UN: First off, congratulations on signing with Century Media. How exactly did the deal come about? Were you guys looking to take a step up from Galy or did Century Media find you guys?

Alexandre Erian (vocals): Galy Records helped us out tremendously in the beginning and Eric, the label manager, has become a very good friend of mine which I guess is rare in the music "business". Almost a year ago to this date, we decided to record a 2 song promo ep just to let people know we were still alive despite the line-up changes and sent it out to a few labels. I remember at some point we were on the verge of signing with Listenable Records and were talking to Willowtip and Goodfellow about licensing it in North America. All of sudden, people from Century Media, Relapse and Earache got in touch with us (yeah I know, sorry about the name dropping hahah) so anyway, we ended up getting a deal for a split cd that just got released on Relapse and signed with Century Media. Stacy from Abacus (CM's hardcore division) was apparently into our new stuff and talked about us to the rest of the CM staff and that's how we got signed. So far, all the staff as been super cool with us so I couldn't be happier about all of this.

UN: The Healing Process is an absolutely punishing record. Do you feel like you guys have stepped up what the band has to offer musically with this new record? Do you think it's the best material yet from the band?

Alexandre Erian (vocals): Yeah we consider The Healing Process as being our best recording to date. We did all that we could to come up with the finest Despised Icon songs ever without over doing it. I mean, sometimes you sort of loose the overall vibe of the song when you keep modifying it over and over again. Although we were on a tight schedule and learned some of the songs as we were recording them, we feel that this album is definitely our finest because it has a lot more to offer. The arrangements, song structures and musicianship have improved drastically since our first album. I'm tempted to say that it's a lot more varied as well.

UN: The new album seems a bit slower then the bands older stuff. The blasting is still there, but there seems to be much more mid paced and rhythmic riffs that make the album bludgeoning. Did you go into this record any differently then the first few? Were there things you wanted to try that you hadn't had the chance to before?

Alexandre Erian (vocals): After listening to our first album Consumed by your Poison when it first came out, we felt as though something was not quite as we intended it to be. It showcased a lot of our metal influences and there was that comparison with Dying Fetus and a few other bands that was flattering at first and became a little annoying after a while. That's why we really wanted to focus on coming up with a more personal sound. I think that we kept the essence displayed on our first album and I'm pretty sure that most of the people who have been following us since the very beginning can acknowledge that. But there have been some changes too and that has a lot to do with the line-up change and our will to come up with some of the best mosh beats and breakdowns imaginable. That's where the whole hardcore influence kicks in. The vocals are a lot more varied now and cover everything from low guttural vocals, to mid though guy vocals, to even screeching high pitched grind vocals. Instead of constantly switching from fast blast beat action to slow mosh type riffs over and over again like on our first album, we came up with sections for each. That's why it ended up being as you described it. The overall speed of our blast beats now is so much faster then before though!

UN: The description I keep reading for the band is deathcore. Is that a description that you guys are comfortable with? You guys draw influence from death metal, grindcore and hardcore, so to me it seems like the perfect word for the band.

Alexandre Erian (vocals): We do listen to a lot of metalcore and death metal and blend those styles together in our music so at first, being referred to as a deathcore band did seem appropriate. Now, I sort of have mixed feelings about it because more and more bands describe themselves that way when in fact few of them actually carry references to both genres in their music. So the whole "deathcore" thing ends up losing some credibility I guess. I remember someone reacting to CM's press release on Blabbermouth by saying: "What the fuck is deathcore?" which I found hilarious hahah. That sort of reinforced my thoughts on the tag itself.

UN: The production on the new album is one of the tightest and heaviest I have heard in quite sometime. Who produced the record? Was it important to get a really tight sound to really bang home the slower tempos? They really hit you right in the gut with a lot of power.

Alexandre Erian (vocals): The album was produced by our own guitarist Yannick St-Amand (Neuraxis, Ion Dissonance), mixed by J-F Dagenais (Misery Index, Kataklysm) and mastered by Alan Douches (Shadows Fall, The Dillinger Escape Plan). We were fortunate to work with such talented individuals. They have been so patient with us! We have a tendency to work on the smallest details and that's why it took so long to get the final master. I remember calling Alan Douches almost everyday to modify details on the mastering and at some point he started laughing and told me something like: "Alex you got my staff in a frenzy, what can I do for you this time!?". In the end, we are all satisfied with how the album came out. Like for almost any band, I'd say there are certain things that we think could have been a bit better but that's normal I guess. When you put so much time and effort into something, you sort of become over critical in a sense. I think the production on the album complements the different genres covered in our music and is a good balance between a dirty/aggressive sound and a precise/clear sound.

UN: With the deal with Century Media now in hand, will the band be hitting the road much more? Can we expect you guys to be on more US based tours? Are you excited to see how the new material goes over in a live setting?

Alexandre Erian (vocals): We recorded 3 times in 2004 (i.e. the promo ep, new split cd and upcoming album) and spent most of the year writing material for those 3 recordings so we basically focused on doing weekend shows instead of tours. You can expect us to tour a lot this year. The people's reaction to our new stuff in recent shows and on the internet as been overwhelming so far and we can't wait to hit the road. We have a full Canadian tour coming up in April with Ion Dissonance and Premonitions of War and plan on touring the US for the first time after our appearance at the Maryland Deathfest. We definitely hope to play as much as possible in the US and plan on possibly heading over to Europe by the end of the year.

UN: Is there a concept behind the name of the new record? What exactly does The Healing Process mean?

Alexandre Erian (vocals): Well, you could say that our lyrics are pretty personal in a sense even if they are expressed in rather obscure manner. Despised Icon is not about decapitated hookers or Michael Moore related subjects. The songs we write mostly deal with how we cope with negative thoughts and aspects of our lives. Some of us and even the band itself have gone through a lot emotionally this year and so the title The Healing Process somehow felt appropriate. We didn't put much thought into, it just seemed to make sense on different scales for everyone in the band and shows that something positive can grow out of a negative experience.