I remember always hearing this band name due to it's obvious similarity to another band we all know. It wasn't until somewhat recently that I managed to come across a download of their EP, The Stamp Of Hate. I also found out at this time that it featured "members of Kickback" (who I would later find out was just their drummer).
After listening to the EP several times, it easily made it's way onto my list of "actually good European hardcore" bands. It wasn't until after I did some further research on the band and found the following interview that I deemed them to be blog-worthy. While the music itself is quite impressive for it's time frame and location (1999 in France) ... it was the absolutely insane interview that truly made me a fan of the band.
Initially I thought the peculiarity of the interview could be accredited to the broken English inherent in the pre-Google Translate era it was created during. As I kept reading, however, I soon found its insanity to be solely tied to the mind of the insane frontman, Patrice Mariani. Despite not being able to understand half of what he is talking about ... I find myself disturbingly relating very much to what he is saying in the other half. Not to mention, the music is quite relate-able ... which is the true beauty of music, right?
(Editor's Note: Potentially the first and only time Luddite Clone has ever been mentioned as an influence.)
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An Interview with Patrice Mariani of Crossbreed
1. How did the band get started? How did you meet and how long have you been together?
Patrice Mariani: CROSSBREED was born at the end of 1999. I met Raffi (guitarist) at school when I was 16 years old. We had a mutual concept: creating a brutal homogeneous and coherent entity. We've played together in a band named Disaster Drop during 5 or 6 years. After a while some members chose to go away. They didn't believe in what we tried to do, then we got in touch with Yohann (Bassist). He played in an extreme punk rock Band. We knew he listened to bands like Converge, Neurosis, Vader, Nasum. So, we proposed him to do something more violent than he was playing. Simon (drums) is from Kickback. We needed someone getting another vision of hard music. Here was the line up. I think CROSSBREED is literally a "product of blend."
2. How would you describe your music?
Patrice Mariani: I haven't a real understanding of our brand music. With this stuff we just would play with nerves and mental strains. We would like to get them, rot them, spit them, vomit over, and serve account in a spittoon that was already useful aiming to infect you with brutal songs without likely give and take. I think it's a bad delusion, a nightmare we preferred forgetting. You should keep your eyes closed, if we accomplished this we will be proud.
3. What are your biggest influences?
Patrice Mariani: We like bands as Converge, Torn Apart, Luddite Clone, Will Haven, Neurosis, Nostromo from Swiss or Ananda from France we're working on a new project and I can tell you today that it should be more extreme than "The Stamp of Hate."
4. What influence do you think your bands has in music and metal today?
Patrice Mariani: We would be proud to say that we influence some Bands but I think we only influence milk-cows of middle west today. Maybe United states will open us its door??.. of cheese production?..
5. Are any band members in side projects? If so what are they, and explain a little about them.
Patrice Mariani: Simon plays with Kickback. They record their last 6 tracks CD with Ed Rose (Coalesce). In Europe, some people look for a certain likeness with this band. Bullshit.We're trying to develop in each one of our songs a coherent and entire concept. Chaos's concept. We're glad to be compared with kickback, but I personally think we don't get the same project. We're playing another kind of sound. Maybe hatred and fury join our two different line up. I don't know.
If some people think it is justified. I let them with their beliefs.
6. How would you feel if a band took their sound from yours and became very well known?
Patrice Mariani: I will be bound to strangulate their leader with a guitar string. Personally I would be very pleased (To asphyxiate him!). No. sincerely. I think it will mean our music will have been gratified. We wouldn't be converted into prosperous Big Mac men with a lot of dollars in our sockets. We're trying to do what we enjoy doing. I hope we'll may influence others bands. Anyway our stuff is protected by applicable laws!
7. What current bands do you like or respect?
Patrice Mariani: I think we respect bands believing in what they do. Personally I respect bands like Ananda, Converge or Coalesce, Eighteen Visions (a fuckin band!)
8. How many demos/albums do you have? Tell me about them!!
Patrice Mariani: TWO: the first release was a 6 tracks demo named "Time to Ascend". I can tell you today that it was a really big piece of shit!!!! It was rather "Time to Fall!!!!!" And the second, a 6 tracks CD "The Stamp of Hate" with a different line up, another concept.
9. What demo/album do you like the best?
Patrice Mariani: I Like the last split Converge/Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Slayer "Divine Intervention" and the two latest Neurosis.. a revelation!
10. What is the meaning behind the songs?
Patrice Mariani: I think we don't really get intentions. Just put on a good snap in your head. Our own music is like a game in which there are no rules and referees. It's not made to set you in a good mood. It is made to point you out, all the shit taking place in our poor life. It's made to remember you that you are the only author of it. It's made to help each one of us to remember that we are an impending big shit full of greed.
11. What are the bands favorite songs?
Patrice Mariani: I think we take pleasure to play "The Stamp of Hate" even if the text is not really what it should be. I think it is a deep song, cynical, just enough to remember what kind of shits we are.
12. What does the future hold for the band?
Patrice Mariani: NONE. It's not an impression! Paris is full of pseudo-hardcore gang banger watching Us bullshits series. That's why Crossbreed gets a lot of support nowhere! Sometimes we do good shows, its infrequent! Having spent the majority of our time doing fucking jobs, we felt the strong desire to step up to the mic with brutal vocals and mobilize an outfit that would truly represent our own ideas. But we witnessed that Paris underground scene is a fucking horse's shit. We have to play out to feel good vibes. We truly fuck pseudo-unity hardcore scene. Just an huge band of hypocrites in baggies jeans.
13. If you could play with any band who would it be and why?
Patrice Mariani: Metallicaaaaaa..Slaaaaayeeeer..Suicidal tendencies, money,money, seriously I don't know. I'm sorry.
14. Who writes the majority of the music?
Patrice Mariani: Raffi (guitarist) and me (Patrice vocals) some next songs will be in French, I think?..arrgggghhh!!!..Maybe you know we produced our stuff?.No!!!? so, now you know Jeffrey. We hadn't enough money to pay a good engineer and recording in a big studio. Moreover we wanted our stuff sounds not like the others. We sought something different and we think we'll find it in our own home studio. In city we live up till now. So we also wrote the majority of our songs at Drop Prod studio and I have the honor of engineering this record.
15. Who has been the favorite band you've played with and why?
Patrice Mariani: I think it was with a unknown Belgium hardcore band named Sad Origin (really sad). We've done a really violent show, but we were literally full of beer!!! After the show I remember I had strangulated a poor victim of my collapse with a microphone cable, a very sad gig.
16. Where did you get the band name from?
Patrice Mariani: I think it was in the decomposition of a big horse's shit. I was looking at this beauty and I got a divine vision, falling from the sky, Crossbreed! Seriously I've seen Crossbreed in defecation! Sincerely I think it was in my preferred dictionary.
17. If you are gonna do any kind of video what would be in it?
Patrice Mariani: My dog, My red fish.
We just would like a lot of naked girls with big ass and pretty faces. We're not tough guys. Take my hand and I'll give them the worst willingly. We divide evenly at all.
18. Are there any touring plans made; if so tell me about them?
Patrice Mariani: Just some dates in Europe ( France, Belgium and Germany). We're working more on our album. More chaotic than ever!!! It should be published by a French Underground Label named Mafia Underground. We get the same concept about production. We should work with these people. They are true with themselves and definitely with others.
19. Where do you think the band will be 20 years from now?
Patrice Mariani: I think we'll feed worms; Maybe our names will be carved on our tomb!
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