.: FuryRocks :: interview :: Augury__A_band_full_of_passion

Published: 09 June 2009

Augury – A band full of passion

Augury will release their second album ‘Fragmentary Evidence’ on July 17th through Nuclear Blast Records. Reason enough to catch up with our Canadian friends. I got the opportunity to speak with Patrick Loisel (both vocalist and guitarist). At first we had a bit of a situation because there was an accident on the school where Patrick Loisel also is a teacher in Science. Luckily Patrick was willing to reschedule our interview to the next day. One thing I noticed that Patrick Loisel truly is a kind man, and spoke about his music full of passion! We talked about the new Augury album, the ups and downs of being on the road and their ambitions.
Fragmentary Evidence sounds great, how do you feel about it?

Patrick: ‘It was like giving birth to a baby, we’ve been working on it for over a year , and ultimately it resolved very good , in the last few months we’ve been in the studio full time , so it was a relieving feeling when it finally was done.’

Comparing this album to your last album concealed, the operatic vocals are not present at all, was that a deliberate choice?

‘Yeah, Arianne was also was a founding member of Augury. And when we were on the road the environment and conditions for a soprano were not that good as they would be for let’s say a metal singer. Ultimately we’d do like 3 to 4 shows and her voice would be gone. There were also some personal problems. So when we wrote the new material I also did a lot of clean singing, which in turn opted for the band to decide to continue as a 4 piece instead of a 5 piece.’

Can you tell us another big difference between Concealed and Fragmentary Evidence?

‘We literally pushed the envelope further, more solos, and Mathieu and I both brought the 12 string acoustic guitar into the sound. There’s a lot more going on now. Also we decided to bring the standard D tuning to a lower level like a tuning, that brought us a whole new spectrum of sounds to experiment with.’

Also I would want to give my compliments for the superb work on guitar. As you said, Mathieu and you both play a 12 string acoustic guitar but also the fretless bass is a notable presence in your music. When housing all that experience, isn’t it really hard to compose a song?

‘Not at all, one of the guys comes up with an almost complete song, just missing a few pieces or gaps here and there. And we collectively finish it right away.’

You can’t say that for every band.

‘No, but mostly I think it is because of the fact that we all have a huge experience in playing our instruments both individually and collectively.’

Another thing I noticed upon writing my review is that all the instruments really have their own emphasis in the whole recording, which brings me to the question, how did the whole production process come down?

‘Quite good, we work with many, many people so we always were busy. We would record our guitars at the one place, and do our drums somewhere else and in the end, Yannick St. Amand would put everything together. Ultimately it was a good experience.’

Also, congratulations upon signing with Nuclear Blast. How does that make you feel?

‘It truly is a great achievement for us! It’s like a hockey player putting down his skate on the ice in the competition for the first time. I know that Nuclear Blast is very happy with the result of the album, now we just want to make them happy upon achieving the sales and good tours.’

In September you are supporting God Dethroned on an North American tour, How do you feel about that?

‘Great! Because it’s a chance for us to play for people who are both new to us , and have been waiting for us to play for them for a long time. Also we will be touring in and around the area of Arizona, which is good. So, SF or LA Here We Come!’

When on tour what do you enjoy most?

‘The show itself and also visiting many new places. I’m personally not that much of a travel guy, but I do like visiting many new places and especially exploring the local wildlife and fauna. Most of the time I try to take my fishing gear right away once I have some free time.
I know most of the guys want to visit the town and have a beer somewhere. But in most cases we are not that urban orientated and like visiting and exploring nature more.’

And what don’t you like about being on tour?

‘16 hours in the back of a van, waking up 4 in the morning and leaving at 6 in the morning. Actually I wish I could teleport. Would be easy telling somebody: ‘Hey I’m off to Mexico in 5 minutes, see you in the evening, hahaha.’

Are there any plans to tour Europe?

‘Actually, it has been in our minds for a very long time and I know for a fact that there could be a possibility for us in 2010. I do hope that happens. So it’s more a matter of when then if.’

Any other place you’d love to tour?

‘Have you seen the movie Global Metal?’

No sorry I haven’t.

‘You should check it out. But basically I would want to tour those countries where metal still is a ‘new’ thing. Countries like Japan, India, Dubai, and South America.’

Yeah the scene is something totally different there.

‘Exactly , So I would love to play those places, kind of would be feeling like a pioneer. But let’s not forget Europe. Because we still have to tour there.’

What can we expect from an Augury show?

‘Lots of energy and I think that our sound is pretty much integral when compared to our CD sound. Lots of bands record a like 16 guitar tracks on the cd and actually play like 2 or 3 when they are on stage. Also a lot of people think that what I scream or sing on the CD can’t be achieved life. But when I’m playing life it’s actually much easier for me to achieve that specific sound.’

What band would you love to tour with?

Kataklysm, because they are friends of us, but also Emperor, Orphaned Land, Symbiosis, and personally (because I know the rest of the band wouldn’t agree) Mayhem, and also Testament.’

How is the metal scene in Canada?

‘A lot of people talk about a certain quality that we have here, we’ve often been compared to the new Norway and that is quite flattering. For example listen to Vovoid or Strapping Young Lad.’

What can fans expect from Augury for the upcoming year?

‘We’ve actually been working on material for a next album. We already have written about four songs, so a new album is a good possibility and off course the touring in support of our current album.’