“Dogs bring us back to our most authentic relationships with the simplicity of the way to communicate, the full trust we share, and also the responsibility they give us to take care of a living being. They wake up the best in us.”
-Benighted vocalist Julien Truchan
Welcome, lovers of both loud music and speaking-deficient animals, to the second installment in New Noise’s just-launched series called Pet Sounds, in which we are profiling pets and the human companions who love them. Why? Because if you’re not feeling a soul-crushing sense of terror and ceaseless bouts of anxiety due to next month’s election and the current state of world affairs, then … well … we don’t know what to say.
Luckily for us, our animals friends aren’t conspiring in smoke-filled rooms to band together and wipe humanity off the face of the planet, so they can enjoy what’s left of it. At least, we don’t think they’re doing so. Of course, We wouldn’t know if they were, right? Anyone with videographic evidence of such secret meetings, please share it with us. We need it for our TikTok. (“we kid, we kid,” as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog would say.)
Anypoodle—oops, we mean anyhoodle—the response we received to the first Pet Sounds post, featuring Crippled Black Phoenix, was deliriously delightful. Turns out people who like really good music are also big fans of smaller creatures that we take in as our own and quaintly refer to as “pets.” Go figure!
As previously stated, the response to our profile on “macabre rock” badasses Crippled Black Phoenix and the slew of cats who live with the U.K. band’s linchpins, Justin Greaves and Belinda Kordic, was overwhelmingly positive. However, our new series made one phylum of the animal kingdom a bit peeved. You may know them as “dogs.”
To appease man’s “best friends,” a reputation they’re going to have to do a better job living up to after all the barking they directed at us, we decided to focus our second installment of Pet Sounds on canines—specifically, ones befriended by the frontman of French brutal death-metal act Benighted. Said vocalist, Julien Truchan, generously spoke about his affinity for dogs, shortly before his band em-BARK-s (sorry/not sorry) on a European tour with Baest and Coffin Feed, in support of Benighted’s April release Ekbom (Season of Mist).
Brutal death metal vocalists might scare the dog crap out of you the first time you meet or see them outside a club. If not, then they definitely will the first time you hear them on the mic. But let this be a lesson not to prejudge any creature, be they human or otherwise: Truchan doesn’t just love dogs; he works as a psychiatric nurse and brings his patients to the local kennel once a week. He even spends some of his free time there, to bring joy to the pooches and, not necessarily as a quid pro quo, to get some love in return.
New Noise posed five dog-related questions to Truchan, which he answered like blue-ribbon winner. Our conversation went a little something like this.
Have you ever brought a dog on a Benighted tour? If so, what were the pros and cons of having a doing so? Colorful stories encouraged.
A long time ago, the former Benighted guitarist Liem (N’Guyen) used to bring his dog with us on tour. She was so easygoing with everybody, and she really brought sunshine wherever we went. The great thing about it is that a dog brings a lot of peace to a group of people and wakes up the best in everyone. Of course, we never let her listen to the shows, because dogs’ ears are too fragile for such a loud music. So she stayed backstage or in the van, and we all regularly went to make her walk or give her water or food.
I remember that, even at the table of merch, people were all smiling and craving to caress her for a moment. I (also) remember a gig in Paris when our van broke (down) at the entrance of the city. The promoter sent us a van to pick up some of us and the material, and the other ones headed to the subway to reach the venue. The dog was with us, and we had trouble with the police because we were not aware that dogs were forbidden in the subway!
They wanted to give us a fee and kick us out of the subway. But in discussing it with them and all we already went through, they became quite understanding and let us take it without asking for any money. With all the delay, we arrived 20 minutes before going onstage, filled with tension and energy we had to release from this misadventure—and gave one of the most energetic Benighted gigs of all time!
Has a dog ever participated in a Benighted concert?
I (once) saw some in the crowd (at one of our shows)—but I really don’t like it. Like kids, I think it’s not safe for their ears to listen to such a loud music.
Is there a community of musicians with dogs in France?
Metalheads are quite found of animals, dogs—and cats, mostly, of course. I know a French organization called Hardcore Cares created by a collective of musicians and metalheads who organize concerts and events to raise some money to help the dog shelters.
Given that the world is more anxiety-inducing than ever in recent memory, do you think having a dog mitigates those tensions and maybe even alleviates some of the concerns that feed the anxiety?
I totally agree. Dogs bring us back to our most authentic relationships with the simplicity of the way to communicate, the full trust we share, and also the responsibility they give us to take care of a living being. They wake up the best in us. Spending time with dogs provides an amazing way to fight anxiety, forget about our problems, or simply help us change the angle (through which) we see them. And, of course, most of all, they bring us so much love and attention.
When did you start getting involved with your local dog shelter? It must feel emotionally rewarding.
I’ve actually worked as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital for more than 20 years now. In 2018, I got in contact with a dog shelter because I wanted to start a project in the therapy of my patients using dogs as a way to help them work on the symptoms of their disease.
Every Friday afternoon, we bring a group of four or five patients to the shelter to take care of the dogs. The relationship with them is totally different, and by taking care of them, my patients take care of themselves. Isolation, anxiety, traumas … the sad stories of the abandoned dogs resound in my patients’ subconscious, as they all had difficult lives too. It brings back an empathy for the animal that was gone for the human for years, for example.
Also, it helps the patients’ self-esteem. They become the helping ones instead of the helped ones they think they are in everyday life. They feel responsible again. So, long story short, by helping the dogs and the working people at the dog shelter, my patients help themselves. It’s a win-win situation.
Are you a musician who adores your pet(s) more than life itself? Email korzeck@gmail.com with a summary of you and your pet(s) for potential inclusion in this series.
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