Heimatlos

Serge Camagna dit Sergio Loco - drums Jean-Claude Jadoul dit Blitz, dit Vador - bass François L'H. (Naingnaing) dit Speedyperit, dit Léon Zyklon - guitar Norbert Mension dit K.Z. - singing The first French hardcore band is called Heimatlos. Nearly unknown in his country of origin, he is nevertheless recognized in the U.S.A., where he is regularly programmed on radios such as Maximum Rock'n Roll, and appreciated by personalities such as Jello Biaffra of the Dead Kennedys, Kalv Piper of Heresy or the cartoonist Pushead. Heimatlos (or Heimat Los at the beginning) is characterized by an internationalist approach, hence its name which means stateless in German, a song in various languages and a goal: to play fast.
In 1983, the guitarist of the Cat's Merd, François L'H., made an announcement to form his own band. He thus met bassist Jean-Claude Jadoul ( Les Spoons , Les Electrodes ). On October 29, François and Jean-Claude met for a first rehearsal. François is accompanied by Serge Camagna, drummer of the Cat's Merd, and Jean-Claude, by a punk met in Argenteuil, Norbert Mension, who must ensure the singing. They play fast and hard, and decide to continue their collaboration. Heimatlos was born and the line-up would no longer change until the group was separated. In December, the Parisian quartet recorded in Massy a demo of seven tracks that would be programmed on some of the many free radios then flourishing. Through Marsu, manager of Berurier Noir and Lucrate Milk, Heimatlos made his appearance on a compilation of New Wave Records, 1984 - The First Sonic World War, with the song "Schlag!". It is the fastest band and holds the shortest track. The label, impressed, proposes to produce an ep. At present, Heimatlos is mainly obliged to compose, Jean-Claude being held for a year in Germany on account of military service. Nevertheless, a second demo was recorded in June 1984 in Courbevoie. At the end of the session, the song is recorded only on five of the seven songs planned. When the band returns to complete the work after the summer vacation, the studio is destroyed; That is why Amsterdam and Schlag will not appear on the demo. It will be seventeen years later, during the mastery of The Second Necessary 1983-1988, that Norbert will sing on this version of "Schlag!". In November 1984, with permission from Jean-Claude, Heimatlos recorded his first ep at Bob Mathieu's studio (Paris). He was released in January 1985 at New Wave Records under the title Schlag! . He is very well received by some of the critics, notably by Maximum Rock'n Roll. Madrigal Records ( Der Kaiser , Sortilège , Vulcain , Cyclope ) offers the group a contract on the condition that the song evolves in a more heavy metal register. Heimatlos, faithful to himself, declines the offer. After the release of Jean-Claude, the band can finally perform on stage: the first concert takes place on March 30, 1985 in Massy with Morsüre (the first French thrash metal band, originally from Argenteuil). Unfortunately, the show ends with clashes between skinheads and punks. In June, Heimatlos exported to Belgium (Tournai) and played with Capital Scum and Dirty Scums, but once again the concert degenerates. In November, he performed in Dijon at the opening of the Canadian band D.O.A.: big concert, big success, great atmosphere. The group's reputation is growing. Heimatlos then appeared on the compilation of New Wave Records, 1984 - The Second Sonic World War, with the title "Alles Im K." In February 1986, a new demo was recorded at the Pom studio in Paris. The band is extremely unhappy with the sound. Philippe Roizes, of Réseau Alternative Records, then proposed to him the realization of a split ep with Kromozom 4 , another French hardcore group, using the songs recorded during the February session. Very reluctant, given the quality of the sound, Heimatlos nevertheless ends up accepting and split ep releases under the title Keepsake . Jungle Hop Records ( Madhouse, Flitox, Merciless, Uncle Slam) also features two songs recorded at the Pom studio, "Kommandos" and "Brutal Thanksgiving", on a sampler named Rapsodie. In June 1986, Heimatlos performed for the first time in Germany with Razzia, Skeezicks, Bluttat and Frolhix. The group discovers the divineg stage (which it will bring back to France) and is very successful. At the end of the year, the quartet entered the Campus Studio in Paris for the recording of a split lp with their friends from Kromozom 4 . Co-produced by Jungle Hop Records and Réseau Alternative Records, De Vlag was released in April 1987. Heimatlos opened for the concert of Broken Bones (ex- Discharge, U.K.) in Montreuil and then returned to Belgium, where success did not fail. Réseau Alternative Records then released a compilation, France Profonde 2 , with "Räddaren i nöden" recorded during the Campus Studio session but not included in the split lp, and two live tracks from Tournai concert, "Amsterdam" and "Religion". The reputation of Heimatlos is such that Jungle Hop Records and Auto Da Fé Records (new label by Philippe Roizes and Manu, singer of Sherwood) propose to produce an album. He'll never see the light. Early in 1988, Heimatlos returned to Campus Studio for the recording of the superb ep Negative Mental Obsession released at Auto Da Fé Records. In May, the band played in Paris with Cosmic Wurst (Le Scoop): it was Heimatlos' last concert but no one knew yet because other shows were planned that the band could not honour for various reasons. In September, Heimatlos finally split up although François, Norbert and Serge decided to continue the adventure under the name Tears Of A Doll (it had indeed been decided since the beginning that if one of the members left the group, Heimatlos would no longer exist). They recruited François Truillet on bass and Denis Nydeu (ex Kromozom 4 ) as second guitarist. Initially, the band will reprint pieces written or drafted in Heimatlos' time. Comble de l'ironie, it is after the separation of the band, that the songs "Negative Mental Obsession" and "Sublimacontrol", chosen by Pushead Himself (singer of the punk band Septic Death and renowned artist), are found on the compilation Skate Rock vol.9 of Thrasher Magazine, where Heimatlos alongside Bad Religion, Eye For An Eye, Fury or Blast.
Thus, Heimatlos disappeared at the very moment when a beautiful career seemed promised to him, leaving the impression of a truncated story. Nevertheless, there is still the reference for French hardcore.