Interview with guitarist Mat St. Amour
AU So first off does you band name have anything to do with alien conspiracies?
MS: We'll the name is based on the late 60's book "Chariots of the Gods?", which talks about aliens visiting Earth in the past, helping man evolve and create civilization. It's a subject that I'm into and the other band members also like. It's makes for interesting lyrical topics sometimes but most of all we just thought it sounded epic and cool. Also, it wasn't taken by another band and people seem to dig it as well.
AU: Any cool alien abduction/sighting stories?
MS: Unfortunately, no. Personally, I haven't seen any UFOs or been abducted and to be honest, I wouldn't want to be abducted either! The way they depict it in the movies and from peoples account, it doesn't sound fun at all. Anal probing ain"t my thing!
AU: I notice a lot of influence from the whole new wave of american metal like Lamb of God. Is that a sub-genre you guys were into when starting the band?
MS: Not really, the sound we have evolves with us. It's a combination of all our influences put together. I now like those kind of bands but back when we started, I didn't. As my musical
tastes evolves so does the way I write songs. As a writer, I'm constantly absorbing music and various styles and that seeps into the songwriting process whether I like it or not. But from there once the song is written, when the whole band practices it, things change and move around and then the other guys influences arrive in the song. It's a big mash-up of all of us, and I think we've managed to make something that holds up pretty good.
AU: What other bands were you guys in before this project was started? Did any of them get a lot of attention in Ottawa or Ontario?
MS: For Richard and I, Chariots of the Gods is our real first band. Of course, we played with other people here and there when we started playing music back in the days, but for us two, Chariots is
the first band. Our singer Renaud was in a french folk-rock band with our former bassist Christian. They did a couple of shows and also recorded a nice demo, I think, but since it was a french singing band they didn't get that much attention in Ontario. Payam, our current bassist, played in a band called Hostility before joining us. They disbanded a couple of years ago due to an unfortunate and very personal event. They did do a couple of shows in Ottawa, where they were well received. As for Dimitri, he was in a prog-rock/metal band in his hometown back in the days. They did a couple of shows as well but they didn't tour or export themselves.
AU: Is there any sort of message you would like fans to get from this album?
MS: Well, the whole album has a theme, which all the songs are part of in some way, but its not a concept album. Each song can stand on it's own, but is part of the album as a whole. That common theme is the title, ''Tides of War'' ; the coming and going of war throughout time, the need for man to go to war. That's something to think about. That wherever we go, wherever we are or have been, we have killed and shed blood for the most noble or the stupidest reason. War is in our nature. We are the war machines.
AU: Some of you seem to have a love of history. Was one person responsible for all the lyrics or do you all like that subject?
MS: I'm a big history buff. I love old history and I'm responsible for some of that stuff on the album. It makes for great song topics, it's interesting and educational (kind of) at the same time. But seriously, history's got a lot subject matters that can still be relatable today and it gives us a chance to not just sing about death and destruction but other cool things too. On this album we talk about the Russian revolution and the overthrowing of the monarchy, about the ancient Meso-Americans and their beliefs, about the Greeks and their pantheon and also philosophical ideas.
AU: Do you all share song-writing or is it a one or two man job?
MS: I do all the song writing and then when we practice together things change; they add their personal touch. The core of the songs though, the initial arrangement, as of now, it's all me. I've got a new song written down already where Dimitri contributed a riff and Payam re-arranged it and that's something we'll try to do more on the next album. Also as a lyricist, on ''Tides of War'', Renaud and I split the job about half-half, but on the next records, he'll definitely be writing more lyrics.
AU: Any touring plans for the next year?
MS: We are currently touring in support of our new album. We've done great shows with great bands, and as of now everything is going fine. We've had some mechanical problems on the road
here and there but the show must go on! We still have a couple of dates on that tour, and we're currently working with a manager, trying to book shows and festivals for the summer.
We'll keep you guys posted on what's happening ; just go check us out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chariotsofthegods or our official website at http://www.chariotsofthegods.net
AU: If you could fight a horse sized duck or Obama who would you and why?
MS: Wow…Hmm…I guess I'd go with the big duck, just to see what it would look like and maybe there's a chance its really dumb and I could subdue it and ride the fuck out of it (in a non-sexual kind of way, of course)
Michael F. Carnage
http://www.chariotsofthegods.net/
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