The Old Dead Tree

Official forum : Ultimate Metal



Official French speaking forum : EcClipse



The Old Dead Tree is no more.



I wish I never had to write those words, but nothing is forever. These last few months, some disagreements started to grow within the band, regarding commitment and musical direction in the making of our fourth album. Those differences of opinions soon turned out to be a dead-end problem and led me to make the decision of ending the band’s activities.



In twelve years of existence, The Old Dead Tree had its share of line-up changes. Of course, each of them has been an improvement, but they were also painful losses. And I don’t want to face that kind of loss again.



Be that as it may, I am still extremely proud of the work we have achieved and I want to thank all the people without whom nothing would have been possible: past and present band members with whom I learnt so much and had amazing times, our wonderful crew, our label Season of Mist, our tour booker K Productions, and especially the fans who supported us and encouraged us to go forwards. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours.



This is now farewell.



Manuel Munoz



Since its creation in 1997 by Manuel Munoz (Vocals, Guitars) and Nicolas Chevrollier



(Guitars), THE OLD DEAD TREE always stood apart in the current European metal scene thanks



to its unique musical identity: a style which combines extreme metal & dark rock / pop with



exceptional vocals, gliding from one style to the next.



By 1999, this was already clearly evident, when Frédéric Guillemot (Drums) and Vincent



Danhier (Bass) decided to join and secure the line-up. The press and fans enthusiastically



praised and welcomed the band’s first release: a mini-CD, “The Blossom”.



This promising debut took a sudden tragic turn, when Frédéric Guillemot committed suicide



just a few months later. The band members were inspired to exorcise the dramatic loss of



their close friend by expressing the darkest feelings and frustration this trauma provoked



in a new concept album. The result was “The Nameless Disease”, produced by Andy Classen



(LEGION OF THE DAMNED, DEW SCENTED, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, DISBELIEF, GRAVEWORM…) and



mastered by Goran Finberg (IN FLAMES, OPETH, DIMMU BORGIR…), an album which carried a



powerful, aggressive and modern sound. In 2002, the band signed a deal with Season of Mist



which finally gave Frédéric’s epic eulogy a proper release. THE OLD DEAD TREE performed



several shows and toured at various festivals for the record, with the likes of OPETH,



KATATONIA and PARADISE LOST.



Franck Métayer, at the drums since 1999, decided to leave in 2004 in order to devote



himself to his personal life. He was replaced by Foued Moukid whose debut performance with



the THE OLD DEAD TREE appeared on the 2005 album, “The Perpetual Motion”. The band played



at several high profile festivals over the summer of 2005 to promote the album’s release,



including at “Summer Darkness” (NL) and “Fury Fest” (FR) alongside SLAYER, ANTHRAX,



MEGADETH, LACUNA COIL, NEUROSIS and SOILWORK.



Sophomore album “The Perpetual Motion” was fully produced by Andy Classen at the Stage One



Studio (Germany) and the collaboration proved to be particularly successful. The album



received raving reviews late Summer 2005. Throughout the fall and winter of that year, THE



OLD DEAD TREE hit the road with Dutch gothic metallers EPICA for a full European tour, and



performed several shows as headliners in France and the Benelux.



On May 2006, guitarist and founding member Nicolas Chevrollier called its quits to focus on



his family, as he would soon become a father. The strong friendship binding the members of



the band made the decision particularly difficult. A replacement was found in Gilles Moinet



(main composer of doom metal act LUX INCERTA), a man with a deep sense of melody who



quickly found his place and brought new influences to THE OLD DEAD TREE.



After several more shows, the band members started working on their third album early 2007.



The recording sessions and the whole mixing and mastering process took place in June at the



Stage One Studio, once again with irreplaceable producer Andy Classen. The wait is now over



and THE OLD DEAD TREE have given birth to their new album “The Water Fields”. This title is



based upon an imaginary place where one finds refuge from pain and everyday doubts. “This



is a concept album about avoidance, kidding oneself, and the urge we have to hide from



reality and to remain passive when we are on tenterhooks.” says Manuel Munoz. “The band



went further again, reaching a new stage in terms of song writing and maturity. This album



is much heavier and darker, but also more diverse and full of sheer emotion! Even the



production of Andy Classen outdoes the job on our previous material…”



“Let’s dig deeper and deeper into the Water Fields…”



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DIVE

Recorded live @ Trabendo, Paris - 08.04.08



THE KNOCK OUT SONG

Recorded live @ Wilhelmshaven, Pumpwerk - 18.04.08



OUT OF BREATH - The Perpetual Motion - 2005

Directed by Julien Metternich



IT CAN'T BE ! - The Nameless Disease - 2003

Directed by Julien Metternich



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