Interviews About Albums: Warside - Cognitive Extinction (2026)

In this new interview, we sat down with the French  Death Metal band Warside to ask questions about their album "Cognitive Extinction". 

1. What can you say about cognitive extinction?

Cognitive Extinction is a major step forward for us. It’s a more mature album, shaped by our touring experience and by the arrival of Thomas on drums and Mathieu on vocals. All of that helped us create something more efficient, raw, and sincere.

2. What is the meaning of the name of the album?

The title Cognitive extinction refers to the collapse of intelligence and the distortion of reality. The album plunges into mental, intellectual, and emotional decadence linked to digital propaganda. It deals with the loss of clarity, distortion, and disconnection from reality, as the human mind erodes under intrusive thoughts like jealousy and frustration, denial ..., giving way to raw and primal emotions.

3. Which one is the composer of cognitive extinction?

The core of Cognitive Extinction was written mainly by Vincent on guitar and me. Thomas then built the drum parts, and Mathieu co-wrote the lyrics with me and did intense work on vocal placements. The big difference compared to our previous releases is that this album is a true collective effort. Everyone was deeply involved in the final result.

4. If you had to choose a song, which one would you choose?

It’s hard to choose, but I would opt for the last track, Cognitive Extinction. The story behind that makes it special. Vincent sent me an email once saying, "Dude, I really had a crappy day. I wrote that last night. Tell me if you can do something with it." When I listened to it, I replied: "Don’t touch anything, it’s perfect." Then we added the outro, which comes from an old studio project on which Vincent and I worked in 2008, which has never been published. Everything happened naturally.

5. Is there a special message in Cognitive Extinction? If there is what it is?

There is no specific message or lesson behind cognitive extinction. We write about topics that speak to us directly, things that we experience and feel. Three of us are fathers, and we are deeply aware of how the world is changing for our children, especially their relationship with information and how they consume it. What is constantly pushed against them can be infuriating, even dangerous, in the ideas that are imposed on them. There is no value judgment, no "politically correct" message, no politics or religion involved. Through stories sometimes drawn from personal experience, we simply express our own perspective

6. Are there any lyrics you would like to share?

This short session is a good summary of our state of mind:

« The illusions of existence crack open, and he falls into the hell of mediocrity. In this war, he is the shadow of a boy. Humanity is dead, authenticity gone!

Slaves to inflexible digital empire. Pixels engulf him, he loses his soul, everything goes up in flames. Under the cables, he’s twisting and burning, Into this abyss, the child no longer exist. »

7. What inspirations were important for Cognitive Extinction? Like music or friends, family, or someone you would like to thank especially?

Music obviously plays a huge role in our inspiration, across all styles. Bands ranging from Motörhead to Dying Fetus or Archspire have influenced us in different ways. But more than anything, what really feeds Cognitive Extinction is the world around us, from what happens right outside our door to events happening thousands of kilometers away. There’s no shortage of material.

For this album, I especially want to thank Thibault Bernard for the insane work he did on the mix and mastering, and a massive thanks to Kevin Paradis for the drum recording. We spent about a week in his studio, and it was an intense and great experience

8. Anything to add?

We put a lot of energy and pleasure into creating this album, and now we’re ready to have just as much fun bringing it to the stage. Playing live and continuing to travel is our absolute priority.

A huge thank you to everyone for the support. See you soon