-- Haester gets shredded! --
11/03/2019
Stijn Daneels
On January
24th 2019 I was invited to an official press event at the headquarters of
Dunk!Records. A record label dedicated to doom, sludge and post-metal and whose
activities also include the yearly 3-day event Dunk!Festival as well as the
vinyl production plant Dunk!Pressings. My good friend Sean Vali (head of
booking agency Arawn Agency) offered me to interview several of Dunk!’s
associated bands and one of those was Haester. I sat together with vocalist Maarten
and guitarist Wannes to discuss things like their appearance at Antwerp Metal
Fest 2018, their collaboration with Dunk!Records and the songs their recorded
with guest vocals from the likes of Aborted, Brutus and Stake.
All
pictures by Elien Swinnen (https://www.elienswinnen.com/).
BMS: Hello there, folks! Let’s begin with a basic question. How did Haester come to fruition?
Maarten: Wannes
and I have been lifelong friends and over the years we played together in a
couple of bands such as the now-defunct thrash metal band Nemea. Wannes did a
lot of songwriting for that band and had many songs left to use after Nemea’s
demise. We didn’t want to let all that hard work go to waste so we both decided
to form our own band and look for extra people to join us.
Wannes:
That’s right. We began Haester a couple of years ago and we’re very pleased
with how things are progressing for us.
BMS: Yeah, I’ve got to say that I like your material a lot! Dark and brooding with many bursts of raw energy and rage. I also feel that you, Maarten, have a large vocal range with both convincing grunts and screams, but I believe you can reach even wider.
Maarten:
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, Haester is still a young band and we keep on
evolving!
BMS: So, what serves as your band’s main inspirations?
Wannes: Off
the top of my head I’d say Pink Floyd, Cult Of Luna, Isis the band, Mastodon,
Burnt By The Sun. I provide the main foundations for Haester’s material and
then me and the other guys work it all out into fully fledged songs.
Maarten: I
began my musical journey listening to the likes of Sepultura, Terror, Hatebreed
and so forth but in recent years I began digging into more experimental stuff
like Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Deftones. So given my own inspirations, I
add lyrics and vocals that fit my personal tastes and overall strengths as a
singer. And I admit that singing as a part of Haester has been my most
challenging act as of yet. It’s a multi-faceted sound that, like you said
earlier, requires an extensive vocal range.
BMS: And
all things considered, things are paying off! Last year you played at Antwerp
Metal Fest, one of Belgium’s major metal festivals! How did you make it to that
stage?
Maarten: We
have to thank our dear friend and booking agent Jan of RuffStuffMusic for that.
Right after we had finished working on our debut album “All Anchors, No Sails”
he emailed it over to the people at AMF and they invited us over to play there!
It was an incredible opportunity for us since we were looking for venues to
promote our then upcoming release. Playing at AMF was a fantastic experience, a
large and enthusiastic crowd and much hospitality from the staff.
Wannes:
Yeah, I still remember entering the stage and seeing all those people cheering
us! The AMF gig currently stands as our largest show as of yet and I hope that
we’ll be hitting that stage again in the near future!
BMS: I’m sure you will! So, you’re part of Dunk!Records, how did the collaboration go?
Maarten: Very
good! Back when we had wrapped up our aforementioned “All Anchors, No Sails” debut
release we sent it out to as many record labels we could think of and the folks
from Dunk!Records reacted very positively to our material. Wout Lievens from
Dunk! came over to see us play live and right after the gig he came over to
offer us a record deal. Not only that, but he also suggested to produce a vinyl
version of the album through his freshly established Dunk!Pressings plant! So
yeah, we quickly sealed the deal with him and now we’re proud members of the
Dunk! family. It’s such an indescribably good feeling to know that you have people
out there who enjoy your work just as much as you enjoy making it! And not just
to share that mutual love for the art but to also work together to further
bring this music to the masses! The Dunk! brand and the people and bands they’re
working together with all share that same sense of commitment, friendship and
trust.
Wannes: As
for me, I’ve been a loyal visitor of Dunk!Festival for many years now and like
Maarten said, the camaraderie that flows through all things Dunk! is just
incredible. We’ve been in contact with bands and people from all over the world
and the Dunk! brand keeps on growing without ever sacrificing their personal
integrity. And of course, to work with and play on a festival that you’ve loved
and supported for such a long time is a dream come true!
BMS: Sweet! Yeah, my personal connection with Dunk! is still in its early stages but I already like what I’m seeing and hearing here! So, what’s next up for Haester?
Maarten: Our
main focus is promote our freshly released album as much as possible, both in
Belgium and abroad. Last Monday we played in Antwerp Music City and I recall
that a couple of friends of mine came to see us and despite having little
interest in the genre of music that we play, they were impressed by the raw
energy that we were bringing out live on stage. All things considered, we’re
more motivated than ever to make our young project as successful as it can
possibly be!
Wannes: And
we’ll be working on our second album very soon. 2018 was an epic year for us
and we want to strike the iron while it’s hot!
BMS: That’s a true winner’s mentality right there! I also noticed that you used a couple of guest vocalists on your debut album, which were Sven De Caluwé from Aborted, Stefanie Mannaerts from Brutus and Brent Vanneste from Stake (formerly known as Steak Number Eight). How did that idea come up?
Wannes: That
idea came up when we were recording the song “So That We Could Live,” , which
is one of our most recent songs. It’s a slower and more melodic tune and I had
the feeling that this song could use some softer vocals to complement Maarten’s
style. We thought of Stefanie, contacted her and she immediately accepted to do
guest vocals and thanks to her, this song became a whole different and much
better beast! The same thing goes for both Sven and Brent, their unique vocal
styles gave their songs (“Bucephalas” and “Graves” respectively) a unique
personality.
BMS: Most impressive! Let’s see, what other things do you do aside from Haester?
Wannes: I
enjoy the little things in life such as going to a bar with friends, having a few
tasty drinks and relaxing.
Maarten: I
often do sports because I want to be in good shape when I’m on stage as
Haester’s frontman. Aside from that, I play as a reserve keeper for a local
football team and I coach a roller derby team. I like to do stuff that keeps me
physically and mentally engaged.
BMS: Great! So, is there anything else you wish to add?
Wannes:
Thank you for your time!
Maarten: We
hope to see you at our gig at Dunk!Festival this year! Or maybe earlier, we’re
looking forward to hear your thoughts about our live performances.
BMS: Don’t
worry, you’ll be seeing me again very soon. Now let’s have the lovely Elien
take a nice picture of us!
