Oi is a style wedding to a particular time and place. That is the U.K. during the late ’70s and the Thatcher era. It’s basically been locked in the time capsule of our collective memory since then. Bands have attempted to revive the genre in the U.S. and elsewhere with mostly dismal results. There was just something about the working-class milieu that Sham 69, Cockney Rejects, and others came out of that made that style sweaty, sloppy, drunken and contagiously hooky rock ‘n’ roll feel urgent and real.
And when you remove it from that context, it just sounds like a shoddier version of hardcore or power pop. The association that the genre eventually acquired with skinhead culture and the infiltration of the far-right and fascist movement into that culture didn’t win the genre any acolytes either. So what do you do? Throw the whole of Oi down the well of history? To France’s Fléau the answer is yes, and when you reach the bottom of that well, keep digging.
Fléau play an incredibly vicious variety of Oi that borrows as much (or more) from metal and hardcore as it does from groups like Angelic Upstarts. Further, instead of the miner’s strikes in England, Fléau has set their music in the feudal era of France. That’s right, it’s not a class war that Fléau is waging, it’s a Hundred Years war. The kind of war there you burn down the next village over because the nobleman who owns the land you live and work on convinced you that they’re heretics.
The kind of skirmishes where you dunk arrows in your chamber pot and fire them at the people who live on the opposite side a river because they were their hats funny or speak a different variation of French and Dutch and are therefore witches. The type of bloody, neighbor on neighbor violence that is only quelled when the Pope convinces you and every other dude in your village that you need to march four thousand kilometers to knock down the gates of Jerusalem and reclaim it in the name of Christendom.
Sure, you’ll all probably die of dysentery somewhere in modern-day Turkey before you ever get the draw your sword in the name of the lord, but at least you died for a noble cause. Good luck explaining what the cause is to anyone who hasn’t been half-starved and brainwashed by religious indoctrination, though. Really, Fléau sings about some truly brutal stuff, and in terms of Oi, it’s a necessary update to the genre … or backdate, I guess.
Check out our full interview with these medieval maniacs below, and then prepare to let loose thy scabbard and prepared to meet thy lord. Oi, oi, oi!
Interview conducted via email on May 4, 2021. The transcript has been edited slightly for the sake of clarity.
On what campaign did you all first cross swords?
Slapos: During the first Covid campaign, it was full of lazy battles but we came out strong.
How did you learn to become allies?
Slapos: That’s something you can’t learn. Our helmets have been forged using the same thunder steel; our destiny was already written. You can’t cheat a metal destiny!
For whom is your greatest foe?
Shredos: Fake people.
Slapos: … and most of humanity then.
Who is the smith from whom you requisitioned your armure? (ie where did you get those swanky outfits?)
Slapos: We partied a lot, and we didn’t have enough money left to buy whole armures, we had to settle for helmets only. There’s a place not far from our city called the Internet, and they do wonders when it’s time to get shit done. We asked an Internet smith and he made wonders.
What are your preferred styles of axe (ie what kind of guitars do you like to play)?
Shredos: Gibson SG are my favorites,; they’re the best to cut heads and shred on it!
Slapos: I love Lakland Skyline 44-51. I own two of them. They’ve bashed a couple of hundred skulls and they are still breaking knees.
What are the similarities and differences between recording and putting out a record and riding headlong into battle?
Shredos: In a battle, you put your tears and blood into it. We do the same for a recording session. Failure can be hurtful (even fatal) on a battlefield, not so much in a recording session. It’s safer to record than going to war.
Slapos: I agree. Putting out a record is a bit like waiting for the fog to disappear in the morning of the battle. You never know what’s in front of you !
Which is easier to ride, a horse, or a skateboard?
Shredos: None. We prefer catapults, they are easier to ride.
What specific periods of French history do you draw inspiration for your songs from?
Shredos: I don’t think our songs refer to a specific period, of course, we like Middle Age—not only the french part—for the violent imagery but the violence we talk about in our songs is timeless. The way we see it, we’re still living in it today. It’s just another dark age.
Are there any particularly dark periods in French medieval history that you find interesting?
Shredos: I really like the 100 Years War period. Demographic crisis, plague, treason between kings, it sounds like today, right?
Slapos: L’Inquisition and the destruction of Les Cathares. It’s interesting to see how low shit can go!
You have a surprisingly hard-edged sound for an Oi band. I’m guessing a couple of you have roots in the local hardcore and metal scenes. How do metal and hardcore inform your current project?
Shredos: We all like some hardcore and metal bands like Power Trip, Terror, Rival Mob, and thrash bands like Municipal Waste and Slayer. It helps to add a touch of brutality and violence on some more punk riffs.
Slapos: Fléau was created in a time of crisis by angry people. I guess “Is too much enough ?” could be our motto.
How would you describe the metal/hardcore scenes in France and how do they differ from the rest of the EU?
Slapos: To be honest, I don’t know enough about the metal or hardcore scene in France to be helpful. I just know that we have kick-ass bands that people should listen to! Please take some time to check these guys out: Gojira, Birds in Row, Youth Avoiders, or Verbal Razors!
In 2021, is your average person living a life closer to that of a medieval peasant than their counterpart thirty years prior? And if so, how?
Slapos: Life has always been rough for the average/lower classes. It has never changed through history and will probably never will.
How has France been fairing during this second year of the plague? We don’t get a whole lot of information about the vaccine role out and immunization rates in Europe over here in America?
Slapos: Patience is not easy. We’re not scientists, and none of us has a clue about how things should be handled. People are trying their best, and we’ll see how this rolls out.
Are things going well in your opinion?
Slapos: I don’t think I would be playing in Fléau if I had optimistic thoughts for humanity.
What is your greatest hope for the remainder of 2021, and what is your greatest fear (besides wizards)?
Shredos: We don’t hope, but crushing the audience’s spirits would be neat. No fear when you don’t have faith in mankind.
Slapos: Playing at least one show would be killer. We don’t feel fear.
Image courtesy of the band.
You can pick up Fléau’s self-titled seven-inch on vinyl from Red Scare Industries here.
