DEAN WALLACE & THE BLACK FLAMES – interview

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:
Our band is called Dean Wallace & The Black Flames. I (Dean) am the singer, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the band. In the Black Flames, we have Pit on rhythm guitar, Thibaud on drums, and Neil on bass. All of us are French, except Neil, who’s British. The band was created in 2011 with my brother, but has been inactive between 2017 and 2023, so it’s a new start for us. We play some Heavy Rock / Heavy Metal, mixed with other genres like funk or blues. Amongst our main influences, we can find Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, but also Queen and Pink Floyd.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?
Personally, I think it’s social networks. But it’s not only for bands. You can’t really do without, and you have to play with their own rules. Platforms like Facebook or Tiktok give you advice to build your fanbase, but they don’t give shit about your fanbase. They just want to have and keep as many people as possible online, so algorithms reward bands that help them do so. It’s also very hard to get your music heard, as there are so many releases every day. It’s an ocean of bands out there.

When did you realise that your project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea?
I always took music and songwriting quite seriously, so it has never been a fun idea to me. But to answer your question, I realised the potential back in 2011. We had just released two demo songs online when a californian radio station specialising in metal contacted us offering to include a song in their monthly compilation, Kill City. We accepted the proposition without hesitation. Each month the station organised a vote amongst its listeners to find the most popular songs on the playlist. We came in first with “Get Away From My Home” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMt_3YdY0UU). In another overall vote including all the groups featured on the monthly compilations, we finished second out of over 600 groups ! It was an absolute surprise, and I remember thinking : “Woa, my music is appreciated in California !”. I think my determination to become a professional musician built up from this point.

Tell us about your latest release, why should we check it out?
Our latest release is New World Disorder (Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/track/2S8f4aPs7W2qvtEa4uKAUo?si=cc0f2120a0744f95 –

Video : 

It”s worth checking out because it gives an idea of where the band is going. The first album (Metal Family) was very inspired by the metal of the 90’s, but the new EP will incorporate my other influences to create a more versatile style. We can say this new song is one of the most aggressive and straightforward I’ve ever written.

How does a song typically come together for you?
I usually start with a riff or a chord progression, and pretty quickly, the vocal melody and the drums appear in my head. I record a draft on my computer, and use a DAW to work on the structure of the song. I then write the solo and record a vocal line without lyrics. When I’m very happy with the demo, I record the whole song again, and I write my lyrics at the last moment. Why ? Because it’s quite hard to write in English, French being my mother tongue, so I don’t wanna waste time writing lyrics for a song that won’t go any further than a demo.

How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader?
We tend to prefer heaviness and groove rather than speed. I sing with a slightly distorted voice, no screaming or growling. We have a guitar solo in most of our songs. I try to write songs with dynamic changes, and I love to incorporate some bits I learnt from other genres, such as shuffle beats, funky guitars, folky arpeggios… It’s quite tricky to define our genre, as it’s somewhere between rock and metal.

What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your band?
I just hope they realise that we take things seriously when it comes to writing music and lyrics. I want them to be excited to see what’s gonna come out in the future. I want them to tell their friends that they’ve discovered a new band with great songs, I want them to dig a bit deeper in the lyrics, cause I don’t write about getting drunk or chasing girls.

Where would you really like to tour that you haven’t done so yet, and why?
America and Canada. I travel a lot with my wife and my kid, and America, especially the western part, is the place I love the most on earth. I kinda feel like home over there. Touring the US, spending 8 hours a day on the scenic roads that cross deserts and canyons, and playing a show every night, it just sounds like heaven to me.

How would you say that the sound of your band has progressed over the years?
When I wrote the first album METAL FAMILY (https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/album/5I8EgF6wrbhzcAUFaIDTmx?si=GMqYOq9VRhGyQHPFw2XiDg), I was listening to Metallica pretty much every day, so with it’s no surprise the album sounds a bit like Metallica. The demos were longer, with melodic intros and interludes, but we decided afterwards to make the songs shorter and more straightforward purposely to walk away from the Metallica recipe. Since then, I’ve been playing and listening to a whole lot of other stuff, so I know that we are taking our own path, and I’m no longer afraid to sound like them. I’m more confident to write my songs exactly the way I want to. Being honest is the only way to get a pretty unique and personal result. 

How excited are you for 2024, and what can fans expect from you?
We are very excited about 2024 because we’ve been putting the project back on track this year, so next year will be more about touring and seeing people’s reaction. We are about to release 4 singles before April, and these 4 singles will be gathered on an EP released with The Animal Farm Music, our label. We are working very hard right now to find gigs in clubs and festivals, I’m sure it’s gonna pay off soon. I keep on writing, I got about 6 songs ready, so an album is likely to come out in 2025.  

Thanks again guys,