From there to going from children’s songs to metal, there is only one step that Aldebert took with great ease. “The metal universe has spoken to me since my earliest adolescence”continues Aldebert. “I grew up with AC/DC and Iron Maiden. I was fascinated by this theatrical world. I brought the scores of Master Of Puppets (Metallica’s 3rd album, Editor’s note) to my classical guitar teacher. I actually played in a Powerslaves covers group in which we massacred Maiden songs. The transition therefore came naturally. For me, there are bridges between childhood and metal even if I understand that for people it can seem weird. This desire to disguise yourself, to want to scare yourself, to express yourself about commitments. There is a ghost train side that I love in metal and that I discovered with Maiden who offer us a theater of fear. It’s a real party. As the children wish.”
And yet, Aldebert preferred to designate his evil twin Helldebert to interpret these riffs with a big distortion… “It’s more in the spirit of creating storytelling, a delirium that I created Helldebert”, admits his alter ego. “It’s for pitching. It’s rather funny to say that it’s my twin brother who takes my place. This is not to reveal a darker side of my personality. Besides, apart from the ‘Cartable Cartel’ which evokes school bullying, the texts of the songs are quite amusing…”
The Big DH Interview with Hellmut Lotti, late metalhead: “My manager doesn’t think I have a future in metal”
Big names involved: System Of a Down, Sepultura, etc.
De is Childishness 666 was born last April. On this album, Helldebert enlisted the services of the greatest voices in metal such as Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy, Soulfly, etc.), Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth) and even the writer Amélie Nothomb, true metal fan. “We sent our models over the Christmas period last yearremembers Aldebert. “This is the principle of Childishness where we used to collaborate with artists from all backgrounds, from comics, cinema, theater. But here we got no response. We said too bad. But two months before returning the baby to our record company, everyone arrived: the French artists (Ultra Vomit, Mass Hysteria, Loudblast, Tagada Jones) then the international ones showed up. I had sent emails in bottles overboard mode. Cavalera told us: ‘I want to be there. How do we do it?’ We decided to fly to Boston after the concert in New York where he was performing on stage with his son and we improvised a studio in his dressing room to do a vocal take. In two steps, it was over. With Serj (Editor’s note: Tankian), we should have joined him in Los Angeles but that could not happen and he worked on his own in New Zealand. He wrote his own lyrics in English. It’s a pretty strong artistic commitment on his part. It’s not fair for the fee, which was also paltry compared to what they usually ask for.”
Solidarity: Aldebert sent “big sound” to the children
In any case, this is a great opportunity to find favor in the eyes of the metal community which could have considered the approach as mocking stubborn clichés. “I understand that metalheads might have asked themselves, but what the hell is this little French children’s singer doing in our house?adds Aldebert. “But when we had the opportunity to reveal our intentions to them and prove to them that there was a real artistic approach, the doors opened. You’re welcome guys!”
And the metal practiced by Helldebert remains quite impactful, especially when the growls of Max Cavalera resonate on the “Cartel des cartables”…”My limits stop at death metal”remarks Aldebert. “There is no black metal on my album, it’s not a niche that I know. At the same time, there is no connection with the world of children even if I took my boys to the Dimmu Borgir concert at Hellfest more for the decor and the atmosphere. But it’s not immersive. There has to be melody, theater. They also love Iron Maiden.”
And this theatrical side, Helldebert will also use it on stage when he performs at the Forum in Liège this January 17. “It all started on stage”admits Aldebert. “When I met Ben Barbaud (manager of Hellfest, the biggest metal festival taking place in France, Editor’s note) and I told him about my album project, he asked me to play on the reserved stage to children for the first edition of Kids in Hell.”
