With:	Koen Romeijn (guitars, vocals)
Conducted by:	Marcel Hubregtse (in person)
Published:	18.08.2007
Band profile:	Detonation

Since 2007 sees the 10th anniversary of Detonation and their latest effort Emission Phase is still one of the top albums released this year I thought it appropriate to meet up with guitarist/vocalist/spokesman Koen Romeijn and talk about the band's history, views on certain aspects of the business, music and everything related.

Because of the length of the interview it is split up into two parts.

Part 2
















The period of time between Portals and [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=141881]Emission Phase[/url] is a lot shorter than that between Epic and Portals. Instead of the almost three years there it is now only 1.5 years. So I guess the undertaking was a lot easier this time.

Everything concerning Emission Phase went the way Portals should have gone. And then it turns out that we need about 1.5 years to write and record a new album.


But everything is different about this release compared to the first two. There you worked with Hans Pieters and Niklas Sundin. For Emission Phase you worked with Jochem Jacobs of Textures and [url= http://www.elirankantor.com/]Eliran Kantor[/url]. On Emission Phase you really have a textual [url= http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/interview.php?interview_id=415]concept[/url]. The way the music is built up on this album is also in such a way that it supports the concept. For example, Invoking The Impact is clearly a musical invocation. I guess that's the reason you use that song as a live opener? The first half minute of that song is an ideal intro. And you close off the album with Fallout which clearly sounds like an end.

I really thought every song through this time around, because I had the time to do that. We didn't have any problems, and we didn't tour that much after Portals. Just a few short tours, no big ones. Because of the problems we had encountered with Portals we decided to do everything different now. We had just had enough of it. So everything new, no more shit with the studio. We got Jochem Jacobs in for the production, he really knows what he's doing. And we've known him for quite some time as well. He's immensely talented. Really great productions. He is a much sought after man in the Dutch scene currently. [url= http://metal-archives.com/band.php?id=6572]Cypher[/url], [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=6510]Obsidian[/url], [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=97158]Magnacult[/url], his own band [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=13896]Textures[/url] of course, the latest [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=6366]Autumn[/url] which sounds beautiful although it is from a a totally different genre.
The great thing about Jochem is that he looks at every single project separately. He just gives it his full 100%. He never works on two projects at the same time. He just fully concentrates on that one project. And when he does the mix he does that completely isolated from the outside world. He'll then lock himself up in the studio for three four days, without anyone being in there with him. With the musical vision he has at that moment he will give a cd its own sound. He won't think: "Last time around I did it in this and that way, I used that little trick for that band." He doesn't do that. He really approaches every project as an isolated entity. Besides that he's also a brilliant musician. A bit odd but really really good. He verges on ADHD. Jochem was born to be a producer. He is really good. Of course we knew that before we started working with him and that's the reason we did. At that point we also said: "We'll get the artwork done by someone else as well."


How did you find out about [url= http://www.elirankantor.com/]Eliran Kantor[/url]?

Via the internet. It was just a gamble. Martijn bumped into him on the net and looked at Eliran's site and really liked what he saw. So we sent him a mail asking him if he could make a sample and how much it would cost. Because money was the problem this time around cause after all the failed tours, we also had had money problems, low sales, in principle, so we didn't want to spend too much money on the artwork. Osmose did, however, pay for the entire album, but the artwork we wanted to do for as less as possible. Eliran did the artwork for even less than what we paid for An Epic Defiance's artwork. The most important thing was that the cover art would stand out. It didn't even have to be immensely beautiful as long as it stood out. I think it turned out brilliantly. It fits the concept perfectly, even though the concept and the cover more or less were born at the same time. Everything on the cover is part of the concept. Eliran started off with the front cover. Our original idea was to have an atmospheric landscape with a drawing which would symbolise the band. The explosive character of the band. In first instance he had something different to what it finally turned out to be. The first draft had an apparition with all sorts of symbols surrounding it, playing cards, skulls, you name it, on that landscape. I was working on the lyrics of the concept at the time and told him what the concept was going to be. A chronological story about the impact of a nuclear blast and a psychological story about how people deal with that, with their fears etc. As a result of the story I had set to paper he eventually came up with the actual cover. We didn't really want an atomic explosion on the front cover. Because that would be so cliché and cheesy. You know what people will say: "These guys are called Detonation so they put an explosion on the cover, hahaha." That would be a little too direct. We wanted it to represent more of a symbolic impact of the cd and that's when Eliran came up with our logo in the meteor-like impact.


And how was Emission Phase received?

Very well.


But speaking to Otto he said he expected and hoped for higher marks since this is your last album as part of the current deal with Osmose.


Of course it is a very important album for us and the last one as part of our contract with Osmose. We want to land a new deal with this album. That is one of the major goals right now. On the one hand we really did get really good reviews, and we're still getting them. Really good marks, haven't seen a low one yet, especially considering that our previous two albums did get some low marks. But on the other hand, what Otto says is true. We didn't get a 10/10. Only one. But with the previous two albums we got more of those. On average we get 8/10, 8.5, 7.8 those sorts of ratings. [url= http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/review.php?review_id=4158]Your 8,8[/url] was an exception amongst the early reviews. A bit later we got 90 from Lords Of Metal . Currently we are getting some higher ratings. This week I saw a 9.5/10 and twice a 4.5/5. Those are brilliant marks.

What about bigger magazines?

Legacy 13/15, Aardschok 82/100. Aardschok was average. The really big ones. Rock Hard 8.5, Rock Tribune was a 75/100 I think (turned out to be 82/100). But we also got a very good review in Oor (a Dutch mainstream alternative magazine). They don't rate the albums they review. But this was the first time they reviewed us, or at least I can't remember them reviewing the previous two.
So, all in all there's no reason to complain. What we do, however, notice is that over the last couple of months we've had a boost, this hasn't happened before. We really get the feeling that we receive more attention. Not from the magazines as such, but that more people discover us and get to know us. We receive more fan mail than ever before, and people order more stuff directly from us. Concert attendance is rising and at the concerts an increasingly growing number of people is shouting along to the lyrics. We notice that at every single concert. So, yeah, we do notice all of that and that is really cool.


What also helps is opening for well-known bands.

Exactly.


How did you manage to land the support slot for [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=91]Cynic[/url] in the 013 club in Tilburg?

We just called 013. We knew that Cynic would be playing there and we phoned them straight away and told them that we wanted to open that night. Of course we already knew Tjerk, who does the bookings, for the venue for quite some time. He used to be the manager of Textures. So we just called and said we wanted to play. I think we did the gig for 150 euros, plus expenses. In such a case you don't really make demands. These sorts of shows are good shows to do and which you have to do because you'll tend to play for different crowds than usual. In the case of the Cynic gig, it was sold out, even though 70% of the audience might not like your music at all that leaves a further 30% that might have enjoyed it and a percentage of those people might come out of the gig thinking of buying your stuff so that's still quite a few people you'll have won over.


Like you said, the advantage for opening for Cynic is, of course, that you guys play an entirely different sort of music. So primarily playing for a crowd which probably usually doesn't listen to your kind of music. In my opinion that is a big advantage because when you open for a band playing the same sort of music there is a big chance that those fans would have found out about you anyways. I know that a lot of people are of the opinion that opening acts should play the same sort of music as the main act. But to me that doesn't hold true for unknown opening acts, they should try to get as much exposure as possible.

Exactly. I always say that the night's programme should be as varied as possible because then you'll draw larger crowds.


So, just like the current tour-package you're offering?

Yes, with Cypher and [url= http://www.37stabwoundz.com/]37 Stabwoundz[/url], some modern death metal, some hardcore.






Live you kick off your show with Invoking The Impact. Is that on purpose because of the song title and the intro?

That's one way of looking at it. But, to be honest, it's standard with us, a bit of a tradition, to open the show with the opening song of the latest cd. That usually works well. But in this case the title of the song does come in handy. But it won't be the opener forever, though. We already opened a show with When Stone Turns To Ash. That song is also a good opener. Invoking is a strong one because it really gets going after about one and a half minutes, so it's got a nice long intro to it. It really does work well live.


Your contract with Osmose has now expired after three albums. Do you still get tour support? Or is there an expiry date?

Luckily there is no date. I haven't heard anything about it, yet. When I read the contract it states that everything that is related to this album, and the previous two, Osmose will take care of. So in theory the promotion for this album could still go on for one and a half years.









Have you had any offers from any other record labels yet?

We've had one from an American label, they are even smaller than Osmose, but very very motivated. They really want to sign us. And they have some good connections in Europe. But in principle we won't go into that offer. What we want is to sign with a bigger label. Preferably we would like to sign with a [url= http://www.nuclearblast.de]Nuclear Blast[/url], or a [url= http://www.metalblade.com/]Metal Blade[/url].


But on those labels you'll be just one of the many bands.

That wouldn't be too much of a problem for us. Of course we know the stories, like [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=778]Orphanage[/url] at the time, they signed with Nuclear Blast. Other friends of mine, from Finland, from [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=3306]Omnium Gatherum[/url] which I have lots of contact with. In the past they signed with Nuclear Blast for one album but now they're with [url= http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk]Candlelight[/url]. They started around the same time we did. From them I heard about what Nuclear Blast does for a band. Even though you might be a smaller band on their roster their means are such that when it comes to promotion and the amount of people working for the label that if you give it your everything you can really make something of it. Our way of thinking is: "Even though you might be on a big label it is still the band that is responsible for the stuff they achieve." I really do believe that. If you don't do anything yourself, okay you might sell double the amount when you're on a Nuclear Blast than when you're on an Osmose but that's it.


I think that with a one album deal you won't get too far. But on the other hand you'll be free to go after a short period.

Exactly, so, it doesn't matter that much. A deal for one album I wouldn't mind at all as long as it is a good deal. And on a Nuclear Blast you'll have the opportunity to tour, and you know that. So if you go all the way? Orphanage got a lot of tour offers if they wanted to go on tour for four five weeks. But they probably didn't want to because of their families and such. That's why I think Orphanage petered out. And then you don't sell more cds than before. The four of us have been saying for years: "If we get the opportunity to sign with a big label and we can go on tour for an entire year then we'll do it. Then we'll quit our jobs tomorrow."

True, that's why American bands always get far.

They tour, they really go for it and make sacrifices, they live for their band and take a temporary job from time to time to make ends meet in between tours and recording. There are enough jobs to be found if you really want to earn some money. When you're on tour you don't really need that much money, because everything is paid for you, your food, drinks, transport, all that is paid for. And when everything goes well you even earn some success. We really believe that much in this band.


I noticed that. You guys have been around for ten years now. That is quite a while. And you've released three full-length albums through a record label. That is also quite a number for a relatively small band.

That is reasonable. But we do feel that there is more possible with this band. That we can still grow musically. That is the reason we'd prefer to become a professional band, so that we'll really have time to invest in the band. And, remember we're still not old so there's still quite a couple of years of music left in us.


How was the co-operation with Osmose? Because sometimes you hear stories about them which aren't too good.


In the beginning we did have to get used to them. French culture, that sort of thing. We didn't know what to expect.
We don't really have any complaints about them. At the start we did have some minor problems due to the language barrier, especially concerning our contract which was mainly drawn up in French. We don't have a lawyer. But before we signed the contract we had a couple of professionals look at it. Birgit Schuurman's (a Dutch pop star) manager had a look at it, we knew him through some people. Birgit herself had a look at it. After some adjustments were made we signed it. It was quite a good contract, although the percentages were a bit low. But as a starting band you can't make too many demands. We didn't really have any demands as long as it was all logical. No weird things in it. Osmose does quite a lot for us. The problem, of course, with Osmose is, I wouldn't want to use the word boycott, but I think that a lot of companies and magazines don't take them as super seriously as, let's say, a Nuclear Blast, or a Metal Blade. Most probably because they have less money to spend. As you well know, a lot of money is paid for the advertisements in the printed media. Big labels have way more to say than the smaller ones. Often it is possible to predict which album will be cd of the month in the printed media. Usually they're albums by bands who are on a bigger label, even though it might be a sub-par release. Those magazines just can't afford to give a bad review because then they'll miss out on advertisement money. That's just the way it works.


Just look at the reviews for [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=146969]United Abominations[/url] by [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=138]Megadeth[/url].

Yes. [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=49005]The System Has Failed[/url] is just so much better, and the production of UA I find to be just shit. Way too digital.


But those sort of digital productions are used increasingly, less organic, drums heavily triggered, these sort of things.

Like what we had on Epic, of course, because we didn't have that much recording time. We only had two weeks, including mixing. So everything had to be done within those two weeks. Hans Pieters had standard way of working, trigger all the drums. So for Epic everything was triggered and Thomas in hindsight? he's never been a supporter of triggered drums. Also not live. On Portals we didn't trigger the drums at all. Of course little things like samples were triggered but that's it, so no triggering in the common sense of the word. The same applies for the latest album. Once again we do have some samples, but everyone works with those nowadays. But we want to sound as organic as possible. All the albums have been recorded playing along to a click track, but that was just to show the pace, it just makes it sound more tight.


Does a band such as yours make a bit of money on the sale of cds?

We do make quite a bit of money with each album but all of that we invest back into the band again. Currently we're at a point, from Portals on actually, that we don't have to put money of our own into the band any more. So, everything we earn flows back to the band. With the merchandise we earn a couple of thousand euros and we use that money to make new shirts, buy new banners or a new backdrop, or some new equipment for the rehearsal studio. After the last tour we built a new rehearsal studio, in Wijk bij Duurstede. We used all of the money for that. That did cost a couple of thousand to insulate and all. But eventually we want to reach a point where we'll be left with some money. But we haven't reached that point yet. That's the reason why we'd prefer to move on to a bigger label. The royalties we receive are fairly low, standard, but fairly low.


Talking about money, is a band such as Detonation harmed by downloading or do you profit from it?

Both. You gain a name but you do miss out on money. I really do believe that. Of all the people that download there is always a group that will eventually buy the cd. Maybe if downloading hadn't been a possibility those people might never have heard of us. And then you don't sell any cds. It is intertwined with each other. By means of downloading you come into contact with new bands which you wouldn't otherwise have heard. Before the days of downloading you had to get through much more trouble to listen to new bands. You had to go to the record store and listen there first and then you'd be in doubt if you'd buy it or not. Which was a lot of times mood related too. But now you can leave it on your computer and get back to it a couple of times and later on decide whether or not to buy it. But downloading does remain a difficult subject matter. But in my opinion it is more of a positive thing than a negative thing.


But I can imagine that downloading is more harmful than the old form of home taping because of the ease of accessibility. Back in the day you had to put a lot more effort into it.

Back then it was way more special. It had this magical aspect to it. A lot of people, especially the younger generations, the current day sixteen-year-olds, they don't buy anything at all anymore. The newer generations grew up with downloading, that whole downloading environment was already present, so they don't know better than that. On [url= http://www.blabbermouth.net/]Blabbermouth[/url] I quite often read the following: "I am not going to shell out 15 euros for a cd when I can download it for free."


I always say the following to that: "You don't steal food from a shop either, now do you?"

They just don't get that. Because it is actually the same thing. But they subsequently start to moan that their favourite bands don't sell that much. I read a lot of Blabbermouth because I find that interesting. On Blabbermouth they have this thing called chart releases where they publish the sales figures of well-known bands' new albums after the first week of release. An example: [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=153926]The Apostasy[/url] by [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=263]Behemoth[/url] had sold 4800 or 4600 copies in the US. That is gigantic, you know that, I know that, for a band such as Behemoth. And that is only the first week, right? The first week in the US alone, just pure US sales figures. But then comes the difference, you read reactions to that such as: "Jesus, so little? I sell more copies than that with my demo band." The youth of today just don't get it any more, they don't have the right perspective. They have lost touch with the feeling, with reality, they don't understand how the scene works, how it all works. If we sell 10,000 copies I can guarantee you I'll be jumping on the table of joy.


So what are the sales figures for your albums?

We've sold about 4,500 each of the first two. But I haven't seen any numbers for Emission Phase yet. I am quite please with those numbers. Because when we recorded An Epic Defiance we couldn't have dreamed that we would sell thousands of cds.






How do you look upon the current Dutch metal scene?

Nowadays there are quite a few cool bands. Such as the bands that recorded with Jochem. Cypher, Obsidian, and such. I really like those bands. Of a high standard. And of course Textures as well. But here in the Netherlands we don't really have any really big names, except for some bands such as Within Temptation. Of course we have a big and vibrant death metal scene. But those bands aren't that big. Not bigger than us. [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=240]Severe Torture[/url] etc. [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=998]Sinister[/url] again.
The way the bands interact with each other is really good nowadays, totally no feelings of jealousy and hatred between them. The local scenes are all very close knit. Take for example the scene here in Utrecht, everyone knows each other, there is a lot of interaction between the bands in this region. But you do notice however that the local scenes are all in-crowd. Tilburg has a scene of their own, as does the east of the country, Groningen as well, etc. etc. Because relatively speaking these scenes are situated quite far apart. But what are we talking about with the distances between towns in the Netherlands if we compare that to other countries? We're just spoiled here in this country. But I do enjoy the scene here. Although I am still of the opinion that 95% of all the bands on the face of the earth should disband. It's not because I don't like that sort of music, it's just because the quality of the music is so extremely poor. The same applies for a lot of record labels, too many bands.


Of the crop of new fledgling labels wouldn't you say that [url= http://www.rustycagerecords.com/]Rusty Cage Records[/url] is on the right track and doing well? They concentrate on a couple of bands which they give their full support.

That certainly is the case with them, yes. I'll admit that we're looking out for a new label and I am not excluding Rusty Cage Records, because they really are an up and coming label. Okay, so they're not that big yet but they do possess the right spirit and driving force. They are really giving it their everything with big adds in magazines such as Aardschok and Terrorizer.


From experience I can tell you that the promotional material they send to magazines and webzienes is superior to that of big labels. It is printed on glossy A5 paper and contains all the relevant info. [url= http://rustycagerecords.com/rustycms/content/category/8/95/53/]Press kits containing photographs and biographies can be downloaded from their website[/url]. The cds they send around are the exact same as they would appear in the store, and they send them around the release date. Here, have a look.

Wow, that looks good. That's the way it is supposed to be. This is perfect. Two distributors in the US. When looking at this RCR could actually be a good label for us. Maybe also we might be able to get priority because we are already more or less an established name.


See, if you compare it to promo material from other labels...

That is the old school way of promoting your bands. Getting back on the subject of when Rusty Cage sends their promos around. I think it is a good thing that the releases will be available from record stores once the reviews are on-line at webzines. Of course there are some webzines and the printed media, as well of course, that only appear once a month.


But wouldn't the pending question be what such a small label could offer you?

That certainly is the case, yes Osmose paid for all our studio costs and we got tour offers after every single release. A proper tour. It is exceptional that everything is being paid for by the label. That's what we hear. We have a lot of friends in bands that also have contracts with labels and they never get their studio expenses paid for by their respective labels. They have to dish out the money themselves. Osmose paid for that right from the start. Of course, with Epic we paid for everything ourselves because we didn't have a record contract back then but Osmose did pay all that money afterwards once they had signed us. Hervé called me if we were interested in a deal and if we hadn't signed to another company yet. During the conversation he asked how much we had paid for the recordings. I told him that it had cost us a couple of thousand euros. And they wanted to pay that. I sent him all my receipts en we got every single penny refunded. Almost 4,000 euro. That did take me by surprise. Okay, so it took about a year before the money was finally paid to us. But that's a problem with Osmose, they aren't always punctual. They are always very enthusiastic, though. Their lack of punctuality is their biggest disadvantage. But when they make a promise they always keep it in the long run. Communication is slow and bad with them. But eventually everything always turns out well. On the other hand; if we have the opportunity to sign another improved deal with Osmose I will view it as a possibility. As we did achieve quite a lot with them. Currently we are starting to do more stuff ourselves. We arrange a lot of shows ourselves. Thomas is very active, Otto is very active, and I take care of all the interviews. Everyone has their own responsibilities within the band. It is coming along nicely at the moment.


Getting back to your sound, and the comparison with Dark Tranquillity. You started off with a more or less standard thrash sound and that evolved more into a Dark Tranquillity sort of sound and now more a distinctive sound of your own. How do you view the fact that people always look for comparisons with other bands?

I do understand it. Because a point of reference is really important when talking about a band people don't know. Especially when it is used in reviews I can see the necessity for that. The only downside is that with us it has been going on ever since An Epic Defiance that the name Dark Tranquillity keeps on popping up.


But in your case it also didn't help that Niklas Sundin did the artwork for the first two albums.

Yes, that and that we are on the same record label that used to release Dark Tranquillity. Niklas did our artwork, we play melodic death metal and even the vocals on An Epic Defiance sound a bit like Mikael Stanne's on early Dark Tranquillity. And of course of that sticker Osmose had put on Epic. An Epic Defiance has a sticker on the shrink wrap saying: "The successor of Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery album." Osmose had stuck that on the album because they, of course, had released The Gallery. And The Gallery is one of the best selling Osmose albums ever. And that's probably the reason they signed us in the first place. Hervé is of the opinion that everything Dark Tranquillity released after The Gallery doesn't come near it in terms of quality. I agree with him on that one. The Gallery is also my favourite. That's probably the most important reason we never lost that Dark Tranquillity tag.


I also read some comparisons which, in my opinion, are totally ridiculous. Such as that you sound like [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=242]God Dethroned[/url] and [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=26]Soilwork[/url].

Excuse me? I especially don't hear any Soilwork in our music. Okay, I know that everyone has a different view of music, but still. When Portals was released we all of a sudden heard that we had [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=38]Opeth[/url] influences. I personally always have problems with those sorts of comparisons to all those bands. We, as musicians, will always be influenced by everything we hear. It might not be conscious but it does happen. A person is like a sponge, everything you hear will somehow be registered by your brains and will be stored there forever. So when writing music those subconsciously stored influences might come to the fore. It's not on purpose, it just happens.


What are your personal influences?

When looking at bands that inspired me musically I'd have to say the entire Swedish death metal scene. Especially old school Swedish death metal. I totally haven't been influenced by a band such as [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=11]In Flames[/url] in my way of writing songs. I never listened to later era In Flames. I did listen a lot to [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=320]Lunar Strain[/url] and [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=187]The Jester Race[/url] but after that album I totally gave up on In Flames. But I listen primarily to [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=106]Edge Of Sanity[/url], [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=122]Dismember[/url], [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=7]Entombed[/url], [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=330]Eucharist[/url]. If I were to name the four bands that really influenced me the most it would have to be those four. About Eucharist, I wouldn't mind it at all if people compared our music with that of Eucharist although their music is totally different to ours. But when you listen to the melodies in our music you can certainly pick up on Eucharist. Eucharist was really one of my favourite bands at the time. Much more so than Dark Tranquillity, even though I did really like them as well, especially due to [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=22]The Gallery[/url]. But they weren't the reason for me to start playing this sort of music, Totally not. I have always liked melodic music. Also when it comes to pop music. I also listen a lot to bands such as [url= http://www.a-ha.com]A-ha[/url] and those sort of bands, old eighties pop music, [url= http://www.duranduran.com]Duran Duran[/url]. I like those bands because they have this melodic thing in their music which really appeals to me. It is catchy and keeps on haunting you. The melodies just nestle themselves in your mind. To me that is the essence of our music. When we write songs they have to be catchy, varied and stirring. And, coincidentally, people hear Dark Tranquillity in that. It just boils down to how one perceives something.


And for you as a guitar player? The same influences? Because your style is very melodic.

Yeah, I am a very melodic guitarist. It is actually the only way I can play, melodic. I just can't play really brutal death metal. I can't pull it off. Technically speaking I can play it, but it just bores me really quickly. One thing I do have to watch out for, however, is that the melodies that I play don't become too happy. At times that does happen with us. It's just that I find melodies to be the most important part of music.

Are there any specific guitarists that have influenced you?

I like a lot of guitarists but I haven't really been influenced by any. I am not a technically inclined guitar player, I play because I want to create a certain sort of music. Take for example Mike (Ferguson) he is a totally different kind of guitarist. He has been practising his ass off concerning technique and runs and you really notice that because he is really fast and tight and really good. But I never played like that. I only play with the aim to create beautiful melodies. Of course my technique has improved over the years. But I am still no virtuoso, but then again I don't aim for that. That is totally not interesting to me. In both Engorge and [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=47115]Cardamon[/url] I also only play guitar, but not with the aim to become a virtuoso, that is not my goal. My only goal is that I want to play as tight as possible, that I really find important. And being able to write good and effective riffs, that to me is the important thing.


What about your vocals? I don't really hear any influence in those, because you have quite a characteristic grunt and scream.

My vocals have developed naturally over the years.


You have a sound of your own to them luckily, because a lot of times vocals in this genre tend to sound the same.

It is, of course, a genre where the vocals are more or less geared to the sort of music that is being played. When I started off singing, that was with Engorge, I only did the low deep grunt which sounded like it came straight out of a cesspit. But after some time I got bored with it and found them to be too monotonous, and that when I started going higher and higher. At a certain point I noticed that that came easier, more naturally, to me. It cost me less energy to scream and I could articulate the lyrics much better. In principle, I have been grunting for about twelve years now, since the inception of Engorge. And it developed naturally into what it currently is. I really base the vocals on the lyrics nowadays, so I try to avoid loose grunts as much as possible. When people listen to our music I find it important that they can understand the lyrics.


So I guess Cardamon is a release for your really melodic ideas?

Actually more melancholic. More for ideas that are too soft for Detonation but I still want to release. I write a lot of that sort of music. Because I fiddle about on the guitar a lot I play those really beautiful acoustic parts which I can't use for Detonation because it is just too soft. That's why Thomas (Kalksma, drums) and I started Cardamon which is perfectly suited for that sort of music. All the ideas we had floating around we could use for that band..


And I guess Engorge is for the sort of more brutal side of things?

Not really for the brutal side, it is more for the old school side of things. Not too intricate, nice and simple, common time music. Just pounding away. That is just good clean fun. And, of course it is my first ever band. We have been friends for such a long time and it's fun to do.


So you've always been in three bands?

Besides these three, Detonation, Cardamon, Engorge, I have done some other stuff as well. I have been vocalist for [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=21399]M-90s[/url]. We did one show in total and we then spilt up. After that I wanted to go and play bass but that that never materialised. And we started Bastard Squad years ago. BS had me on drums, Jurgen (Engorge drummer) on guitar and Jorre (Engorge vocals) on bass and vocals.


So you get that [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=21403]Kutschurft[/url] kind of thing where everyone does something different compared to what they do in their full-time bands.

Exactly. We started out around the same time as Kutschurft. I think we rehearsed about four times. And subsequently the band was put on hold. We never officially split up. We're going to perform at least once, that's what we promised each other. But that is only because we really like to do it some time. I am totally not a good drummer. I can play the drums a bit though. But more like the [url= http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=1067]Six Feet Under[/url] way of drumming. I like that sort of thing. And it is good for your musicality to play the drums from time to time. Just fun. No ambition, just go and have a good time playing music.


Thanks go out to Koen for taking the time to do this interview. The "D" was provided by Koen Romeijn, all other pictures, except for the Detonation logo, were taken from Detonation's Myspace profile..