Imminence Records’ Paris, France’s alternative hardcore outfit THE PRESTIGE, not to be confused with the Canadian band by the same name, have just released their NSFW music video for their track “Enfants Terribles.” The track is taken off Amer, which is the band’s follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2012 album entitled Black Mouths. Amer was recorded and mixed by Amaury Sauvé (BIRDS IN ROW, AS WE DRAW, COMITY) while being mastered by Bob Weston (NIRVANA, David Bowie, CEREMONY, OM) and may be purchased as either a CD, black vinyl, or limited edition reverse marble vinyl.
“This video was shot in one day and one night in La Habana, Cuba, with the help of BERZERKER along with local producers, local actors, and no budget. It was the craziest shooting experience ever and we want to thank everyone who made it possible. While the content of the video is graphic in nature and contains nudity, we wanted an artistically shot video that questions the limits of possession of someone’s body.” – Alex Diaz (Vocals/Guitars)
Paris has always been filled with clichés of romantic love and bright lights over the Seine River, but those who have spent time in the French capital could speak a different portrait of the City of Lights. Filthy streets and the heady smell of piss in the metro corridors is the real face of Paris and this is what influenced The Prestige upon writing their second album Amer. “Paris is the city we were born and raised in. We love our city as much as we hate it. And it naturally became the background of this new record,” explains Alex Diaz, singer and guitarist.
Amer draws a new face on the Parisian quartet and pushes even forward the boundaries set on their critically acclaimed debut album, entitled Black Mouths. Darker and heavier, the band’s new effort is driven by raw bitterness. But bitterness is not anger. Bitterness is not hatred. Bitterness is not a revolution. Bitterness is the rotten fruit of haunted memories and aborted innocence. Bitterness is the familiar frustration and underlying violence that one gets used to. It is the rage that was tamed. It is the golden hopes that don’t shine anymore. It is the mumbling of a disillusioned youth that grew up too fast. And that struggles to explode. “An album is a photograph of a band at a particular moment”, adds guitarist Raphael Jassin, “and bitterness is both the state of mind and the landscape of our personal lives today.” This new record is filled with passion and infatuated with shady melodies bearing an intimacy with the band throughout the tracklist.
For the new record, he band locked themselves up during six rain-soaked December days in Laval (France) with internationally acclaimed producer Amaury Sauvé (Birds in Row, As We Draw, Comity,..) to capture the adrenaline fueled aggressiveness of the band, its emotional climaxes, and haunting melodies. “Amaury was the fifth member during the sessions,” explains Julien Bouladoux, “he had as much importance as all of us during the recording and pushed us to give all we had for the very few takes we took of each song.” To enhance the artistic choices made during recording, The Prestige decided to entrust the mastering of Amer to legendary producer Bob Weston (David Bowie, Nirvana, Shannon Wright, Shellac, Om, Ceremony).
Members of The Prestige wear their hearts firmly emblazoned on their chest. “This band is not simply a musical hobby we have on weekends. This band is our statement,” sums up drummer Thibaut Cavelier. In the past couple of years they dragged their passionate shows throughout Europe and UK by opening for the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Stray From the Path, August Burns Red, The Secret, Hierophant, Raein, Liferuiner, and Goodtime Boys. Feeding their passion further, the band decided to carry the torch to Cuba and played eight shows in front of one of the most incredible crowds of a thousand people in La Habana. They encapsulated this life changing trip on their documentary “Dark Was The Night” that was directed and shot by Berzerker and released on Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman’s new creative platform Party Smasher Inc..
