Uneven Structure Start Work on New Album

The first taste fans got of the upcoming second album by French progressive metal band Uneven Structure was about vocalist Matthieu Romarin’s malfunctioning microwave [“Think Doomed, It is Appropriate for the Situation”]. Of course, the band posted the song saying it won’t make it to the album, but guitarist Aurélien Pereira says they might have a few more of these goofy songs to work as teasers. Says Pereira, “Igor [Omodei, guitarist] and I call them the nervous breakdown songs. You’re bored, you’re pissed off or whatever. You just open Cubase [music production software], take your guitar and start writing stupid riffs ”“ riffs that you’d never be able to play live. You just try to make the craziest songs you can think of.”

Pereira takes a break between writing riffs to speak to ROLLING STONE India about Uneven Structure’s second album, their India tour, which was slated for October, falling through, and what he thinks of the djent tag.

What can you tell me about the new album?

It’s a full-length album. I have the project open on my computer. You guys might hear something about it in the very near future. We’re actively writing new stuff. Matthew is recording vocals for the new songs, and I’m putting the final touches on the first few songs. We’re going to play them play live sooner than you think.

Does Uneven Structure associate itself with djent because the scene has become a bit saturated now and most bands that started out as djent have begun discarding the label.

You cannot deny that we belong to the djent scene to an extent, at least the community aspect. That’s what helped us grow as musicians ”“ the proximity with the fans. We’re going to know everyone in the scene. It’s like a big family. I feel that in the djent scene, the musicians that belong to that scene, are closer to each other than any other in the past and that’s a great thing.

When it comes to music, of course we borrow things from djent”“ for example, we like the sound of the guitars and the production. I don’t mind ”“ people can call us whatever they want, but at the end we’re just metal and I’m fine with that.

You guys re-recorded and re-released your first EP, 8, earlier this year. What prompted this decision?

We had a totally different lineup then and it [8] didn’t reflect the way we compose and write music right now. We needed to bring in the new vocalist, new drummer. We always felt 8 was not a polished, finished EP. We could do so much more with it.

It was some time last year that Basick Records [UK prog metal record label] had called Uneven Structure the Next Best Thing and invited you to perform in London. A year on, what are your thoughts on that tag?

I don’t think we’re the next best thing or the next big thing, or whatever they call it. But it’s certainly flattering to say the least. Looking back at it, it was an amazing gig.

Have you ever felt like it’s a competition now that there are so many bands with a similar sound out there?

You could say that it’s a competition in some regard, but we don’t pay attention to it. We don’t feel like we have to compete with other bands ”“ we want to just make music the way it sounds in our heads. There’s no competition.

What happened with your India tour?

It’s canceled, I’m afraid. It took too much time on the promoter’s part, and we leave for another tour in two weeks and it was too close to get everything done by them. We had no other choice but to pull out.

It’s a bit of a shame that the tour is not happening, but it’s out of our control. Nothing was booked ”“ we didn’t have any news from the promoter for quite a while. We still had to book flight tickets. We’ll let you know as soon as we have another plan set.

What have you heard about the metal scene in India?

I just see a lot of Indian people on my Facebook posting everywhere [about Uneven Structure]. So I just know there seems to be quite a following in India. We’d just like to get our asses over there and play for you guys.

Anything else you’d like to add about the new album?

We’re going straight to the wall with this one. You should also add: Thall [a word invented by Swedish ambient djent band Vildhjarta to describe their music]. That’s the best way to sum it up.

Watch the music video for “Frost/Hail” from Februus below