French band Karvane have crafted an alternative metal sound that fuses filthy riffs and heavy bass with rapped vocals, which they describe as “groovy, massive, and sharp.”
The band is very much a family affair with vocalist Diego alongside his father Cristobal on bass and his godfather Didier on drums. As Diego explains: “We form a relatively immature trio despite the somewhat advanced age of my elders, but I think that’s a good thing because we know we make music simply to be together. We reunited a little over a year ago—Didier picked up the drums again after 18 years, I quit my job in Toulouse to return to Bellevaux where my father and godfather live. You can see where this is going: lock three musicians with the same vibe in a room, and they come out with a band name and big smiles.”
The band is currently transitioning from a groovy rock sound to a much heavier approach. As Diego tells us: “I’d say not to judge us based on the first album, because our style has nothing to do with that anymore. We’ve gone from a very ZZ Top-like rock sound to something much heavier – we have a real desire to shift our artistic direction. We use a lot of samples, and our age difference is a real asset because it allows us to blend two very different worlds: the youth and its fire, and the wisdom of age.”
To give us a taste for that, the band sent us Shrapnel, the final track from their new album Thousand Yard Stare, released last week. It opens up with a funky little riff and drums then kicks into heavier guitars with repeats of “shrapnel.” The cool opening riff returns alongside laid-back French vocals, before a bigger chorus before repeating. A second chorus gives way to more intense screamed vocals, dropping back into a stabbing guitar and panting noises before big guitar chords bring it to a close.
On the track, Diego told us: “The reception has been really good! We really didn’t expect this, and we’re truly happy with the result. For those who haven’t listened to it yet, I highly recommend it – the lyrics come straight from my gut. It speaks of rage and social phobia, it captures that moment right before you break down in tears of anger, when you clench your jaw so hard that your teeth shatter into shrapnel. The instrumental alternates between calm and power; we composed it during a jam session, and we knew it was meant to be a single.”
Thousand Yard Stare is packed with similarly energetic metal goodness, including the lively opener Dans le guele (In The Mouth), which opens up with a cool driving riff and screamed vocals dropping into rapped vocals, and a personal favourite track Le paradis (Paradise).
On the album, Diego said: “We can’t wait to hear people’s feedback! We always share our projects with a certain number of people before releasing them, and everyone has given us excellent feedback so far! It’s an 8-track album called Thousand Yard Stare, which moves between groovy rap and heavy, distorted sounds with screams. We tackle serious topics like rage, self-confidence, and the wounds of the soul.”
The Karvane sound has been influenced by the likes of Deftones, Mass Hysteria and Limp Bizkit. And on what inspires them to write music, Diego explained: “We do a lot of jam sessions – we loop a sample and work on the rhythm, the drumbeat, and the lyrics that will connect the three of us in the universe of the track we’re trying to create. As for the topics in the lyrics, it’s mostly me – I often jot down any rhyme ideas that come to mind and then build around them.”
There’s plenty more to come from Karvane, who plan to work on some cover songs to get their music heard wider afield – including one of Moloko’s Bring It Back, which sound interesting. They’re also fine-tuning their live show, so keep an eye out for this exciting new band.
You can follow Karvane on Instagram and Facebook, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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