Yarotz est un groupe français de métal hardcore, né dans le sud-ouest (Landes). Composé de trois membres – Fabien Zwernemann (chant et guitare), Vincent Perdicaro (chant et basse) et Enzo Laidi (batterie) – ils ont publié deux albums studio depuis sa formation. Plongé dans les univers du hardcore chaotique et du post-hardcore, Yarotz se démarque par une énergie brute et une hargne palpable, révélées tant dans leurs compositions que lors de leurs concerts énergiques.
Originally known as The Third Eye, the band quickly made waves with a self-produced three-track demo released in January 2019, a first trial that earned praise from critics.
Things moved fast from there: at their very first show in March 2019, they won the XL Tour, a springboard competition that brought them support from the Landes regional council and the SMAC network, with invaluable backing from Christian Andreu, guitarist of Gojira.
A wave of shows across France followed, sharing the stage with bands like Birds In Row and Brutus, and building a reputation through raw, electrifying live energy that struck a chord with every crowd.
In 2020, following a lineup change and a bold musical shift, the band took on a new name: Yarotz, inspired by the Russian word Yarost, meaning “Rage”—a perfect reflection of their sound and spirit.
The band’s first album, Erinyes, features nine tracks recorded and mixed in early 2021 by Cyrille Gachet (Year Of No Light, Fange) and mastered by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan). It includes a guest appearance by Christian Andreu, guitarist of Gojira, on the track “Childish Anger”.
Named after the vengeful goddesses of Greek mythology, Erinyes tackles dark and urgent themes, from child abuse scandals within the Catholic Church to domestic violence, with lyrics that confront the fractures and failures of our society head-on.
The album’s striking visual identity comes from Japanese artist Yuki Watanabe, who created a haunting pencil-drawn diptych: a plant-like monster entwined with snakes on the front cover, offering a human heart to a ravenous wolf shown on the back cover.
Erinyes was released on March 24, 2022, with Agence Singularité handling its promotion in France. It received strong acclaim from both audiences and critics, earning praise across social media, in the specialized press (New Noise Magazine, Metallian, Hard Force, Guitar Part), and in numerous French and international webzines (Metalorgie, Rock’nForce, WFenec). The album also found a distribution partner in Japan through Abyss Gazer Records.
Three music videos were released to support the album: “Vergogna”, “Impunity”, and “Childish Anger”.
Yarotz joined the DeadPig Records roster in April 2022, kicking off a promotional tour for the release of Erinyes. Since then, the band has played over fifty shows across Europe, from Portugal to Romania, with stops in Germany, Slovenia, and beyond.
They’ve stormed the stages of major festivals like Betiz’fest, Rockin’Bourlon, PostInParis, Toxoplasmose (Switzerland), BlackBoxFestival (Portugal), and even lit up the Altar Stage at Hellfest Open Air 2022.
Yarotz has also shared the stage with heavyweights like Gatecreeper (USA), Nostromo (Switzerland), and Brutus (Belgium), performing in renowned clubs and SMAC venues, including Le Metronum in Toulouse and L’Atabal in Biarritz. In 2024, they were also featured at the Hellfest Warm-Up Tour, further cementing their reputation as one of the most intense acts in the European hardcore scene.
“Live, their music hits like an emotional bomb that demands to burst out of you. The energy is raw and powerful, the melodies dark and gripping. Jagged riffs, a voice that bites and won’t let go, piercing highs that screech in your ears before crashing into fast-paced rhythms and thunderous low-end… then suddenly, gut-wrenching melodies take over. I’m smiling, my brain just went ‘whoa.’ I’m not sure if I can handle more. I glance at my friends, our eyes say it all: Of course we want more. That was insane.
And from what I heard in the crowd between songs, they won over just about everyone tonight, not just with their sound, but with their sheer presence and intensity. Everyone felt the bite.”
Yarotz stands out through a fierce blend of raw aggression and relentless energy, drawing inspiration from hardcore punk and pairing it with dark, heavy melodies rooted in metal. This fusion creates a powerful, brutal, and shadowy sound, evoking bands like Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Russian Circles.
Their lyrics express a deep dissent with society, offering a sharp critique on a range of issues. The band tackles themes such as ecology, condemning the blindness of leaders in the face of an impending global catastrophe. They also show a strong sensitivity to social inequalities and injustices, especially those that hit the most vulnerable in our communities first.
“Yarotz is far from just another hardcore punk metal band, far from it! Their songs confront violence. The kind of violence that struggles to break free from taboo, that settles deep in our hearts from childhood, and spawns tragic, even disastrous consequences. That’s exactly what Yarotz’s tracks do: they expose the flaws of Man, of Humanity. The band tackles societal issues, both current and past, laying bare their dark perversities and showing how painfully we keep repeating the same bullshit over and over again.”
« En live, leur musique provoque une sorte de boule émotionnelle qui demande à jaillir de toi. L’énergie est puissante, les mélodies sont sombres. Des riffs cassés, une voix qui vous mord et ne vous lâche pas, des cordes qui vous font grincer les oreilles d’ultra aigus, puis vrillent vers une rythmique rapide sur des basses (très) grondantes… avant de passer à des mélodies qui te prennent aux tripes. Je souris, mon cerveau fait “wouaaaah”. Je ne sais pas si j’en redemande. Je regarde mes potes et nos regards s’entendent : Bien sûr qu’on en redemande, c’était trop bon ! Et d’après ce que j’ai pu entendre durant l’entre-deux, ils ont convaincu à peu près tout le public ce soir, autant musicalement que par leur présence et leur intensité. Tout le monde a senti la morsure… »
”Yarotz n’est pas un simple groupe de punk métal hardcore, que neni ! Les titres parlent de violences. De ces violences qui peinent à sortir des tabous, qui s’ancrent dans nos cœurs dès l’enfance et qui engendrent des conséquences malheureuses, voire désastreuses. Les morceaux de Yarotz sont ainsi : ils dénoncent les travers de l’Homme, de l’Humanité. Le groupe réagit à des sujets de société, actuels ou passés, et nous expose leur perversité, représentant la manière affligeante avec laquelle on s’évertue à reproduire encore et encore les mêmes bullshits.”
Fabien Zwernemann: Guitars and vocals
Vincent Perdicaro: Bass and vocals
Enzo Laimy: Drums
General enquiries
yarotzband@gmail.com