Fred Anton: Yes, I do have many contacts with people of the ex-USSR and I think they are interesting people,most of them are really involved into the underground. Some serious people I know are for example Andy and BLACKSMITH (I’m in contact with him for some years now), Andrey and BLUES OF THE FROZEN SOULS, Ruslan and CHAOTIC DESINTEGRATION, Denis and COLD FOREST(Belarus), Serguei and DISFIGURMENT, etc.... I think the biggest difference is that this part of the world has some problems due to the economic crisis, so things are not so easy as they are in our side of Europe or in America (North and South).

Ind: Tell us brief how has your band started, if I’m not mistaken INHUMATE has gone thru “from death to grind” development?

Fred Anton:INHUMATE started in the end of 1990 as a pure death metal band. Thenwe had 2 line up changes during the years and now, since 1994 the line up is the same and INHUMATE way of playing and feeling of music changed. We are all now into brutality and we prefer grind core than death metal. You can feel this development through our productions, it always goes to something stronger and more brutal. So, about our discography we did 2 demos (actually sold out) "Abstract Suffering" (1993) and в"Grind YourSoul" (1996) and 3 CD "Internal Life" (1996, sold out),"Ex-Pulsion" (1997) and "Growth" (2000). All those stuffs are 100% underground and self produced on our own label Grind Your Soul.

Ind: Do you agree with people saying that grind and death are quite different musical styles and one should never mix ‘em. Grind must be more freak while death tends to complicated structures… Is it a good thing to mix grind with death or any other styles?

Fred Anton:I think that you have to mix different kinds of music, it gives some richer music. But I’m also okthat pure grind core should be very short tracks with simple structures and pure death metal should be a bit more complicated. I think this is really easy to understand if you compare some of the cult albums in each kind of music that are "Scum" of NAPALM DEATH and"Tomb of the mutilated" of CANNIBAL CORPSE. But as this was ok in the past I think that now the mix is ok and can give interesting things. INHUMATE is a mix of those musics. And a bit into what I said but also into the state of mind. We think that too much death metal bands are some posing guys who think that they are stars because they're on the stage and they don't give a fuck to the people down the stage. We don't like this attitude. We always try to make people climb on the stage because we think that everybody at a concert is together for the same cause : the musick !!! This is a grind core attitude and we followthis idea !!!

Ind: Do you appreciate crust and noise? Porno grind?

Fred Anton:Yes, sometimes I listen to those kinds of music but it’s not really my cup of tea. I prefer puregrind core especially bands coming from Czech Republic like ALIENATION MENTAL, INGROWING, CEREBRAL TURBULENCY, etc... I think those bands represents the future of the grind core in its purest form! I think that crust core are usually too much politically oriented,noise is speedly boring me because I think it’s fucking hard to make some interesting noise!and porn grind is ok when the music is original and artwork too, for example CBT is really good in that way.

Ind: Let’s talk about your lyrical side. What is your lyrics basically about? Blood, destruction, politics?… How serious are you towards your lyrics?

Fred Anton:There have been several changes in INHUMATE lyrics... A few years ago we had some funny lyrics, some serious ones, etc... Nowadays I think that Christophe writes only serious things dealing with life, philosophy, art, the music we play, why we do it, etc... We also have many tracks dealing with our concept... So, now I have to explain it. Be ready for a long (I hopenot boring) explanation. Through our concept we try to do an heptalogy (a 7 CD concept). Those7 albums will be 7 steps of a human life and will try to show that life never ends, so if life neverends then there is no time left and we arrive at what we call the abolition of time. Some peoplegonna tell me that life ends when a guy dies, and to this I answer that in the normal way of lifeall person should give birth to a child, in that case life goes on through the child,ok ? So when the parents gonna die, life won’t end because the child will carry it. And when that child will die (in a normal age I mean) it should have been the same, that child, when he’ll be an adult, heshould have given life to his own child! So, when the try to understand what life is for the allhumanity, you can’t understand when it begins and when it will end, can you ? And time cannot be counted into a so wide moment, is there then a real time? Can't it be abolished? I think that yes, because he human brain isn’t strong enough to understand all those things. So, that was for the whole concept. And we try to put this, to explain this through our cover artworks (and a little bit through the lyrics). Our first CD "Internal Life" was dealing with the life before life, the life inside the mother. The second one, "Ex-Pulsionв", which means the moment of birth in French, is about that time. When you got the whole complete CD, you can see the pictures of that moment, maybe the biggest traumatism that all human people has to feel in it's life. The actual and third CD called "Growth" deals about all the young years, the teen ages years, then there will be "Maturity" (that name might be changed). We arealready talking a lot together about that next CD and we have some very good ideas for it. We wanna make something special because it will be the exact medium CD of the whole heptalogy !!! But I can't say anything for the time, things are still secret. Then the fifth one will be named "The Fifth Season", sixth one "Death" and the last one "Eternal Life". With this last CD, we close the concept and in the same way that the name sounds like the first CD, the story begins again, and never ends as long as there will be human people on Earth. Now the only thing we hope is to be able to finish this long concept...

Ind: To my mind INHUMATE is one of the leading French x-treme bands. I also know that you’ve got plenty of labels and productions in your country. Why do you remain unsigned and keep promotion all by yourselves then?

Fred Anton:Great to hear that you think that we are one of the leading French x-treme band пЃЉ, it proves that our promotion is not so bad ! About labels, yes we have many over here (OSMOSE, SEASON OF MIST, HOLY, ADIPOCERE, LISTENABLE, etc...) but most of them are trying to do it into a professional way and so they don't really care to what the dark side of the scenelooks like.... All they want is to sign big bands and to make money through them. One our side we think that we are not a professional band (we all have a work out of music and don't want to be professional, we play because we fuckinglike and need it !) and all we want is to have fun. So, in promoting INHUMATE by ourselves we get more than what those labels can offer us as long as we are an underground band. And I have pleasure in contacting people, writing letters, sending CD, etc... Of course it's a lot of work but on the other side we also know exactly what's happening with out stuff ! I know many people who had problems with their labels because the selling were secret or not very clear, because they lost money, etc... And the last thing is that a label is promoting a CD and if it doesn't sell enough in the beginning they promote the next one and so on.... We have just one stuff to promote and it can take years "Growth" is out for more than 1 year now and I'm still promoting it !!!!

Ind: I also know that you support unsigned bands and even arrange some festival…

Fred Anton:Yes, supporting unsigned bands is very important for me. I know that some people consider us as a kind of "important" or "well known" band. INHUMATE is what it is without any help ! No label never helped us and we did everything by ourselves. Now I don't want otherbands to work that hard and so I'll try to help them the best I can ! The only thing I want isthose bands to work on their side too ! I don't want to take a lazy band an push it to it's best !!! But if I see bands that are working hard and don't have the recognition they deserve, than I'm trying to do everything I can to help them ! In my opinion many labels sign bands because they heard of them and because they think they will sell much and not often because they really think their music is good ! And I wanna fight against that. If I help unsigned bands and if I do some festival (in which ones I try to have only unsigned or signed on small labels bands) it's to push those bands to that. All the bands that I make play are interesting bands, bands that try to promote themselves the best they can, bands label don't look to ! But if many people see a band and if a rumor is going around one band, it will be easier for this band to find a deal with a label and that's what I want. Just helping the other ones, just making this fucking scene alive !

Ind: How often do you play gigs? Do you earn any money or it is mainlyyour hobby?

Fred Anton:We did about 60 gigs in the last 7 years in several countries like France (of course), Belgium,Holland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria. And s I told it, we don't do that as professional so we don't get any fucking money... When we go for a gig we just askfor the gas for the cars, evening food and a place to sleep if it's too far and that's all. But we usually also come with our distro (Grind Your Soul Distro) and we make some money with it. This money is our way to stay self produced.

Ind: What would you say to those bands who have been playing severalyears without any tangiblesuccess, no money, no contracts, just a couple of alright albumsand reviews in fanzines? Theymight lose hope to achieve anything and disband finally.

Fred Anton:Ah, ah, ah !!! That's exactly what INHUMATE is. Standing as an underground band for more than 10 years now, playing underground gigs and having no real recognition. But we don't care because we don 't want to sell our soul to the "devil". We prefer to have the reputation of an honest underground band than to appear in all magazines during long interviews that have been paid by the label and telling always the same stupid shits : "our best album ever is our last one", "we were born to play this music", "we're the best band of the world"... And all those fucking craps !!!!!! You know we still have the faith and I think it's the most important and if the band should end now I think that those 7 years should have been incredible years, difficult to understand for people who didn't live them !!!!

Ind: What music is popular with young people in France now? Are theremany young metalheads?

Fred Anton:Precisely now we are into a neo metal generation. French well known bands are PLEYMO for example. I really don't know if they're well known abroad. But all those bands are the followers of bands like SEPULTURA. I'm absolutely not into this fashion because I thinkit's not enough "metal".... Too much near to hip hop stuffs.... That was for the very commercial side of the scene, in a less part, more metal side we still have a huge black metal wave in France. About them I don't know anything because I don't like them, too many fascist and racist in this kind of music.

Ind: Your interests besides music?

Fred Anton:Few years ago I was interested in French classical literature and modern art, nowadays since Imanage INHUMATE really seriously I don''t have any free time left.... Doesn't mean that I act for INHUMATE all time, but my life is in 3 parts : my family (girlfriendand daughter), INHUMATE (and all that goes around msuick) and my job. Not many time for anything besides that....

Ind: Does the world face the beginning of WORLD WAR III now?

Fred Anton:No, I don't think so. Yes there is a world crisis but I don't think we will have to face the WW III ! Hope not !!!!

Ind: To live a life means?

Fred Anton:The most important is : having fun ! I’m against all people that consider metal as a negative thing, we are puking against society, etc... If things are so bad what do they wait for to suicidethemselves ? I have a lot of pleasure in my life ! I love my small family, I believe in NHUMATE and I like my job too. And when I don't wanna do something anymore or when things are not satisfying me I change them. Few years ago I had a NAPALM DEATH t-shirt with thissentence : "do you possess the strength to change your own life ?" and I think it's a very interesting question. I already changed my life totally 2 times (I mean that I moved to another town, changed my friends, job, etc...) and of course things were hard but after that I can say that I do appreciate the life I live because I chosed everything by myself and I'm not the follower of anybody !!!Life’s nice.

Ind: Your final words wishes! And welcome to Russia!!!

Fred Anton:Thanx 1000 times for this REALLY interesting interview, and of course we’d like to come to Russia !!!! All people who wanna contact me, just feel free to write me (paper mail or e-mail), all will have an answer for sure :INHUMATEc/o Fred ANTON1 rue du college67170 BRUMATHFRANCE