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In this issue of TOC, we talk to Quo Vadis, a melodic death metal band from Motreal Quebec, Canada. Montreal is the acknowledged center for heavy music in Canada and is most likely one of the strongest and most dynamic scenes in North America. Quo Vadis play a style of music not unlike bands such as (defunct) At the Gates, or Dark Tranquility, yet perhaps with a harder edge and stronger Death elements. Quo Vadis received a favourable review in the previous issue of TOC.
Can you tell us a little about the history of the band?
Remy: Quo Vadis was formed in 1992 as a trash cover band. The band was actually formed for a school competition or something and it first had 5 members. The three core members, Arie Itman (guitar, violin, vox), Bart Frydrychowicz (guitar, vox) and Yanic Bercier (drums) stuck together and started writing songs. Then in 1995, I met Arie in a local music store and I, soon after, joined the band. At that point, I was their 17th bassist! That summer, we completed the 5 song self-titled demo and it was released in august. Through word of mouth and a few shows in and around Montreal, the band started getting respect from the local death-metal scene. The next summer, we recorded our first album (Forever) and released it in october. We did something special for the release. A few other bands were releasing their album at the same time so we got together with Neuraxis and Tenebrae and did a triple release. It was a huge sucess and since then, the band has expanded it's fan base quite alot.
How many demos were there before the release of Forever?
Remy: Our self-title demo was the first and only demo we released. More and more bands are now releasing self-financed albums it seems. It has its advantages and disadvantages but we had many good songs we wanted to release so we decided to record all of theme instead.
Did Forever capture the sound that band was trying to achieve?
Remy: For the budget we had, we are very happy with the way it came out. I mean, we only had 44 hours to record and mix and 3 hours for mastering. Pierre Remillard (Obliveon) did the job 10 times better than we had expected it to come out, he really pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Of course, there are a few things we would like to change in the sound but I don't think there's ever been a perfect album, so hey, with a bigger budget for the next album (which will be about 3 times higher) we will attempt to get as close as possible to what we want.
I hear the album is still selling really well, how much longer will you be supporting it before a new one is released?
Remy: We presently have 2 or 3 songs 90% complete with 6 or 7 others getting there. We will record the album around june or july and we will try to release it asap after that. We got a very interesting offer to release the album so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
Where have you gone touring?
Remy: So far, we've only done shows here in the province of Quebec since our availability prevents us from touring extensively. The only time we're free for more than a week end is during the summer since we're all University students. Yanic is finishing his physics engineering bachelor this May and he will start his masters in september, Arie is finishing his Biology bachelor and he too will start his masters in september, Bart is presently taking a year off from his biology bachelor to work for a year and I'll complete my mechanical engineering bachelor this coming december. No masters for me, thank you very much! As you can see, we're all very busy but we still looking at the possibility to tour this summer if time permits. We've been offered a U.S. tour and if it's not possible for us, we might do a smaller tour here in Canada since we also got an offer for that, so we'll see.
Who have you gone touring with?
Remy: A few weeks ago, we did two shows in northern Quebec with Kataklysm. Since the cities are far away from one another up there, it is harder to do more dates but he had a blast anyway. The guys from Kataklysm are very nice people and we will most certainly do other shows with them in the futur. There is a mutual respect between the two band and it's great.
What would be the ultimate tour, where and with whom, for Quo Vadis?
Remy:There are so many great bands, it's hard to choose. Let's say a europeen tour with Slayer and Death (I heard Chuck is reforming the band). It kind of represents the band; we have the agression those bands have mixed with a melodic sound a la europeen. Personally, it's my personal goal to tour europe. I refuse to go there until it's for a tour! I hope it will be soon because I am dying to visit that continent!! An other cool tour would be with Madonna, the Beatles and Elvis Presley. I'd love to see how many people would get a heart attack when Bart starts going crazy on stage. Trust me, he does get really wild. The first time I saw Quo Vadis live before I was in the band, I said to myself: "I just got to play in that guy's band!!" Of course, I was a big fan of their music also.
How would you describe the music you play? How do you feel it differs from standard extreme metal?
Remy: As I said before, we'll shrink it down to technical-melodic death metal. We are different in the sense that most bands sound north american or europeen, we sound like both. If there's something I would change in the Gothenburg sound, it's the drumming. Wouldn't it be great to have ultra fast and ultra technical drumming with their guitar melodies? Well that's kind of what we have, all mixed with our personal Quo Vadis sound. I still can't believe our drummer, he's a train, I'm telling you! It's a great honor to be playing in his band.
Is anybody primarily responsible for the stories told in Forever, or is it a group effort?
Remy: Arie wrote the lyrics for one song, Yanic did three, Bart wrote the remainig 6 songs and I write interviews, haha. I don't know, there is some stuff I have to get out of myself and I'll probably get together with Bart to write a song for the next album. I'm really pissed off at back stabbers and hypocrites. The singer of my old band is the biggest human garbage this earth has ever produced. His stupidities fucked up the band but I don't care about that so much since I'm doing fine with Quo Vadis while he's still jacking off in the basement of his parents house while looking at his Debbie Gibson posters. I'll stop taking about him because I could go to jail if I said everything I think about him. But it will be some excellent writting material, trust me.
Do you feel a certain amount of stagnation exists in the scene? What do you think this can be attributed to?
Remy: A lot of bands copy Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse but what do you want, as long as people buy it, there will always be some bands doing that stuff. A lot of people complain about bands copying other bands or even copying themeselves from album to album but I don't really mind it. For example, the new Gamma Ray album "Somewhere out in space" is a real rip off but I still find it amazing. They haven't brought anything new to metal but every time I spin the album, my mind goes somewhere out in space and I forget all about my personal problems, it helps me get through harder days. It's not everybody's opinion but it is mine.
Are there times when you felt the music just wasn't working and wanted to change it entirely?
Not for me. I love the album. It's been recorded almost 2 years ago and I still listen to it on a regular basis. I am very proud of playing on that album and I really looks forward to the next album, the new material really kicks ass.
What is the drive that keeps you producing music that many say is diluting the extreme music scene?
Remy: I don't care about what people think, I love metal and I will play it as long as there are other musicians around me willing to play it. In my opinion, it's the hardest music to play and the most challenging to listen to. So much can be done in metal, it's not even 20 years old yet. I think alot more can be done and that's what Quo Vadis is attempting to do. I hope metal never dies.
How do you approach the not necessariy close-minded, but conservative metal heads and death metal fans who are unwilling to accept the musical arrangements of Quo Vadis?
Remy: There's really nothing I can do about it. If they don't want to listen to anything new, it's their decision. Personaly, I have CD's from every branch of metal. Even if I don't listen to some of them every month, I'm happy to own them because it get's we out of the same listening patern every once in a while.
Which bands do you think would be best suited for comparison to Quo Vadis?
Remy: It's hard to say. Terrorizer blasted us saying we're only a north american Dark Tranquility or something like that. Dark Tranquility are melodic and so are we, I'll give them that but for the rest, I'm not sure if he really listened to the album or not. Some people have compared us to Death which is ok with me. Human is one of the most technical album there is and Symbolic probably has the most felling of all any metal album. That album screams and cries from every note coming out of it. We're all Death fans so it is possible that there's an influence.
Do you feel any anger towards the old iconoclastic bands, such as Manowar, that have no interest in progressing?
Remy: I think they just keep writing music for their old fans. It's hard to get new fans if your album sounds the exact same as the previous one. But let me ask you a question in return: Do you prefer bands who do not evolve or bands like Rock'n'rollica (ex-Metallica) or Megadeth that betray Metal fans? I would prefer to have 4 albums like Rust in Peace instead of having the shit they gave us in the past 7 years. That band used to be my favorite band but now, come on, get serious Dave. I paid $100 dollars in tickets and transportation for the first Megadeth show I saw when I was in highschool. It was one of the best days in my life and I even met all 4 members of the band but today, when there's a Megadeth show in town, all I do is stand outside and pass flyers to people coming out of the show.
Where do you see metal being five or ten years from now?
Remy: I don't know if it will ever get as big as it was in the early 90's but at least, people listening to metal today are not fakes, they don't listen to it because their friends listen to it or because it's cool to wear a metal shirt. 6-7 years ago, every 10 year old kid had a Metallica shirt and that used to piss me off big time. And what do they listen to today? Probably to the Backstreet boys or something like that. It was just a trend back then, and only the strong survived! Hopefully it will pick up a bit to allow more bands to live off their music.
Anything else you'd care to comment on or add?
Remy: Thank you for supporting the underground and for the attention you have given to Quo Vadis. A big hello to all our fellow Canadians out West. By the way, we have the best hockey team right here in Montreal!!
Copyright ©1998 Borcek