EMQ’s With Born Divided
EMQ’s With Born Divided
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Melodic Death Metallers, Born Divided. Huge thanks to their Bassist, Tommy Demers, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Tommy Demers and I play bass in Born Divided. I’m one of the band’s main songwriters. We are a melodic Death Metal band that tries to touch as many Metal styles as possible in each of the songs. Born Divided is composed of former members of Blinded By Faith, Kalter, and Moonlyght. We incorporate vocal cleans and growls into fast, melodic music. Then it becomes calm and progressive in order to culminate in a final and Epic Climax.
How did you come up with your band name?
We had “Divided” in mind because of the division we saw between human beings becoming more and more pervasive. During a meeting for the research of the name, I proposed Born Divided which was in connection with the division which often comes from the cradle. We all liked it and we adopted this group name for our band.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We come from Quebec City in Canada and the Metal scene here is very much alive. Our province has several bands that succeeded here like; Despised Icon, Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Get the Shot and many others. There are several local shows and international shows which attract many spectators. The scene is alive and strong in Quebec.
What is your latest release?
Our latest release is our first album called “Impending Doom” which worked over several years. We recorded in our guitarist Fred Bedard’s studio and he also did the mixing and mastering. Maxim brought a lot to the vocal level with his clean vocals, his growls, and his overall versatile singer. Born Divided is his first band and we are very happy to count him among our ranks as a frontman. The album is composed of 7 tracks and has a duration of 44 minutes.
Who have been your greatest influences?
My biggest influence is undoubtedly Iron Maiden because it was the band that really helped me progress the most musically during my childhood. But today, Born Divided is mostly influenced by bands such as Symphony X, Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Haken and many others.
What first got you into music?
My grandfather and my father were musicians and they made me visit music for the first time when I was very young. My father taught me the basics of drums and my mother gave me piano lessons. So, my family made me dive into the world of music at a very young age and Iron Maiden at the age of 10 was my baptism of Heavy Metal and the beginning of an endless journey in Metal music.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I would really like to collaborate with Devin Townsend because he has a sense of composition like few artists have. He doesn’t put up any barriers when he composes and always tries to push the limits of Metal, alternating with aggressiveness and passion. He is a genius of our time just like the artists of the time like Bach and Mozart. I would love to compose with him and have him as an official member of Born divided … ha ha!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Our guitarist dreams of playing at 70,000 Tons of Metal. For my part, I would love to play at HellFest and experience this festival as a musician. Otherwise of course the Wacken would also be great but we will start by doing shows in small venues to one day dream of the biggest festivals but hey… it’s always good to dream 😉
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
We haven’t received any Gifts yet because we’ve only done one show since we started, but hey, I hope it will!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thank you for your support and I hope above all that our fanbase will grow every day and that the world will take the time to discover our band. I know that today we are swimming in countless good bands, but I strongly hope that our group will manage to stand out from the others and find as many fans as possible.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I would like to bring John Lennon back and know the songs he could have written if he hadn’t been shot by a fool at such a young age. This guy is there to bring everything for rock with Sir Paul Gilmour… Imagine what he would still have to offer us if he had not died so soon. Rest in peace John.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
What I love the most is composing music in my studio. Spend hundreds of hours creating what makes me proud. In addition, the composition is a relief valve for me. It allows me to get away from my days of work and the daily stress that can be experienced. I also love doing shows but what I hate the most is the business side of it. Manage finances and find money to invest in the group. So, what is far from the music can seem painful for me because it takes time away from me in the creation of the next album. But hey, we have to do it and we work as a team in the group to share the less pleasant tasks.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I wish there was more room for new bands at major festivals. Plus, I also hate the fact that bands just starting out have to pay to be on a tour with a bigger band. Imagine having to pay to do shows when these shows often cost you a lot of money in gas and time? But hey, let’s hope the road will be quick for Born Divided but we are ready to face all the challenges in front of us.
Name one of your all-time favorite albums?
I had 1 at several different times in my life. At 15 it was: Cruelty and the Beast from Cradle of filth. At 25 it was: Wish you were here by Pink Floyd and in the last years it was: The Mountain by the band Haken. But, it’s impossible to choose which is my all-time favorite.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I’ve always loved CD’s but right now I enjoy streaming discovering 1000 and 1 bands every week. Vinyl has come back strongly in recent years and with a good reason for music lovers. But I hope cassettes never come back popular… I hated searching for the song I wanted to listen to by fast-forwarding my favorite song at the time.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
With Born Divided, we only did 1 gig with Augury and Valfreya. But, with my old group Blinded By Faith it was the show with Cradle Of Filth. I also loved our farewell show at RockFest Montebello in 2018 on the same bill as Rammstein.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Fortunately for the moment, I am not just a musician because I would have difficulty feeding my children. I am also a music teacher in an elementary school in Quebec. I teach music every day to children from 5 to 9 years old. I love my job and I make them sing Golden Rock and make them discover rock quietly so that one day they can start listening to as much Metal as possible. A comic fact: When I was a teaching intern… That’s when I discovered our Drummer Lucas Biron who was in secondary 5 at the time and I was his trainee teacher and that’s how it was that over time we played in the same show and together formed the group Born Divided.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I would like to invite Devin Townsend, Nicko McBrain, David Gilmour, Dani Filth and Cyco MiKo to have the biggest influencer party at the same time. I would love to hear all their stories of touring and the craziness they’ve been on since the start of their career.
What’s next for the band?
Our goal for 2022 is to start talking about our band as much as possible and to introduce our music to as many people as possible. We are already writing the next album so that we can bring more songs to Born Divided fans. Stay tuned!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? Please include any links
Here’s our Hyperlink Impending Doom by Born Divided – DistroKid
Follow us on Facebook: Born Divided
YouTube: Born Divided – YouTube
Bandcamp: https://borndividedofficial.bandcamp.com/album/impending-doom
Hmepage: Borndivided.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/borndivided
Instagram: Instagram.com/borndivided
Music Video – Human Masquerade – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgHFJ8eX6M
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake
Oh man! I really don’t know but I’ll guess a Bun a Cob? Ha ha !
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I’d like to thank everyone for your support. Follow us on Facebook and come see us at a show when we are close to your city. Thank you for your interview. It is much appreciated!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
