Interview by Metal Links with Max Duijsens Interview conducted on May 1st, 2008 by Ronnie K Originally at metallinks.nl Click here for his review of 'Where Soldiers Die'. |
 |
ML: Hey guys, how are you? Can you tell our readers the history of the band? Hi Ronnie, we're fine, thanks! Buks and me started the band in 2000, but together with Ronald we'd been in Havoc for five years already. With that band we eventually recorded an album with 10 original songs. When that band split, Buks and me continued and after two years we were joined by Nico. Then in the spring of 2003 we recorded our debut album with the help of Ronald and Remco for all the lead guitars. After that we started writing new songs and together with Remco, who had by then joined full-time, we played a couple of gigs in our home town of Leiden. At the end of 2005 Bram joined and we wrote another five songs. Finally, in december 2006 we entered the studio to record our second album. We took our time recording and mixing everything, but I think it sounds the better for it! Last february we won the Metal Battle in Zuid-Holland and we have just released our new album. So we're all set to let people hear our new stuff! ML: And how did you come up with the bandname? Overkill fans, right? Absolutely! OverKill is one of the great metal bands that never changed their style or compromised in any way. We don't think we sound like them, but their approach to songwriting helps us with our own songs. They use a lot of dynamics and we try to apply that too. So we're learning to write more interesting songs all the time. ML: What can you tell us about your new cd? We're all very happy with it, especially since we've done most of the recording and mixing ourselves. Style-wise it's a bit heavier and faster than the first one, partly due to Bram's influence, but it was also a conscious choice to move more towards thrash. So no ballad this time, but we kept our doom-song! We're not planning any sudden style changes but we do always try to improve on what we've done in the past. ML: Where was it recorded and how long did it take the band? Drums and bass were recorded in the LVP studio in Leiden in december 2006, then in january and february of 2007 we recorded all the rhythm guitars at a friends' place. We then spent some time mixing what we had so far. During the summer all the vocals were recorded in our rehearsal room and Remco recorded all the lead guitars in his home. Autumn and winter 2007/08 were spent mixing it all - which wasn't the easiest thing to do. So we spent a total of 25 days to record everything, but it was all spread out over several months. ML: How is the feedback so far? First reactions are quite positive, especially towards the songwriting, which makes us very happy of course. There's still a lot to learn considering production, but we expected that. All in all we're quite satisfied. ML: You guys are from Leiden (Netherlands) right? How is the scene over there? Three of us live in Leiden, that's right. We rehearse here and have had several gigs in Leiden. To be honest though, there isn't much of a scene here. There are several individual bands, which support each other a bit, but there's not a lot of helping each other or organising gigs together. At least nothing comparable to the current UK thrash scene, which is really flourishing! ML: And how do you look at the whole scene in the Netherlands, especially the thrash scene? Well, what I just said about Leiden also goes for the rest of the country. It's a typically dutch thing I'm afraid, where you don't actively support your fellow countrymen. Any american band will get a lot of support, even if they're shite. But any dutch band will have to work much harder to get the same kind of support. ML: Will you guys hit the road for support of the cd? I'm afraid touring isn't really an option for us. We all have jobs or studies which we can't abandon for several weeks and besides that Buks and me have kids and wives that expect us to take care of them too, haha! We will do, and have done, several gigs to support the album. But that'll be a monthly thing at the best. We're not very demanding as a band, so if any organiser is interested in having us, be sure to contact us! ML: What can you tell us about the concept of the cd? The album doesn't have a concept actually, but there is a theme to half of the songs which links to the cover artwork. We'd like to make people think about the real costs of war, but we're not pretending to have any simple solutions. We're absolutely not glorifying killing or warfare and we can certainly see the moral dilemmas soldiers have to deal with. ML: What kind of things inspire you for writing the songs? Well musically we take a lot of inspiration from all the current albums we listen to, for example the latest Exodus, The Haunted and Bolt Thrower albums. But we've been metal fans for almost all of our lives, so there are decades of music that we take with us into the rehearsal room when we start writing songs. We're not consciously trying to do something new, we just write the songs we like and as such they show a lot of our influences obviously. ML: What kind of influences for the lyrics are there, and which member of the band writes them? Nico writes most of the lyrics and he delves into his personal experiences and some of his darker thoughts on humanity. I rewrite his lyrics a bit and add to them. 'Torquemada' was completely written by me and deals with the horrors of the spanish inquisition, but then from the viewpoint of one who is being burnt at the stake. ML: What are the future plans for the band? We're very realistic in not expecting world domination any time soon I think ;-) We'll do a couple of gigs before the summer holidays and then in september the core of Buks, Bram and me will start writing new songs. Besides that we'll be busy putting together a good show for this year's 'Gig for Nob'. That has been a yearly tradition where we remember our good friend Norbert Freriks who was also singer in Havoc. We're planning something special this time with a lot of guest appearances. It'll be good! ML: Well thanks for the interview. Any last words? Firstly thank you Ronnie, for the interview and the review of our new album. We'd also like to thank all the people who have taken an interest in the band and have come to one of our gigs and supported us. Winning the Metal Battle preliminary round in Rotterdam was definitely an unexpected high point! |
|
