Photo credit: Virg Kps & Karma Noir.
https://www.facebook.com/karmanoirband
Sounds like: Metalcore
From: Belgium
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound?
Justin: We all started very differently. Leo started with piano and classical music before turning to guitar in his teens, Jerome also started with piano and then moved on to guitar - especially technical stuff. Our bass player, Toff, comes from a musical family: his father was a professional drummer and he used to accompany him on tour but he eventually took up the bass since he felt this suited him best. I started very early from a completely non-musical family, though my mother would sing traditional Italian songs and I eventually joined a choir – then I found an old guitar in my parents' attic when I was 16 and everything changed.
Leo: As to our sound, it's kind of a mix of all our different influences. I love old school Death Metal and Black Metal – so that creeps in. Even the classical stuff does too, in the sense that I'm big on melody and hooks, harmony etc. I like digging for earworms. Toff was in a hardcore band in the 90's and he injects a lot of that old school hardcore energy and powerful rhythmic drive, while Jerome was in a Tech Death band called Struggling Time (he's an accomplished guitarist as well as a drummer) and he brings a great amount of precision and rigour to our rehearsals and compositions. Justin was in a metalcore band called Negate and also filled in vocal duties for the band Length Of Time at one point. Both Jerome and he played in an Americana band called Little X Monkeys. Justin tends to have the last say when it comes to the overall aesthetic of the band and the songs.
Justin: And we don't place any limits on inspiration – we welcome it from everywhere and anything that inspires us can go into a song if it "fits". Everyone in the band is involved in crafting the songs too. In the end: if it sounds good to our ears, then we go with that.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Leo: A slap in the face when you see us live and a mark on your soul when you leave the venue [Laughs]. But really if people are touched in some way on a more raw, emotional level – that's great, and that's kind of the aim. It sounds a bit pompous I know, in the end we just want people to have a good time – but still, we're all driven by a kind of visceral urge to touch people on an "energetic" level. Several people have come to us talking about the energy we have on stage – despite none of us being spring chickens.
Justin: Yes, we want people to leave the venue shaken – but in a good way.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Justin: Well, we belong on the extreme side of metal but we have a strong melodic base. We mix clean and harsh vocals and gravitate in the metalcore scene, though, again, other influences can be heard in our sound.
Leo: I think there's enough melody in there for non-metal listeners to enjoy parts of our stuff. We've had a few people come to us after a set saying: "I don’t usually listen to this kind of thing but I liked your music".
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Leo: Can I be completely unrealistic and fantasise a bit? Gojira.
Justin: Paleface Swiss because I'm impressed at how quickly they've developed and how much they've accomplished. I would love to exchange with them. We're nowhere near their level but I think it would be really inspiring to share the stage with them. And as a third band, maybe Channel Zero – they are Belgian trailblazers and their rise to fame is really inspiring.
Leo: In fact the three tracks we've put out were recorded at Noise Factory Studio where Channel Zero recorded their albums.
Justin: That's a nice poster: "Karma Noir – Paleface Swiss – Channel Zero"
Leo: …and Gojira! [Laughs]
5. What's your thoughts on AI generated music?
Justin: I don’t care if I don't hear that it's AI. I think you should also be humble enough to admit that something AI generated touched you and you enjoyed it. Leo: It's inescapable at this point. But I see it as a challenge. Since AI tends to regurgitate stuff that's already been done, it may act as a stimulus to come up with new ideas. Or perhaps some amount of "errors" will be allowed back into music again. Maybe pitch-perfect singing and metronome-compatible riffs will give way to more organic playing again. Mistakes make us human after all.
Justin: Perhaps the next trendy thing to do will be to "prove" your music isn't AI generated. Anyway, I think people will always want to see other people play music.
Leo: We should have a kind of label like for organic food: "100% thought up by humans".
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metalcore?
Justin: I don't really follow the scene. I listen to what inspires and moves me and don't pay attention to what niche it fits into. So I'm not really up-to-date with how the scene is going.
Leo: Metal is already a genre that is often maligned by society – and metalcore is maligned by many metalheads! It's kind of the ugly stepcousin of the subgenres: the one you don't invite to Thanksgiving. Yet I think there's a lot of exciting acts at the moment: Landmvrks had a very impressive last album for example. And the giants like Trivium and Lamb Of God have put out material that will stand the test of time. Our band tends to veer more towards deathcore really – the label "Dark Metalcore" came from Déhà – a well-known artist in the underground with a lot of projects to his name. We had the privilege of sharing the stage with him and he came up with that genre name after hearing us. We liked it so we kept it.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Belgium?
Justin: I'm guessing it's the same as everywhere else, there are less and less people going to small concerts. When I first started touring with a band 25 years ago, everyone was going to shows. For example, the hardcore scene in the early 2000's in Belgium was dense: there were many concerts and lots of bands. To be honest, I feel like the local scene is struggling. It kind of mirrors our modern lives: we turn more inwards, go out and mingle less with people.
Leo: Plus there's less and less public funding for culture and small venues that keep underground acts alive. COVID also had a big impact on attendance. It's a bit better now but there was a real slump. It's a shame: we've shared the stage with new bands that are really talented and the scene deserves to be supported.
Justin: And Belgium is a small country, which means you have to try to develop contacts abroad to keep progressing and that's not an easy task.
Leo: We were lucky enough to play a small venue in Paris which was great. And joining From The Depths was also exciting for us since you're based in the US and your roster includes bands from, well, pretty much everywhere it seems!
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
Justin: Actually, I made a calculation.
Leo: Oh no…
Justin: If you have like 1 million listeners, you will get between 3 and 5000 dollars in revenue. I imagine you'll get taxed: in Belgium, you're dividing that figure by 4. So it's nice to have your music on a platform, but your money comes from gigs and merch.
Leo: Let's just say it's a good thing we all have day jobs.
9. What’s next for Karma Noir?
Leo: we need to focus on recording more material. We have a live set that runs for nearly an hour, so there's plenty of music we still have to record. And taking care of our social media accounts would be a good idea…
Justin: I don't know what you're talking about [laughs]…
Leo: And obviously, we're still eager to play concerts – hopefully also abroad?
10. Any shoutouts?
Justin: our thanks go out to a bunch of friends who supported us from the start and even helped organise shows: Virginie, Caro, Angelo at the Carolo Culture Cafe, JP from the MJ Tamines, the folks at the Rock's Cool Namur, to name a few.
Leo: a big shoutout to Alaric, who kickstarted the previous musical project that led to the birth of Karma Noir – without him, I would have never met Toff and Justin. And I also want to thank Jo Nunez, who is not only an amazing drummer, but a great support and a truly humble guy. He filled in for our drummer during one of our live shows and recorded drum tracks for us – despite his insane schedule. You will hear him play on our next single. Thanks to Gerald over at Noise Factory Studio for his work on the tracks. And I also want to thank Jiel for teaching me guitar and for supporting our work (even if he doesn't like harsh vocals!).
Justin: and, of course, a big thank you to our families who put up with our craziness.
