“I wasn’t expecting all this publicity!” says Nicolas Delestrade of the attention Novelists are receiving in the run‑up to the release of their debut album, Souvenirs.
Their recent signing to new Nuclear Blast imprint Arising Empire no doubt helped boost their profile outside their native France, but the band have put in plenty of graft themselves, too.
Soon after Nicolas joined the band in 2013, they began self-releasing music and found themselves making waves outside their homeland. “Our first song had some international response – because of Facebook and YouTube, you don’t have to go and play in different places now,” Nicolas explains. “You can reach people in other countries straight away.”
The attention soon saw Novelists booked to play in the UK, including a spot at Ghostfest last year. They’re looking forward to crossing the Channel again in November to play in support of Souvenirs, and they’ll also be playing their first US shows.
Souvenirs is the kind of album that’ll sound just as exciting live as it does on record. It’s a solid journey through the spectrum of human emotions, with thrash-inspired breakdowns, melodic metalcore influences and proggy, bombastic synth-strings on the slower tracks. “We wanted to make sure you couldn’t be bored listening to it,” Nicolas reveals, and with each track so different from the last, they’ve definitely achieved their goal. “The album is based on the concept of nostalgia and melancholy, so every song represents a different feeling.”
Novelists aren’t just a great band – they’re an exciting and dedicated bunch of guys who aren’t afraid to experiment with their sound. “When you look back at the French scene seven years ago, there was nothing except Gojira,” Nicolas says, “but now I think there are some really good bands coming out.”
Novelists are, without a doubt, one of those “really good bands”, and Souvenirs looks set to plant them firmly on the international metal scene.
*SOUVENIRS* IS OUT NOW VIA ARISING EMPIRE
