6:33 interview

Musical Chairs are happy to welcome back French metal heads 6:33 back to the blog! So far its been an industrious year for the gang, who have been busy promoting their new album The Deadly Scenes. So we were pleased when they graciously agreed to stop and answer a few of our questions. 

Musical Chairs: For any of our readers who don't know, give us a quick history lesson,
how did 6:33 get to this point?

Howahkan : Once upon a time... Well, in 2010, some guys decided to create a side-project next to their other bands where they could enjoy playing songs with no musical boundaries. They quickly released a first album, "Orphan of Good Manners", which set the basics of what 6:33 will become.

After the departure of the former singer, the band contacted Arno Strobl (Carnival in Coal) to collaborate for a free downloadable EP (whilst looking for its new official singer), 6:33 & Arno Strobl's "Giggles, Garlands & Gallows" (released in 2012) which pushed the band to a whole new level.

Both Arno & 6:33 decided the adventure couldn't end that way and so we wrote and recorded a few more songs to complete the EP and release a proper full-length album together, which happens with "The Stench From The Swelling (a true story)", in 2013.

Our third album, "The Deadly Scenes" marks the end of our collaboration with Arno Strobl, and the first of a new era with Rorschach, our new singer.

MC: Where does the name "6:33" come from?

Howahkan : Some whispers refer to the verse of the gospel of Matthew ("Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you."). Some others think this might be some obscure numerology mindfuck. Others simply tell that the band was created at 6:33 AM after a very long night. Who knows?

MC: You guys seem to meld a lot of different sounds, and styles together to create something truly unique.

What exactly does this come from, what are your influences?

Howahkan : It's quite broad indeed as we do love rockabilly, funk, film scores, electro, even if we share a strong rock/metal basis. That being said, this diversity is not an end in itself and we don't want to melt styles just to show we think we can. It is, in fact, a quite cinematographic approach of music, where each song is seen like a kind of short movie and each ambiance is here to serve the purpose of the "story".

MC: Was the album concept something you had in mind before writing, or did
it happen organically?

Howahkan : The idea of a concept album came very early, as we only had demo versions of two or three songs. The rest of the album was composed with this idea in mind and gave a direction, a general mood for each song. The concept in itself isn't something very original, but we wanted to treat it our own way, like a starting point for stories and characters.

MC: Once the concept was created, who or what did you use as reference for
each act/sin?

Howahkan : We didn't want something dark, religious and moralistic. Rorschach, who was in charge of the lyrics, created a kind of weird tale for each song, where characters embody different sins, but without any judgement. We're closer to the "Mr. Men & Little Misses" than Se7en!

MC: Which song do you hold as your favourite from the entire album?

Howahkan : I am a fan of "The Walking Fed". Everything from the way it was composed, the use of tribal & electronic elements, to the effects used on vocals makes this song very experimental and I like that. And Greed is my favourite sin.

MC: With this album being crafted almost like a piece of musical theatre,
and the Rocky Horror Picture Show reference made in "(I should have known) Her Name was Boogie"

is there any intention to move into that field?

Howahkan : We would love that! There's always been a kind of cinematic vibe in 6:33 and it would be a great experience to compose some music on a theatre piece, a movie, a documentary...

What is next in 2015 for the band?

Howahkan : After 3 full-length albums in 4 years, I think we're gonna focus on playing live for now, and try to give this "Deadly Scenes" the beautiful life we think it deserves! We have a lot of concerts, some mini-tours and most generally speaking, a lot of nice stuff coming.


The Deadly Scenes is available now, and our review can be found here 


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