All Interviews
Detonation
Detonation
Posted on Oct 29, 2005
by Anders
The Dutch band Detonation sent me their promo album "Promo 2001" and that caught on back then. I later got their debut full lenght "An Epic Defiance" when it was released by Osmose Productions a couple of years ago. Time went and I didn't give the band much thought, until the day their new and second full lenght "Portals To Uphobia" ended up in my postbox, damn a good and diverse album the band has delivered. Swirling melodies, breaks and great power, I had to talk to the band again after listening to the album. I got a good talk with vocalist/guitarist Koen Romeijn, who gladly answered all my questions. Besides Koen the band consists of guitarist Mike Ferguson, bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck and drummer Thomas Kalksma.
Hey, how are things in Holland as we speak?
Hey! Very well thank you, the weather is still beautiful for this time of the year, but unfortunately I'm working a lot lately, earning money to be able to buy me some beer at night…
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you thrash away with Detonation?
Sure, I'll introduce myself. My name is Koen Romeijn and I'm the vocalist/guitarist of Detonation. I founded the band in 1997 together with our drummer Thomas and Mike, the other guitar player in the band. We actually started this band to be finally able to play the kind of metal we always wanted to, because we were all playing in other bands at the time, which weren't that extreme as the thing we had in mind. So Detonation has always been about extreme and fast metal, although our sound has become more melodic after all these years.
A small introduction of the rest of the band will be sweet as well!
I'll stick to the more or less important events in our career, or else this interview will be way too long haha! What did I not tell you yet…hmm, after we founded the band, we finally got ourselves a bass player after rehearsing for about a year. Otto joined us, and we started doing gigs right away basically. We also recorded the first 2 Detonation songs ever, for a compilation CD, and a year later we decided to enter the same studio again but this time for our EP "Lost Euphoria". Things suddenly went uphill for the band; we got to play a lot of shows in the Dutch underground scene. In 2001 we recorded a 3-track promo CD to get labels interested, but this didn't work out so we decided to record our first full length album "An Epic Defiance" in 2002. The album lead to the deal with Osmose, who re-released it in June 2003. After doing shit loads of shows and 2 European tours we are now back with this new album!
You are now ready with your second full length album "Portals To Uphobia", how do you feel about it?
We're very happy with it, because it took us a lot of time and work to get it released. We have had major problems the last 2 years with for instance the injury of our drummers' arm, and the delay of the recordings etc, so we were very eager to get this album over and done and move on. So it's finally out there now, and I have to say it sounds great!
How has it so far been received?
The reviews were getting lately are very positive, even better than we expected actually! We knew that this album is better than its predecessor, the songs are just better structured and balanced, and the production is also a bit better, but of course you never know how the fans will react towards it. A debut album is also often considered as a bands' most spontaneous album, so were king of anxious to see what people would think of this new album, but I cannot complain so far. It's being praised from all over the world.
What do you expect from it?
Well, hopefully it will give us the opportunity to play even more shows. More shows lead to more exposure and better sales, so…we actually do not have high hopes, we never have, we basically want to have as much fun with this band as we possibly can get, so that we can look back at it when we’re old and handicapped and laugh about it. Whatever happens, will happen, we'll just have to wait and see.
Do you care to explain the album title "Portals To Uphobia", what does it symbolize and what are your thoughts behind it?
The concept is all about making choices in life and choosing directions, making decisions. That is what the "Portals" symbolize. The word "Uphobia" is obviously a non-existing word which I made up by combining the 3 main lyrical themes, which are "euphoria", "utopia" and "phobia". So in fact the title is kind of like an introduction of what all the lyrics are about.
That brings us to the cover artwork, which I guess is connected to the title, what are the thought behind the artwork, who made it and do you care to explain the elements in it?
Niklas Sundin created it, just like he did our debut album. I emailed him what the title was going to be for the album, and he made a few sketches to match with the concept. Obviously the cover artwork is in direct connection with the whole concept, because there are basically portals all over the place. But what Niklas wanted to display here, is the abstract visualization of the inside of a persons mind. So what you're basically looking at are the thoughts of an individual, and the portals represent the different choices this person is able to make. Then there's left to explain the centre portal with all those other elements around it…it is supposed to symbolize the most obvious choices, the paths we usually tend to take first. The thing/insect behind the portal represents "evil" or "bad consequences", to display that those obvious choices are not always the right ones to make.
Who writes the lyrics in Detonation?
That would be me… But Mike also contributes every now and then with a few lyrics, and sometimes we write lyrics for a particular song together, it depends…
Do you care to explain the ideas behind the lyrics and the themes you deal with?
I explained most of the concept for this album already, but what's important to add is that all our lyrics are very personal. We never write stories that are made up or fictional, it's always been about our private lives and the frustrations we have to deal with ourselves. But of course I don't want everybody to exactly know what's going on in my life, so we usually keep the lyrics very abstract and open to interpretations as much as we can.
Where do you find inspiration for the lyrics and are there any certain things/events that has inspired some of the lyrical work on "Portals To Uphobia"?
Well, since the lyrics are very personal, I do not always have enough inspiration to write. Luckily, I would say because else I would have a lot of frustration and stress in my daily life! But for this album I took events and situations that happened to me last year. There was plenty of frustration in my life in 2004, so I had no problems to come up with this stuff!
It would be great, if you'd go through the album track by track, and tell a bit about the ideas behind the music, the lyrical theme etc…!!!
… NOOOOO!!! Haha, just kidding…although you're giving me a lot of work here! I won't say anything about the lyrical theme of each and every song, because it's a concept album… Here we go:
'Into Sulphur I Descend': The albums’ opening track. If I'm not mistaking the oldest track on the whole album, which you can probably hear, because the style is pretty similar to some songs on "An Epic Defiance". The track itself is pretty intense, it starts with a very simplistic yet groovy guitar rhythm which we did purposely to catch the listeners' attention immediately… I especially like the choruses, the vocal lines are pretty intense over those blast beats.
'Portals To Uphobia': The title track. One of the shortest songs, and also a very new one. We even wrote the entire bridge in the studio while we were recording it, that is how new it is haha! It's actually one of my favourite tracks to play live, because it's aggressive and intense. And of course very catchy, especially the main riff. Mike wrote that riff and the other insanely fast one, I came up with the chorus, and Thomas created the rhythm for the middle part.
'Structural Deceit': A bit more progressive song, and very rhythmic. I guess one of the most complex songs on the album. I wrote most of this one, except for the opening riff, that one was done by Mike. I like the touch of black metal in the riffs from this song.
'Chaos Banished': The "ballad" of the album haha. We wanted one song on "Portals To Uphobia" to be completely mid-paced, to get more variety in the music. The vocal lines are pretty strong in my opinion. Thomas came up with them. I wrote most of the music.
'End Of Sight, End Of Fears': Also one of my favourite tracks, especially to play live. Our friend Michiel Bikker played the lead guitar in the beginning of the song, great guitarist! Mike and I wrote this song together, it also contains some very old Detonation riffs, which we had not used before. The chorus is very strong I think.
'Lost Euphoria Part III': A pretty experimental song. We actually wanted vocals on this song as well, but in the end we decided the difference in atmosphere compared to the other songs was too big, so we kept it instrumental. And since we were going to keep it that way, we decided to add some extra acoustic guitars and leads. Mike came up with the fret-tap and I added the chords on to the rhythm, which is a 7/8th!
'The Loss Of Motion Control': Together with the opening track the oldest song on the CD. Also one of my faves, we have been playing it live for almost 2 years already! Mike wrote the rhythm guitars, and I came up with all the melodies and leads, as usual. Thomas created the rhythmic bridge. Mike wrote the lyrics as well.
'Solitude Reflected': We wrote half of this song in the studio while recording it. I only had the opening riff and the chorus ready, so we added the acoustic parts in the studio, and also the complete bridge. It turned out pretty cool I think! Not a song we would play live however, too many harmonies and leads to do so. But never say never!
'Beyond The Margin': We changed the main riff of this song just before we recorded it, to make it more interesting. A very intense song, with a catchy yet atmospheric bridge. I guess it has the least "happy" melodies of all songs.
'The Source To Delve': A worthy closing track I think, very fast and catchy. The bridge really works towards a climax, and this is also where the lyrical concept reaches its top. We wrote most of it in the studio. The vocal lines are pretty breath taking, literally that is.
On to the music… Who are the main writers in the band?
I usually write maybe about 60/70% of all the riffs, Mike and Thomas come up with the rest. But what's important in this band is that we all contribute when it comes to song writing, I almost never come up with a complete song, and I really need the other guys their help to get the songs finished.
How does the band work when you arrange the songs, do you all finalize them together or…?
Yep, we finish them together, and then in the end we add the leads and harmonies. I also do the vocals when the music is completely finished, so I can concentrate on the vocal lines and not have to worry about certain guitar parts that still need to be changed.
Where is the inspiration for the music found and how is the normal process for you, when you write music?
I don't know exactly where our inspiration comes from, we just enjoy making music, especially melodic music. It's a huge part of our lives and I therefore cannot imagine how my days would be without it, making music is the thing I enjoy most in my life. I usually come up with new riffs when I'm at home jamming with my guitar. I have a small recording device on which I record everything I create, I then take it with me to our rehearsal place and I let the other guys hear it. Mike works in a similar way, although we also sometimes compose complete new songs when we're together rehearsing.
The music you deliver has the base in melodic thrash spiced up with elements from the melodic Swedish death metal scene, and it can be said that the vocals have the descend up there as well, further more you add a lot of speed, pace shifts and signature changes… How did the music end up like that?
We just like to keep the music interesting for ourselves in the first place, that's why we use so many breaks and shifts and licks, it's all part of our plan. We started out as a melodic black metal band, but after each song we wrote the music got more melodic and more death and thrash metal orientated, it was a natural development for us.
Which 3 bands have inspired you the most through out the ages, and which 3 songs have made a huge impact on you?
For me personally, the 3 bands that inspired me the most in the beginning were Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Morbid Angel. I know this last band might sound a bit weird to some, but they really contributed to the sound of Detonation, especially when it comes to pace and intensity. And to answer your other question, about the 3 songs that made a very big impact on me when I first started out as a guitar player, I have to say Megadeth 'Holy Wars', Dissection 'Black Horizons' and Edge of Sanity 'Darkday' (from the "Spectral Sorrows" album).
How would you describe the progression of Detonation since the beginning, you've come a long way in my ears, how do you look upon it?
The progression occurred without us noticing really, we just always continued to write music, and never thought about what style we were playing exactly. After we released "An Epic Defiance" for the first time, we got a lot of reactions from people saying that we had changed our style quite a bit, something we never paid any attention to ourselves. Of course we knew the songs became more technical and just better in general, but that was logical as we developed as musicians. But we're still progressing, you have to as a band I think, especially in this genre.
How would you describe your music to a metalhead not knowing of Detonation?
I would tell him/her that we play fast and intense melodic metal, with influences from death/black and thrash metal.
Do you have any touring planned in support of "Portals To Uphobia" and will we see you rip up Scandinavia sometime soon?
We just finished a tour with Decapitated and Gorerotted and Dam a few weeks ago, and we were supposed to do 3 shows in Scandinavia as well, but due to problems with the capacity of the tour bus, we were forced to leave the tour early, and arrange our own transportation for the remaining dates. Unfortunately, the distances in between some shows, including the ones in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, were too big for us to drive ourselves, so we had to cancel our performances there… but hopefully we can make up for it next year with a new tour! For now we'll concentrate on doing shows in our own country to promote the new album.
How do you look upon the future of the band?
Hopefully we'll have a bright future ahead of us! Things are finally going well for the band at this moment, after many years of hard working and investing. But we just take it one day at a time, and we'll see what the future will bring. As long as we continue to have fun we're pleased with it basically.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers?
Hhm, I have to think… I have so many favourite albums! Here are 5 in no particular order:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Pain Of Salvation - One Hour By The Concrete Lake
Opeth - Morningrise
Death - Symbolic
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
You're welcome! Thanks for this interview, it took me quite some time but it was worth it haha! Cheers to our Danish fans, so see you soon hopefully!
Hey! Very well thank you, the weather is still beautiful for this time of the year, but unfortunately I'm working a lot lately, earning money to be able to buy me some beer at night…
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you thrash away with Detonation?
Sure, I'll introduce myself. My name is Koen Romeijn and I'm the vocalist/guitarist of Detonation. I founded the band in 1997 together with our drummer Thomas and Mike, the other guitar player in the band. We actually started this band to be finally able to play the kind of metal we always wanted to, because we were all playing in other bands at the time, which weren't that extreme as the thing we had in mind. So Detonation has always been about extreme and fast metal, although our sound has become more melodic after all these years.
A small introduction of the rest of the band will be sweet as well!
I'll stick to the more or less important events in our career, or else this interview will be way too long haha! What did I not tell you yet…hmm, after we founded the band, we finally got ourselves a bass player after rehearsing for about a year. Otto joined us, and we started doing gigs right away basically. We also recorded the first 2 Detonation songs ever, for a compilation CD, and a year later we decided to enter the same studio again but this time for our EP "Lost Euphoria". Things suddenly went uphill for the band; we got to play a lot of shows in the Dutch underground scene. In 2001 we recorded a 3-track promo CD to get labels interested, but this didn't work out so we decided to record our first full length album "An Epic Defiance" in 2002. The album lead to the deal with Osmose, who re-released it in June 2003. After doing shit loads of shows and 2 European tours we are now back with this new album!
You are now ready with your second full length album "Portals To Uphobia", how do you feel about it?
We're very happy with it, because it took us a lot of time and work to get it released. We have had major problems the last 2 years with for instance the injury of our drummers' arm, and the delay of the recordings etc, so we were very eager to get this album over and done and move on. So it's finally out there now, and I have to say it sounds great!
How has it so far been received?
The reviews were getting lately are very positive, even better than we expected actually! We knew that this album is better than its predecessor, the songs are just better structured and balanced, and the production is also a bit better, but of course you never know how the fans will react towards it. A debut album is also often considered as a bands' most spontaneous album, so were king of anxious to see what people would think of this new album, but I cannot complain so far. It's being praised from all over the world.
What do you expect from it?
Well, hopefully it will give us the opportunity to play even more shows. More shows lead to more exposure and better sales, so…we actually do not have high hopes, we never have, we basically want to have as much fun with this band as we possibly can get, so that we can look back at it when we’re old and handicapped and laugh about it. Whatever happens, will happen, we'll just have to wait and see.
Do you care to explain the album title "Portals To Uphobia", what does it symbolize and what are your thoughts behind it?
The concept is all about making choices in life and choosing directions, making decisions. That is what the "Portals" symbolize. The word "Uphobia" is obviously a non-existing word which I made up by combining the 3 main lyrical themes, which are "euphoria", "utopia" and "phobia". So in fact the title is kind of like an introduction of what all the lyrics are about.
That brings us to the cover artwork, which I guess is connected to the title, what are the thought behind the artwork, who made it and do you care to explain the elements in it?
Niklas Sundin created it, just like he did our debut album. I emailed him what the title was going to be for the album, and he made a few sketches to match with the concept. Obviously the cover artwork is in direct connection with the whole concept, because there are basically portals all over the place. But what Niklas wanted to display here, is the abstract visualization of the inside of a persons mind. So what you're basically looking at are the thoughts of an individual, and the portals represent the different choices this person is able to make. Then there's left to explain the centre portal with all those other elements around it…it is supposed to symbolize the most obvious choices, the paths we usually tend to take first. The thing/insect behind the portal represents "evil" or "bad consequences", to display that those obvious choices are not always the right ones to make.
Who writes the lyrics in Detonation?
That would be me… But Mike also contributes every now and then with a few lyrics, and sometimes we write lyrics for a particular song together, it depends…
Do you care to explain the ideas behind the lyrics and the themes you deal with?
I explained most of the concept for this album already, but what's important to add is that all our lyrics are very personal. We never write stories that are made up or fictional, it's always been about our private lives and the frustrations we have to deal with ourselves. But of course I don't want everybody to exactly know what's going on in my life, so we usually keep the lyrics very abstract and open to interpretations as much as we can.
Where do you find inspiration for the lyrics and are there any certain things/events that has inspired some of the lyrical work on "Portals To Uphobia"?
Well, since the lyrics are very personal, I do not always have enough inspiration to write. Luckily, I would say because else I would have a lot of frustration and stress in my daily life! But for this album I took events and situations that happened to me last year. There was plenty of frustration in my life in 2004, so I had no problems to come up with this stuff!
It would be great, if you'd go through the album track by track, and tell a bit about the ideas behind the music, the lyrical theme etc…!!!
… NOOOOO!!! Haha, just kidding…although you're giving me a lot of work here! I won't say anything about the lyrical theme of each and every song, because it's a concept album… Here we go:
'Into Sulphur I Descend': The albums’ opening track. If I'm not mistaking the oldest track on the whole album, which you can probably hear, because the style is pretty similar to some songs on "An Epic Defiance". The track itself is pretty intense, it starts with a very simplistic yet groovy guitar rhythm which we did purposely to catch the listeners' attention immediately… I especially like the choruses, the vocal lines are pretty intense over those blast beats.
'Portals To Uphobia': The title track. One of the shortest songs, and also a very new one. We even wrote the entire bridge in the studio while we were recording it, that is how new it is haha! It's actually one of my favourite tracks to play live, because it's aggressive and intense. And of course very catchy, especially the main riff. Mike wrote that riff and the other insanely fast one, I came up with the chorus, and Thomas created the rhythm for the middle part.
'Structural Deceit': A bit more progressive song, and very rhythmic. I guess one of the most complex songs on the album. I wrote most of this one, except for the opening riff, that one was done by Mike. I like the touch of black metal in the riffs from this song.
'Chaos Banished': The "ballad" of the album haha. We wanted one song on "Portals To Uphobia" to be completely mid-paced, to get more variety in the music. The vocal lines are pretty strong in my opinion. Thomas came up with them. I wrote most of the music.
'End Of Sight, End Of Fears': Also one of my favourite tracks, especially to play live. Our friend Michiel Bikker played the lead guitar in the beginning of the song, great guitarist! Mike and I wrote this song together, it also contains some very old Detonation riffs, which we had not used before. The chorus is very strong I think.
'Lost Euphoria Part III': A pretty experimental song. We actually wanted vocals on this song as well, but in the end we decided the difference in atmosphere compared to the other songs was too big, so we kept it instrumental. And since we were going to keep it that way, we decided to add some extra acoustic guitars and leads. Mike came up with the fret-tap and I added the chords on to the rhythm, which is a 7/8th!
'The Loss Of Motion Control': Together with the opening track the oldest song on the CD. Also one of my faves, we have been playing it live for almost 2 years already! Mike wrote the rhythm guitars, and I came up with all the melodies and leads, as usual. Thomas created the rhythmic bridge. Mike wrote the lyrics as well.
'Solitude Reflected': We wrote half of this song in the studio while recording it. I only had the opening riff and the chorus ready, so we added the acoustic parts in the studio, and also the complete bridge. It turned out pretty cool I think! Not a song we would play live however, too many harmonies and leads to do so. But never say never!
'Beyond The Margin': We changed the main riff of this song just before we recorded it, to make it more interesting. A very intense song, with a catchy yet atmospheric bridge. I guess it has the least "happy" melodies of all songs.
'The Source To Delve': A worthy closing track I think, very fast and catchy. The bridge really works towards a climax, and this is also where the lyrical concept reaches its top. We wrote most of it in the studio. The vocal lines are pretty breath taking, literally that is.
On to the music… Who are the main writers in the band?
I usually write maybe about 60/70% of all the riffs, Mike and Thomas come up with the rest. But what's important in this band is that we all contribute when it comes to song writing, I almost never come up with a complete song, and I really need the other guys their help to get the songs finished.
How does the band work when you arrange the songs, do you all finalize them together or…?
Yep, we finish them together, and then in the end we add the leads and harmonies. I also do the vocals when the music is completely finished, so I can concentrate on the vocal lines and not have to worry about certain guitar parts that still need to be changed.
Where is the inspiration for the music found and how is the normal process for you, when you write music?
I don't know exactly where our inspiration comes from, we just enjoy making music, especially melodic music. It's a huge part of our lives and I therefore cannot imagine how my days would be without it, making music is the thing I enjoy most in my life. I usually come up with new riffs when I'm at home jamming with my guitar. I have a small recording device on which I record everything I create, I then take it with me to our rehearsal place and I let the other guys hear it. Mike works in a similar way, although we also sometimes compose complete new songs when we're together rehearsing.
The music you deliver has the base in melodic thrash spiced up with elements from the melodic Swedish death metal scene, and it can be said that the vocals have the descend up there as well, further more you add a lot of speed, pace shifts and signature changes… How did the music end up like that?
We just like to keep the music interesting for ourselves in the first place, that's why we use so many breaks and shifts and licks, it's all part of our plan. We started out as a melodic black metal band, but after each song we wrote the music got more melodic and more death and thrash metal orientated, it was a natural development for us.
Which 3 bands have inspired you the most through out the ages, and which 3 songs have made a huge impact on you?
For me personally, the 3 bands that inspired me the most in the beginning were Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Morbid Angel. I know this last band might sound a bit weird to some, but they really contributed to the sound of Detonation, especially when it comes to pace and intensity. And to answer your other question, about the 3 songs that made a very big impact on me when I first started out as a guitar player, I have to say Megadeth 'Holy Wars', Dissection 'Black Horizons' and Edge of Sanity 'Darkday' (from the "Spectral Sorrows" album).
How would you describe the progression of Detonation since the beginning, you've come a long way in my ears, how do you look upon it?
The progression occurred without us noticing really, we just always continued to write music, and never thought about what style we were playing exactly. After we released "An Epic Defiance" for the first time, we got a lot of reactions from people saying that we had changed our style quite a bit, something we never paid any attention to ourselves. Of course we knew the songs became more technical and just better in general, but that was logical as we developed as musicians. But we're still progressing, you have to as a band I think, especially in this genre.
How would you describe your music to a metalhead not knowing of Detonation?
I would tell him/her that we play fast and intense melodic metal, with influences from death/black and thrash metal.
Do you have any touring planned in support of "Portals To Uphobia" and will we see you rip up Scandinavia sometime soon?
We just finished a tour with Decapitated and Gorerotted and Dam a few weeks ago, and we were supposed to do 3 shows in Scandinavia as well, but due to problems with the capacity of the tour bus, we were forced to leave the tour early, and arrange our own transportation for the remaining dates. Unfortunately, the distances in between some shows, including the ones in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, were too big for us to drive ourselves, so we had to cancel our performances there… but hopefully we can make up for it next year with a new tour! For now we'll concentrate on doing shows in our own country to promote the new album.
How do you look upon the future of the band?
Hopefully we'll have a bright future ahead of us! Things are finally going well for the band at this moment, after many years of hard working and investing. But we just take it one day at a time, and we'll see what the future will bring. As long as we continue to have fun we're pleased with it basically.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers?
Hhm, I have to think… I have so many favourite albums! Here are 5 in no particular order:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Pain Of Salvation - One Hour By The Concrete Lake
Opeth - Morningrise
Death - Symbolic
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
You're welcome! Thanks for this interview, it took me quite some time but it was worth it haha! Cheers to our Danish fans, so see you soon hopefully!
Detonation website
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