Cobra is a band that has a tendency to
leave their audience completely dazed and confused. Formed in 1984, the band
has managed to gather a reasonable cult-following thanks to their undeniable
singularity in todays' metal scene; with songs like “Des lieux associatifs pour
les jeunes” (tr: “Associative space for the youths”), “Pédés et drogués” (tr: “Faggots and
junkies”) or “J’aime regarder les filles
qui marchent sur des seringues (sur la plage)” (tr:”I like watching girls step
on syringes (on the beach)”); perplexing tracks that have nonetheless found
their audience with fans all across France. Their reputation eventually led
them to unleash their zaney aesthetic and ridiculous lyrics at Le Nouveau
Casino in Paris, opening up for none other than Kickback (a rather peculiar
lineup contrasting the bands' weird sense of humor with the Parisian Hardcore
bands' infamously ferocious reputation). Right before their Parisian show
opening up for Iron Reagan, I got a chance to catch up with the bands'
guitarist Mathieu along with vocalist Marc for an interview about this growing
yet alienating force known as Cobra.
- For those
who've yet to hear of you, could you start off by explaining what is the "Cobra
spirit"?
Marc: (Pensive)
The Cobra spirit is about metal first and foremost, because that's the type of
music we play. It's Hard Rock/Metal/Punk music; it's energetic, brutish music
for brutish people. It's something that's straightforward, that doesn't think
too much...
Mathieu: ...
that doesn't think at all, really. We see it as something to have fun and to
feel good.
- For those
who've had to chance to witness some of your previous shows, one can only be
struck with surprise with regards to the peculiar image and the atmosphere
surrounding your music.
Marc: That's
true, but we're not too good at putting a finger on it really. It just goes off
the wall. We try to maybe shock people , push things to the extreme, not only
with our music. In extreme music the lyrics are usually a little... I'm going
to say "consensual"... and we're basically trying to be like an
overdriven guitar. We take our ideas, we put an overdrive on it and what we're
left with is something completely saturated. It's just nonsense, stupidity
pushed up to the max.
- Why did you
choose the cobra to represent your band?
Mathieu:
Basically we've known each other for quite some time and we were already
playing "music" back in 1984 and at the time we though the name was
awesome.
Marc: We were
... pretty young (Mathieu laughs). To give you an idea of how old we were, we
actually thought of the name as being pretty appropriate, especially since at
the time you had bands called "Scorpions"...
Mathieu: The
fact that we were 12 years old does explain it as well.
Marc: There's
also a bit of that, yeah (Mathieu laughs). It's pretty sad to have to say,
looking back, that at the time it was all completely serious. At the time we
thought it was super cool to call ourselves Cobra because it sounded Heavy
Metal, it sounded like those bands we'd see in "Enfer Magazine" and
it ended up staying. We did a bunch of other stuff under different names but we
eventually came back to it because it sounded so outdated that it sounded great
to us.
- So the name
took on a different meaning after a while.
Marc: It did take
on a new meaning yeah. Cobra reminds you of car tuning, bikers, all of these
brutish things that try to be rough and tough...
Mathieu: ...
without really buying into it.
Marc: There's
also the cheesy ring to the name Cobra that I happen to like as well.
- So I've read
that Cobra's been around since 1984, yet your first album was released in 2001,
why the long gap ?
Mathieu: Like
we just said, we did a bunch of other stuff when we were kids and eventually
they just strayed off; we hadn't made anything concrete with that. People sold
tapes at that time and so the first time we were lucky enough to get our hands
on a CD burner we made an album (laughs).
Marc: Our first
album basically dates back to the first CD burners and the first internet
connections that allowed us to spread the word.
Mathieu: We've
always recorded everything at home.
Marc: It's
always been a hobby; it never really was a "real band". At first it
was just a thing we did for ourselves and for our friends, which is why there's
always been this "private joke" aspect to it all. There's always been
the opaque side to us where you feel like there's something stupid going on but
you're not sure where it's at. It often relates to the things we've
experienced, things we've seen and that made us laugh, things that we then
bring back up and that are completely retarded. People might think that it
comes from nowhere but in reality there's always a bit of truth, some reason
behind the things we say.
- Your band
makes some references to France's 80s' Hard Rock and Metal Scene, namely with
your song "Fils du Cobra" (Son of the Cobra) which references
Malediction, Satan Jokers and Killers in its chorus : « Fils de Satan, Fils du
Metal, Fils de la haine », followed by « Fils du Cobra ».
Marc: Yeah but
it's not really intentional, it's not really a tribute that we make
specifically to these bands, more like a tribute to that scene in general. I
wouldn't go so far as to say that we're trying to recreate it but it was nice to
have a scene that didn't take things too seriously and that didn't try to
convey any messages... there were band that would call themselves
"Sortilège" (spell) and be completely serious about it. That's sort
of the outlook we have on metal; it's something very serious, people don't play
it for a joke but they engage into it wholeheartedly without any shame. We
don't try to intellectualize things.
- Your band
exists for just about 30 years now. What is your outlook on the evolution and
state of rock and metal music today?
Mathieu: I
think there used to be a time when it was a shame to listen to metal. Right now
it got back into the mainstream, take for example all of these guys you can see
walking around with Burzum t-shirts...
- Like that guy
who just stepped in 5 minutes ago to grab a beer from your fridge.
Mathieu:
Yeah... (bursts out laughing). Take for example a band like Metallica; you can
clearly pinpoint the time when they tried to hold on to the grunge era because
metal music was uncool. It was during that time when the fact that you listened
to metal meant that you really enjoyed it. There was a huge gap during that
period but now ... I wouldn't go as far as to say that it has become
"hip" again, but it certainly has become a part of our current
musical culture again. I don't know if anything of what I'm saying is very
clear right now (laugh).
- It's been 3
years since you last released an album, when can we expect some new stuff from
you guys?
Mathieu: You're
already going to get a 12-inch, which is already a miracle. We're really not
productive when it comes to that.
Marc: It's a
hobby for us, it's something we do on the side, it's certainly become harder
and harder for us to find the time...
Mathieu: ... to
lay something new.
Marc: In any
case we don't really have a label; we don't really have any obligations.
Whenever we'll decide to do something, it'll be because we feel like it,
because we'll like it. We're not just going to start follow the wind, release
stuff and make people laugh simply because we're getting a little more known,
that's not the point.
- Your lyrics
talk about drugs, satan, nihilism but you also have some socially conscious
outcries towards some of societys' ills, most notably concerning the French
youth of today. What is your take on French politics and the youth of
France today?
Mathieu: I
don't get it and I don't give a shit.
Marc: We don't
have any opinion because we really don't care at all about social issues. We're
kind of idiots in a way. Consider us as little barking poodles. We just like to
yell.
- Could you
name one of your favorite albums, movies and books?
Marc: I'd
say... Killing is my business and business is good by Megadeth. I
also listen to a lot of Black metal.
Mathieu: Lately
I've been really fond of Kvelertak, first of all because its' sung
in norwegian so I don't understand it at all, so at least I don't even have to
try to understand anything. Performance-wise, they're just full of energy and
they manage to blend together the rock n' roll and blast parts into a coherent
whole. They've got this Turbonegro vibe in some of their riffs and their
mixture of genres is really fun to listen to.
- In terms of
Movies?
(both of them
take the time to think in silence...)
Marc: ...
they're all old shitty movies!
Mathieu: The
problem with us is that it can be pretty much anything. It depends on the day,
we can go nuts about anything (laughs). Rue Barbare and Tchao
Pantin are some good examples...
Marc: All of
these sordid French detective movies from the 1980s'.
- In terms of
books?
Marc: Oh no!
Thats' a no-no for us! (Mathieu laughs)
Mathieu: No but
we.... yeah...
Marc: Speaking
of which, we say you reading a book a few moments ago and we don't like that!
(Mathieu bursts out laughing). We're absolutely anti-culture, especially when
it comes to written culture (laughs). Zero books!
- To close this
off, do you have a message for your potential readers and fans in the US?
Marc: We like Americans!
To us, america is a bit like in the lyrics for Pantera...
Mathieu: ... or
Mötley Crüe. We're actually going to catch their last tour in MONACO!
Marc: Americans
should just stop taking shits from the snobs who criticize them. They don't
need to take any advice from anybody! (laugh)
Mathieu: It's
AMERICA!
Marc: More
seriously though, all of the bands that blew us away back in 1983 and 1984 were
American bands. Since we've kind of staying in that period, it really did leave
a big mark on us: Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe, WASP...
Interview and translation from French by Robin ONO
Thank you to the band for making this interview
possible !
Cobra
Bandcamp
https://cobra06130.bandcamp.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobra-06130-en-force/184194688330863
Bandcamp
https://cobra06130.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobra-06130-en-force/184194688330863
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