Spiky psyches

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Like so many Montreal bands, Inepsy had to go to Europe to find an audience for their Motörhead/Discharge brand of punk rock. However, for No Speed Limit for Destruction, their third full-length release, Inepsy drew a line in the sand for even their most ardent fans, adopting a more rock ’n’ roll sound, with guitars crunching instead of blurring with distortion and tempos taken down quite a bit. By the time this interview happened, the band had abandoned that more traditional rock ’n’ roll sound and have once again slammed the tempos and screams back into high gear. The Mirror got together with drummer Sam Verville and singer/guitarist Chany Pilote for a few pints and questions.

Mirror: You guys were always known as a D-beat [a style of hardcore started by ’80s U.K. punks Discharge] type of punk band, but with No Speed Limit for Destruction, you embraced a ’70s classic rock sound. Did this musical change alienate some of your older fans?

Sam Verville: This record was more of a project for us. We had just overused the D-beat formula so much, so we wanted to push our limits, and that rock ’n’ roll influence has always been with us. Some people really liked it and some people really hated it, but we always had that rock ’n’ roll vibe.

M: But the record you are working on now is a return to your speedy roots.

SV: Chany just went crazy on the songwriting and churned out a lot of songs really quickly, and they just happened to be really fast songs.

Chany Pilote: Because of the political times we are living now, I really wanted an aggressive sound to match the lyrics I was writing.

M: Much like Discharge, you’ve always written from an apocalyptic viewpoint. What is your obsession with war?

SV: We’re all in our mid-thirties and we’re just the kids born from the Cold War. When you’re four years old, you’re watching a movie like The Day After, or Ronald Reagan on the news, and it traumatizes you for life.

CP: They are saying the Cold War is over and it was a long time ago, but the Bush administration continues to put a lot of money into nuclear armament. Obviously, we still live in the age of terror.

SV: A lot of people seem to be in denial about the threat of mass destruction, but there are a lot of countries hating the United States more than ever now, and those countries have the technology. The U.S. is an empire and no empire lasts forever. It will definitely be torn down one day.

CP: This sense of fear that is definitely what Inepsy is about also shows up in my art and sculptures, and by being able to let this fear out through these avenues, it’s cathartic for me because I am able to create from an energy whose main intention is to destroy.

M: You guys really kicked off the DIY scene in the early 2000s with the venue Loudhouse that you both worked and lived at. Do you think you guys might’ve served as inspiration for the rash of DIY venues happening in Montreal now?

CP: Not really, because if clubs aren’t going to book certain kinds of bands, the kids are going to make it happen anyway.

WITH BASTARDATOR AND RUSTED
DAWN AT KATACOMBES ON FRIDAY,
FEB. 27, 8 P.M.