Ελληνικά
Hello and congratulations on your new album. It’s been three years since your latest full album release. Three years worth waiting though, because “Intermination” sounds pretty aggressive. What was the reaction of the people when it comes to it?
D-S: Hello! First of all, thank you very much for the kind words! Well, we actually didn’t even feel the time between “Icarus” and now “Intermination” as being much of a break. We toured quite a bit and we also released the “Insurgent” anniversary album in between, which was a new EP + live tracks + bonus material, but also demanded some time and attention to be done right. But yeah, we were in no hurry and mainly tried to focus on making the new album a good step forwards on all levels for the band, especially since everyone was now involved with the songwriting and arrangement of the ideas as well as with the recording process itself. The reactions have been great and it seems people appreciate the new material, so it’s been all good.
How do you plan to support the release of “Intermination”? Have you planned any tours? Is there a chance you’ll visit Greece in the near future?
D-S: Well yeah, we have done a short run of dates in June to set up the launch and now we have a next European tour coming up in October together with Angelus Apatrida from Spain and No Return from France, which should be good fun. Then in November we head over to Portugal and we are already looking into some opportunities for 2016. D-S is first and foremost a live band, so we will surelook into any good opportunities to keep showcasing the new material live. And yes, it would be great and also about time to return to Greece. I actually just talked about it with some friends this past weekend, so hopefully it will happen again at some point next year. We would definitely like to return to play there, as we always had a cool time in Greece.
I always wanted to ask you that. Anyone familiar with the band will notice that your every album starts with the letter “I”. How did you come up with it and what’s the meaning of this for the band?
D-S: It sort of developed into a theme or at least thread with the first two albums already, as I wanted them to be associated to each other by the choice of title. And then it sort of took a life of its own and we kept carrying forwards with the concept. Obviously nobody dared to look so much into the future and could see that after two decades and ten studio albums, we would still be around as a group, doing what we do and still enjoying the ride. I guess it was just a small and nice idea that eventually kept unfolding, so that it became a part of the band. But we will see what happens next, there is no grand masterplan we are to follow…and there has never been 😉
When it comes to “Intermination”, would you like to share with us any interesting trivia or funny things that happened during the recordings?
D-S: Hmmm, tough one really. I think the most interesting in how “Intermination” came together was to see that everyone in the band got more involved than before. I mean, for “Icarus” Marvin had pre-written all of the songs and now also our other guitarist Rory wrote 3 of the tracks and even our bassplayer Joost contributed 3 more songs, so it was a more diverse process, which the album profits from. We also decided to pretty much self-record and go with our own pace as far as putting together the pieces of the puzzle, before we gave the material to our old buddie Dan Swanö to mix/master. I think we needed to change the procedure a bit to see where we are at and this all helped us gain more overview and focus for the songs. We had a lot of fun putting this album together, but I can’t recall anything especially ‘funny’ about it. It was mainly hard but pretty rewarding work and we ended up with an album that we are extremely proud of, on all levels. I think we managed to keep the stylistic legacy of the band alive, while still shaping it in an interesting and up-to-date way. The new songs are cool to play live too, so we definitely look forward to the upcoming shows…
What are your future plans? Are there any musical directions you’d like to experiment on after so many years of being loyal to your roots?
D-S: Nah, not really. We enjoy what we are doing and have found our own trademark sound a while ago already, so I wouldn’t see a need to switch things around. We can always simply try to get better in what we do, without taking too heavy steps aside from the course. All the members in the band also have other outlets (like I Chaos and Severe Torture), where they get to so things a bit differently as well. Our drummer Koen for example just released his first solo album, which turned out really good and for sure serves as a good outlet for his creativity. I personally am currently trying to get some side-project together with some old friends as well, that would be a bit still heavy, but a lot dirtier and more stripped down. But we will see where that goes. I think if someone had the urge to musically do something completely different, it would best be re-arranged in a different set-up and a different band. Dew-Scented stands for aggressive Thrash / Death Metal and I don’t see that changing at all anymore. I wouldn’t see a reason for that…
The thrash metal scene has spawned many worth mentioning bands these recent years. On the other hand, there are tons of bands that fit in the “thrash revival” movement that sound similar to each other. What is your opinion on thrash metal and extreme metal scene in general?
D-S: It’s a bit of both, I mean, there is always a new movement of quality bands and the torch gets passed along. At the same time, the classic bands are also still around and doing great albums, so that things never get boring. You know, when bands like Kreator, Testament, Death Angel or The Haunted continue to deliver strong new records and support them with intense touring at the same time as quality ‘newer’ acts like Warbringer, Angelus Apatrida or Vektor refresh the genre, then things are in a good state for the scene. There is a next new generation of musicians and fans for the style emerging now (also in Greece!), which is very healthy and interesting for everyone. It also keeps us motivated in doing as good as we can within our reach and I generally look into the future with a pretty positive attitude. I am not one of those who can be satisfying himself with claiming that everything used to be better in the past. I agree that some bands need a more individual approach, because sounding retro just to imitate the old heroes won’t dο much in the long run. I live in the present and for the future. It seems that there have already been 2 or 3 revivals for thrash metal in the time I personally have been a fan of the music, so I can only sit tight and wait for the next waves to reach the shore. It’s all good really if you are having a good time, and we are.
As I’m sure you know, Greece is having some rough times right now. Anything you want to say to your Greek fans reading this?
D-S: Well yeah, hopefully the situation will smooth over and turn for the better soon. It would be about time. It’s heavy times of crisis and it’s obviously very disappointing to see how the wrongdoings of a so called “elite” (financially and politically) can drag everyone down and put things in such a bad shape for a whole country. We have a lot of good friends in Greece and hope it won’t be too long of a struggle…
Thank you very much for the interview. Till next time. The conclusion is all yours.
D-S: Thanks for your time and the support, it’s much appreciated. We hope to see you all again sometime soon and in the meantime, please stay in touch and informed about our activities via www.facebook.com/dewscented and/or www.dew-scented.net . Take care and remember to always support good music, in one way or another! Cheers!
