Interview: Annick Giroux
April 28 2009 at 07:26:26 AM  Hail, Satannick! Annick Giroux, AKA “Satannick,” began the impeccable Morbid Tales zine in late 2004 with co-writer Jo. Effortlessly spanning the entirety of the Metal genre, the zine sees its sixth edition this year and boasts exceptional interviews with Darkthrone, Voivod, and Soothsayer among others. Despite heavy antibiotic use and a cookbook deadline looming, Giroux mustered enough energy to discuss the zine’s finer points, pilsner, and the perfect Peter Jackson flick. LHP: How did you get into Metal and what were you listening to early on? What appealed to you about it? Annick Giroux: I got into Metal when I was in elementary school – about 12 years old. I had a Vietnamese pen pal living in Belgium, and she sent me my first metal tape… X-Japan’s Vanishing Vision – which was followed by X-Japan’s Blue Blood. I was quite shocked, and haven’t heard anything like that before. The energy of the songs went straight to my veins and it really made me go fucking insane! I remember listening to it in the schoolyard on my Walkman and it would bring me to other places you know? Yeah, totally… Except for me it was nerding out to Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark” on my MEGABASS Walkman and imagining the most depraved shit ever. Cringe, bogus “obscene rites” D&D volk… Haha… I personally had a cool black and red shockwave tape player. That thing was indestructible! Were you aware of Metal as a “subculture” at the time, and if so, what were your thoughts about it? Well, I knew there was such a thing as “Heavy Metal” and people that listened to it, but as a young girl living in a straight family with an older sister that was in dance music, all I heard was “Heavy Metal is for junkies (drogués) and only fucked up people listened to it (fuckés)”… etc. When I discovered it, I was constantly looking for that shotgun-style riff sound you know? The Speed Metal riffing that hooked me up so much in that early X-Japan album. I lost in touch with my friend, and was pretty much left alone in my quest. I had started buying some magazines and some records, and it went on from there… I remember my sister telling me that I was going to become a bum, hahaha!! That was about 10 years ago. Now that you’re “making a living” through Metal, have they changed their tune? Ha ha ha…. How did you come to be the illustration/type troll for NWN! And does your family see the zine as the success that it truly is? Well, I’m actually far from “making a living” through Metal – I work as a graphic designer for a clinic here in Montreal, but they have changed their tune for sure. They see that it’s far from being a phase, and that I’m in it for life! Hahaha! My mother actually requested to have one of my ‘zines this time around… she actually brought it to work and showed her colleagues. Haha. I suppose that means that she is proud? In any case, I started doing calligraphy for Yosuke in 2005 – about. He had received my first issue of Morbid Tales and liked the hand written old English fonts in there. He had me do some calligraphy for Abigail, Cult of Daath, Witches Hammer, Witchfinder General live, etc… when I graduated from college, and got my design degree, he asked me to do some design work for him as well. What really separated the whole thing into genre strains for you? Were you specifically aware of NWOBHM, Thrash, Black Metal, etc. and what interested you about each strain? At first I was more into bands than genres per se – then got to know that they played a certain genre and discovered other bands in their categories, etc. I read a lot of magazines and books and tried to inform myself the most I could… I always was (and still am) thirsty for more! I loved the power of traditional Doom Metal, the violent intensity of speed/thrash, the morbid horror and gloom of Black Metal, the grotesque riffs of Death Metal and the freshness of NWOBHM. What compelled you to start Morbid Tales? Did you do other zines before MT, and what sorts of zines were you reading when you began your own? Hmm, well I was looking for a hobby and I wanted to do something related to Metal. As an avid record hunter, I thought that it would be really cool to release some kind of publication and have it distributed in local record shops for people to pick up. A few weeks later, I went to a show, which had a merch table. My friend Jo was selling some records + some copies of his own punk zine “20 Years Too Late.” I bought it and read it many times until we met each other again and we discussed about starting up a Metal zine together. I wanted it to be as low-fi as possible, to not use the computer for layouts, etc… it was really exciting! He came up with the name “Morbid Tales” for it. I remember going over at his place and taping my LPs to tapes because I didn’t have the proper equipment. He had a shitload of albums I never heard about and he taught me a lot about zine-making. So yeah, I wasn’t reading any before I began my own. Hmmm… actually, I was buying a Sailor Moon fanzine at my local mall when I was about 8-9 years old!! But that’s not very Metal. Haha. I discovered the fabulous world of zines shortly after releasing it to the masses. My favorite thing about the MT is the feeling the overall aesthetics generates. I felt like I had all my LPs, t-shirts, badges, patches, posters and other shit dropped on my head. It’s a fucking avalanche of archetypal imagery and spirit! Was it a conscious decision to adhere to the classic Q&A format and then cram as many photos, logos, and whatever else onto the page? Well, thank you! Personally, I always loved the Q&A format – as sometimes it is a bit discouraging to read gigantic paragraphs, especially in a moving bus. For the photos and all, I suppose it was a conscious decision, as I wanted the pages to be as full as possible... although, for the last zine, the format is completely different and breathes way more. I personally enjoy both styles! How strong is the need to cover underground bands? Do you see any way to rectify the problem that exists with the corporate magazines covering the same two or three bands, asking them the same questions, and ultimately recasting them in ways they probably never even thought of? Well, I only interviewed the bands I truly liked, not because they sell or whatever. My point was to spread my favorite bands/albums as much as I could in the underground, just like a virus! This is also why I strongly encourage anyone to make their own photocopies of the zines, and re-sell them to their contacts. I don’t see any way for the corporate mags to recast – the music business is slowly rotting, and I see a future where there will be fanzines and webzines dedicated to maniacs only. What constitutes a successful interview for you? Are there certain criteria you look to satisfy each time you sit down with a band? A successful interview is when I feel I really plunge into the world of the interviewee and learn new and fascinating things. I also love humoristic interviews; they are so much more interesting to read than when you drill the band with super tough questions – you know? There are no criteria, but I always try to make the band feel as comfortable as possible for them to let their tongue go crazy!  Morbid Tales has some really fucking great features – recording buying guides, insane cartoons, show reports, obsessive lists (100 records you’ll take to your grave), recipes… How do these come about? And have you considered exploring any of these in more depth? The buying guides have always been really important for me… I remember I had no clue where to get records the first time I went to do some record hunting in Montreal, so I had to search hours on the internet to find them. I thought it was a useful thing to add them in the zine, even though they’d become obsolete after a while (so many shops closed down in four years – it’s just ridiculous). The cartoons are Nagawika’s creations (amazing French cartoonist, he is the very best!) – Although some other more violent drawings were done by Josh McAlear from Boston. The show reports are quite traditional – but are a pain in the ass… it’s hard to remember all the details sometimes after a night of intense drinking!! The list is just something that had to come out… I wanted to do a top 10, but it turned out to be a top 100 hahaha… it was an impossible task. It took me like 30 minutes to write those top albums. As for the recipes, well, at first that was supposed to be a real book – but I was lacking funds and contacts and so decided to add it as a special section on the back of Morbid Tales #6. The good news is that Ian Christe (Sound of the Beast author, Bazillion Points books owner/editor) ordered a copy and fell in love with the cooking part! He asked me if I was interested to release it as a real book, and so of course I accepted…! I am working on that now. I am fucking thrilled. It will be a hardcover, full colour cookbook with recipes from bands (underground and major) from all over the world. This weekend I made a ROTTING CHRIST Greek-style lamb meal, as well as a XIBALBA Mucbipollo – a dish offered traditionally to the dead, in Mexico. I make them all (well, almost) in order to add my comments and take photos! It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun. I’m looking forward to the cookbook. What’s the proposed release date? Can you divulge some of the people you’ve asked to contribute? I have to say, I’m calling bullshit on this whole thing if there isn’t a fucking goathead recipe in there where you’ve got to suck its brains from the nostrils! The release time will be November 2009… it’s coming up really soon! I’m getting tons of recipes in every day, it’s really exciting. So far, I’ve gotten recipes from Jeff Becerra of POSSESSED, Scott “Wino” Weinrich of THE OBSESSED, Scott Gorham of THIN LIZZY, Andreas Kisser of SEPULTURA, Meyhna'ch of MÜTIILATION, XIBALBA, Gonzo Sandoval of ARMORED SAINT, Themis of ROTTING CHRIST, Big Boss of ROOT, Jason of ATOMIZER, Ray of WITCHES HAMMER, Ashmedi of MELECHESH, Shaxul of ARPHAXAT, A.C. Wild of BULLDOZER, Goddess of CHILDREN OF TECHNOLGY, and way way more! I’m also waiting for a bunch (Rigor Mortis, Sabbat, L’Impero Delle Ombre, Necrosadist, Master’s Hammer, Procession, Mortal Sin, Faustcoven, Stiny Plamenu, Artillery, Trench Hell, Repulsion, Autopsy, Death, etc…) Please explain your connection and/or opinion on the following: SATAN WAS A LADY Well, he certainly had big tits, but I can assure you that down there he was NOT a lady. JUDAS PRIEST One of my favorite bands ever!!! Priest is my fucking religion. Of course, not all their songs/albums are perfect, but they released some incredible gems. Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class, Sin after Sin, British Steel, etc… they are just completely mind-blowing albums. CERNA HORA Black mountain? Did you mean Kutna Hora? If yes, then the suburb of this town (Sedlec) is where lays the mighty Ossuary Church, which featured in TÖRR photos. I’ve been there in 2007… really amazing place. The walls are artistically decorated with bones from 40000 to 70000 skeletons. Actually I meant the beer but this is way fucking cooler…. I think I misspelled it. I read that you’re a big fan of pilsners, especially Czech pilsners. I went to Prague eons ago with some friends and got fucking OBLITERATED on Budvar (now Czechvar?) and Pilsner Urquell. GIANT bottles were like the equivalent of 25 cents. Are there any others you can recommend for your fellow beerheads? Hehe damn, you have well done your research my friend! I think that Budvar is still called this way – but when they import it to the U.S. and Canada, they change it to “Czechvar” because there is some copyright issues with Budweiser. (Budweiser is piss compared to that beer.) I strongly recommend Velkopopovický Kozel (its emblem is a black goat drinking beer!) as well as Staropramen and Krusovice. As for non-Czech beers, I love Golden Pheasant (Slovakia), Warsteiner Premium (Germany) and Pietra (Corsica). Fuck, that question made me thirsty!! I can’t wait until our annual beer festival… mmmm. THE “KUTTE” I own one – and it’s pretty much my second skin. Obviously, one’s jacket should represent him/herself and should show a story. Mine reeks of old beer, and has seen some piss, puke, etc! Haha. BRAIN DEAD Killer movie! Much better than those shitty over-produced Lord of the Rings movies that Peter Jackson produced. Haven’t seen it in years, but I love the zombie-fighting scene… it’s really over the top!! [Stewart Voegtlin] [Morbid Tales #6 is out now and available directly from Annick Giroux at www.morbidtales.ca/press.htm and look for Hell Bent for Cooking: The Headbanger’s Kitchen before year’s end from Bazillion Points Books, www.bazillionpoints.com ] 
type: articles
keywords:
black metal,
interview,
death metal,
thrash metal,
speed metal,
zines,
books,
lhp025,
cooking,
kutte,
diy,
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