Hands of Despair Premiere New Video for “Étoc”

Early last year, Quebec’s progressive blackened death crew Hands of Despair revealed their stand-out sophomore record, Bereft, and successfully extended the sound and strengths that had made the debut, Hereafter, such an enjoyable listen.  Today we bring you their latest video single for Bereft‘s penultimate track, “Étoc,” along with the band’s explanation of the video’s origins and execution.  The song is screech/growled in French – great for all francophile listeners – so we’ll include the song’s lyrics as well as their English translation (as provided by the band) below.  Jam “Étoc” today, check out Bereft in its entirety, and keep an eye on this band as the coming years hopefully bring further greatness for these talented dudes.

The making of Étoc

The whole idea came from [guitarist] Alexandre [Primeau].  He studied film and filming, so he has an eye and a mind for such things.  Considering the song speaks of adopting integrity and confidence as a person, he thought of the journey every man and woman lives, from birth to death. 

So in October, last year, he rented a camera, took to the field which he had previously scouted with a friend of his and proceeded in creating a long road for our protagonist (Michel Lajeunesse, what a man!). Then we went to this castle Alex found near Prairies River, on Iles-de-la-Visitation, which had this very traditional, circular common room with a huge hearth in the middle. We immediately knew how the band portion of the movie was going to be filmed. 

Everything went so well.  Since this is our second video, it was very natural and we had all we wanted by the end of a long nine or ten hours of work, during which we had played the song about 13 times:  That’s a little more than two hours! The completion of the project rested on Alex’s work editing the video and ultimately connected really well with our timetable – our next show being on March 17th, opening for Amorphis and Swallow the Sun at Foufounes Électriques with Extensive Enterprise, then we go back to jamming and tweaking the songs we have composed for a third release in the near future. 

Let’s just say 2017 is going to be a productive year and it all starts with “Étoc”!

Lyrics (French)

Ce goût vicié d’un indomptable,

D’un impalpable enflammement,
Cette tentation, elle te frappera comme les autres
Ne fuit pas ce ciel obscur, affronte

Peu importe la sombreur des âmes
Dresse toi tel l’aube

De tes bottes, tu as usé bien des routes,
Ta volonté inénarrable en a surpri plus d’un
La leur gisant déjà bien oubliée
Dans ce vide qui les tourmente

Mais, comme eux, tu ne pourras résister
l’atteinte de inassouvissable clepsydre

elle prend, elle gruge, elle coupe, elle détruit,
elle ne t’oublie jamais

et ce même si elle te pousse dans ces dédales noircies
De l’oblitération mentale et mémorielle

elle prend, elle gruge, elle coupe, elle détruit,
elle ne t’oublie jamais

Tel la chaîne reliant l’ancre
Sache rester fort, fier, debout!
Affronte les Tempêtes, 
Affronte les flots
Qui reviendront incessamment

N’erre pas trop loin de ta condition
N’erre plus, la presse saura te faucher
Sache rester droit.

Sache redevenir toi

Sache te tenir droit

 

Lyrics (English)

This vitiated taste of an indomitable,
An impalpable ignition,
This temptation, it will strike you as with others
Do not flee from obscure skies, confront
No matter the darkness of souls
Rise up like the dawn

Your boots have worn many roads
Your unsurpassable will has surprised many
Theirs is lying, already forgotten
In this void that torments them

But like them, you will not resist
To reach the unassailable clepsydra

She takes
She eats away
She cuts
She destroys
She never forgets
Never

Even if she pushes you in these blackened mazes
Of mental and memorial obliteration

She takes
She eats away
She cuts
She destroys
She never forgets
Never

Such as the chain linking the anchor
Know to stay strong, proud, standing!
Confront the tempests
Confront the waves
For they shall return incessantly

Don’t stray too far from you condition
Stray no more, the hurry will swipe you down
Know to stay upright

Know to become yourself again

Know to stand erect