Emerging from the French underground, Demonist delivers a crushing blend of old-school and modern death metal infused with black and doom influences. Formed in 2023 Demonist strikes a balance between relentless brutality and eerie atmospheres, drawing from the legacies of Morbid Angel, Immolation, and Gorguts while embracing contemporary death metal nuances. Now, with a cassette reissue via Underground Syndicate and a split release on the horizon, Demonist continues to carve its path in the extreme metal scene.
Serial Metalbums: Demonist’s arrival on the scene with your self-titled debut EP in 2024 made a strong impression. Can you take us back to the band's formation? What vision did you have when starting out?
Alexis Chateau: In 2023, Paul and I parted ways with our Death Metal band Necroscum due to creative differences. We decided that we wanted to continue playing together and expand our influences, and thus we created Demonist. We wanted to make a more complete Death Metal, with Black and Doom elements, and more or less technicality…
Paul is the guitarist and vocalist, Bastien the drummer, and Alexis, the bassist and vocalist. We’re creating an underworld inspired by games like Doom or Quake, with H.P. Lovecraft and the Necronomicon being a part of our universe as well.
Serial Metalbums: Your music delivers a brutal yet atmospheric approach to death metal. What elements define the Demonist sound, and how did you refine them during the making of your first EP?
Alexis Chateau: We like bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, Mercyless, Suffocation, Gorguts, Dying Fetus and Massacra. Those are our core influences. They are brutal, technical and fast, but they do have more atmospheric and doomy moments… More mid-tempo. We like to alternate between fast and slow parts, and fast and slow tracks.
We are also inspired by current sounds with bands like Undeath and Skeletal Remains. Their approach is different; more modern. So for this EP, we tried to mix old school and modern productions. We wanted to find a balance between 90’s and 2020’s. With the support of Gabriel, who mixed the EP, we feel we’ve found this compromise.
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Serial Metalbums: When crafting your debut EP, what was the driving force behind its themes and musical direction? Were there any specific challenges or unexpected moments in the songwriting and recording process that left a lasting impact on you?
Alexis Chateau: In the beginning, the first driving force was to break with our past on Necroscum. This band wanted to move on to Grindcore, Slamming and 2000’s brutal waves (like Disgorge, Benighted or Devourment), but not Paul and I. Therefore, we decided to quit the band.
We also wanted a complete collaboration between songwriters as we both write. We didn’t want to compartmentalize music and lyrics. We found a name, we began composing and writing. We’re slowly refining our music as we go. At some point we had the idea of depicting a hellscape with new characters and many factions. But in the beginning, it wasn’t planned at all. We wish to keep expanding this world and making the characters evolve.
As far as challenges go, the recording process went very smoothly, probably thanks to our experience with recording the EP and the first album of Necroscum. If anything, we’re just confirming that our formula for production is efficient, so we’ll keep working that way.
Serial Metalbums: Lyrically, what subjects or concepts fuel the EP? Are there overarching themes that tie the songs together? If you had to pick one track from Demonist that best represents the album’s essence, which would it be and why?
Alexis Chateau: We mainly talk about this world we have conceived. We don’t wish to give you to much detail, but every song depicts an aspect of life in this hellish landscape. Whether it’s through characters, like in “Priest of Skin” and “Slay Them All”, factions like in “They Inhale the Soul”, or places like in “Pandemonium”.
If we had to pick one, it would probably be “Slay them all”, the second track on the EP. Because you can find the Morbid Angel-esque fast playing, the technicality of bands like Pestilence, as well as lyrics inspired by video games and bands like Undeath or Cannibal Corpse.
Serial Metalbums: Underground Syndicate will be releasing Demonist on cassette. How did this collaboration come about, and what does this reissue mean for you?
Alexis Chateau: This collaboration began when David, the boss of Underground Syndicate, sent us a DM. He asked if we would be interested in re-releasing our cassette. We were very excited and very proud. When the first version was released by Nihilistic Holocaust, David was one of the first to purchase the tape. He also explained the situation of Enmity and his intent to create his own label. He liked the tape and he decided to collaborate with us for an Indonesian repress.
David is very cool. We regularly text and we exchange our impressions about the french metal scene, global extreme metal scene, etc. Many times we thanked him for the trust that he had placed in us.
To us, releasing an Indonesian tape is a great honor. This part of the world loves tapes and extreme Metal. It’s an acknowledgment of our work. All the big occidental bands release an Indonesian version of their material. And Demonist, little band from eastern France, gets this opportunity. So this reissue means many good things for us. Thank you again David!
Serial Metalbums: Will this reissue include any special features, like alternative artwork, bonus material, or anything unique for collectors?
Alexis Chateau: The real difference lies in the packaging. The tape is painted all over, the booklet has been reworked, etc. other than that there is no real difference.
Serial Metalbums: After this reissue, what’s next for Demonist? Are you already working on new material or planning live shows?
Alexis Chateau: We’re working on new material, yes! We worked on a SPLIT with the french band HOROH, another band on Crypt of Dr Gore, our label, and this piece will be out in the next months. All parts have been recorded and we’re waiting for Gabriel to finish the mix and master.
We will play at the Gatinaicticut Metal Fest this year. Great line up with Disavowed, Profanity, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, Storm from the Masses or Corrosive Elements and many more. We’re also building a tour but everything isn’t ready yet.
Serial Metalbums: As an emerging act, what are your thoughts on the state of extreme metal today? Do you see a resurgence of interest in old-school death metal aesthetics?
Alexis Chateau: Old school Death Metal is very present in the extreme scene. In France, we are lucky to have a lot of them: Mercyless, Agressor, Catacomb, Misgivings, Venefixion, Savage Annihilation, Slave One, Voorhees, Witches, Rotten, Vayron, Iron Flesh, Skelethal, Abcest, Carn, Fall of Seraphs, Disfuneral, Corrupter, Abyssal Ascendent, and many more… So, I think the french scene is in good health and everyone can find something they will like.
That’s the same in the US, Canada, Germany, South America (with Chile mainly), Asia or Australia. And nowadays Africa is introducing Death Metal bands too like Over Thrust.
The aesthetics never disappeared! It continues to evolve.
Serial Metalbums: If someone were to hear Demonist for the first time, what’s the one thing you’d want them to take away from the experience?
Alexis Chateau: It’s brutal music, made by geeks who enjoy Doom, Quake, and other brutal games.
