DIVINITY Interview by mail
Answered by Sacha Laskow (lead guitar)

"Allegory" French Review here ;) / Chronique en Français d"Allegory" ici ;)

DIVINITY line up:
Sean Jenkis – Lead Vocals
Sacha Laskow – Lead Guitar
James Duncan – Guitar
Nick Foster – Bass
Brett Duncan – Drums   

Discography:
2003 The Infinity Cycle (Demo) CD
2004 Modern Prophecy (Demo) CD
2008 Allegory  (out since March 28. 2008) CD

Tasunka for ISKA Photos:  I really like a lot "Allegory" (NDT: a really great album ;) so, that's even more a pleasure to know details about it and about Divinity :)

Sacha Laskow: Cool, thanks!

10 years for Divinity, 2 demos and at last your great debut album: so, could you sum up the story of the band and present the line up too?

Sean started the band in highschool, playing Metal covers and whatnot as young Metalheads do. James and his brother Brett joined on, at the time Sean was playing rhythm and decided to concentrate on vocals. That's where I came in and the direction shifted at that point towards more progressive leanings.
We've been through a few bass players, the one before Nick quit on us just before we where to record the bass tracks for Allegory, that was great! We where jamming at his place and he changed the locks and left our gear outside.
Anyway then we held auditions and found Nick. He stepped up to the plate and learned the material and recorded it right away. The current line up is the strongest we've ever had; we are writing new material like wildfire and are all on the same page musically and personally.

Each song of the album has its own identity; so, how would you describe "Allegory" atmosphere, style?

The style is hopefully DIVINITY; we write for ourselves and we draw from a lot of different influences including death Metal, prog, traditional and modern. Overall we are just Metal, no gimmicks or bullshit and the atmosphere is intense and energetic. We don't fit in a narrow category or convention.

The title of the album: "Allegory" is not one of the songs: why this choice and what are the lyrics dealing with?

Allegory refers to a metaphor within a story. These songs are a collection of stories drawn from our life experiences and trying to make sense of this crazy existence. From sexuality, addiction, to fear and interacting with technology the lyrics have multiple layers of meaning the listener can extract.

Which was your way to write songs for this debut album, I mean compared to the demos?

Usually someone will present a riff or idea, everyone else will comment and add their input and the song is arranged from there. One songwriter does the bulk of the music and then everyone chips away at it until we are all happy with the result. Of course things are also tweaked along the way and in the studio.

The album was mixed and mastered by the renowned Tue Madsen (Dark Tranquility, The Haunted, Aborted): how was this experience to work with him?

Tue was great to work with, very easy to communicate with and patient with our perfectionist asses. The end result is fantastic and exceeded our expectations.

Allegory" is a self produced and financed album: was it a tough job to do it?

Damn straight! We overcame every possible problem you can imagine to make this record. From losing members, to technical issues and hard drive crashes, to financial problems and finding the time to do it all. It was very tough and I was ready to snap by the end, but nonetheless we are proud of the result.

About your worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast: could you tell me the way that made Divinity sign this deal?

Sure, we had released the album independantly here in Canada first, and had the songs on our Myspace page. Jaap the A&R man from NB heard our songs and liked them, got in touch with us and the rest was history! It was a very old school deal in a way, we aren't a 'hype' band or anything they just liked our album and wanted to release it just the way it was which was a big honor.

What were and still are your expectations for the release of "Allegory" at the end of march?

Well we hope a lot of people will dig it of course and check it out, we've poured our heart and soul into every aspect of this CD and hope it shows. Of course we can't wait to hit the stage and play for the fans supporting us.

About the video shot for "Plasma" song: was it pleasure or pressure?

It was a great pleasure for sure it was really fun. Everyone who pitched in and volunteered thier time and amazing skills to make this happen was great. No egos or personality issues, just hard work and talent went into this project. We are very happy with the finished product and it should be out right away!

You already shared the stage with legends like Cannibal Corpse, Overkill, Into Eternity: what have you learned about this experience?

You learn a lot watching bands like these do thier thing. Just the experience and the amazing talent they have is an inspiration to better yourself and your craft. We are humbled to have shared the stage with such great Metal bands.

How would you describe the "Divinity effect" on stage? :)

The effect will make you bang your fucking head! We have a ton of energy on stage and also work very hard on our sound and equipment to match the production quality of the CD. Our intensity level is very high and unforgiving.

What are your plans for the future: a new album, maybe an European tour? (It would be then awesome to see Divinity performing live here :)

Yes, we would absolutely love to play for the amazing fans in Europe! They have received us extremely well there and of course the Metal scene is fantastic. Of course working out the logistics is the tough part but with NB behind us i'm sure we can make it work down the road.

At the moment we are furiously writing new material and working on touring. Our new music is taking things to another level and we are really finding our own sound. It's like the songs on Allegory but even more dynamic and intense.

A bunch of thanx for your answers and for the music you play :)
All the best!!!

Thanks Tasunka for the interview and Metal Onwards!!!

- Sacha

VOLBEAT / KAYSER / PRESIDENT EVIL  Live Report (Fr) here / ici ;)         

Photos here / ici ;)

VOLBEAT / KAYSER / PRESIDENT EVIL (La Scène Bastille / Paris / 22 fevr. 2008)

Photos VOLBEAT / KAYSER / PRESIDENT EVIL here / ici ;)

Belle tournée commune pour trois groupes ayant chacun leur public, leurs qualités, de quoi avoir l'assurance, en résumé, de passer une soirée accrocheuse à souhait
(Récit et photos par Tasunka)

La Scène Bastille étant une salle intimiste où les 400 personnes accueillies se sentent proches des musiciens, la scène étant à bonne hauteur du public, le tout sous des lumières et un son efficaces, l'ambiance était donc de suite au rendez-vous quand PRESIDENT EVIL ont démarré leur concert. Entre Rock / Thrash, pèche et sourires aux lèvres, les allemands se sont donné à fond dans l'interprétation des titres, pour le plus grand bonheur de tous. Belle mise en route avec PRESIDENT EVIL, so, danke schön meine Herren ;)

KAYSER ont, eux aussi, mis le feu, en offrant leur Thrash, leur dynamisme et leur plaisir bien visible d'être en France, surtout que c'était leur toute première date hexagonale pour les Suédois. Le son qui avait souffert d'être seulement correct pour le groupe précédent, était cette fois bien au rendez-vous, se faisant le complice d'un gig prenant, qui donnait plus qu'envie de bouger sur chaque titre. KAYSER ont assuré pour cette dernière date de leur tournée avec VOLBEAT et leur toute première en France !!!

VOLBEAT en tête d'affiche, s'y entendent pour assurer, pas de doute: quel concert ils ont donné!! Absolument tout le groupe était plus qu'à l'aise, à l'image de Michael Poulsen qui plaisantait, s'adressait à l'assistance, plaquait ses vocaux uniques ou ses accords sur sa 6 cordes, balançait en tout sens sa chevelure le faisant penser à Elvis Presley, en somme, un vrai festival visuel, d'humour et surtout et bien sûr de Rock / Hard qui ne peut que plaire. Et il a plu :) Vainqueur de trois Awards dans son pays, le groupe Danois mérite sa réussite. A noter la sortie de leur DVD live qui vaut le coup d'oeil :) Un nouveau titre joué en exclusivité, un rappel, plus que sollicité par tous, voilà qui a refermé un 22 février ayant plus que répondu à toutes les espérances :)

Setlist VOLBEAT: