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Their Accomplishments are “Astonishing:” A Conversation with Julien of Darkness Dynamite By Brian Campbell  |
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It’s hard to imagine that France’s Darkness Dynamite has only been together for a mere three years. Because in that time they have released a popular EP, signed to Metal Blade Records and released their debut record “the Astonishing Fury of Mankind” to the world. Oh yeah, they have also shared the stage with the likes of Bring Me the Horizon, Maroon, Architects, Job for a Cowboy, and The Chariot.
Drummer Julien “Power” Granger took some time to sit down with me and let me pick his brain on literally everything DD related. From things like what it’s like to be a successful touring act out of France to how they got their label deal and everything about “the Astonishing Fury of Mankind,” the two of us left no stone unturned in our quest to introduce this band to new and eager ears.
Get eXposed: France has produced some pretty crushing metal bands in the past. Is Darkness Dynamite the next on a list that includes Gojira and Monarch!?
Julien “Power” Granger: Darkness Dynamite is part of no scene. We’re happy that bands from France tour the whole world. The point is that we do not consider ourselves as being part of a French metal scene. We play music that’s all. We’re from France but it really makes no difference for us.
GE: Tell me about how you got signed. How did you know Metal Blade was right for you?
Granger: Well, we’re really happy to work with such a professional label as Metal Blade. All that’s been done so far is exactly what we expected for this album. The signing process is a little secret of ours…
GE: Being a somewhat melodic band on a label dominated by straight up death metal didn’t scare you?
Granger: Not at all. We knew from the start that labels like Metal Blade sign you on a realistic purpose. We knew that Metal Blade wanted to add some melody to their crew and sounds like we are the melodic band. It’s always good to be an exception instead of being another ultra brutal band. The good thing about it is that you can’t mistake Darkness Dynamite for another band on Metal Blade. We’re “unique” sounding.
GE: Let’s start with the album title, ‘The Astonishing Fury of Mankind.’ On one hand it kicks ass, but on the other it could be interpreted as corny. Story?
Granger: We’re all confronted to our own fury on a day to day basis. This title was a good way for us to summarize the lyrics in a few words. Our fury can lead us to amazing things, but to horrible things as well. The funny thing about that is that we’re absolutely not a lyrically oriented band.
GE: Tell me about the recording process of the disc. How did that go?
Granger: It went real well. Pre-prods had been done and taken seriously. That work makes things go much easier when we hit the studio. We knew where we wanted to go and we had a strong reference to what each song had to sound like at the end.
GE: Where did you draw your influences from to pen ‘The Astonishing Fury of Mankind?’ How was the album put together conceptually?
Granger: It was really simple. It was just like a bunch of dudes in front of a computer every day all day trying to write an album. A few days later the album was here. We’re all influenced by old school bands. Pantera and Depeche Mode are my favorite bands for sure, but I could talk to you about Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe and a thousand other bands everybody has forgotten today. There’s no concept behind the music and the way the album was put together. This is rock n’ roll, nothing more.
GE: Why use different producers for different instruments?
Granger: If someone is the best in one thing, then use his ability and nothing more. It’s what we did in the recording process of this album.
GE: With ‘The Astonishing Fury of Mankind,’ you seemingly spent a lot of time crafting the hooks since they sparkle. Did you know that you wanted the melodies to play a big part of the record?
Granger: Melody is part of our musical background. We all listen to really melodic bands. It also depends on what you mean when you talk about melody. One thing is for sure, Darkness Dynamite music will always be about melody. That’s the way we do it. And the bottom end is that you’ll always remember the melody first. And we want you to think and dream about us!
GE: Do you have a favorite cut off the disc?
Granger: I consider the album as an entity. Parts make sense together and songs work the same. I could say that a heavy song like ‘By My Own’ is a song that I enjoy playing. The magic comes from the way people react when we play it live. And I love the way people react when we start playing this song.
GE: Where can we see Darkness Dynamite the rest of the year?
Granger: Our agent is like a secret agent. We know what we’ve got to do a few days before we do it. That way he doesn’t have to care about finding us in bars instead of finding us the rehearsal room. Ask me that question in a few weeks and I’ll tell you more about that.
GE: Any chance you will grace US shores?
Granger: This year for sure. And we’ll rock your asses off. Get ready dudes. Ladies we already love you.
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