Killers

In 1983, the band decided to give up playing at dances to focus on their own compositions, and tried their hand at rock in 1984, at a time when the scene was emerging in Bayonne. Pascal, who had to leave the band to focus on his studies, was replaced in May 1984 by Michel Camiade, who had previously played with the band Airborne. They recorded several songs, including ‘Chevaliers du déshonneur’ and ‘Au nom du Rock 'n' Roll’, which were selected for inclusion on an upcoming single. Ultimately, the band recorded and released two demos in 1984: ‘Demo’ and ‘Killers’.

Towards the end of 1984, they recorded and mixed 24 songs at Studio Carat in Bordeaux, in the Gironde region. They then released their first studio album, entitled Fils de la haine, featuring ten tracks, in March 1985. The album was very well received by the specialist press in France and internationally. The British magazine Kerrang! even ranked them in the import charts. To mark the occasion, the band went on tour to promote the album and, in April 1985, played three consecutive nights in Aquitaine alongside Vulcain.

From *Danger de vie* to *Résistances* (1985–1989)

In July 1985, the band made a last-minute appearance at the France Festival in Choisy-le-Roi, where they met ADX. There, they also met Jean-Paul Godest through Christian Begrès, manager of Manhattan Boutique in Bayonne. In 1986, the band released their second studio album, Danger de vie. The album was, on the whole, well received by the national specialist press.

An initial line-up was put together, but Bruno was not convinced by the result; he preferred to start afresh with members of a Bayonne-based band called V.S.O.P., with whom he“faisait très souvent la fête” and whose “appréciait l'énergie et l'état d'esprit.” Philippe Borda became the band’s new drummer, Miguel Caron the new bassist, François Merle the new guitarist and Serge Pujos the new singer. According to Bruno, “during that three- or four-month period, we were subjected to some underhand tactics aimed at marginalising, or even erasing, our existence, but this only strengthened our resolve by fuelling a healthy anger that led us to title this third album Mise aux poings.”

Mise aux poings was released in March 1987 on the Dream Records label and distributed by CBS Records. It was recorded in twelve days and mixed in three days in Auvers-sur-Oise by Laurent Thibault and Pascal Bodin. The album was distributed internationally by Brennus Music. As soon as it was released, the band resumed touring and took a brief break over the summer. They resumed touring in the autumn of 1987, then began recording a new album scheduled for February 1988, but postponed until July following Miguel’s departure for non-musical reasons; he was replaced on bass by René Chavin. This fourth album, entitled Résistances, was recorded in two weeks and mixed in one between July and August 1988 in Vic-en-Bigorre at the Albret studio by Michel Dasque and Jean-Bernard Italiano. Their record label, Dream Records, ceased trading, and the band were therefore forced to look for a new label. They subsequently signed a deal with Sydney Productions, who were very impressed by their new album.

Live performances resumed with the release of the album Résistances in early 1989. However, Serge announced to the rest of the band his desire to stop all musical activity, and carried out all the scheduled dates from that point onwards. The band then began looking for a new singer.

From *Cités interdites* to *109* (1990–1999)

Following René Chavin’s departure, he was replaced on bass by David Pepiot in 1990. However, the band remained without a singer after Serge’s departure. Bruno therefore decided to give it a go. Killers went into the studio to record their fifth album with this four-piece line-up at the Albret studio in Vic-en-Bigorre. Subsequently, Patrick Soria became their new drummer, and his brother, Pascal, became their third guitarist.

Their new album, Cités interdites, was released in early 1992. The band resumed touring at the end of 1991 and a year later, in 1992, David left the band. Alain Garcès became their new bassist. The band continued to tour, but with two guitarists, as Pascal had left the band. François gradually distanced himself from the band, then left. He was replaced in 1994 by Fabrice Arnouts.

Their sixth studio album, Contre-courant, was released in 1995, but this time as a self-produced release (without a record label). They toured to promote the album, notably at a festival organised in Bardos to celebrate the band’s tenth anniversary. Fabrice subsequently had to leave the band to fulfil his military service; he was therefore replaced by Ronan Jacques on guitar in April 1996. Towards the end of 1996, the band planned to release their first live album, entitled Ennemis en public. Before the album’s release, Killers signed with Brennus Music. The band began writing and recording new songs. They then released the studio album Fort intérieur.

Meanwhile, Bruno wrote new songs to be included on their next album, 109. He met Nicko Andrieu at a concert in Bayonne, and Nicko became the band’s new drummer. He took the opportunity to recruit his brother Thierry on guitar. With this line-up, the band recorded and released the album 109 in April 1999, again on the Brennus label.

From *Mauvaises graines* to *10:10* (2000–2012)

Gigs resumed and the band were contacted by the organisers of the German Wacken Open Air festival, which attracted 25,000 spectators for its tenth edition. In the meantime, they wrote and released the album Mauvaises graines.

The band resumed working with Xavier Lorente, who had designed the logo and artwork featured on Fils de la haine. With his help in translating the lyrics into English, an English-language version of Mauvaises graines, entitled Killing Games, was released in March 2001. On 16 June 2001, Nicko died in a motorbike accident. Despite the grief felt within the band, the members chose to carry on—“car c'est assurément ce qu'il aurait voulu”, according to Bruno. They then went back on tour and released a new studio album, entitled Mise aux poings 2001, in September 2001, accompanied by a bonus video directed by Olivier Nelli, a long-standing fan of the band. In November 2001, they resumed recording and played further concerts, notably including their very first gig in February 2002 in central Paris. In the summer of 2002, recording work intensified.

Their new album, Habemus Metal, was released in November 2002 on Brennus Music and was very well received by the national and international specialist press. Meanwhile, the band topped the annual readers’ poll run by the French magazine Hard Rock and received an award on Sunday 6 April 2003 in Paris. The band played further concerts, including another in Germany in July 2003 at the Keep It True festival. In December 2003, they released a second live album entitled Le côté live.

In June 2004, they played a few concerts in Bidache. In November 2004, the band released their very first DVD, directed by Olivier Nelli, and then celebrated their twentieth anniversary on 12 and 13 November in Bidache. The DVD features two hours of footage from their performance at Wacken Open Air in 1999, along with a bonus feature entitled ‘Graines 2001’, a music video for ‘Hibernus Metal’, and footage from concerts in La Bastide Clairence and Bidache between March and May 2003. In April 2006, the band saw the launch of its official forum. By the start of the 2006 academic year, recording of a new album had been completed; however, tragedy struck the band when Bruno’s mother passed away in October; the album was therefore postponed until early 2007. À l'ombre des vautours was released in April 2007 on the Brennus Music label and distributed by Socadisc. It was very well received by the national and international press. In 2008, they abandoned the traditional distribution channel for good, choosing instead to distribute their albums themselves directly to the public at extremely affordable prices.

In February 2010, after fifteen years with the band, Florent left. Carlo Di Matteo, a friend and fan of Les Killers for almost twenty years, replaced him in March 2010. The band went on tour again in July 2010. In mid-2011, they focused on recording new tracks. By the end of 2011, the drum tracks had been recorded. In January 2012, the band contacted an illustrator for the cover art of their forthcoming album. Bruno explained that “everything has been recorded, but the first cover design the illustrator proposed to us at the end of August didn’t seem right for this album featuring just three band members.”

From *Imido* to the new album (since 2015)

The Basque band released their new album, Le Baiser de la mort, on 10 February 2015, and celebrated the 15th anniversary of Mauvaises graines in June 2015 and the 30th anniversary of Fils de la haine in August 2015.

Their latest album, Trajets-dits, was released in 2017.