-- When Plagues Collide gets shredded --
01/08/2019
Stijn Daneels
Interview written and conducted by Glenn “Terra Shredder” Van
Bockstaele with assistance from Anton De Prijck.
In November 2018 Belgian symphonic deathcore band When
Plagues Collide (from here on shortened to WPC) offered me to review their full-length
debut “Tutor Of The Dying” and I was overwhelmed
by their unlikely but impressive combination of vicious deathcore and symphonic
instrumentation (read my review here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/98). Those
orchestral elements aside, WPC’s sound is deathcore at its finest, in my honest
opinion that is! Saturday May 26, 2019, during the finals of the Wacken Metal
Battle Belgium in Zingem, I had the chance to interview them and talk about the
band’s origins, the making of the “Tutor Of The Dying” album as well as their
brand new single “Elizabeth.” (which I also reviewed here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/161)
BMS: Hello there! When did the plagues start colliding?
WPC: We began in 2016. Just like any other band out
there we wanted to make music and have fun, but we aimed to be more than that.
Our goal from day one was to combine heavy breakdowns inspired by Thy Art Is
Murder with the symphonic aspects from acts like Shadow Of Intent. In other
words, deathcore symphony or symphonic deathcore, whatever you wish to call it.
Point is that our experimental music is getting much more positive feedback
than we could’ve ever dreamt of. And we’ve been having fun all the way through!
BMS: I’ve
got to say that your album was awesome, I reviewed it and gave it a 85/100
because it blew me the hell away. After writing my initial review I listened to
it even more than I had listened to other bands at the time. But tell me, do
any of you guys perform in other bands?
WPC: We all have past band playing experiences but WPC
is and will remain our top musical priority! We’re growing both as musicians
and as friends.
BMS: I see.
It keeps you focused and motivated! Now, let’s talk songwriting. Is there
someone in the band who exclusively writes the lyrics and someone who writes all
the music or is the whole band involved?
WPC: Our vocalist Wouter writes all the lyrics and our
guitarist Santy writes most of the music.
BMS: Do the
other band members also contribute something to the writing process?
WPC: Yes, the main riff of “Marked For Destruction” was
written by Joris, our other guitarist. But most of the time it’s Santy who comes
up with an idea for a riff and most of the time the rest of the band agrees
with it and if they don’t they add in their own ideas until we reach a final,
satisfying result.
BMS: Do the
lyrics in the “Tutor Of The Dying” release follow a certain concept?
WPC: Yes, but it’s rather by coincidence. In the
beginning of the album’s songwriting we never thought it would’ve ended up being
a concept album. Although it doesn’t have to be about blood and gore all time,
it’s still fun to write darker themed lyrics since it fits perfectly with the
brutal deathcore style we play. Thy Art Is Murder’s socially and politically
fueled songs definitely served as a major inspiration for the themes in “Tutor
Of The Dying”. Eventually we came up with the line “Tutor Of The Dying.” It was
such a strong sentence that we thought this had to be the title of our album
and then we decided to write all of this album’s songs about the concept of
death, pain and suffering. All within contemporary themes. Now, we’re already
working on a successor but at the moment we’re not yet sure where we’ll be going
with the lyrics.
BMS: Will
you be maintaining the symphonic aspect in your future releases? Because
personally I love the mix of deathcore with the symphonic samples.
WPC: Sure thing! Both the deathcore beats and the
piano, violin and other symphonic samples have always been pivotal parts of
WPC’s music. However, we’re looking to having the orchestral parts performed live
instead of pre-recorded but that’s a long-term ambition.
BMS: Glad to
hear that! Now, aside from the epic songwriting I also wish to applaud the crystal
clear production on “Tutor Of The Dying.” Where did you produce this gem?
WPC: The album was produced in the Project Zero Studio
by Carnation’s bassist Yarne Heylen. It was great working with him and the
other staff at the studio. They know exactly what they are doing and they’ve
given us much feedback during the album’s production. It was a much better
experience compared to how our earlier EP “Shrine Of Hatred” was made. Back
then we were lacking the management experience, time and money and you can hear
that in its quality. After that EP’s release, we learned from our mistakes and
cranked up the recording budget and we knew that the Project Zero Studio was
the place to be!
BMS: Now,
one of the most unique tracks on “Tutor Of The Dying” was the Flemish spoken
monologue “Als Imperatieve Grootmacht.” Can you tell the readers and me something
about that?
WPC: That’s actually a very old song, conceived even
before we were writing for the “Shrine Of Hatred” EP. The now defunct symphonic
deathcore band Falanx (in which our vocalist Wouter and guitarist Joris used to
play in), had songs dedicated to Flemish poetry and the “Als Imperatieve
Grootmacht” song was originally written for that band. That track had very
strong lyrics and it suited perfectly with the themes in “Tutor Of The Dying”
and so we turned it into a fully fledged WPC song while keeping the original
lyrics.
BMS: Now
let’s discuss the artwork of “Tutor Of The Dyning.” Who designed it?
WPC: It was made by Hans Trasid from Disart Design.
When it comes to artwork we’re very difficult to find a mutual agreement with
each other. During our early years we just went looking for some artwork that
already existed and decided whether it suited with the lyrics and then we took
that. But since “Tutor Of The Dying” was such a huge upgrade from our previous
release we finally wanted to have something created for ourselves. And we’re
very satisfied with Hans’s work, so much so that he’ll be doing the artwork for
our new “Elizabeth” single as well! Also special thanks to our dear friend Bram
Bruyneel who did some spontaneous drawing for us which we found to be so
beautiful that we’ll be using it for some upcoming merchandise.
BMS: Tonight
you unveiled that new “Elisabeth” single you just talked about. Live on stage
during tonight’s Metal Battle, nonetheless!
WPC: Indeed! Originally we were planning to wait until
the single’s official release but the Metal Battle organization wanted all
participating bands to perform a different set compared to the semi-finals. So
that’s why we offered the audience this little treat. Did you like it?
BMS: Yeah! I
certainly did, even more than your material on the “Tutor Of The Dying” album
if I were to be perfectly honest. It’s just that bit more orchestral and
hard-hitting!
WPC: Thank you for those kind words!
BMS: So, tell
us something about your upcoming concerts.
WPC: In August we’re heading to Italy to play at the
WE ARE DEATHCORE festival in Milan. We’ve also got an upcoming gig in
Manchester and we’ll be playing the Belgian leg of the upcoming Tech Trek
Europe tour headlined by Archspire!
BMS: All
right, that’s all I wished to ask. Thank you for this engaging interview.
WPC: You’re welcome. Send our regards to the rest of the
Metal Shredder crew!
