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

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

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

The Waiting Game – Bend Or Break

Screamo, indie and punk rock: three main ingredients that Belgian band The Waiting Game put in their blender and contorted into a cocktail of fresh tunes. A dash of '90ies feel and their amazing talent top off their debut EP “Bend Or Break”. Hailing from other Belgian bands as Campus, The Violet and Get Off My Shoes, these fellows already earned their merits in the local scene and are ready to break some glass ceilings. Emotional, heart-driven tracks and a passionate, energetic live set will lead them onto bigger stages and venues soon.  If you're into Get Up Kids, Brand New and so on The Waiting Game might be your next revelation soon.

– David Marote

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

Night Birds – Mutiny At Muscle Beach

Surfpunk! Night Birds are one of the bands I have been following on my radar for a while because they just kick ass! They are straightforward, ‘no holds barred’ punk rocking madness. Giving the fact that these fellows recently released their latest album “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” on Fat Wreck Chords they had to be doing something right. Their previous album “Born To Die In Suburbia” has already been spun to smithereens on my record player and “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” is sure to receive the same destination. Mixing old school ‘Hey ho let's go’ punk rock with more surf-orientated sounds leads to the blood pumping tunes of Night Birds. The fellows of Night Birds are chock-full of adrenaline and energy when playing live, bouncing back and forward off the stage as if their live depends on it, delivering a raunchy, edgy performance. Just the thing that punk rock should be all about.  “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” is a must-have for those who love energetic music that oozes out of the speakers.

– David Marote

Born Of Osiris – Soulsphere

Illinois’ finest deathcore band, Born Of Osiris, has treated us once more with a mathematical masterpiece! Their fourth studio album “Soulsphere” is drowned in airtight guitar riffs with a mix of heart-breaking and beastlike vocals. As a listener you will get sucked into an unworldly universe with no chance of escape before the end of these 12 highly technical tracks. Of course because of the tight mix everything could sound too generic, especially the drums which are triggered to the maximum. The excessive use of sound samples could be positive or negative, depending on the listener but I think if Born Of Osiris can pull off the tight performance on this album in a live setting, no one would dare to whine about the samples. Highlights on this album are the very catchy “Throw Me In The Jungle”, “Illuminate” and “The Louder The Sound, The More We All Believe”. The outsider on the album could be closing track “The Composer”. This song begins with the typical Born Of Osiris wall of sound but ends with an interesting techno/classical composition. A real ‘ear catcher’!

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