AqME


AqME was a French alternative metal band from Paris, consisting of four members. AqME was part of a French nu metal movement called "Team Nowhere" for a few years, but the band eventually left this artist collective.

History

Formation and ''University of Nowhere'' (1999–2001)

AqME was formed at the end of 1999 after the break-up of Neurosyndrom, one of the founding bands of the music collective Team Nowhere. The band name was inspired by the Ancient Greek word "akmê" meaning the climax or turning point of something. At the time of its formation, Aqme's line-up was composed of ETN on drums, Ben on guitar, Sofy on bass, and Koma on vocals. Six months after the band's formation, the quartet released a five-track demo, University of Nowhere. At this period, when the band started appearing in several compilations, Sofy left the band. Charlotte then replaced her. They reissue 2000 copies of University of Nowhere in April 2001.

''Sombres efforts'' and ''Polaroïds and Pornographie'' (2001–2004)

Not satisfied with their previous releases, the band worked in a recording studio for a year to create their debut album. They went to record in Sweden with Swedish producer Daniel Bergstrand, who is known for working with Meshuggah, In Flames, and Misery Loves Co. AqME then came back to France and played in concerts with other French bands such as Unfold and Mass Hysteria. AqME's new songs attracted more people to the concerts, and the band eventually gained a wider audience.
AqME's critical acclaim occurred after the release of their first album, Sombre Efforts. They carried out a relatively large tour across France between September 2002 and October 2003, with a notable success at the Eurockéennes de Belfort. At the end of 2003, the Parisian band returned to the recording studio to produce their second album, Polaroïds & Pornographie.
By April 2004, Sombres efforts had sold over 25,000 copies. The band publicly announced their departure from Team Nowhere on 12 September 2004.

''La Fin des Temps'' and ''Live(s)'' (2005–2006)

After a lengthy tour, the band began recording their third album without Daniel Bergstrand. They chose Steve Prestage as a producer and stayed in Paris for the recording. The album La Fin des Temps was released in October 2005 and generated a song, "Pas assez loin", which was played on the radio. This third album had more prominent guitar parts but remained playable live. The lyrics centred around different topics such as euthanasia in "Ainsi soit-il", apprehension of death in "La Belle Inconnue", the downfall of the world in "La Fin des Temps", and human relationships. The band had recorded a track with Indochine, "Aujourd'hui je pleure", which was featured on Indochine's album, Alice & June. AqME was therefore the opening act for Indochine's concerts.
The band also released its first live DVD, Live, recorded in Nantes, France, on 2 June 2006.
After a concert at the Paris Olympia on 21 October 2006, the band members announced that they planned to disappear the following year and return with a fourth album in 2008.

Hiatus and side projects (2006–2007)

During this period, three of the four members had a side project. On 26 November 2006, Étienne's side project, Grymt, released its first record, My Dark One.
In June 2007, Thomas and Ben announced via Myspace that they were both working on the debut album for their new bands, Vicky Vale and Die on Monday.

''Hérésie'' and ''En l'honneur de Jupiter'' (2007–2010)

AqME's fourth studio album, Hérésie, was released on 4 February 2008.
After ten years of playing music with his friends, Ben left AqME in November 2008 to devote himself entirely to his own band, Die on Monday. After a period of inactivity, AqME integrated Mulder as guitarist in January 2009; he and ETN both performed in the band Grymt. This new quartet recorded a fifth album, En l'honneur de Jupiter, which was released on 19 October 2009.

''Épithète, Dominion, Épitaphe'' and ''Les Sentiers de l'aube'' (2011–2013)

To the surprise of the other members of Aqme, the singer announced his complete withdrawal from the music scene in March 2012. Their sixth album, Épithète, Dominion, Épitaphe, was released on 10 April 2012 as Thirrion's swan song. Vincent Peignart-Mancini took over from Thirrion during the tour that followed the album's release.
With this new singer, AqME released an EP titled Les Sentiers de l'aube on 15 October 2012. The EP featured three unreleased and three live songs from the previous albums.
Thirrion embarked on a tattoo artist apprenticeship and began his new career in the shop of in Paris.

''Dévisager Dieu'' and ''AqME'' (2014–2017)

On 3 November 2014, AqME released their seventh album, Dévisager Dieu. A music video for "Avant le Jour" was available before the release. The band returned to the road in late November 2014 to promote their new album, giving Charlotte time to complete her pregnancy. Vincent's twin brother, Julien Peignart-Mancini, took over the bass position for the remainder of the tour.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first album Sombres efforts, AqME reissued it on 21 April 2017 on a CD version and an LP version on the occasion of Record Store Day on 22 April.
On 17 May 2017, the band released the music video for "Tant d'années," one of the songs from their upcoming album, AqME. This new album was announced on 22 September 2017.

''Requiem'', disbandment and farewell tour (2019)

On 11 November 2018, AqME announced on social media, through a long communiqué, that 2019 would be the last year for the band, which was getting ready to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, explaining that it has reached the end of a human and artistic adventure.
On April 12, 2019, they released their ninth album, Requiem. They disbanded after a ten-date farewell tour, crossing France and Belgium from March 2019 to January 2020. They played their last concert on 11 January 2020 at Le Trianon in Paris, with two original band members: Thirrion on vocals and Rubin on guitar. However, the last dates were cancelled due to the health problems of the band's singer, Peignart-Mancini.

Influences

The band cited Nirvana, Soundgarden, Cold, Chokebore,, Deftones, and Korn as their main influences.

Band members

Final line-up
  • Étienne Sarthou / "ETN" — drums
  • Charlotte Poiget / "Charlotte" — bass
  • Julien Hekking / "Mulder" — guitars
  • Vincent Peignart-Mancini / "Vinc" — vocals
Former members
  • Thomas Thirrion / "Koma" — vocals
  • Benjamin Rubin / "Ben" — guitars
  • Sophie Chaussade / "Sofy" — bass
Touring musicians
  • Julien Peignart-Mancini – bass
Timeline


ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:130 bottom:60 top:0 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:1999 till:01/01/2017
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album
id:EP value:gray legend:EP
id:bars value:gray
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1999
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1999
LineData =
layer:back
color:studio
at:09/10/2002
at:04/13/2004
at:10/10/2005
at:02/04/2008
at:10/19/2009
at:04/10/2012
at:11/03/2014
color:EP
at:12/01/1999
at:10/15/2012
BarData =
bar:Thomas text:"Thomas Thirrion"
bar:Vincent text:"Vincent Peignart-Mancini"
bar:Ben text:"Benjamin Rubin"
bar:Julien text:"Julien Hekking"
bar:Sophie text:"Sophie Chaussade"
bar:Charlotte text:"Charlotte Poiget"
bar:Étienne text:"Étienne Sarthou"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:
bar:Thomas from:01/01/1999 till:03/09/2012 color:Vocals
bar:Vincent from:03/09/2012 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Ben from:01/01/1999 till:11/27/2008 color:Guitar
bar:Julien from:01/14/2009 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Sophie from:01/01/1999 till:10/21/2000 color:Bass
bar:Charlotte from:10/21/2000 till:end color:Bass
bar:Étienne from:01/01/1999 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Studio albums

Sombres efforts
  1. Superstar
  2. « Si » n'existe pas
  3. Le Rouge et le Noir
  4. Tout à un détail près
  5. Instable
  6. Une autre ligne
  7. Je suis
  8. Fin
  9. Sainte
  10. In Memoriam
  11. Délicate & saine
Polaroïds & Pornographie
  1. Pornographie
  2. À chaque seconde
  3. 3'38
  4. Tes mots me manquent
  5. La Théorie du poisson rouge
  6. Sur le fil
  7. Vampire
  8. Comprendre
  9. Être & ne pas être
  10. Ce que tu es
  11. La vie est belle
  12. La réponse
CD2
  1. Automédication
  2. Le rouge & le noir ⑵
  3. Tout à un détail près ⑵
  4. Je suis ⑵
  5. Fin ⑵
  6. " Si " n'existe pas ⑵
⑴ Presented as such on the album back cover.
⑵ Track recorded at the Eurockéennes de Belfort in July 2003.
La Fin des Temps
  1. Ténèbres
  2. Des illusions
  3. La fin des temps
  4. Une vie pour rien
  5. Ainsi soit-il
  6. Une dernière fois
  7. Pas assez loin
  8. Rien au monde
  9. Le Poids des mots
  10. La Belle Inconnue
DVD
Making Of
Hérésie
  1. Hérésie
  2. Uniformes
  3. Lourd sacrifice
  4. Un goût amer
  5. Karma & nicotine
  6. Les enfers
  7. En saga om livet
  8. Romance mathématique
  9. Casser/détruire
  10. 312
  11. A.M.: un jour de pluie
  12. Triskaïdékaphobie
  13. Utilisation de la synthèse additive ⑴
⑴ Track included in the Limited Edition of the album.
En l'honneur de Jupiter
  1. Tout le monde est malheureux
  2. Guillotine
  3. Les matamores
  4. Noël Noir
  5. Macabre moderne
  6. Le culte du rien
  7. Blasphème
  8. Stadium Complex
  9. Question de violence
  10. Vivre à nouveau
  11. Le chaos
  12. Uppe på berget
DVD
  • Making of
  • Video teaser
  • Photo gallery
Épithète, Dominion, Épitaphe
  1. Idiologie
  2. Quel que soit le Prométhéen
  3. Épithète, Dominion, Épitaphe
  4. Luxe assassin
  5. L'empire des jours semblables
  6. Adieu !
  7. My English Is Pretty Bad
  8. Marketing Armageddon
  9. Plus tard vs trop tard
  10. La dialectique des possédés
  11. 110.587
CD2 – Les Sentiers de l'Aube
Dévisager Dieu
  1. Avant le jour
  2. Enfants de Dieu
  3. Au-delà de l'ombre
  4. Ce que nous sommes
  5. Un appel
  6. Entre louanges et regrets
  7. L'homme et le sablier
  8. Pour le meilleur, le pire
  9. Les abysses
AqME
  1. Ensemble
  2. Tant d'années
  3. Refuser le silence
  4. Enfant du ciel
  5. Rien ne nous arrêtera
  6. Si loin
  7. Tout est supplice
  8. Un damné
  9. Meurs !
  10. Une promesse
  11. Se souvenir
  12. M.E.S.S.
Requiem
  1. Entre les mains
  2. Enfer
  3. Un adieu
  4. Illusion
  5. Paradis
  6. Sous d'autres cieux
  7. Requiem
  8. Un autre signe
  9. ''Sans oublier''