Aqme is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 /metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 originating from Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 consisting of four band members. The band was part of the French nu metal

Nu metal

Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...

 movement, called "Team Nowhere", but they eventually split up with the Team in order to have more independence.

Biography

Aqme was created in the end of 1999 after the break-up of Neurosyndrom. They were one of the founding band of Team Nowhere. At the time of its formation, Aqme's line-up was composed of Etienne on drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

, Ben on guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, Sophie on bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 (who will later be replaced by Charlotte), and Thomas on vocals. Six months after the formation of the band, the quartet

Quartet

In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...

 released a five track demo

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 known as "University Of Nowhere". It is at this period, when the band starts appearing in several compilations

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, that Sophie left the band. She was then replaced by Charlotte.

Not very satisfied of their previous releases, the band decided to work in studio

Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

 during a year in order to create their first album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

. They went to record in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 with the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 producer Daniel Bergstrand, who is known for working with Meshuggah

Meshuggah

Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...

, In Flames

In Flames

In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...

, and Misery Loves Co. The band then came back to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and played in concerts with other French bands such as Unfold and Mass Hysteria

Mass Hysteria (band)

- History :Created in 1993, the band recorded their first album, Le Bien-être et la Paix , only four years later. After this album, Mass Hysteria gained an important audience for their kind of music in France.In the media, Mass Hysteria is known for some controversies and...

. The band's new songs attracted more people to the concerts and the band eventually had a larger audience.

Aqme's critical acclaim occurred after the release of their first album, Sombre Efforts (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 for "Dark Efforts"). They went on a relatively big tour across France between September 2002 and October 2003, with a notable success at the "Eurockéennes de Belfort". At the end of 2003, the Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

ian band went back to studio recording in order to make their second album, Polaroïds & Pornographie (French for "Polaroids and Pornography").

After extensive touring, the band started recording their third album, this time without Daniel Bergstrand. They chose Steve Prestage as a producer and stayed at Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 for recording. The album was released in October 2005, under the name La Fin Des Temps (French for "The End of Times"), and Pas Assez Loin was even played on the radio. This third album had more prominent guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 parts but still continued to be playable live. The lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 centered around different topics such as euthanasia

Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....

 (Ainsi Soit-Il), apprehension of death (La Belle Inconnue), the downfall of the world

Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth

Various existential risks could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth.-Types of risks:...

 (La Fin Des Temps), and human relationships. Aqme has opened the concerts for Indochine

Indochine (band)

Indochine is a French new wave/rock band, formed in 1981. The band was very successful in France in the 1980s, as well as other parts of continental Europe and Latin America, with songs like L'Aventurier and Canary Bay...

 during their tour since AqME had recorded a track with Indochine (Aujourd'hui Je Pleure), which is featured on Indochine's album Alice & June.

On October 21, 2006, following a concert at the Olympia

Paris Olympia

The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....

, the band announced that they were planning on disappearing the following year in order to come back with a fourth album in 2008.

Three out of the four members have now a side-project. On November 26, 2006, Etienne's side-project, gRYMT, released its first record called "My Dark One". In June 2007, Thomas and Ben have announced via MySpace that they're both working on their new bands ("Vicky Vale" and "Die On Monday") debut album.

Their fourth studio album, entitled Hérésie, was released on the 4th of February 2008.

Current members

• Thomas (Thomas Thirrion) - Vocals
• Etienne (Etienne Sarthou) - Drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Charlotte (Charlotte Poiget) - Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   and back vocals
• Julien (Julien Hekking) - Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  

Former members

• Ben (Benjamin Rubin) - Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
   [1999-2008]
• Sofi (Sophie Chaussade) - Bass [1999-2000]

University Of Nowhere

This demo was the first Aqme recording. It was released in 1999 as a five tracks EP, and was later re-released with three additional tracks and a video. This track listing is that of the re-edited demo.

Track listing:

1. "Encore Une Fois"
2. "T.N." (With Bill from Enhancer and Kemar from Pleymo
   Pleymo
   Pleymo is a French nu metal and rapcore band. Pleymo have sold over 100,000 albums to date. The band's name apparently originates from the lead singer once having a haircut as a child that was similar to that of Playmobil figures....
   
   )
3. "À Jamais"
4. "Words"
5. "Beauté Vénéneuse" (With Franklin from Noisy Fate, now Vegastar
   Vegastar
   Vegastar is a French Alternative rock band from Orléans which formed in 2003.Its members comprise mostly from former members of the French group Human Beat Box. Franklin is on vocals, Fabien and Jey on guitar, Vincent on bass and Jocelyn on drums...
   
   )
6. "Sainte"
7. "Bulmas"
8. "Mis À Quia"

Sombres Efforts

This was the first official Aqme album. It was released on September 10, 2002.

Track listing:

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 Et Sainte"

Polaroïds et Pornographie

This was the second Aqme album. It was released on April 13, 2004, and was also released as a collector, 2CD, edition. This limited edition included an unreleased track named "Automédication" as well as live versions of songs from Sombres Efforts. This is the track listing for the normal version.

Track listing:

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 Et Ne Pas Être"
10. "Ce Que Tu Es"
11. "La Vie Est Belle"
12. "La Réponse"

La Fin Des Temps

This was the third album by Aqme. It was released on October 10, 2005. A Limited edition was also released with a DVD.

Track listing:

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"

Hérésie

This was the fourth studio album by Aqme. It was released on February 4, 2008. A Limited edition was also released with an extra track.

Track listing:

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"

Bonus track for limited edition:

13. "Utilisation de la Synthèse Additive"

En l'Honneur de Jupiter

This was the fifth studio album by Aqme. It was released on October 19, 2009. A Limited edition was also released with a DVD.

Track listing:

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"

Sources

• AqME's official MySpace
• Official website (French)
• "Poussée d'AqME" (French)
• Pictures of AqME during a concert for fundrasing concerning AIDS (French)