A while back, we had the opportunity to engage in a short email conversation with newly invigorated French epic black metallers Paramnesia. Their dedication is to long-form, rage-filled sorrow liberally caked with a more American take on that style. The project has existed since 2005, but recording and releasing to the world have only recently become band priorities. Get to know this band and their direction, and be sure to get to their Bandcamp site to hear what you have, until now, been missing.

CoC: Who is involved in Paramnesia? What kind of musical background did you have before becoming involved in Paramnesia?

Paramnesia: Paramnesia's current line-up is pretty recent. My drummer and I met our new bass player and vocalist in early 2013. Before that we had a pretty straightforward black metal background, [but] our newest members came from a more alternative scene, having played in bands ranging from screamo to post-rock. We only started doing gigs after their arrival, so you could say we stand between both worlds. We've played in both punk and metal shows with them, while with our old line-up we had experience with neither live nor studio.

CoC: What music or other influences first inspired Paramnesia to get started?

P: When we first met in 2005 it was just guitar and drums. After jamming for a while, we decided to get a black metal band going, it was our first serious project, and it still is! We drew influences from our mutual passion for raw and intense black metal. Bands such as Paysage d'Hiver, Weakling or Leviathan definitely had an impact on us, both musically and emotionally. With Paramnesia, we had finally found a catalyst for feelings couldn't express by any other means.

CoC: According to Metal-Archives.com, Paramnesia has been around for quite a few years, and this is only the band's third released recording. Why did Paramnesia only start recording a little while ago? What musical activities filled the band's early years?

P: It has been a long process to get where we are today. We wrote a lot of songs and we improved with each new one, [but] still I didn't feel like releasing anything, and doing gigs wasn't even something I thought of. We never were completely satisfied with ourselves and remained pretty secluded. At our core, we played for ourselves. The only trace of this past you could find today is a 2008 home recording of one of our old songs, "Les Contemplations", that we made available a while ago on Bandcamp. The band was put on hiatus between 2008 and 2012 as we all had to move on with our lives, but Paramnesia was still dear to us, we knew we had to reunite. We did so last year, thus explaining the sudden influx of recordings! Going live was an important part in making all of this happen, we felt like it was time for us to share our passion for music.

CoC: Is Paramnesia supported by being part of a heavy music scene in your local area, or do you have to fend for yourself?

P: Even if black metal acts are rare in our area, our local alternative scene was pretty welcoming! But most gigs happen in Germany, or even further. It's sadly not as easy to play live in France. We still gathered good local support and are thankful for that. Our bass player books our gigs in a pretty DIY fashion. In just a year we had the chance to play in several countries across Europe. A few years ago I don't think it would have been that easy; black metal still carried a lot of stigma.

CoC: How was the recording process for "IV" and "V"? Any different from earlier recordings?

P: The demo was recorded in a very short period of time, we had no previous experience with recording aside from putting up a mic in the middle of the rehearsal room, so we just went with it. The recording of both the demo and the split gave us good insights on what to do next, and how to work in a studio while staying as close as possible to the live experience. For "IV" and "V" we had more of a global vision, we knew what to expect. We worked on those two songs for months. It was important for us that it felt complete, consistent, and kept the intensity we had in mind. Even with all those preparations, it still wasn't easy -- we ran into some technical difficulties at the studio, which in turn delayed the album. The process was painful in both composition and recording, but we were relieved to hear the final result.

CoC: What are your plans for Paramnesia now and in the next few months? Any long-term hopes for what you will do with Paramnesia?

P: We started writing a new song -- I don't think we can ever stop doing that! But we do enjoy our rest after working for so long on the album. Playing live is a priority after it releases. As for long term projects, I just hope we get to play with more bands we love, and -- why not? -- later, tour overseas.