Doomed Confessionary: N.C. (Dionysiaque)
Photos by Robin Levet
Dionysiaque is a doom metal band from Strasbourg, France. Featuring members of Solstitium, Au-Delà, Defraktor, Karne, Sacrifizer, Proudhon, Supertzar & more, the band consists of L.B. (guitar), B.P. (guitar), L.V.L. (bass), T.H. (drums) and N.C. (vocals).
Dionysiaque released their full-length debut album »Diogonos« on March 15th, 2024 via I, Voidhanger Records.
»Diogonos« (in Greek, the one who was born twice) consists of eight tracks that exude metal from every pore. Ferocious and primordial doom with marked black-thrash veins and which combines gloomy riffs, steaming guitar solos and oppressive atmospheres with great evocative power. Dionysiaque are finally ready to spread their wine all over the world.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Hi Bojan. Thanks for having Dionysiaque in the realms of Doomed Nation. L.B. (guitar) and I, N.C. (vocals) formed the band in 2014, recorded two demos between 2018 and 2020, and released our first album in 2024 called »Diogonos« with revamped and more dedicated line-up through the almighty label I, Voidhanger Records.
We like to say that we play unorthodox doom metal. Our roots are indeed firmly bonded to the traditionnal doom metal soil made of Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble. But we also draw inspiration from the Italian doom and prog scene with bands like Death SS, Black Hole, Arpia, Dark Quarterer, L’impero delle ombre, PFM… and we like raw stuff like Discharge or Dead Kennedys as much as we like weird stuff from the zheul movement like Magma, Art Zoyd, Univers Zero. And of course we like metal in a widely diversity from Darkthrone to Voivod, Sleep, Holy Terror, Herzel, Tar Pond, Manilla Road, Thin Lizzy, Nuclear Death, Autopsy, and the list is endless.
We manage to bring a very personal music delivered ina quite organic and natural sound. Check us out in order to see if you love us or hate us.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I would say that it is to keep on struggling even though we can be very unlucky on a regularly basis. I can’t count the times our cabinets died, or a band member was prevented to come to the rehearsal at the last minute against his will, or we got our rehearsal place closed without further notice. Generally we are stuck with a lot of bad luck but we always overcome and get our doom to grow anyway. As long as everybodybin the band is highlight motivated these challenges can be faced and the band can go on even stronger.
What can you be most proud of so far?
I would say grateful rather than proud. We are grateful to be supported by more people than we would have imagined when we started the band. Obviously our music is not the most hermetic on Earth, but is weird and unusual enough to make sure we are never going to be everybody’s taste. So we are humbled to see that we reach out to a wide range of persons who show a dedicated support to our musical mania.
We are also humbled to be friends with the good people of Smoulder, Meurtrières, Jade, Tar Pond, Malédictions Zine, Manzer… We respect them a lot and it feels good to see that we all have very similar state of mind on a human and musical levels.
What was your biggest regret?
Well, shit happens and we all fail every now and then but I never had any regret. I think it’s better to learn from the mistakes you make and be able to move on from there than having regrets. All in all the band keeps on getting stronger with every step we make. So far it looks like we never made the worst choices. And we are careful to always follow our convictions and we do not try to please everyone by doing what would be expected from us. So no, no regrets.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Opening the day at the Courts Of Chaos Festival 2024 in Bretagne was plain awesome. The place was packed even though it was very early (1 PM), and we got such an osmosis with the crowd. It was incredible. It took me 1 hour before I could feel normal again. This gig was very special indeed.
Lately we also played twice with Tar Pond from Switzerland and it was like family from the first minute we met. We respect the guys a lot for their talent in music and illustration. It is always cool when you happen to befriend people you admire for their work, especially when they admire yours.
But we also had the best time with Jade from Barcelona and Meurtrières from France. These people are like family. We are very often in touch and we know nothing can go wrong between us while we are on the road.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
To see that in a so called counter culture there are more and more conservative people with stinky values who think you have to be a jerk with women, foreigners and lgbtqi+ people is not really a surprise, sadly. But the fact that it tends to take bigger proportions at the moment is indeed something I cannot fully comprehend, especially in a rebellious scene. These people just rehash what the far right worldwide wants them to think and say and it is really fucked up.
Being a jerk does not make you metal in my book. Yes the music is great when it is dark, evil and extreme, but when you, as a person, are a stupid and creepy moron it doesn’t make you a respectable human in our book.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I bought myself some great vinyl reissues of the Arpia back catalogue. Also The Thrash Records double CD compilation is a killer and historical artefact with bands like Revenant, Old Funeral, Fatal, Carbonized, etc.
Lately I enjoyed the last albums of Drowned, Jade, Mayhemic, Concrete Winds, Obnoxious Youth, Herzel, Tar Pond, Morbid Cruelty, Skelethal, Sacrifizer, Conviction, Blitzkrieg, Satan, Negative Plane, Manzer, Proudhon, Supertzar, Barabbas.
And there is obviously an endless list of oldies such as Flower Travellin’ Band, Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, Gentle Giant, The Budos Band, The Dead Boys, Broken Bones, English Dogs, Ulysses Siren, Jim Jones and the Kool-Ade Kids, Miasma, Asphyx, Pentacle, Funerus, Proton Burst…
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Listen carefully to what your other band members play while rehearsing. And always listen to your gut feeling before you decide if a riff or a vocal like sound ok or not.
Also, practice and play gigs as much as you can.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I assume my tastes so I am sorry to disappoint you who wanted crusty details here as I have no guilty pleasures, I only have pleasures.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Strasbourg?
With some friends we started an association called Hard Attack recently and our first gig will take place in Strasbourg, France. So all you want to know you can check HERE.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We will play in Dresden, Germany at the end of December. By then it is not totally booked or confirmed for 2025. So it is better if you follow our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We intend to record our second album in August 2025 at Heldscalla Studio, where we recorded the first album. It will most likely be another live recording too.
We will also try to play more abroad in the future. We will always play in France of course but it is important to bring our primordial fire in other territories.
How can people best support your band?
By opening a bottle of fine wine before they play our album. Then maybe by coming to our shows if they are not afraid by our demented and unorthodox doom. Maybe they can buy our stuff too. Who cares?
Listen to music, stay curious and open minded, that’s always the best thing to do.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
I guess the messages were delivered earlier in this interview. Don’t be a jerk to other people and stay curious for new music out of your comfort zone.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well