Month: January 2016

Herod

Switzerland, hidden between mountains, renounced for its chocolate, cheese and of course their world famous privacy concerning financial banking. And also home to Herod, the sludge noise mongers who’re blazing trails for a few years now. We at RMP Magazine had a nice chat with Pierre, guitar player and founder of Herod, regarding their project and the recent European tour during a turbulent period for live music in Europe.  Cheers !

 

  1. For the readers that don't know the phenomena ‘Herod’ yet. Please introduce yourself and the band.

Hi! Pierre here, guitar player and founder of the band. I started riffing the first chords when I was living in Sweden in 2006. Eight years later, we released the debut album “They were none” on the Danish Label Mighty Music influenced by the great north like Breach, Meshuggah and Cult of Luna!

 

  1. Herod hails from Switzerland, a country that many don't know too well except for Swiss athletes and the magnificent chocolate and cheese. But asides the obvious clichés, how would you describe Switzerland and your position within the Swiss music scene?

Maybe people will know the biggest Metal Swiss bands which are Coroner, Celtic Frost or Samael? Actually Switzerland is a great place to live and the music scene is quite rich. In our music genre (sludge/postcore/chaotic prog-shit) there are many great Swiss bands we use to share the stage with such as Cortez, Kruger, Coilguns, Abraham, Zatokrev, and many others, we all actually were fan of before Herod.

 

  1. Herod's music is highly influenced by another, not Swiss, music scene, namely Swedish death metal. One of the members even lived in Malmo. How does Sweden connect to Switzerland and Herod?

I lived in Malmö for six months in 2006 and that was the first time I started writing music. I bought a baritone strat and I tuned it as low as possible and I started riffing in my room, that was a really creative trip. It’s weird because I try to find again that creative mood to write the second album, but today I live in a chalet in the middle of the vineyards in Switzerland!

 

  1. The band recently embarked on a European tour with bands as Carcass and Obituary. The Deathcrusher tour led you to many European countries. How has it been?

Amazing and exhausting as we were also part of the Carcass crew. We played amazing venues in front of massive audiences and every band was really nice to us. We made friends for life and gained a lot of fans.

 

  1. There was also a sort of tour journal online 'Le Journal du Hard'. Although in French I understood that it's sort of a blog describing how tour life can be. How has the response been on the journal?

Really funny you heard about that [laughing]. Yeah, the local newspaper asked me to make like a diary of the tour, so I did an article every week.

 

  1. Next to the exciting parts of being ignored by headliners and the constant dreadful waiting game that touring is, you also wrote about the Paris 'Le Bataclan’ terrorist incident. Herod was touring Europe at the same time the attack occurred and still had to play Paris later during the tour. What were your thoughts on this terrible news?

Sure, that was weird. We were in Leipzig when that happened. We had to play in Paris 10 days later and mostly everyone wanted to play the gig, the show must go on. Regarding the tragedy, I think we all have a different opinion, mine is quite rude because I think France cannot be naive and think they can have that kind of international policy and no ‘feedback’. We enter a new era and those people have the advantage to die for their ideas, in Europe no one is ready to die for a cause or values.

 

  1. “They Were None”, your latest album has been released some time now. Any plans on recording new material soon or has the touring bug got to you and will touring be a priority first?

Sure, so for 2016 we’ll get back to rehearsal, I already have a few riffs in the pocket.

 

  1. If we need to define Herod, then the most-called genre would be ‘Progressive Sludge’ according to the internet. Citing influences such as Meshuggah, Cult Of Luna, Converge, and Breach, it makes it hard to categorize your sound. How would you describe your band and style if needed?

As we play 8-strings it was important to us to take an opposite direction ampwise, so we only use vintage amps on the record. Our producer Julien Fehlmann worked previously with awesome Swiss bands such as Unfold, Forceed or Coilguns and I was really pleased when he decided to produce our album.

 

  1. The album also features some noise/drone sounds and uses intros frequently. Like the Russian female voice at the beginning of “No Forgiveness For Vultures”. For us non-Russian speaking folks, could you explain what the intro deals about?

That is words from Master and Margarita from Mikhail Bulgakov (1967), the story talks about a visit by the devil in the atheistic Soviet Union.

 

  1. Any last words, advice or other news you'd like to share with us?

I wish everyone will eat as much as they can during Chrismas time because this is what we are gonna do. But check our sound first www.herodnoise.com

 

– David Marote

Reel Big Fish

In the gruesome evening some lunatics invaded the Eagles Of Death Metal show at Bataclan, Paris, we at RMP attended a concert too. Unknowingly of the tragedy, we had a chat with John Christianson, better known as Johnny Christmas, from the band Reel Big Fish. We talked with him about Belgian beer, the touring life and when to expect some new material.

 

  1. Hi, welcome! First of all, how are you doing here in Belgium?

I’m tired. We’re at the end of the tour and this is a great place to end it. We’ve been through the UK, Holland, Germany and Switzerland this time and we’ve been out for I think four weeks. Wow, I can’t believe it that’s gone by so quickly. All the shows were great, it’s really wonderful to be in a nice venue and be in Belgium where the world’s best beer is! We were sampling some of that after sound check. We were at a place called “Het Kapitool” and were enjoying the crazy Belgian beer selection because that’s what we do.

  1. So you already know that you are in the capital of Stella Artois but do you have any favourite Belgian beers?

Yes, of course. My favourite Belgian beer is the St.Bernardus 12. I also like the Westmalle Tripel. Belgian beer is my favourite because they’re really carbonated and it’s a little sweet. I also like the ‘gueuzes’, we had a great gueuze today at the bar. It just makes your face turn inside-out because it’s so sour. I really love that. It’s good to have real beer because that has been a while.

  1. We too are very big beer fans and the gueuze is also one of our favourite beers to drink and to share with people.

Yeah, you know that’s one of our favourite things about beer, that you can experience it together. We’d like to get either big bottles and pour them out a little bit for everybody and it’s a really nice way to share an experience with everybody. That’s one of my favourite things to do.

  1. Let’s go back to touring. You’ve been touring all over Europe and these last months you toured with Suburban Legends as a support. The last time we saw you, you also performed with Suburban Legends. Is this a coincidence or is it just that you take them with you a lot along the ride?

It happens every couple of years that we take those guys out because they’re a great band and a great bunch of guys and we’ve been friends for the longest time. So it just happens that the last time you saw us that they were on the bill and this time again. There were just enough years that went by that it worked out that way but I think this is going to be one of their last tours that will happen for a while but we’ll see what the future brings. It’s hard to keep a band together and try to make a living. It’s really difficult, even for us, it’s the hardest thing just to pay everybody and you can only go through for so long out of love and not make any money to support yourself or your family. So I think that’s the point that they’re at now.

  1. Today is the last day of your European tour. What do you expect from this show?

It’s going to be fucking crazy! The first show that I played in Belgium in Brussels in 2004: as we played the last song the whole crowd rushed the stage and the whole crowd was on stage with us while we were playing “Take On Me”, it was just one of the most memorable and scary experiences of my life. Because, you know, I play trumpet so if anybody bunks me or bunks my horns and cuts my lip, it just makes my life a living hell. So I was all freaked out like ‘Oh my God, look at all these people!’ and then I finally decided ‘Okay, I’m not playing, I’m running away!’. I was fearing for my life at that point.

  1. Reel Big Fish is known for their energetic, full-on shows with lots of humour and lots of jokes. Do you prepare some jokes or does it just come natural for you?

They all happen organically. They’re never planned out and it’s great that Aaron (Barrett, vocals and guitar) has a great sense of humour and I think that everybody in the band has. So sometimes things will get thrown in that we don’t expect or jokes will happen that we never thought would have happened. Last night, the song “10,000 miles” came out for some reason and that was awesome because as soon as the ‘tadadada’ came, the whole crowd did the same and it was totally unexpected and so much fun. We were all smiling like little schoolgirls.

  1. The music you play is very danceable. What is your favourite song to dance to?

To dance to? Oh my God! Well, it just so happens that I’m always in the band so that the opportunity to dance comes to me rarely. And when I dance with my wife, on special occasions when I’m home, when I’m not working, I never get to pick the music. I just go ‘we’re dancing girlfriend, wife, lady’ and we both go with it. So whatever song that allows me to be close to my wife and give her hugs and look her in the eyes. That’s all good with me.

  1. Last year, you treated us very well with “Happy Skalidays” and our Christmas became a thousand times better! Was it something you wanted to do for a long time, making a Christmas album?

[Laughs] Yes, we’ve been throwing that around for many years and it just so happened while we were on tour through Canada we started figuring out Christmas tunes during the sound checks. It happened kind of organically that we were all like ‘Well, let’s try “Little Drummer Boy”.’ and we tried to do it a Jamaican ska kind of way and put some Jamaican ska-quotes in there from some famous songs. It was initially going to be a full-length record and it turned out to be an EP so I don’t know if we would go back and record some more songs and make it a full-length record or what’s going to happen. Our engineer, David Irish, who was out with us, he lost his studio; the studio that we would do recordings at for about ten years so now he’s looking for another building so it’s going to take us a little while to start recording stuff again. So just be patient.

  1. Are their maybe any plans to have some sort of split record Easter/Christmas? Or is it maybe that you don’t like Easter as much as Christmas?

There is not necessarily any Easter music in the States. At Easter play the hallelujah chorus… I guess we could play a hallelujah chorus/ska-thing. Can you skank to the hallelujah chorus? [hums the hallelujah chorus]. Yes, we could make it work!

  1. Here in Belgium, ska is sort of an underground genre. You don’t see many ska bands performing in really big venues like Sportpaleis. How do you feel about that, that ska still is sort of the underdog?

It always kind of has been. When the music started out in Jamaica, those guys were playing for people at casinos, for white people at casinos, mixing soul and jazz and R&B and then mixing it with the traditional rhythms from Jamaica. So it was kind of always an underground thing. It just happens that it sometimes gets really popular like with Madness and The Specials in the UK and then it came to California primarily with bands like Fishbone and No Doubt and us. You know, it’s always around. It just takes another band that scores another hit on the radio because that changes things. When they hear you on the radio all the time, there will be another wave of ska bands. But it’s all over the place: it’s in the commercials that you watch, it’s in the movies that you watch. If you just keep your ears open, you’re like ‘Where did that ska-sound come from?’ in this TV-commercial for a Toyota Prius?

  1. Your lyrics and songs are mostly very funny to hear. Who writes these lyrics to for example “Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer”, “The FU Song”, “She Has A Girlfriend Now”?

“Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer” was a previous song so it’s a cover of… I don’t remember the artist but that’s been around for about thirty years. “Another FU Song” and the rest, that’s all Aaron and his whit, his view on life. It’s easier to look at your life and laugh when stuff kicks you in the head than to get upset about it. And I think that’s one the great things that Reel Big Fish has done for people. We allowed them to laugh with themselves and laugh with the world and not just yourselves too seriously. It’s not that you try to get through live trying to do the best you can, because you are, but if you laugh at yourself and go ‘Okay, this is just bullshit and I’m going to laugh at it.’ you’ll be fine. You know when somebody cuts you of as you are driving to work who’s trying to drive everybody else of the road that’s just… There are too many people in this world who take themselves way too seriously. That’s definitely a problem. That’s why we have people chopping people’s heads off because they’re taking themselves way too seriously. Because they can’t laugh at themselves, because they can’t allow people to do other stuff. I mean, when you want control over the rest of the world and other people, you will run into problems. Even if you’re in a relationship and you want control over your significant other. Things don’t work out well that way. You can’t tell people that that is what they have to do. No, it’s give and take and the more that you can laugh, you can say ‘Well, this didn’t work out very well but I’m going to laugh about it and move on and do the next thing and do my best and of someone kicks me in the head again, I’m going to laugh and then keep going!’. It’s a good way to a good life.

  1. How many versions are there from the song S.R. (Suburban Rhythm)?

There are a ton of versions! And another ton of versions that you have never heard, like there’s a beat-jazz version, there’s a White Stripes version and so on. That song started out just as the reggae-ska version of that and it was a really short song and Aaron was like ‘Why don’t we try it doing this way, or that way?’. And then we all adapt and laugh and think ‘Oh, this is great!’. It got to where that part of the show was becoming so long, like over 15 minutes long because of all the different styles we would do. It just got to be too big and take too much time so we kind of condensed it down so there are about five versions that we do now. It’s another way that we’re laughing at ourselves, but also to go ‘Oh yeah, we can do all those other things too.’. I mean, we’re good musicians. All of us are really good musicians. Of course it’s always a hit, like when we’re going to a festival and play like after Mastodon or something and we play S.R., everybody just eats out of our hands, everybody just loves it so much! We can kind of be that comic relief, I guess, on some shows or festivals and it really is like a breath of fresh air for everybody, I think.

  1. We also saw you at Groezrock some time ago and of course at that festival you have a lot of hardcore bands and then you guys played among them and it was nice to have something completely different.

The first time that I remember that happening we played after Mastodon, but right before My Chemical Romance and I was going like ‘How is this going to work?’. Because all these people were roaring their lungs out and then we take the stage and they just go crazy! I think after that Groezrock show we went to play in Dubai and we played this festival as a replacement of a band called Saxon, the old eighties hair metal band, and the bill was us, Testament, 3 Doors Down and Megadeth. “Souls Of Black” by Testament is the very first cd that I ever bought and “Peace Sells” of Megadeth was one of the tapes I had and I loved both of those bands. So just standing on the side of the stage watching those bands, I was like a little schoolgirl ‘Oh, this is so amazing!’. But to go after a really hard metal band like Testament and take the stage and everybody just goes crazy, you know you’re doing something right. Something somewhere we’re doing right!

  1. You just mentioned Testament and Megadeth. What are your favourite bands aside from the ska genre? Maybe some sort of guilty pleasures?

Oh no, I have no guilty pleasures! I love all the traditional Jamaican ska, I love bands like Desmond Dekker and The Wailers. We’ve been fortunate to play quite some shows with The Wailers and it has always been awesome. It’s just we’ve been really lucky to play with some of the biggest names in Jamaican ska. So aside from that, I love traditional bands like Madness, The Specials, I love it all. It’s really hard to pin me down because I listen to a lot of different stuff.

  1. With this we’re at our last question. Thank you very much for the interview. Do you have any last words for our readers?

We’ll be on tour so come and see us, come say ‘hi’! We’re really approachable guys that are really sweet, shall we say. We’ll be in a town near you soon! [laughs]

– Jolien Krijnen & Frederik Geuvens

Suicide Silence

Suicide Silence is one of the leading metal bands in the industry right now bringing on massive crowds and putting on incredible shows. With their newest tour supporting Korn, the band is opening a new chapter bringing fans and music enthusiasts a chance to see Suicide Silence in a new light. While the tour itself has been massive with tons of sold out crowds, the band is moving forward reaching a new realm of musical achievement within this industry. We got the chance to sit down and talk to vocalist Eddie Hermida to learn a little bit about what it is to be a musician and how Suicide Silence thrives in the music industry.

From the start of a band, every musician moulds and forms himself into an artist. While each artist builds upon themselves to create something unique and beneficial, the idea of why an artist creates music is interesting. Vocalist Eddie Hermida believes it is an urge that separates the real artists and those who do it for cheap reasons. It’s this natural flow of impulse that builds an artist and creates them. One of the things that can greatly influence the mind to becoming an artist and pursuing the lifestyle of a musician, is your childhood.

 

“Artists create music because it’s in them. It’s something that comes naturally.”

From a personal standpoint Eddie explained to us how growing up influenced himself to becoming an artist. “I’ve been drawn to music my whole life. I can recall my mom telling me that as an infant I would sing along to anything that was on TV. I was always driven to be on stage as either theatre or music. I played trombone in elementary, middle, and high school all the way into college.” From this to starting bands at such a young age, Eddie realized that being an artist was in his blood. “Existentially, I’d say it’s something I’ve been driven to my whole life.” It’s this factor that drives a musician to pursue their career.

Being an artist is an important thing and can contribute to a bigger community.

When talking about the role of music in society, Eddie says that it’s one of the most important and essential parts of life. “It’s one of the many languages that everyone speaks. You don’t have to be trained in music to understand it,” Eddie says when talking speaking about music’s influence. “It’s probably the most important next to air and water.”

The thing that fuels this band is passion they have for their music. The passion this band has for their music and their fan base is unbelievable, reaching to new heights unknown to other bands. While the band Suicide Silence holds back from feeling the responsibility to preach a message or prove a point, they just try to do what they love and play music. Eddie explains, “We just want people to be there and present and have a good time.”

 

“We want people to feel like they have the power to do whatever the hell they want.”

While this is what Suicide Silence wants their fans to do in a more simplistic term, it goes much deeper than that. Eddie explained, “Your life is yours and if you aren’t being there and present in it every day, you are doing a disservice to yourself. There’s multiple facets behind that and if you look into the lyrics individually you’ll realize there is more behind it.” The importance of being present and actively engaged at a show is what matters to Suicide Silence, and reality they just want people to share the experience of their live shows with them. This translation between the band and fans is done through the live show.

 

“The biggest thing is bringing in positivity and letting out negativity.”

A Suicide Silence show is nothing without a loud, in-your-face experience. The legacy of a long-time band is translated into what is one of the most powerful live shows out there bringing out the best they can. Eddie brings out the best in the crowd with people going absolutely crazy for their sets. This inviting and enthusiastic performance calls fans to participate and really enjoy the show, even with a genre that isn’t the best in taste.

What really motivates the band to put on top notch performances, is the importance of being yourself. The live performance is what makes a band great, and that they love what they are doing.

When talking to Eddie about it, he explains that it easy to tell when a band does it because they love it versus a band that does it for other obligations. “There’s a big difference there,” he says. “One of those guys is going to have a great time for the rest of their life, while the other person is probably going to struggle.” Eddie also explains how this is something that can relate to anything, and that it is something universal that anyone can apply to their life.

 

“If you have to go to your job, hate it, and lie to yourself, you’re never going to be working to your fullest potential.”

When being yourself there is more to just the live show. Within the actual writing process there’s a level and truth and honesty. When we asked Eddie if artists hold the responsibility to speak the truth in society, he said that it simply doesn’t matter and that it is completely possible for an artist to talk about something false. Eddie, explains, “If you are going to be speaking about topical things such as the government or your personal experiences, it’s better to be honest because you are going to get a real reaction.” To Suicide Silence, the importance of being honest is what makes the development of the music and person.

 

“If you aren’t honest to your music, then you aren’t honest to yourself. That’s going to sink through and you are never going to be who you need to be.”

All in all, Suicide Silence just wants people to be true to themselves and wants people to be creating music and art for the sake of honesty and positivity. Up next for the band: writing a new record, and they are very excited to get back into the studio. Eddie told us, “We are really excited to start doing that and start writing mainly just to write it even if we don’t put it out. It’s one of those things that we want to write a record. It’s almost as if we can satisfy ourselves and throw the damn thing away. The biggest thing is we want to write a record that is pure and is us.”

Be sure to stay on the lookout for some new music from Suicide Silence as they finish up 2015 with a killer tour.

– Jake Lahah

We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans is on a global attack conquesting their empire. Recently they toured extensively leading them into eastern territories such as Russia, Latvia and Lithuania. RMP took some time to get to know some more of the Troy based gladiators during their UK stop. With a new self titled release under the arm and a new direction soundwise we thought it would be nice to dig in and find out what We Came As Romans see  for the future of their music in 2016.

  1. So, how’s the tour going?

Tonight’s technically only the second night but we’ve been out for two weeks previously in Russia, Latvia & Lithuania, it’s been an extensive trip already.

 

  1. Awesome! So which has been your favourite show?

Russia was pretty wild, they’re just always so crazy over there! Not many bands get to go through there so when a band does make it through people just lose their minds. Plus, they’re so drunk on vodka and emotions [laughs]. Obviously the crowds on this tour have been bigger so far but it’s hard to top that type of energy.

 

  1. You guys released your self-titled album “We Came As Romans” earlier this year, and it’s a bit of a different sound – it’s awesome by the way – how do you think it’s been received?

We knew we were going to lose some fans because it’s a step in a different direction, but I think for every couple we’ve lost we’ve picked up a few new ones and that was kind of the goal. You can’t just keep writing the same shit, you have to change and unfortunately with change you’re going to lose some fans but you just have to hope that the new music is good enough to pick up some new fans.

 

  1. Do you have any big touring plans for 2016?

We’re coming back here for a lot of the festivals so that’ll be cool! I think especially with the new sound the festivals will be really good for us.

 

  1. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of venues close down due to a lack of funding and a lot of bands break up because they can no longer afford to tour or commit to the band full time, what do you think we can do to keep live music from becoming irrelevant? 

It’s a really big problem with millennials, they don’t want to pay for music and they don’t want to pay for your show, they just want to watch it on YouTube. I’m not saying that everybody does this, but for venues and bands that are just trying to sell records to live, it’s really starting to hurt. My only advice for people that like music is, go fucking see them. As soon as bands stop getting support, as soon as venues stop getting support that’s when bands stop coming around and venues start shutting down. It all comes down to the listener. We get a lot of fan mail where people say ‘Oh please come to Florida’ or wherever and it’s down to them, if you like a venue and you like a band: go. If you’re going to listen to music on Spotify instead of buying an album, use that money to buy a ticket to see that band play live. 

 

  1. Do you think there’s a way to encourage people to come down to shows more?

Unfortunately, bands don’t make money selling music anymore so bands have to tour which means there are so many bands and tour packages competing for audiences. Bands have to think about what’s going to make people come see their show instead of the one down the street and I think on the band’s part that just involves making sure you keep the tour packages interesting, so right now we’re on tour with One Ok Rock and I don’t think any of their fans have heard of us and I don’t think many of our fans will have heard of them so it’s a good way to get too.

 

  1. Finally, what does music mean to you?

Beyond being my entire livelihood it changes my mood, helps me pass the time, I hate saying something generic like ‘music means everything to me’ but when I’m travelling I’m listening to music, in my down time I’m writing music, when I’m working I’m making music. It just consumes my life. 

 

– Jake Bower

Comma Commander

Coma Commander, repeat it fast for ten times and you'll probably blur out something resembling an 80's hit by Culture Club. But enough with the crap of male cow, time to introduce Belgium's newest punk heroes, Coma Commander. Hailing from Diest, these fellows have recently released their second EP since their conception in 2012 on the brand new Belgian record label Bearded Punk Records. Coma Commander had the pleasure to have the first release on the new label and RMP is here to bring you the grit and dirt about their hit EP “Council Of The Jackalopes”.

 

 

  1. Hello, first things first, congratulations with the new release “Council Of The Jackalopes”. It's been on the streets for some weeks now, how has the response been so far?

Thanks man! The response has been pretty amazing so far. Some people really seem to dig the new songs, which is really cool. We’re also quite happy with the way the EP turned out ourselves. It was a real treat working together with Thomas Valkiers at his Hightime Studio. We had the best time recording these songs, and I somehow like to believe you can hear that on the record.

 

  1. Coma Commander was formed late 2012, this release is already your second (excluding the demo), could you introduce Coma Commander and its current path to the readers?

Sure. We did our first show in Diest at the end of 2012. Then we went on playing shows for an entire year without releasing anything. At the end of 2013 we released a first EP which contained six songs. The next year or so we kept on playing these songs over and over again whilst slacking off completely writing-wise. Then when we started writing again and it turned out we’ve gotten a little better at it so we got super excited for doing the “Council Of The Jackalope” EP, which we released at the end of November. Right now we’re keeping ourselves busy trying to get the new songs out there and we’re also writing new stuff already in the hopes we get a little better at it this time.

 

  1. “Council Of The Jackalopes” is the first release on the spanking brand new Belgian label Bearded Punk Records. Coma Commander is the first band releasing on it, how does it feel?

It feels amazing, man! It’s been pretty rad having Gregory and his crew helping us getting the EP out for the masses to hear. I’m pretty sure they’re destined for great things and bands! They’re also just really cool and fun people doing this thing they love in their spare time, just like all the bands they sign. That’s something to admire. DIY ethics and such.

 

  1. You recently performed the release show in your hometown of Diest. Was it an all-nighter that has left Diest with some deep wounds or even worse?

I think it’s safe to say it was even worse. We had the best time that night! More or less 200 people were crammed into our local youth club ‘Jeugdhuis Tijl’. The sets from Old Souls, Off The Charts and the almighty Cornflames were super sweet and we might have played our best set yet ourselves. To top it all off, Piekpries spun some sweet records at the after party. We couldn’t have wished for a better turnout.

 

  1. Early December Coma Commander embarked on an international mission. A prolonged weekend-tour starting in France and ending up conquering the UK territory. Any dirty deeds from that tour you wish to share?

I’m going to have to let you down here man, no dirty deeds for these fellers. Turns out we’re a pretty boring band. We basically did some sightseeing and somehow always ended up playing pool and drinking expensive beers at some bar in the afternoon. Our pool skills got way better though!

 

 

  1. The artwork of “Council Of The Jackalopes” is an eye catcher. It features a rabbit with antlers aka the mythical creature ‘the jackalope’. But what is ‘the council of jackalopes’ then? Horny/horned rabbits on sexual a quest?

Well, basically it's a metaphor for the way politicians run and promote their agendas. Most of them claim to serve the greater good, but in the end that greater good often turns out to be non-existent, like a jackalope. It's easy to sell people on the idea that they exist because admit it, what would be cooler than rabbits with antlers? Sadly though they're just a myth.

 

  1. The first music video is also out on the world wide web, “Christopher Robin And The Giant Blisters” received the honour of being immortalised by an animated video. How has the response been?

Pretty okay. At least three people told me they really like the song.

 

  1. It's actually a lyrics video that sports Popeye the sailor man. What led to the choice of that spinach industry supporting cartoon figure and how should we perceive the connection to the band?

Yeah, there's not really a story behind the Popeye. He's just a cult figure from our youth and we love hinting towards old pop culture in our music. For a large part they sort of shaped our creative minds, just like Christopher Robin from the title did, or Scooby Doo from the song “If It Wasn't For Those Meddling Kids”.

 

  1. The band has been compared to some varying bands yet, from Lagwagon and NUFAN to the more gruff-orientated bands. But what defines Coma Commander to yourselves? Bands, scenes, movies anything goes.

I’m going to go ahead and give the cliché answer most bands give. It’s the sum of all our different influences that makes Coma Commander what it is. We all listen to so much different styles of music, so it’s hard to really name bands that influence us as a band. We mostly write the basic songs as a three-piece because Bram’s a famous graphic artist and has no time for our shitty punkrock band and Jef’s a psychologist in Gent, so he actually has stuff to do. Jeroen, Ward and me work out the basic parts, riffs and structures for the songs, then Jef puts on a bassline and Bram adds the main vocal part. We come up with all the harmonies and dubbing stuff in the studio. I don’t really know how other bands work on their songs, but this could define us, I guess.

 

  1. Any news, gossip or future plans that you wish to inform of us?

We’re busy writing new stuff right now. We hope to hit the studio again around February and to release two songs in the form of a split 7” with a cool band by next summer. In February we’re also going on a three-day French weekender with our new buddies in The Burnt Tapes (UK). We’re playing Crossbonefest, our favourite Belgian fest, so that’s really cool. Maybe a full-length by 2017? Who knows, we’ll see how writing goes.

 

– David Marote

Homer – Loved Loss

“Loved Loss” is the latest EP from Belgium hardcore punks Homer. The band has been paving the way for Belgian hardcore and punk for over 17 years and vocalist Johan even runs his own record label named Funtime records. So these guys have earned their merits in the scene long time ago, and still continue to amaze the scene with their epic live performances. And now with a new EP called “Loved Loss”. Six new tracks will make you jump in the pit and wreak havoc on all around. Homer's typical style of hardcore and punk rock with the trademark vocals of Johan ranging from straight-up screaming to melodic clean parts are being supported by the magnificent musical talent that this bands holds. The guitar parts sound better than ever before, the drums are spot on the beat, not too much, precise and all leading to one epic release by Belgium's pride. If you haven't seen Homer live over the years then 2016 is the year you need to drag your ass out there and witness this live monster. You won't regret it, RMP guaranteed.

Evening Call – Restore

‘Modern hardcore’ always seems like a strange term to me, but it's actually what Evening Call is all about. Hailing from Liege, Belgium, this band recently released their latest EP titled “Restore”. Blending hardcore (or better called ‘old hardcore’ then) with the more progressive sounds that makes a band ‘modern hardcore’. Melodic parts, clean vocals and clean guitar parts all contributing to an eclectic mix that finds it roots in hardcore but takes it a step further. Another step forward in the organic growing process for Evening Call. The ‘Restore’ EP holds four tracks that bring contemporary hardcore, heavy sounds, tons of breaks and ranging from cleaner melodic vocals to straight-up grunts. Evening Call takes it all out and balls it into one ferocious EP. Following their examples such as Stick To Your Guns, Defeater and even Architects these Walloons deliver a nifty EP featuring four tracks of hardcore version 2015.

– David Marote

We Came As Romans – We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans has been paving their wayward way for about ten years now. With their latest album, simply called “We Came As Romans”, this five-piece from Troy, Michigan, illustrates once more they are not afraid to reinvent themselves. Of course you’ll hear the clean vocals of Kyle Pavone, although far less auto-tuned than we’re used to, and the typical positive message We Came As Romans stands for. But you’ll also hear a lot of clean backings from screamer Dave Stephens and more modest intermezzi with samples to build up the contrast between the sing-a-long pieces we all know so well with this band. We even hear Dave rap in “Tear It Down”, a song that could just as well be released by Linkin Park or Papa Roach.  The only downside on this album is the simplicity of the musical arrangements in comparison to their older songs. The musical instruments seem to be of secondary importance to the samples which seem to be in their turn in function of the vocals. Nevertheless, this album has a couple of songs you have to listen. For example, “The World I Used To Know”, “Blur” and “Defiance” are tracks that in a live setting will be in line with older hits like “To Plant A Seed” and “To Move On Is To Grow”.

– Frederik Geuvens

Zebrahead – Walk The Plank

“Walk The Plank” is already the twelfth studio album of Californian punk rockers Zebrahead. Their straightforward, ‘I don’t care what everyone else thinks’ attitude is once more reflected in these 13 songs of pure happiness and absurdity. This whirlwind with black and white stripes will make you dance in no time! Who could stand still with instant classics like “Who Brings A Knife To A Gun Fight?”, “Headrush”, “Save Your Breath” or “Wasted Generation”? Of course there’s also time for the more soft-hearted fans. “So What”, “Keep It To Myself” and title track “Walk The Plank” are slower songs talking about typical teenage angsts like not being accepted and change. Zebrahead won’t be Zebrahead when they woud let you end up with any negative feelings, so after singing along with these teen anthems you’ll feel a whole lot better! So cheer up, Buttercup and pogo your heart out with these veterans of punk rock! We are the wasted generation!

– Frederik Geuvens

Baroness – Purple

"Purple" is the highly-anticipated fourth studio album of Baroness. These four guys from Savannah, Georgia, show once more why they’re getting in line with larger acts in the genre like Mastodon or Valkyrie. Their raw sound with wailing vocals grasp you by the throat with just a few occasions to breath normally like during “Try To Disappear” or “Fugue”. Real highlights are “Shock Me”, “The Iron Bell”, with a guitar solo that could remind you of Thin Lizzy, and the heart-breaking “If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)”. Last but not least the 30 seconds long “Crossroads of Infinity” leaves you with a confused but satisfied feeling with a strange preference for the colour purple…

– Frederik Geuvens