Interview: Martin Van Drunen, Hail of Bullets

By Cosmo Lee Photo by mithrandir3

It's funny how metallers can be so godlike onstage and so down-to-earth in real life. Martin Van Drunen is case in point. His roar scorched the first two albums by Pestilence and Asphyx; it returns in fine form on ...Of Frost and War (Metal Blade, 2008), the debut by Dutch death metal supergroup Hail of Bullets. When I interviewed him for Decibel (#46, Judas Priest cover), I found him to be straightforward, sensible, and a dedicated metaller. We focused mostly on the album's World War II theme (specifically Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union). The outtakes below capture the remainder of our conversation.

Hail of Bullets - Red Wolves of Stalin

Is Hail of Bullets a reaction to the death metal of today?

It's not meant as a reaction. But maybe subconsciously, yeah. We are all old-school fans, and the reason why we did the style that we do is because we think that nowadays there's not too much good old-school around. There's [a lot of] bands who delve into blastbeats and so-called cookie monster vocals. Not much of us are really into that genre.

How would you compare the feeling of old-school and newer death metal?

In old-school death metal, you find a lot more groove than you do in a lot of nowadays bands. There's a lot of speed in metal at this moment. I think that speed is not really heaviest. To me, heavy metal is more into playing slow and deep than playing fast.

Asphyx and Pestilence have both reformed. Is something going on in Dutch old-school metal?

Gorefest have reformed as well, you know. I don't know. With Asphyx, it was more or less a coincidence because the Party.San festival was pushing us. They desperately wanted us, and we said OK. That wasn't really planned. I'm not sure how it is with Pestilence or Gorefest, but I think that it's not something that you force yourself to do. You have to find a lot of fun again and enjoy yourself. That's more why I think these bands are doing it again. And obviously, there's a demand for it. If there's no demand for it, you might as well not reform.

How did you come to work with [mixing and mastering engineer] Dan Swanö?

Ed [Warby], who is the drummer of Hail of Bullets - he worked with him a lot. He's also drumming on Dan's Demiurg project. Dan was very interested in what we were doing. He more or less offered himself to produce the promo, and he blew us away. He knew exactly how to translate our songs and sound.

What was working with him like?

We weren't working "together." We recorded here in the studio. After that, the files were sent to him, and it all went on .wav files to us, and we checked the mixes. I've never met the man, you know. It's a weird way of working, but that's how it goes nowadays. It's better to do it that way than to fly the whole band in and fly back again. You save a lot of expenses, especially the record company.

How's Metal Blade working out? I remember you not liking Roadrunner in the past.

Metal Blade is really fantastic. It's the best label I've ever worked with. Everything goes smoothly. There's not one thing now that's not going well. The interviews, the whole stuff with financing everything, the contracts -- we were all in different bands, so you have to adapt the contract now because you have to work with different publishing companies [when] you work with different record companies -- to Metal Blade, that was no problem at all. They changed everything in the contract that we wanted to change. They just wanted to sign us, and gave us all the freedom that we wanted.

You're pretty self-critical; you once said you'd redo the vocals on Pestilence's Consuming Impulse. What do you look for in death metal vocalists?

First, variety, and second, [understandability]. I'm doing my best so you can understand what I'm saying, so you can hear a bit of the lyrics. A lot of singers, they swallow whole lines. They start with the first word and end with the last, and in between they're not saying [the text]. Try to put some variety in your voice. Everybody can try some high and try some low. And a lot of strength from the belly, really.

Have you seen the Melissa Cross DVD [an instructional video for extreme metal vocalists]? [Discussion of DVD ensues.]

Well, she should see the amount of beer and cigarettes that I consume. She would probably first tell me to stop that. But to be honest, you need a certain technique to keep up this voice. And I think I have a natural technique, but it's really hard for me to explain [it] to somebody. I can't tell what's going on in my body. It's hard to describe it in words. Just give me a microphone, a lot of noise from stacks, and then I'll perform and give it my best shot. I couldn't stand in a room with no music and train. I need the music. I need the volume.

You're in your 40's now. What do you see in your future?

I feel really good. I enjoy life. It's like a little rebirth. I enjoy everything I do at this moment very much. There won't be a lot of difference between now and 20 years. The strange thing is, there's a big difference between 21 and 41. But there's no big difference between 41 and 61. If you find your personality, you'll still be the same person. But between 21 and 41, you can change a lot. I changed a lot. I just hope that I continue the way that I'm living now.

Links

MySpace
Official site
Artist page @ Metal Blade

Drums and Guns

Illustration by J. Jokilehto Click to enlarge

Found, on Hail of Bullets' forum, an illustration of drummer Ed Warby exercising his Second Amendment rights (if he were American). It gives a whole new meaning to "blastbeat" and "drum triggers." The artist is a "J. Jokilehto." Click on the image to enlarge - it's a beaut.

Prostitute Disfigurement - Descendants of Depravity

I won't make apologies for Prostitute Disfigurement. Their name is horrible - perhaps it's good in a metal way - and their oeuvre includes such works as "On Her Guts I Cum" and "Rotting Away Is Better Than Being Gay." However, they seem to have grown up a little on Descendants of Depravity (Neurotic/Willowtip, 2008). Their topics are still perversions and violence of all kinds, but their songs are mostly from the perspective of fictional characters: "I'm called the one-eyed drifter / A cross-country odyssey of crime / Advocate of different methods / My cruelty seems to know no bounds." Lyrically, this is basically an entire album of Slayer's "Dead Skin Mask."

Storm of the Fiend
Carnal Rapture

So, these Dutchmen are probably not psychopaths, except on their instruments. This record is ripping. Guitars spray tasty, choppy riffs all over the place, with wicked left-right trade-offs. String rakes! Sweep picking! Two-handed tapping! In just the right amounts! Drummer Michiel van der Plicht is an absolute monster, throwing down insane fills and varied beats. The production is perfect - crisp, crunchy, separated. The stereo interplay of drums and guitars on "Storm of the Fiend" is breathtaking. At 1:52, a blazing lead erupts from the left side. A few seconds later, the right side responds - and then they join in a more perfect union. Sooo good.

Vocalist Niels Adams is suitably beastly, but I'm more interested in his typo-riddled lyrics (bands and labels: I am available for liner notes work and English language editing), which occasionally yield gems like, "In a comfortable seat in which I die / With a grin on my face I'm ready to fry." (Contrast with Metallica's "Ride the Lightning.") Plus, PD get bonus points for the only metal song title ever with the word "generalissimo" in it: "The Sadist King and the Generalissimo of Pain." (I'd love to hear the death growl annunciation of this live.) If you must play death metal now (and that's a big if), you're best off doing it the Dutch way. Two hacked-off thumbs way, way up.

John Darnielle has a considerably funnier blog post about Prostitute Disfigurement here.

Buy:
Neurotic
Willowtip

Fight Amp, Avenger of Blood, Brutus, and more

Fight Amp

At Pitchfork, I've reviewed Fight Amp, a '90s AmRep throwback whom I suspect has a Danzig fetish. The recording is tough; the guy-girl vocals are tougher. At All Music Guide, I've reviewed Avenger of Blood (German thrash from Las Vegas), Barbara (artful Israeli sickness), Bilk (Croatian drum 'n' bass 'n' rock), Brutus (Caesar-slaying Dutch death metal), Cypher 7 (Bill Laswell-helmed IDM/dub), Last Chance to Reason (Maine calculus-core), The Phantom Family Halo (retro with a capital R), Primordial (the pride of Ireland), PureH (electronic desolation), Ratos de Porão (the pride of Brazil), and Shinjuku Thief (a soundtrack to Kafka's The Trial). You can also disregard this list and window-shop in the sidebar.

Fight Amp - Bound and Hagged
Avenger of Blood - Death Brigade

High on Fire, Glorior Belli, Inked in Blood, etc.

High on Fire

When I saw High on Fire recently, I was astounded by the number of females in the crowd. Only Enslaved in Berlin had more girls - go figure. Actually, I kind of get that. Europeans invented metal, so it's in their blood. There, black metallers actually have Norwegian names, and girls go to the local Saturn (the German equivalent of Best Buy) in full metal gear, spikes and all, and shop in the "Hard 'n' Heavy" section like it ain't a thang. I think I just gave myself a boner.

High on Fire - Rumors of War
Glorior Belli - Sinister Resonance
Inked in Blood - Somewhere Familiar
Sebastian Bach - Back in the Saddle (feat. Axl Rose)

In American record stores, though, the only long hair in the metal section is male (admit it, guys - you've checked out fit longhairs before, only to have them turn around and be male - oof). I'd basically resigned my American metal life to "bro'ing down" until I saw High on Fire. There were so many women, it felt almost wrong. It was seriously disconcerting. And they were totally getting down. The sight of a girl throwing the goat is a mighty aphrodisiac indeed.

Here's my theory: girls like 3-over-2 accents. You'd see them raise their fists, as one is wont to do at High on Fire. But Matt Pike's guitar playing is mostly strumming, so there's actually not much to pump your fist to. Drummer Des Kensel is a fucking force of nature, and he's cranking out thrash and d-beats like his singer's named Lindberg. So it's a tug-of-war, this percussive onslaught with mushy strumming and the molten river of distorted bass. Thus during the verses, fists are raised but not pumping. They're just drifting.

But when the 3-over-2 accents come, it's indeed like coming, a simultaneously orgasmic vice grip of synchronicity. Fists pump involuntarily - then go back to drifting. High on Fire probably know this, as they dish out 3-over-2 accents with much greater frequency than any other band. The 3-over-2 accent is normally reserved for punctuation at the end of phrases (e.g., "time for primal concrete sledge"). High on Fire practically write entire songs around 3-over-2 accents. And this is why girls love 'em.

At Metal Injection, I've reviewed High on Fire, as well as French black metallers Glorior Belli and Deathspell Omega, Dutch death metallers Severe Torture, hair metal pinup Sebastian Bach, and the mammoth new live DVD set from AC/DC. At Decibel, I've reviewed ancient thrashers Overkill and Christian metalcore outfit Inked in Blood. The latter surprised me - extremely clichéd good cop/bad cop elements, but arranged with creativity, skill, and passion. It's the most uplifting record I've heard this year, and I find myself returning to it often.

Obsidian, Modern Life Is War, Beatallica...

Slowly regaining my productivity - up at Metal Injection, I have a review of Dutch prog death metallers Obsidian. I think I might like them even more than Meshuggah, their most obvious inspiration. At Stylus, I have reviews of the fantastic Modern Life Is War, Beatallica, 108, and the American Nervoso reissue by Botch.

Obsidian - Footprints
Modern Life Is War - Stagger Lee
Beatallica - Helvester of Skelter

In print, in Unrestrained! #35 (Symphony X cover), I have features on Danzig, Cephalic Carnage, and Odious Mortem, as well as a new column called Invisible Oranges that focuses on metal scenes worldwide (this issue spotlights my hometown of Minot, ND). The magazine seems to have ceased web updates, so you'll have to find #35 on dead trees. It's a fun, voluminous read, and once made me miss two straight buses because my nose was buried in it.

Also on newsstands is my first piece for Decibel (Down cover), a review of the muchly improved The Absence. I remember reading the magazine when it first came out, and dreaming of the day when I could write for them. Many thanks to Adrien Begrand for the kind namecheck in his blog. He's one of the main reasons I got into metal writing, and to be in the same masthead as him is beyond awesome.

After Forever - Equally Destructive

Today is Live Earth Day, which, like the Internet, is evidently another Al Gore invention. The idea is like Live Aid - simultaneous concert festivals in eight cities around the world (New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hamburg) "to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis."

I'm quite skeptical about events like this. What's the ecological footprint of these festivals? Won't they generate tons of environmentally-unfriendly waste? What about all the transportation attendees will take? How "green" are the corporate sponsors? Exactly who and what, aside from rockstar egos, benefit from this?

A bright note, though - a fan of Dutch goth metallers After Forever has made a great video for their song "Equally Destructive." The editing is fantastic, timing images in perfect synchronicity with the lyrics. The song I can take or leave, but these images say more than a hundred spoiled rockers ever will.

Kylesa to tour with Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation

In WTF news, Kylesa will be playing select US west coast dates with Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation. This makes no sense other than for the fact that Kylesa happens to have a woman in its lineup also (and that maybe it qualifies as Southern gothic rock). It's great that the band will reach new audiences, but the Hot Topic set may be in for a nasty shock.

(with Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation)

5/30 - Spokane, WA - The Boulevard
5/31 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
6/01 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s
6/04 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Downtown Brewing Company
6/05 - Sparks, NV - New Oasis
6/06 - Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon Theatre

The band has also released a video for "Hollow Severer" from its album Time Will Fuse Its Worth. Accompanying the video is a contest offering the chance to win Kylesa vinyl and t-shirts.

Kylesa - Hollow Severer

The Stooges, Titan, Devious, Omnium Gatherum, Dokken, and Liferuiner

Devious

Up at Stylus I have reviews of new albums by The Stooges and Titan. At Metal Injection, I've reviewed Dutch death metallers Devious, Finnish melodeath dealers Omnium Gatherum, hair farmers Dokken (who seem to be getting "they weren't that bad" reevaluation these days), and straightedge hardcore punkers Liferuiner.

Devious - Room 302
Omnium Gatherum - Drudgery

Speaking of sXe, Decibel has an interesting feature up on breaking edge. And if you haven't already, check out Adrien Begrand's fine piece on Manowar for PopMatters. Sitting through a Manowar DVD is the metal journalistic equivalent of "taking one for the team."

I'm giving a talk on Berlin techno in Seattle at the EMP Pop Conference at 2:15 pm on Friday, April 20. The conference is free to the public, and loads (and I mean loads) of music writing heavies will be there, so feel free to drop by.

Also, I'll be in NYC from April 13-19, so if you want to get a drink, share record store tips, etc., email me at invisibleoranges at gmail dot com. On Wednesday April 18, I'll be at the Annihilate This Week weekly at Guero, 9 Avenue A between Houston & 1st, so feel free to stop by and say hi. I'm the dude with the shaved head, glasses, and black shirt - like every other dude there, probably!

Fentanyl / The Clouds Are Coming to Kill Me - Run for Cover

Death Has Prevailed

Fat Lenny
2007



Run for Cover is one of those splits where bands cover each other; it also includes two originals by each. Fentanyl formed in 2003, but it nails the old school thrash sound, down to the raw production and lead guitar tone. The Dutch band's MySpace says it's "putting the speed back into metal," which isn't true. The grooves are mostly midpaced, with the occasional double-time moment. The performances are loose, but the riffs do the job. It's simple stuff, yet the sound is so authentically '80s that I can't help but dig it.

Since this is out (anagramatically) on "Fat Lenny Productions," it's probably self-released. Unfortunately, the artwork is horribly primitive. Why didn't the band try harder? The tracks by The Clouds Are Coming to Kill Me are the worst-sounding recordings ever professionally submitted to me. They're thrashy, too, but they sound like someone tape-recorded the output from a blown car speaker.

Evidently, a new Fentanyl full-length is on the way. In the meantime, you can get this for next to nothing from the band's website.

xDeathstarx, Impious, Sauron reviews

Up at Metal Injection are reviews of Christian hardcore punkers xDeathstarx, not-so-Christian Swedish death metallers Impious, and Dutch black metal band Sauron.

The Faceless, Born From Pain reviews

My reviews of The Faceless and Born From Pain are up at Metal Injection.

The Faceless - Ghost of a Stranger
Born From Pain - Scorched Earth

Massive Assault - Conflict EP

Plead Not Guilty

Crash Landing
2006



Massive Assault party like it's 1990, unleashing old school Swedish death metal that sounds like outtakes from Left Hand Path. Surprisingly, the source is not Stockholm, but the Netherlands. The ingredients are familiar - massive guitars, volcanic bass tones, Motörhead-on-speed grooves, and good old-fashioned death growls. Death Breath and Repugnant have also resurrected this sound, and while such exhuming offers nothing new, it's a welcome reminder of the scene's roots. When it's done this well, who's to complain? Four tracks of utter filth - get 'em at the band's MySpace.

V/A - Gratis naar de Tering

Vermin - Falling Deathwards (live)
Grimland - Melena (demo)

Alpha Prime
2006


Speaking of Dutch metal, here's a compilation with an interesting focus - bands from around the city of Breda. The title is Gratis naar de Tering, which translates to "Down the drain for nothing" or "Fucked up for free," depending on whom you ask. The point is that the compilation is free; the back cover says, "Never pay for this CD!" Strangely, though, when I asked if I could post every track, the record label said no. Thus, I'll post tracks for which I got permission, and talk about and post links for each band.

With the exception of the folk metal of Ravenstorm, death and black metal make up this compilation. Both come in several varieties. Brutus does straightforward brutal death metal, Vermin takes a more technical approach, and Chainsaw Surgery, unsurprisingly, goes the gore-grind route. Black metalwise, Saeculum, Sick Human Art, Wiri Smokkor, and Grimland offer various takes on traditional, blastbeat-oriented sounds, while Dodenkrocht turns in some awesome depressive vibes, real wrist-slitting stuff.

A mixture of studio, live, and demo tracks, the songs vary wildly in sound quality. However, they're all interesting, and with only two tracks from each band, the compilation moves quickly. Brutus stands out as top-shelf death metal, and Sick Human Art has great riffing. Unfortunately, drummer Maarten "Ploegbaas" Luysterburg, who was in both bands, recently committed suicide. Thus, these tracks might be some of the last he ever recorded. The live Vermin tracks sound rough, but the studio versions on their A Nihilistic Swarm album are well worth checking out.

I'm definitely exploring some of these bands further, as I encourage you to do also. This CD should be available from any band on it.

Track List

01. Brutus - Teloorgang
02. Brutus - Darmschurft (live)
03. Vermin - Falling Deathwards (live)
04. Vermin - Vertigo (live)
05. Saeculum - Genetic Failure
06. Saeculum - Benighted
07. Sick Human Art - Prologue (demo)
08. Sick Human Art - Buried the Old (demo)
09. Wiri Smokkor - The Dreaded Low Count
10. Wiri Smokkor - DimenXion Polm
11. Ravenstorm - The March
12. Ravenstorm - Beer for the Guests
13. Chainsaw Surgery - Preserving Decayed Organs
14. Chainsaw Surgery - Chainsaw Surgical Disfigurement
15. Dodenkrocht - Dodenkrocht (unreleased)
16. Dodenkrocht - Return to Sin (unreleased)
17. Grimland - Emily (demo)
18. Grimland - Melena (demo)

God Dethroned - The Toxic Touch

In terms of melody-to-brutality ratio, Dutch death metallers God Dethroned always struck me as kind of like Arch Enemy without the charisma. Their back catalogue was well-played and enjoyable enough, but nothing ever really grabbed me. However, The Toxic Touch (on Metal Blade) does. From the first note, the band is in complete control and knows it. It's been a while since I've heard melodic death metal done this well.

The press for this album makes much out of the fact it hardly has any blastbeats. By no means has the band let up, though. In fact, the songs are heavier than ever. By slowing down a touch and rotating through thrashy and midpaced grooves, the songs breathe nicely. A short, moody instrumental in the middle also helps break things up. Thus, the album hits hard yet never gets tedious or tiring. Most importantly, the riffs rule. They're melodic and catchy, giving each song a distinct identity. The vocals still don't do much for me, but the riffs are so strong, I don't care.

God Dethroned - 2014
God Dethroned - The Day You Died

This album has very Andy Sneap-like production (heavy, clear, compressed). For better or for worse, this sound is taking over metal, but it's perfect for this material. Sealing the deal is the most beautiful album cover I've seen in ages. This album is a big step up for the band; you can pick it up

@ Metal Blade
@ The End