Interview mit Billy Bayou von Glorior Belli

It’s only two years since the release of your last album – how can you work that fast? What’s the secret behind your productivity?
It can all start with an idea, a vision, a word, a sound, a smell, a feeling… Just this morning I was having a vision for a video clip scenario. There’s this force inside that drives me to always create, no matter the circumstances, and I can’t shut it off. It’s always been like this. The main thing is not feeling inspired, anyone can be inspired, the main thing for me is to transform into, give it life. Run the extra yards and manifest these thoughts into an actual physical plan.

You’ve recorded most of the instruments yourself. Why?
I’ll tell you a secret, this is one of the perks of working alone, you can do whatever the fuck you want and no one to slow you down in the making! I play everything better than my musicians anyway. It’s like they were just in for the girls and the money.

Do you write the music alone, or do the live-members of the band have any influence on the songs?
They influence my stomach ache, by acting stupid and making me feel like a daddy on tour. Just kidding, I’m the one who goes bananas and they hate me for that. We basically all hate each others really, it’s like impossible to be together for more than a few hours. Fuck man, I don’t know why I started this band anymore now. Ah yes, girls and money! Let’s keep going.

If there is no influence: What do you prefer in working alone – don’t you miss other peoples feedback during the creative process?
What do you mean? Like complains? This is too long, this is not good enough, this song is too happy, this one is too slow, this riff is too complicated, I mean… If I wanted to hear people’s opinions I’d go on metal forums. Is this still a thing? Always took the wrong turn every step of the way, insulted everyone in the business. Don’t call me, I won’t call you! They’re all so sensitive. You think you’re dealing with strong individuals but you’re not, it’s just a bunch of glorified bookkeepers and whining pussies who somehow managed to find their ways to the top with their little scumbag friends who all together form this lovely music business.
Dealing with a band is a pain in the fucking ass believe me! It’s too much of bullshit and time wasted taking into consideration everyone’s opinion, schedule, whatever. Glorior Belli is much more efficient like that, It’s not a democracy, I’m a real asshole about it and people accept it because they know I’m right to do so; it serves the band’s best interests!

The artwork of the album looks like paintings in old churches or bibles. What was the idea behind that picture?
The artwork actually represents us fuckers as centerpiece, Arthur, Marco, and I. The three apostates taunting angels who desperately try to force us back on the “right” path, but obviously fail. Then it’s all about middle fingers, and teasing, and a little bit of balls exposure. French people are rude!

Did I get it right that you painted the artwork yourself? Are you an artist or how did that came?
I have been using a stained glass photograph as a base for the design, that I took inside the French Cathedral of Chartres.

What is the album about in general, and how important are the lyrics for you?
“The Apostates” is a concept album for all of us struggling against bigotry and abuse of all kinds!

After a more traditional album, there was more southern-rock influence now on this one, I’d say. What drove you to bring this element back into the sound of GLORIOR BELLI?
There are fortunately many ways to proceed when making a record, you can either follow a set of rules, such as having to sound like this or that (though it doesn’t sound like fun does it?) or you can also simply go with the flow. Guess I’d rather chose the later myself. I try to make each new record unique in its essence. I wouldn’t want to do the exact same thing twice. It’s not challenging neither for me nor for the listeners. There are still decisions that come later in the process to come up with something coherent in the end, conceptually speaking as well.

The last song on the album is very far from what you’ve done before, but also great. What inspired you for this track, and, to ask a bit offensive: why is there only one song like this on the album?
Always enjoyed closing records with a peculiar touch, this is how you make an impression. There have been similar songs with clean vocals in the previous records as well, i.e. ‘The Great Southern Darkness’, ‘In Every Grief-stricken Blues’. The song ’Rebel Reveries’ stands out from the rest of the tracks here, I wrote it with my sails set on the cape that one must get rid of all mind-numbing doctrines and restraining chains, to connect back with the true idea of freedom, before the obnoxious rape that was Creation. In fact, this is what I’ve been doing my entire life, lurking in the shadows as far away from the light of the sun as possible, for this is the only place one can uncover the unaltered flame and spark the fires of liberation.

How about live – will you go on tour and play some dates in Germany as well?
We have been playing in Erfurt and Oberhausen this April. Germany is always a blast! We will play in Basel, Switzerland on the 14th of July at the Tales of Drone festival.

 „The Great Southern Darkness“ you called yourself J., sometimes it‘s Billy Bayou and on the last album it was Infestvvs again, as in the early days. What’s the idea behind switching your name, which one is your „real“ artists name?
In my mind I’ve always associated the name ‘Infestvvs’ to our debuts, latin-rooted true Black Metal. It was a fitting choice back then but damn I grew so tired of it… Sounds too “serious” and paradoxically almost a little ironic. Billy Bayou’s more fun, relaxed and to the point. I grew fond of it, can’t imagine changing it ever again. Friends call me Billy now, it suits my love for the South… of Heaven.

Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Pantera: Fucking hostile
Whiskey: Funeral
Soccer: MMA
Your favorite album from 2018: The Ugly Kings – “Promised Land”
GLORIOR BELLI in ten years: In you mama’s bed

Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours:
Let us burn to the ground every forms of limitation, leaving us only with the fundamental rising from the ashes and free ourselves from our chains!

Publiziert am 24. Juni 2018 von Moritz Grütz