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Like all good stories, RÖTÖR began with a joke.
What if some Space Patrol members switched instruments and did a parody/comedy band of 80s French Heavy Metal? I'm still not sure about the end result but we had A LOT of fun recording this demo in 2005. Joris - pictured on the right - was on bass (and some vocals as well), JC Alienseed on drums (our ex drummer Tristan was living in Texas at that time), Alex was still on guitars and I was trying my best to reach the highest notes possible! |
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RÖTÖR Mark 1 - Demo (2005)
Ex-Space Patrol members switch instruments and pay tribute to the New Wave of French Heavy Metal of the 80s. 100% home-made and never released before. Includes a cover of Burner's NWOBHM anthem "Savage Killer", frenchified as "Plus sauvage, tu meurs". |
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It does not sound like much but I guess we really enjoyed making simpler music at the time.
The end of Space Patrol had proved quite exhausting and, whereas we still enjoyed each other's company, we knew there was no going back to the long, complicated, overdrawn song structures that proved to be the final nail in Space Patrol's coffin.
But, on the other hand, doing a comedy band proved to be not that funny.
I've always 'admired' (the word may be too strong but you get the drift) the amount of time, hard work and dedication parody bands put into their craft. Always found it weird how people could spend countless hours on something meaningless. I guess my partners in crime felt the same, because, shortly after we recorded the 'fun' demo above, we began to work on more serious songs. Joris was soon to move to China where he would spend a lot of time so we knew we had to hurry.
Two songs were written, and I only sang on the first one, "Tonight You die" -- in my living room, with a cheap computer headset. Take that, Varg Vikernes!
The end of Space Patrol had proved quite exhausting and, whereas we still enjoyed each other's company, we knew there was no going back to the long, complicated, overdrawn song structures that proved to be the final nail in Space Patrol's coffin.
But, on the other hand, doing a comedy band proved to be not that funny.
I've always 'admired' (the word may be too strong but you get the drift) the amount of time, hard work and dedication parody bands put into their craft. Always found it weird how people could spend countless hours on something meaningless. I guess my partners in crime felt the same, because, shortly after we recorded the 'fun' demo above, we began to work on more serious songs. Joris was soon to move to China where he would spend a lot of time so we knew we had to hurry.
Two songs were written, and I only sang on the first one, "Tonight You die" -- in my living room, with a cheap computer headset. Take that, Varg Vikernes!
RÖTÖR Mark 2 - Demo (2006)
Second unreleased demo by the ex-Space Patrol members, with a much better sound but never fully finalized. Unlike the debut demo which was a straight homage to early French heavy metal bands, these two tracks have a distinct stoner vibe and sound a lot more like mid-period Space Patrol. |
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Five years after our initial foray into the 'funny band' scene, things were quite different.
Horrors Of The Black Museum, the doom duo that JC & I made, had come and gone. I was more interested in playing keyboards than singing (which I still wanted to, although doing both was proving to be quite an ordeal), and most important of all, Tristan, our drummer, was back. So quite naturally, the full Space Patrol line-up reconvened (minus Joris who was still in China), with the aim of making some sort of hard to label prog/heavy rock, with pop, Zeuhl, even jazz influences! I did not really know how to play the keyboards (still don't for that matter) and my gear was extremely limited, but that didn't prevent us from writing some tunes that I wouldn't mind playing even today!
RÖTÖR quickly turned into MINIONS - yeah, I know, but that was BEFORE the movie -, which would morph later into a guitar-less instrumental trio in 2012-2013, with JC on bass, Tristan on drums and me on samples & keyboards... JC left Minions after a really good unreleased demo that I swear I will finish one day, another bass player joined us, followed by a new guitarist and, lo and behold, DIEU was born... but that's a story for another time.
Meanwhile, let's hear it for RÖTÖR's swan song with these great, live in the studio rehearsal tunes. Worship the Seven Inch Allah or DIE!!!
Horrors Of The Black Museum, the doom duo that JC & I made, had come and gone. I was more interested in playing keyboards than singing (which I still wanted to, although doing both was proving to be quite an ordeal), and most important of all, Tristan, our drummer, was back. So quite naturally, the full Space Patrol line-up reconvened (minus Joris who was still in China), with the aim of making some sort of hard to label prog/heavy rock, with pop, Zeuhl, even jazz influences! I did not really know how to play the keyboards (still don't for that matter) and my gear was extremely limited, but that didn't prevent us from writing some tunes that I wouldn't mind playing even today!
RÖTÖR quickly turned into MINIONS - yeah, I know, but that was BEFORE the movie -, which would morph later into a guitar-less instrumental trio in 2012-2013, with JC on bass, Tristan on drums and me on samples & keyboards... JC left Minions after a really good unreleased demo that I swear I will finish one day, another bass player joined us, followed by a new guitarist and, lo and behold, DIEU was born... but that's a story for another time.
Meanwhile, let's hear it for RÖTÖR's swan song with these great, live in the studio rehearsal tunes. Worship the Seven Inch Allah or DIE!!!
RÖTÖR Mark 2 - Live in the studio 2010-2011
RÖTÖR Mark II before the band became an all-instrumental unit called MINIONS with a different line-up. This set includes rough rehearsal versions of earlier tracks, recorded 2010-2011 at Luna Rossa Studios, Paris, with a small Zoom H2. No dubs, retakes or anything un-rock 'n roll. This is as raw as it gets, loud and mean and bad-sounding, meant to be enjoyed at full volume with loose women and bad booze. |
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