Hi, AETERE. Greetings from Germany! What are you up to these days?
A: Hi, we're getting ready for the album's release in less than a month, and we're very excited after all these years that it will finally be out in the world.
J: Yes, very excited to finally share this album with everybody. It has been so long in the making.
Would you please introduce your band to our readers who are not aware of your music?
A: Aetere is a sort of doom shoegaze that has existed since 2017, but the project went on pause for a while. This record was written between 2017 and 2019.
Could you give us a little insight into the formation of the band? When and how did it happen?
A : We're a duo, we both used to live in Bordeaux, and we're longtime friends; our bands used to rehearse in the same space, at the time, Bordeaux still had a very active music scene, and everyone knew everyone.
At what age did you guys start playing instruments, and since when have you been into metal music?
A: I started playing when I was a teenager, but I've never played exclusively metal. However, I've been into metal music since adolescence. In my other solo project called Ailise Blake, I play a sort of dark folk.
J: I started playing bass around my twenties to play in a band that was a copycat of Unsane. Then we started Year of No Light with friends & that's how I started to really play music.
I was much more of a goth/indie noise teenager, but then I discovered metal with some friends. I've always listened to different kinds of music and played different kinds of music also. I've got a solo project that is experimental drone ambient music called Lacustre, for example.
AETERE is about to release Theogonie. Could you tell us something about it and walk us through all the track's lyrics and meanings?
A: The lyrics in their globality speak about the theme of the "epica ", of old tales, like Ovid's Theogony and Homer's Odyssey, but mostly they discuss the research of the inner flame, the path that some men have to walk in order to find their truth. I used to incorporate texts that are dear to me, like William Blake's Auguries of Innocence or Milton's Paradise Lost. I've always had this image of a long-lost epic tale when thinking about Aetere.
How has the response been so far from listeners? Have you started working on new songs?
A: At the moment, the answers were very positive; people are excited about the release of the album. We're not working on anything new, we live far away, and we're both busy with all our projects, like Year of No Light and Ailise Blake, but there's the will to go on with Aetere, with hypothetical lives and new songs.
J: We didn't know what to expect as it's a new band, but the answer has been really positive so far. We can't wait to unleash the full album on the audience!
When and where did you play your first gig? How was the experience of going live for the first time?
A: We've never played live. In order to play live, we would first need to find at least 2 other musicians to accompany us on stage.
According to you, what is the secret behind the band's success?
A: I'll tell you the day we'll have success, and if it doesn't happen, it won't really matter. Do what you love, I say. Having the chance to do it is a success in itself.
J: Always stay humble!
Have you ever had an epic fail moment during a gig?
A: With my previous band called JCSatan, I kicked my amp head and threw it off the stage because I was frustrated that it was a shitty head. I was in Phoenix. But I wouldn't consider it an epic failure. I've never had any epic fails so far, but there's still time.
If asked to differentiate AETERE from other doom metal bands in France, how would you respond?
A: I think we don't play just doom, we're pretty melodic in our arrangements, and we lean toward a more shoegaze kinda sound. That's where we differentiate, I think.
J: Maybe because we don't consider ourselves as a traditional doom band?
Which bands/artists do you draw your influences from, and which are your favorite local bands?
A: Influences, I would say My Bloody Valentine and Warning, and about local bands, my favorite local band at the moment is Endlessfloods from Bordeaux.
J: From a sound point of view, I would say Neurosis (era Billy Anderson) or Buried at Sea. Musically, I would say Old Man Gloom, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, or Swans. In Paris, some bands I really enjoy: AVC, Tunnel Syndrome, and Smetti Subito.
AETERE is a very promising formation. Looking at your future, where do you see yourselves in 3 years?
A: I'm sure we will have new music to release, and I think we will be playing live by then.
J: Yeah, definitely working on some new tunes.
Well, that’s it. Thanks a lot for your time. Could you speak out to all your fans and supporters?
J: Thanks a lot for your support!
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