Death metal unit Autokrator have taken the brand of evil, cavernous death metal revolutionized by bands like Incantation and taken it a step further on their new album, Hammer of the Heretics. Each instrument sounds as if it were recorded in a massive cave, evil melodies interspersed with burly, doom-influenced riffs.
Decibel is exclusively streaming Hammer of the Heretics below, along with a brief Q&A with the band’s masked members.
Hammer of the Heratics is your 3rd album in as many years. How do you maintain this pace of writing and recording?
Autokrator has been created in 2014. We recorded our first album end of 2014/early 2015. Once released, we took no break and kept on writing and recording The Obedience to Authority, which has been released in 2016. Few months after its release, we started to work on Hammer of the Heretics, for more or less two years. I personally worked almost every days on the albums. As we’re a studio band, we don’t spend time touring or rehearsing.
Autokrator has been created in 2014. We recorded our first album end of 2014/early 2015. Once released, we took no break and kept on writing and recording The Obedience to Authority, which has been released in 2016. Few months after its release, we started to work on Hammer of the Heretics, for more or less two years. I personally worked almost every days on the albums. As we’re a studio band, we don’t spend time touring or rehearsing.
The theme of the album is based on the French Inquisition. What inspired you to choose this topic?
I live for 10 years in Paris, and I’m now back in my native region in Occitania. Occitania’s history in heavily linked to Inquisition and Templar Knights, so it’s my personal tribute to it. The only song [which] deal with an other theme is “Le Sang impur”. Lyrics come from French anthem “La Marseillaise,” written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
I live for 10 years in Paris, and I’m now back in my native region in Occitania. Occitania’s history in heavily linked to Inquisition and Templar Knights, so it’s my personal tribute to it. The only song [which] deal with an other theme is “Le Sang impur”. Lyrics come from French anthem “La Marseillaise,” written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
Prolific drummer Kévin Paradis (Benighted, ex-Svart Crown, etc.) played on Hammer of the Heritics. How did working with him affect the album’s sound?
Kevin brought Autokrator’s music to another level. He gave us what we needed: brutality, versatility, and finesse through chaos. If you listen to album while concentrating only on drum parts, you’ll realize that he’s one of the few extreme metal drummer to have such variety in his style. And there’s no edits;what he played is what you hear. The only trick used is a drum bass trigger, which is used by 99.99% of extreme metal drummers.
Kevin brought Autokrator’s music to another level. He gave us what we needed: brutality, versatility, and finesse through chaos. If you listen to album while concentrating only on drum parts, you’ll realize that he’s one of the few extreme metal drummer to have such variety in his style. And there’s no edits;what he played is what you hear. The only trick used is a drum bass trigger, which is used by 99.99% of extreme metal drummers.
Hammer of the Heretics is out April 10 on Krucyator Productions.
