French band Banquise offer up a delicious fusion of metalcore energy and emotive melodies packed with thought-provoking lyrics that they describe as “fragility, power and resilience.”
The Lyon quartet of Romi Maillot (vocals), Guilhem Garrido (guitar), Alan Clairay (bass) and Maxime Le Gall (drums) formed following the dissolution of a previous project Apply For A Shore, which saw the band carry out a complete renewal with a new name, identity and musical trajectory.
As Guilhem explains: “With Apply For A Shore, we had incredible experiences: two EPs, a European tour, and the chance to share the stage with many talented groups. This experience allowed us to grow both musically and personally. But after a while, we felt a need for evolution.
“We wanted to deepen our artistic expression and create something new. With Alan joining us on bass and Maxime on the drums, this new project is a more mature version of our previous projects. We see Banquise as the logical next step in our musical evolution, a transformation that allows us to more fully express our vision.”
In English, the word ‘Banquise’ translates to ‘pack ice,’ a floating mass of ice that symbolises power and fragility. And Guilhem tells us: “I think our music reflects these contrasts. It’s powerful and full of energy, but it also exudes a certain fragility through some of our emotive lyrics. Finally, resilience is a central theme in our music, like the ice flow which, despite the harshest conditions, persists and resists.”
And on the sound that Banquise have honed, he adds: “It’s quite difficult to put music into words, but I’d say it’s a blend of metalcore energy and emotive melody with deep lyrics that explore themes of the human condition, resilience and hope. We’re just as interested in writing thought-provoking lyrics as we are in creating music that will make people headbang.”
Our latest taste of this is their second single Low-6, which was released in June. It opens up with a flickering synth sound under engaging vocals. But it soon explodes into life with a huge wall of guitars, driving drums and synths supporting intense screamed vocals. That drops into fragile vocals and a laid-back synth sound before the pace picks up again with heavy guitars, which flow into another powerful chorus. Everything suddenly drops out, dropping into a huge breakdown led by low-tuned guitars, before another drop in pace sets up a huge final chorus.
On the track, Romi told us: “The reception has been absolutely incredible. We are really touched by the enthusiasm and the support we receive from our fans. We’re a new band, but the encouragement and the positive feedback we’ve received from our fans since the release of our debut single One inspires us to continue to give our best.
“And for those who haven’t listened to Low-6 yet, you should know that we’ve put an enormous amount of passion into it. If you’ve listened to our two tracks, you now have a pretty good idea of what Banquise is.”
That follows their stunning debut single One, which also opens up with light synth sounds before blasting into powerful vocals supported by booming low-tuned guitars. Chunky guitars kick in under engaging vocals that flow into a beautifully catchy chorus “Watch the sunlight, ‘Cause it’s the only thing that’s left on the shoreline, They’ve burnt every sail, Waiting for the wind to rise, Now it is sink or swim, So don’t you know, Every wave brings the ocean.”
It drops into a mellow section of light vocals before the heavy guitars kick in with twinkling synths in the background. It intensifies with heavy vocals supporting the clean vocals, before a little pause drops into another chorus. That gives way to a light guitar, which soon explodes into life in a chunky stabbing riff, which tees up a final blast of the chorus. We absolutely love the sound of this, and you can check it out in the video here:
The Banquise sound has a range of intriguing influences, from metalcore bands like The Amity Affliction and Architects to punk rock bands like Blink-182 and pop artists like Billie Eilish and Twenty-One Pilots. While Guilhem reserves special mention for the artist NF and Bring Me The Horizon, who he describes as “a true reference for the entire rock and metal scene” for their ability to reinvent themselves.
And on what inspires them to write music, Romi explains: “What drives us to write our music is, above all, passion. Our lyrics often talk about the destruction left by humanity, but they also convey a message of hope and personal struggle. We want to inspire listeners to keep fighting, even when things seem bleak.
“In terms of influence, there aren’t really any rules. Sometimes it can be something that affects us emotionally in the world, sometimes it could also be a movie or a TV series, or a personal experience. For example, Low-6 is greatly inspired by the Netflix series, Stranger Things.”
We love what we’ve heard from the band so far, but there’s plenty more to come from Banquise, including new singles with future songs already being worked on. But their biggest goal is to prepare a show that brings their songs to life on stage.
And Guilhem adds: “I’d like to thank everyone who supported us since the beginning. We’re deeply touched by the warm welcome we’ve received for our first two releases, and we’re excited to share more with our fans soon.”
You can follow Banquise on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
Listen to Banquise on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core and GigRadar Metal
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