this process? Do you have any prior experience? Do you feel that by taking charge, you have greater control over the final result? Who is Ronnie Bjornström, who is in charge of mastering the album?
“Thank you, as I said previously the recording was total chaos, but I finally managed to end it in a good way, and the mixing is really good and well balanced. I had to fully set up the studio from the beginning. From the lost tracking sessions, I could only save the Metallica cover (‘Metal Militia’) that ended up on the ‘Night Terror Tapes’ that was digitally released this past summer.
I recorded many albums on my Soulreaper Studio since 2015 but it was the first time I did the mixing, and I had a lot to learn. The process was pretty interesting, because I love studio work, I love this part when you are in the creative process, starting from the very beginning and early riffs, ending with orchestrations, and arrangements, this is something I really like as a musician. It’s like painting a landscape, you add the elements, you give it the colour or the darkness … Ronnie Björnström did the mastering, he is a great sound producer from Sweden, and he worked with bands like Kvaen, Sorcerer, Hild … he really did a great job on ‘Crypts of Eternity’”
8. You're still associated with the record label Black Lion Records. How did the opportunity to work together again for the album's release come about? Are you satisfied with the visibility achieved thanks to Black Lion Records?
“Black Lion Records already released the two previous records, so I decided to work again with them for this one, they have a great distribution circle and it mades Fäust available in many countries.”
9. The artwork is by Luciferium War Graphics. Why did you decide to work with Luciferum? What does this cover represent and how does it relate to the album's content?
“The artwork was done by Gragoth with Luciferium War Graphics. I really liked a lot the artwork he did for ‘At the Dawn of Life Demise’. So I decided to team up with him for this album too. At first I really wanted something to fit with the whole album atmosphere, and I think he caught up really well with it. The crypts, the underworld temple, the streams of blood, the sulphur atmosphere and mayhemic winds… it’s just the pure representation of the album and the music.
The reaper is here again, as death and the end of all is a theme that comes often in the songs since the first album. I also wanted an artwork that take Fäust away from the Dissection blue color, because I think Fäust has its own sound, its own path and I don’t wanna be labeled as ‘Dissection clone’. I think this album cut the rope that could have link us in the past to the mighty Dissection.”
10. How would you describe the French black metal scene? Has the legacy of the Black Legions had any influence on you? How would you describe the extreme metal scene in a city like Grenoble? What bands would you recommend ?
“The Black Metal scene is really rich, diverse and full of quality in France, we have bands like Aorhlac, Seth, Darkenhold, Bliss of Flesh, … And there are also many labels like Les Acteurs de l’Ombre that make this scene really interesting.
In my area, Grenoble was mostly known for its Heavy Metal scene than it’s extreme scene.
About the Black Legions … well, no there was no influence from it on my songwriting. There are many myths and legends about it over here, but it was another decade, I was too young to know it.
I’m personally more influenced by the Swedish scene than by the French Black Legions.”
11. Have you considered performing Fäust's music live, or do you consider it a purely studio project?
“I don’t know yet, if I have opportunities to bring it on the road, I’ll do it.
But actually there is no interest from anyone…”
12. How did you get started in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What event in your life inspired you to become a musician?
“I started in music when I was just a child, my first album was a tape of ‘Powerslave’ from Iron Maiden. I’m a huge Iron Maiden fan since my childhood and I think that the ‘Somewhere Back in Time Tour 2008’ in Paris’was my first big concert , but I also discovered Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, early Helloween, and then bands like Running Wild, WASP, Raven, Venom … My first entry in Black Metal was ‘Blood Fire Death’ from Bathory, and I discovered shortly after bands like Dissection, Immortal, Celtic Frost / Hellhammer, Watain, Marduk, Necrophobic, Sacramentum, Bewitched … I’m a guitarist first and I always wanted to do the same thing than Adrian Smith or KK Downing since I’m 8, but I got my first guitar at 14.”
13. What album represents the essence of black metal for you? What recent albums have you purchased?
“The album that represents the pure essence of Black Metal to me is “Storm of the Light Bane’ from Dissection. There is everything on this record, the darkness, the aggression, the melodies, the epicness, the melancholy … this is the perfect Black Metal album for me.
But there are other albums that could make it on my Black Metal albums highlights, I could say Marduk’s “Those of the Unlight’, Watain’s “Lawless Darkness”, Lord Belial’s ‘Enter the Moonlight Gate’, Necrophobic’s ‘Death to All’ …
About recent Black Metal albums I bought, I would say Kvaen ‘The Formless Fire’, Stormkeep ‘Tales of Othertime’ and Aorhlac ‘Pierres Brulées’. I recently bought many old stuff from the 80’s in LP, it’s mostly stuff like Destruction, old pressings of Sepultura, stuff from Possessed, Omen …”
14. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for Fäust fans, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
“Thank you very much for your interest in Fäust and for the in dephts questions, and I also would like to take the opportunitry to thank all the fans that follow the band.”
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