EPK – Decerebration – Follow The Scars (2021)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
““We started in the early 90s. We were kids that didn’t know what they were doing besides writing what we thought were good death metal songs with typical death metal lyrics. More than 20 years have passed since our last release of new music, and we wanted to show how we have evolved as persons and musicians. We wanted to stay true to our old school death metal roots while adding new elements to our music such as clean vocals. We really like the music we were able to write for the new album. We think old fans and new fans will find something for them in our new songs and we can’t wait for them to hear the album. “Follow the Scars” is also a look into our personal lives over the past twenty years lyrically. The lyrics are not the typical death metal lyrics we used to write. Not because we want to deny our past but because we wanted to talk about the issues we faced in our lives. Just like the music the lyrics are a product of how we have matured and evolved as human beings and musicians. We wanted the lyrics to reflect that.” – Decerebration
For fans of Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Testament, Death, Sepultura
Album Title: Follow the Scars
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Label: Self-Release
Facebook.com/Decerebration | Instagram.com/decerebrationband.official | YouTube
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“If you aren’t familiar with Decerebration but enjoy the likes of Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse, you should find this an interesting and rewarding listen, and you can’t fail to be inspired by the positivity out of adversity message behind the release either.” – Metal Talk
“‘Follow the Scars’ feels like a record designed to destroy live shows, obliterate necks and pits, and it does that with fucking triumph.” – The Killchain Blog
“solid riffs in here, and the thick bass really lifts this album up a lot.” – Metal Epidemic
“Decerebration fut pour moi une TRÈS belle découverte. 8.5/10” Ondes Chocs
“neuf titres de death metal rustiques et mal dégrossis, pas forcément très brutaux mais épais comme un bon gruau.” – Soil Chronicles
“Follow the Scars” rolls forward and whatever gets in its way, it buries uncompromisingly alive, dismembers and destroys. It’s like an old rusty bulldozer that has stood aside for years, only to be revived, greased with tainted blood and called back into service. On its side, like the coffin mentioned in the introduction, it bears the inscription DECEREBRATION. I confess that, even if I crawl into some dark corner, this is my first encounter with the band. I really enjoy the album; it brings out the dark side in me. I’m so glad that the Canadian beast has come to life again. Mark “Follow the Scars” with a high-quality mark! Morbid death metal exhumed from old graves! Well, done!” – Deadly Storm Zine
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Album Title: Follow the Scars
Release Date: December 17, 2021
Label: Self-Release
Track Listing:
1. Scorched Memories (1:47)
2. Infamous Duality (4:24)
3. A Ghost of Flesh and Blood (4:20)
4. Follow the Scars (4:34)
5. Break the Cycle (4:45)
6. The Factless Prophecy (4:21)
7. The Gift of Anger (4:48)
8. I Despise (5:36)
9. L.T.E.I (2:29)
Album Length: 37:09
Album Credits:
• All songs performed by: Decerebration
• All songs written by: Julien Souque / Nicolas Cantin / Olivier Doyon
• Produced by: Decerebration and François C. Fortin – Studio La Boîte Noire
• Mixed by: François C. Fortin – Studio La Boîte Noire
• Mastered by: François C. Fortin – Studio La Boîte Noire
• Album Artwork by: https://www.facebook.com/gorgingsuicideart
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album and Live Band Line Up:
Fudz Hubert – Vocals
Julien Souque – Guitar
Nicolas Cantin- Guitar
Mathieu Faucher – Bass
Olivier Doyon – Drums / Clean Vocals
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The album as a whole explained by the band:
Follow the Scars is a very personal album lyrically. We wanted to use our personal life experiences to write the lyrics of the songs. We felt it was important to do so instead of going the typical death metal lyric route. Musically we wanted to keep our old school death metal roots and have slammy and melodic parts to the songs. We wanted to showcase how a death metal musician can evolve over the years after being exposed to many different genres of music and showcase that in some of our songs. For example, the clean vocal chorus in Follow the Scars. We also wanted more structured songs and not a dozen different riffs glued together the make a song, as we did before.
Track by Track explained by the band:
1. Scorched Memories: This is the intro. It is about someone entering their own mind. It is also about not being able to let go of the past and what’s dragging you down, the sound of the chains is an example of that. The melody in the intro is also a riff in the first song, this is intentional. We wanted to set the table.
2. Infamous Duality: The first single off the album. Infamous Duality is about having to choose between a comfortable but unhappy life and leaving that comfort to live the life you are meant to live. Musically, there is a lot of old-school death metal influence. We wanted the single to show we are still Decerebration!!
3. A Ghost of Flesh and Blood: Another old-school death metal song, which represents our style of writing very well. Melodic and heavy riffs mixed together to make a song. Lyrically, this song is about personal relationships. It is about being with someone that is not good for you while at the same time being around another person that would be right for you. You see this person but until you leave the other relationship, this person is a ghost…of flesh and blood.
4. Follow the Scars: Musically, this song has a clean vocal chorus. It is the first song in the album where you can hear our musical evolution. It starts with fast, thrash metal riffs and goes into heavy, slammy verses. There is also a very simple breakdown in the middle of the song. Lyrically, Follow the Scars is about going through a traumatic event, like sickness, for example, beating it and coming out stronger than you were before. The scars are meant to show the battle you fought.
5. Break the Cycle: “Break the Cycle” is about being able to let go of the past and stop repeating the same behaviors the keep bringing you down. It’s a very straightforward, fast, in your face kind of song. At the same time, it incorporates slower and more melodic riffs and blast beat riffs, something that represents Decerebration well.
6. The Factless Prophecy: “Factless” lyrics were written at the height of COVID. It is about people being mindlessly led by political leaders and accepting everything as fact without questioning. Again, this is a song that represents Decerebration’s style well, melody and heaviness. Fun musical fact, some riffs in the song were written in the late 90s and never used until now!!
7. The Gift of Anger: This is a very heavy song. We decided the step outside the box with this one by having a clean vocal bridge and vocal harmonies over clean guitar right after. It is a slow and heavy song about using anger as a tool to better yourself and “ascend” to another level instead of self-destruction.
8. I Despise: Probably the most violent song on the album. Musically, it starts with fast thrashy verses to a more melodic chorus. It has a heavy breakdown in the middle that leads into a fast, blast beat bridge. It is violent because the lyrics themselves are. It is about realizing that you are responsible for staying in a bad relationship for years and not doing anything about it. Basically, “I Despise” is someone talking to themselves.
9. L.T.E.I: It’s an abbreviation for Libera Temet Ex Infernis. It means “free yourself from hell” in Latin. The outro is a darker beginning and the end is happier melodically. This is meant to show what happens when you literally free yourself from things that are bad for you.
STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAND
1. “Follow the Scars” is the first album of new songs in more than 20 years. It is also a very personal album because they talk about their lives and what happened to them for the past 20 years. They also chose to incorporate clean vocals in some of their new songs, something that they had never done before. They felt going off the beaten past for once would be a good thing. In the end, they are very proud to share “Follow the Scars” with the world, old and new fans alike.
2. The recording process for “Follow the Scars” was brand new for them. They tracked the guitar, drums and bass at home using Cubase. Very different from when they had to go for days in a studio to track the instruments. It allowed them to take their time and make sure they delivered their best instrument playing.
3. François C. Fortin of the studio La Boîte Noire in Quebec City really took the band’s sound to the next level. They never thought they could sound like this in a million years. His talent as a sound engineer and producer mixed with the new technologies available made that possible.
4. Even after 20 years, the core of the band is still the same (Fudz, Julien, Nicolas and Olivier). Mathieu, a long-time friend was welcomed in the band in 2011 when they got back together to play some shows. Decerebration is more than just a band to them, it is a family, and they don’t think the band could work with different people in it.
5. Fun fact: Their drummer plays exclusively on a Roland V-Drum, even at shows. They can practice in a smaller room at a lower volume and the drum sound is always perfect. The drum sound at shows is awesome too. People are doubtful before they begin the show, but after the first few notes, they forget it’s a V-Drum.
6. The band was stripped search by U.S. customs on their first (and only) border crossing as a band to play a show in Virginia in 1993. They eventually let them through, but as 17-18-year-old kids, they were petrified. Makes a good story though!!
L to R – Nicolas Cantin – Guitar, Olivier Doyon – Drums, Clean vocals, Fudz Hubert – Vocals, Julien Souque – Guitar, Mathieu Faucher – Bass
Photo Credit – Anne-Frédérique Souque
Decerebration is self-releasing their new album “Follow the Scars” on December 17th, 2021. A return to the band’s old school death metal roots mixed in with slammy riffs, guitar harmonies and some evolutionary twists. Old school and new school fans alike will find there is something for them in Follow the Scars. Decerebration hopes to hit the stage across Quebec and elsewhere in 2022.
Discography:
2021 – Follow the Scars – LP
2015 – Decerebration (re-recording of the 1998 album, 10 songs, CD and streaming)
2013 – Respawned – LP (compilation release)
1998 – Decerebration – LP
1995 – My Inner Impurity – EP (CD and Cassette)
1994 – Pure Hatred – LP (Cassette only)
Shared Stage with:
Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Cynic, Sinister, Incantation, Malevolent Creation, Kataklysm, Internal Bleeding, First Fragment and many more.
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