Hails! Who am I speaking with? and what do you do
in the band?
Ariën: Hello! You're speaking with Ariën,
drummer of the band.
How has touring been this year, especially with
the new line-up?
Ariën: Very well!! It was a great time, and
quite successful for us. We got the opportunity to play many shows in many
countries where we haven't played before, or haven't played in a long time.
It was really fun to tour with Bolt Thrower in April, such a great
experience with very nice people. We also have done some summer-open
air-festivals which were very nice, and after this, we went on a 6-week tour
with Vader and Severe Torture; amazing, and a real bummer to be home again
after that, haha.
How has the writing process changed with the new
members?
Ariën: The previous album 'The Lair of the
White Worm' was written by Henri and myself, and the album was finished just
before Henke and Isaac joined God Dethroned, so they couldn't contribute to
the songwriting. This time, we started working on the album with the four of
us, and that resulted in a lot of ideas that we could use. We took those
ideas and we started jamming a lot! We made rehearsal-tapes to record guitar
tracks in the computer, so that we had a good sound, and that we could work
on how the sound should be in the studio later on, in between the arranging
of the songs. So basically the writing was really from a collective point of
view, and everybody put in a lot of creativity.
What was things inspired you on the new album?
Ariën: For myself, I have to say that, at that
time, I was listening a lot to Grip Inc.'s first album called 'Power of
Inner Strength'. I was fascinated by Dave Lombardo's performance on that
recoding: all the agression, and the cutting, improvised drumrolls, the
dynamics and grooves. And I really liked the drumsound!
I also wanted to have this organic approach for our next album, and I think I achieved what I had in mind sound-wise, and playing-wise.
In the past, your albums seemed to focus more on
religion, and the new album strays a little away from that, what caused
this?
Ariën: We started to stray a bit away from
singing about just religion, when we made the 'Into the lungs of
Hell'-album; those lyrics were more social-oriented rather than religious.
'The Lair' was also different, with lyrics about the 80-year civil war with
Holland and Spain, the story about The White Worm of Bram Stoker... On this
album, we also have different lyrics, and it's just what we come up with at
that time.
This time the lyrics dealt mostly about imaginations of human states of mind in different situations, but also we talk about Typhoid Mary, who caused lots of deaths by spreading the Typhoid virus. So we just write about a subject that we like, and it doesn't have to connect with other songs, or themes.
Also, it seems like pure hatred towards the
world is a prevalent topic on the new album, what made you write lyrics
about this?
Ariën: We just took a look around in the
world, and there's been a lot of trouble going on. We wanted to write about
that. It's maybe a bit inappropriate to say, but the trouble is an
interesting thing to write about.
What changed your minds about taking out a lot
of the blast beats and go with a more steady paced style of drumming?
Ariën: It was time for us to work differently
on this album. It would be too obvious if we would write songs full of blast
beats again. It would be a bit boring. We wanted to use more mid-tempo and
more thrash elements, and to decrease the amount of blast beats, to make it
all more dynamical and varied. Some people say that the music isn't that
fast anymore, but it's fast in a different way: we still use a lot of double
bass rhythms, and skank beats, and still some blast beats. The rolls are
fast, and the guitar riffing isn't done in a comfortable lounge-chair
watching tv in between, haha. It's just a different way of writing songs. I
think it worked out great. And, live we still have a set full of blast
beats.
The new album is a lot more catchy than previous
GD albums, what do you feel made you go this way?
Ariën: That was something that we were really
keen on. It's all about writing good and catchy songs that stick into the
head. Every album is a learning process, and there are always songs that
just stay behind compared to the rest. But that's good in a way, because
it's a motivation to write even better music. When we start writing songs,
we just want to use the best ideas, and it's all about what works best for a
band and for the songs.
What do you expect touring will be like in 2007,
do you have anything lined up already?
Ariën: We have some festivals confirmed, in
Holland, Norway, Serbia and Germany. We're also working on a European
headliner-tour this year, but there are no details about it yet. But I bet
we'll be touring a lot again this year.
What bands, if you could choose, would you most
like to tour with?
Ariën: Slayer and Morbid Angel.
What do you feel is the biggest inspiration in
continuing to write music?
Ariën: The satisfaction you get from
performing and writing music. It's a great thing to start working with a
clean slate, throwing ideas at each other, arranging the music, going into
the studio, and to come out with your personal work. All the stages of
making your album and recording your music, that is a form of art. And when
people appreciate that, it's very satisfying.
What bands have most inspired God Dethroned?
Ariën: Slayer, Entombed, Dismember, Morbid
Angel, Hypocrisy, Emperor...
What bands/musicians past or present would you
most like to meet and talk with?
Ariën: Heather Nova
What musicians would you most like to
collaborate with if you could choose anyone?
Ariën: Pff... I don't know that right now.
Do you feel that in the future you might be
lining up any collaborations?
Ariën: Yeah. I'm going to work with the band
Epica: It's a Dutch gothic-metal band with highly technical music. They are
very popular in Europe, and in North and South America. I'm going to play
drums on their next album.
Do any members of the band have any side
projects?
Ariën: Not at the moment. But we all had some
side-projects in the past. I played in several band, for example the metal
band 'Down Till Dawn' together with Isaac. Henke played a several bands as
well. The next side-project for me is the recording of the EPICA-album, and
maybe Isaac and I are going to play again with some guys of Epica, Oceans of
Sadness, and Unleash the Fury. It's a project called 'SIC', and we're having
plans to make a recording. But everyone's still occupied with his own band.
I have to ask...Metallica or Megadeth?
Ariën: Metallica.
Finally, Thank you so much for taking time to speak with us at Tripod of Thought, Any last words?Ariën: You're welcome! Everybody, go and enjoy our new album, and hopefully, see you on tour soon!!
