Interview with Acarus Sarcopt

            
                   USBMS would like to thank Acarus Sarcopt for their time.

                      

                     Interview done by Daemon Black

1. I would like to begin with having you give us a bit of history on the band for those readers that have never heard of you before, also on how Acarus Sarcopt came into existence?

Acarus Sarcopt was created in 2003 on the ruins of L'Ombre Du Saccage after the departure of Thomas C, and Mathieu G. totally involved into their project called Asmodée. Then, Remi was looking for some new partners in crime and Mickael and I joined the band. Before the recording of The First Day With No Sun, our former drummer Matthieu passed away, and Pascal left the band. Well the present line-up is

: Remi, guitars – Aymeric, guitars – Fred, drums – Mickael, bass – and I, Serge, vocals.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of Acarus Sarcopt and what are some of the lyrical topics and concepts that your music explores?

At the beginning, Acarus Sarcopt practiced  melodic black metal in the vein of Dissection, Emperor or Enslaved. After some years playing black metal, we had a violent need to express our Death Metal roots so we start to write some stuff into this way. The main topics we deal with are misanthropy, end of the world, revolt, and survivalism. You can write about an hypothetical demonology as long as you want, but the best evil will always be the human kind. In The First Day With No Sun, the track "I, The Last You'll See", is about a Palestinian resistant. The title track is inspired by "The Road" of Cormac McCarthy. "Alpha Crime" is about a copycat of Cain trying to repeat endlessly the perfect alpha crime. You can notice that all the lyrics are strongly rooted into reality because nothing smells more than a real shit.

3. This question pertains to your musical compositions. How do you begin a song? are lyrics written first or do they follow after the musical is complete?

                                                                 

We always follow the same pattern. Remi or Aymeric are coming with some new riffs and together we arrange these during rehearsal. I always write the lyrics after, I hardly believe that the lyrics must have a strong meaning, but Metal is music before everything else

                                                                             

4. Are there any bands or musical styles that have influenced your music, also do you have any influences outside of the Black / Death metal genre?

                                                                   

We are huge fans of 90's Death & Black Metal scene, bands like At The Gates, Enslaved, Entombed, Asphyx, Emperor, Pestilence, Death... so on,  we hardly think that the 90's were a golden era for these genres even if we are also into Doom & Heavy Metal. I speak for me, 'cause I manage the industrial noise label, Steelwork Maschine, industrial music is a big piece of my musical spectrum from Coil to Neubauten, Whitehouse, NON, and many others. Maybe you can find some aspects of this music in our music or lyrics.

5. Acarus Sarcopt is based out of France. How do you view the Black Metal scene in your country, as opposed to other countries in Europe, the U.S. or other parts of the world?

The french metal scene always suffered an inferiority complex, even during the wonderful era of Massacra, Agressor and Loudblast debut. For this reason, I think the french scene is constantly searching to sound different. When you listen to some bands like Asmodée (RIP), Havenless, Way To End, Angmar, Belenos, Withdrawn, Stille Volk, or even something less underground like Gojira … you notice they have a strong personality, trying not to sound like Scandinavian bands or US bands. This is a good point, isn't it? But, I told you that we are great fans of Death Metal and Black Metal, so we can't objectively opposed the French scene to others, especially when scenes as the Swedish or the Norwegian ones are a massive influence for us. About the north american scene, I am pretty impressed by Woods Of Ypres, Wolves in the Throne Room, Black Breath, Sleep, Earth, Absu, Nachtmystium, Agalloch... well man, you have an impressive scene.

6. It was quite a few years in between the 2 demo releases from "L'Ombre du Saccage", and 4 years until your next release "The First Day With No Sun" was finished under your new name Acarus Sarcopt. Can you give us some insight on the reason behind the name change and did it impact the way the band composed music?

Time is the enemy, this is the main reason. And the death of our former drummer. This tragedy stole us a lot of our energy, and time by the way. Remi decides to change the name of his project after the departure of two former members of L'ODS. He thought it was better to start over under a new name. But musically, AS was the continuity of L'ODS.

                                                                

7. Acarus Sarcopt is currently signed to Armée de la Mort Records. How did this deal come about and how has the relationship been between you guys and the label been so far?

Shaxul who runs this label is just an awesome underground motherfucker. I think that's a great reason to sign with this kind of guy whom life is entirely dedicated to the underground extreme metal scene. I did vocals into the black metal project called Sael, and the leader Iconoclast also manages Annthennath a black metal project in which Shaxul is singing. When we were looking for a label, I didn't think too much time.
So Armée De La Mort/Legion Of Death is just a killer underground label worth checking out.

                                                                           

8. Can you explain a little about your live performances, how have the crowd reactions been from place to place? Also does Acarus Sarcopt have a big following of fans in your home town?

We always had a very good response from the audience. We are not a theatrical band with pyrotechnics or other stuff. But, maybe in the future, I think about some video support. I was impressed with industrial bands like Laibach for example, which use some impressive video support. We all live in very small villages, my own place has only 60 citizens. I don't like cities and the swarming noisy crowds. So by the way, the followers of our home town is close to zero.

                                                           

                                                                                

  

9. I seen that AS has played the Hell'oween festival a couple times. How was this experience? and how has it helped Acarus Sarcopt to reach new ears?

The Hell'oween is an amazing festival. A lot of different bands, from Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash or Heavy. That's really interesting 'cause we are fans of different kinds of Metal. It was a great opportunity for Acarus Sarcopt to reach a new audience.

10.On a worldwide level, how do you feel the receptions been to your music in general, And what can fans expect from Acarus Sarcopt in the future?

                                                              

The feedback about the first album was quite good, especially in foreign countries (not a lot in France). As I said the next album of Acarus Sarcopt will be a massive assault of old good Death Metal. We wanted to try that, and we are very pleased the result. But our Black Metal hunger is still there, and that's quite obvious we will mix the both genres.

11. Before we conclude this interview are there any final words you like to add?

A massive thank you for this interview and maybe one day we will have the pleasure to spread our music on your stages.








For band contact and info visit
https://www.facebook.com/ACARUS.SARCOPT
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Acarus_Sarcopt/32056
http://www.acarussarcopt.com/