Gévaudan is based in Ottawa, Canada. While the music somewhat defies conventional wisdom regarding classification within the established heirarchy of musical genres and sub-genres, it carries with it enough familiarity to instil a sense of comfort within the listener. It has beauty, harshness, simplicity and a hateful nature. In the end, the music is irrefutably heavy, guitar-oriented and riff-based material - both traditional and chaotic at the same time.
The band was formed in early 2007 by founder Paul Champagne, who wrote, performed, and co-produced the entire debut-release over a 5 year period. Patrick Gendron filled the drum throne and the quest began for other musicians to form a solid, performing band. In April 2007, a steady rhythm/lead guitarist came along by the name of Kevin Church. The band forged ahead as a 3-piece for many months until late August 2007, when they found a 2nd rhythm/lead guitarist in Eric Cousineau. In late 2007, after a successful debut at Mavericks in Ottawa opening for Rotting Christ, Patrick Gendron left the band to pursue other musical interests. The band immediately began auditioning for a full-time and reliable replacement on drums, but it wasn't until late May 2008 that a suitable replacement was found in
Mike Berrigan - a local drummer seeking new challenges and, frankly, an all around nice guy to hang out with. After many months of searching for warehouse space, rehearsing, and getting to know one another, Paul made the very difficult decision to dissolve the band and to perhaps take a brief hiatus.
After a few short weeks, however, Paul and Kevin decided to continue writing the new material the two had been working on together for many months. The two decided on a goal of creating a new sound for the band; one which would redefine the essence of Gevaudan and the music thereof because, in the end, Gévaudan is, without a doubt, a Heavy Metal act. The intent behind the project is to move forward relentlessly; continuously and consciously evolving both ourselves and our music to that nebulous "next level".
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