KATAKLYSM Guitarist Says Door Is Open For Drummer MAX DUHAMEL To Return To Band

David E. Gehlke of DeadRhetoric.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Jean-François Dagenais of Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

DeadRhetoric.com: We'll get to the new album in a second, but first, how is Max [Duhamel; KATAKLYSM drummer who announced on April 8 that he was taking a break from the band to deal with issues related to alcohol abuse] doing? Are you in contact with him at all?

Dagenais: I gotta be honest — I haven't talked to him in about three or four months. I'm hoping he's alright. I last heard he was doing great and relocated himself with some of his friends and going through this rehab process, but I haven't talked to him in a while. I'm hoping he's alright. I've sent him a few emails and haven't gotten any replies.

DeadRhetoric.com: Did you see his leave of absence coming?

Dagenais: Yeah, we knew for a while. It was obvious something needed to happen. Whenever somebody you know is feeling bad or having a rough patch, you have to give them time to get better. As time was passing by for the last year or year and a half, and we didn't see any improvement… that's why we had the talk for all the tours we were having for the last record. We sat down and had a meeting and said, "We can't keep going like this anymore." And he agreed and said he needed to take some responsibility and get his shit together and take a break. I think that's what he's doing right now, but I don't like not hearing from him. But knowing him for all of these years, it's a positive thing and I'm pretty sure he's doing okay and working hard.

DeadRhetoric.com: How much of an effect did his issues have on shows? He's got quite a tough job in the band.

Dagenais: That was the other thing: It's not something where you can have a night off. You have to be on top of your game physically as well as mentally. You have to be on the ball. The last couple of tours we've done, you could definitely tell there were some mistakes or little problems going on, and the tightness as well. The energy behind the kit — you can feel these things when you play live. After a while, it's easy for a band that tours a lot like us to become more on the automatic side of things where you play, but you've done so many shows that everything becomes a routine in a way. You also feel it when something goes wrong and you can tell Max was having issues. And we were worried to drag him into another album and record cycle… I don't that would have helped to keep him in the band for another year. There's so much intense work, and when we tour, there's so much alcohol on our rider. It's free, you have people coming up to us and buying us shots at the bar, and it's hard to turn down, especially for Max. He likes to party and the company of people, and for him, I don't think it was the best scenario to stay with us. We actually think it will be good for him, and for us. I'm hoping he gets his stuff together this year and we can start playing together in the next year or so, but I have no idea what's going on with him.

DeadRhetoric.com: Is there an open door policy with him coming back?

Dagenais: Yeah, of course. Max is a brother to us. We started this band together and have been going for all of these years. We just want him to be sharp and ready and be the Max of old behind the kit. We're hoping that happens sooner than later.

Read the entire interview at DeadRhetoric.com.