Lazare (LZR) is a French hardcore band with strong metal influences not unlike Kickback or Our For The Count. If you're in the mood for this sick and nasty stuff that only French can deliver, this one is for you. The band formed in 2008 in Rouen, they have a MCD out this year on NBTB records.
Lazare (LZR) is a French hardcore band with strong metal influences not unlike Kickback or Our For The Count. If you're in the mood for this sick and nasty stuff that only French can deliver, this one is for you. The band formed in 2008 in Rouen, they have a MCD out this year on NBTB records.Could you introduce the band and give us a quick rundown on the history behind Lazare?
The band started in 2008. We are all from a city called Rouen. So there s David on the drums, Christophe playing basse, Baptise and Nico are the guitarists. And Damien and myself on vocals. We all had bands that did a few gigs in the past (sworn villanova junction…)
You have just dropped new album called simply LZR. Can you explain what should we expect from it?
Its not an album it’s a MCD with 4 songs. It s the first one that we did with the band. LZR means Lazare. 4 songs that where we just express ourselves.
Who would you say is your biggest inspiration? Will fans of French bands like Kickback, Stormcore or Out For The Count get some of this heavy metallic hardcore sound here or are there some any new ideas we should expect?
We can’t deny the fact that we have all listened to kickback, we also did a gig with Out for the Count in Rouen for our release party, it was a blast. But they are many things that we listened to and that we get our inspiration from, not only in hxc but also in hip hop.
What is the idea and concept behind LZR lyrically?
Everything that is around us, daily life- from what happens in da streets, big brother watching you, this whole made world that we evolve in, or also how the media make us numb. And also how the people buried themselves and grow in their own vices.
We spit our vision of things without pretending that it’s the truth, its just our opion and things we believe in., without forgetting of course the values and morals we truly hold to.
Hardcore, metal and hip hop culture – how important is for you to incorporate all of these elements into your music?
This is the whole band’s aim. Its just the mix of the 6 os us that make lazare so special. Without this whole mix of people we wouldn t make this music
How do you feel about the state of French hardcore? What are some of the bands from your area you support?
I would say that French scene is far from how it should be. There are many good bands but very few cities where there is an active local scene with active people. For example in Rouen there is a good scene with new and older generation. The atmosphere during the gigs are quite wild.
The main problem is that there is not many places where to play anymore: either it s too small either you have to book it 6 to 8 months before the day you wanna play.
How did you hook up with NBAB and what do you like about this label?
Well I would say that he helped us out. We now work with Vincent from Emergence records, a homie from the area of Rouen that is good in what he does and he released 200 Mcds.
Do you have a general attitude to how you run a band – is it just for fun or do you feel any pressure to write better songs, play bigger shows etc?
Our main goal is to play as many gigs as possible, to play shows in cities or countries we ve never been before. There is not too much pressure, we make things our way, or the way we can sometimes but we always do it with strong beliefs.
What’s next for Lazare? What goals would you still like to achieve in 2010?
Till the end of the year we wanna play as much shows as possible. We are trying to book out first tour from October 30th to November 6th. And by the end of the year we ll try to get back to the studio so we can record new songs. But most of all we wanna keep enjoying each and every one of our gigs.
Any shout outs or last words?
This goes to all the people we ve met during our shows, to those who support the scene and or not here to show off or to pretend.
To those we would like to meet in the future and a special thank you to you for your support and this good hxc zine.
