Congratulations on the release of “Endless Beginnings…”. As a band, how does it feel to finally have your most ambitious and fully realized work out there? How does it feel to see fans fully experience the complete story and atmosphere behind the record?
It feels amazingly well! I’ve been building this whole concept in my head for quite some time and now to finally be able to get it out, after all these years, I feel somehow lighter. I know lyrics might not be the most important thing in thrash and speed metal, but those who, like me, take the time to read it all, while listening, are in for a ride and I ultimately think it makes the whole album better.
You just wrapped up a packed spring tour across France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada, including a string of dates supporting Suicidal Angels. How was the energy on the road, and how have the crowds been reacting to the new material live?
The reactions have been mind-blowing. The crowd went crazy every night. A few people had heard the new album, but the vast majority had never even heard about the band before. So, needless to say, that a lot of them have been blown away. The new songs were a hit live too. I really hope we get to do it again soon!
The production on “Endless Beginnings…” sounds sharp, violent and extremely powerful without losing clarity. What was the experience like for Mathieu on working with Ryan Battistuzzi and Olof Wikstrand on shaping the final sound?
With Ryan, we only recorded the drums, so the merit for the overall sound quality of the album pretty much all goes to Olof. I’ve known him for years and we have really similar musical tastes, so he understood perfectly how the album should sound.
The album’s dystopian concept about the "Dawn Mowers" and a society trapped in endless control is incredibly dark and cinematic. What inspired these themes, and how much of it reflects the real world we live in today?
I’ve been inspired by politics and society through history. And it’s pretty clear that things are still the same today. Only the ways of enslaving the minds and hearts of people have evolved through times, but it’s always the same cycle. Orwell’s "Animal Farm" and "1984" were major inspirations too.
"Only the ways of enslaving the minds and hearts of people have evolved through times, but it’s always the same cycle."
There’s a strong balance on the album between old-school speed/thrash aggression and a more modern, layered approach. How important was it for you to evolve the sound without losing the raw energy that defines Warsenal?
We are always trying to push the boundaries while remaining true to what Warsenal is and I think that with this album, we’ve shown the range of what we can do. It’s always a matter of keeping a balance: evolving without having people feeling lost.
The concept of humanity being controlled through religion, addiction, labor and false hope is disturbingly relevant. Do you see “Endless Beginnings…” as a warning, a reflection of society, or more as a fictional escape into dystopian storytelling?
I think it’s a little bit of the three. It’s a reflection on our society, served as a warning, wrapped into a cynical dystopian story.
This album marks a significant step forward in your songwriting and sonic identity. When you look back at your earlier material, where do you feel the band has evolved the most to achieve the sound we hear on “Endless Beginnings…”?
The previous two albums were written and recorded in our teenage days, so it was more about trying to mash in as many riffs as possible into a song, not really caring about catchiness or songs’ structure. Also, I would improvise my solos in the studio and not really care about how my vocals would sound. So, yeah, I guess you can call it maturity. This time, we took our time to make sure that everything was perfect.
Warsenal is gaining serious momentum in the modern speed/thrash scene right now. Looking ahead, where do you want to push the band next after “Endless Beginnings…”?
Gigs-wise, we want to keep touring, keep putting our music out there to reach more people and spread our riffing disease. Music-wise, we will start releasing albums more regularly, now that we don’t have to struggle with line-up changes anymore. I composed "Endless Beginnings…" when I was stuck at home during Covid and during that time I actually wrote two other albums simultaneously. The next one is going to be more exotic, Middle-Eastern sounding. When I originally composed the song "Dawn Mowers", I had a dozen more riffs crammed into that song that I took out and transformed into other songs.
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