Interview: Alix R from Aodon (Post Black Metal)

Interview by Steven

Quality atmospheric modern black metal is what Aodon is all about, and this was recognized by Carcassbomb, who reviewed the March 2020 release “11069“, and gave it an impressive 9.5/10. Alix R, bassist and lyricist took some time to have a chat with Steve from Aussie Death Thrash band, Aeons Abyss. Here is the interview

Please introduce yourself and tell the readers of Noob Heavy about the name of your band, Aodon; is there a story behind the name? Who’s in your band, and when did you first start?

I am Alix R., I play bass and write lyrics for Aodon. 

Aodon was created in 2016 by M-kHa. At first it was a solo project but Laurent C. and I were not very far from it since it’s beginning as we are close friends for many years now. We joined M-kha a little more officially on this second album but he still be the only essential member of the band. 

I really enjoyed your album ‘11069’ (Released on Willowtip on 27/03/2020). Was there a concept behind the creation of the album, and what are three things you’d like a listener to know whilst they are listening to 11069?

Glad you enjoyed ´11069’. There is no initial concept but as they were written we were able to link the tracks as expressions of how Nature can destroy human beings at different levels, from a tiny disease cell to the intangible nothingness of the Universe.  Now three things….ok.

1. This second album took a quite long time of composition compared to the first album ‘Sharphood’. ‘11069´ is much more developed in my opinion.
2. ‘11069’ is the number of a hospital room.
3. ‘11069’ gave us the chance to sign a deal with Willowtip records. Nearly one year later, we still feel honored to be part of it!

Your lyrics are very well constructed and have a sense of depth.  What is your approach to writing lyrics, and how is this combined with the music?

Thank you for these compliments. I try to write quite spontaneously, I don’t try to cover a particular subject, I just let it happen. Sometimes a few words come when listening to inspirational music or while driving … I try to choose words for their meaning but also for their sound, I know not many listeners in extreme metal pay attention to them but personally I love it. On ‘11069’ the lyrics are in French which was very liberating for us. I was able to write and M-Kha was able to yell much more instinctively.

Lyrics from the opening track Les Rayons

L’ombre s’épaissit sur l’indicible espoir
(The shadow thickens over the inexpressible hope)
d’une âme perdue, fourvoyée
(of a lost, misled soul)
sans ardeur, ni pouvoir
(without ardour or power)
La sentence enchaine,
(The sentence goes on,)
sans peine et sans bruit
(painlessly and quietly)
Ton âme perdue, sédatée,
(Your lost soul, sedated,)
cernée par les cris
(surrounded by screams)

I’ve seen Aodon described as Post-Metal, Black Metal & Dark Atmospheric Black Metal.  Do you care about genre classifications and do you ever feel limited by this when it comes to making music?

We don’t care about classifications and never feel limited by them. The only thing is that unfortunately you have to tag your music to promote it. Therefore we asked ourselves how can we describe it and we choose these three words : dark, atmospheric and extreme. 

The album art work for 11069 by Ludovic Robin is amazing.  Tell us about this work and how it came to be.

Ludovic Robin is a young very talented artist who lives right next to us. We came across his work and his surrealistic world immediately spoke to us. We have some common friends and by contacting him the exchanges were straightforward and natural. He was perfectly able to translate visually what we expressed by music and words. Something striking, scratched and inevitable.

What do you have planned for the future?

Some new tracks are on the way to make a third album. 
We’d love to play live but that’s really uncertain by the moment, regarding the sanitary situation and also because unfortunately we are still looking for a drummer. 

Last Question; which is better, Escargots or cuisses de grenouille?

Thanks for asking, I’m in love with food and gastronomy.
I would maybe désappoint you but Cuisses de grenouille is not something we eat very often, even in France…
Escargots is not an everyday meal neither but it can be seen sometimes as an entree on a family diner table, cooked in the oven with butter garlic and parsley…it’s delicious.