-- Evil Invaders get shredded again! --
29/01/2020
Stijn Daneels
Interview written and conducted by Stijn
“Metal Shredder” Daneels.
Late 2015, when Belgian Metal Shredder was
in its infancy, I had the chance to get then up-and-coming Belgian speed metal
freaks Evil Invaders (read that vintage shred here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/interviews/32).
Since then, I saw the Invaders perform on a yearly basis and during Evil Or Die
Fest 2019 (October 19, 2019) I decided to meet up again with Joe & Joeri to
personally hear from them how things have evolved in those past 4 years.
During my second shred with Evil Invaders
we talked about the band’s 4-year evolution, the motivation behind the “Surge
of Insanity” live DVD, their epic gig at Wacken 2018 and they offer a lot of
honest and inspiring advice for young, aspiring metal musicians.
BMS: Hello fellas, it’s been 4 years now since I’ve last shredded you and I must say that you’ve gone through a very positive evolution, not just musically but also visually. You’ve added many new stage props and very effective stage lightning.
Joe: Thank you for those kind words.
Indeed, we’ve thought long and hard on how we would bring everything to the
next level. First off, all our props are custom built to use exclusively during
our shows. We believe that those show elements are just as essential a part of
Evil Invaders’ identity as the music itself and we wanted our visual elements
to be as authentic and unique as possible. All material we use is self-made and
can’t be bought in stores.
Joeri: Yes and overall it’s cheaper to have
your stuff custom built rather than to buy it in a shop. Nowadays many bands
use pyrotechnics, smoke screens, projectors, etc. but we wanted to have people
recognize us not just through our songs but through our stage presentation as
well. That’s why we’ve constructed those microphone stands with the blades and
our logo on it. In the future we want to further expand on that presentation,
making everything more unique.
Joe: Rammstein’s stage presentation serves
as a great example. When you see one of their shows you can see that everything
they use, from the costumes and Flake’s treadmill to Till’s fire wings, it’s
all built exclusively for the band.
BMS: Very interesting! So, what else changed in those past 4 years?
Joe: We’ve now got a larger crew, since we
obviously need people who control the stuff we put on stage. We’ve also
upgraded our sound, we all play my custom-built J-AXE guitars and are endorsed
by Invaders Amps, AMT electronics, Pearl drums and D'addario strings. We sound
clearer than ever before. In addition, we’re also very conscious about how we
spend the money we earn with our gigs, we always aimed to reinvest the revenue
to the band and to our show rather than just putting it in our own pockets. We
like to give a proper show to the promoters who book us and especially to the
fans we keep on supporting us!
BMS: Tell me something about the “Surge of Insanity” live album.
Joe: With this live DVD, we wanted to
record a quintessential Evil Invaders performance. In other words, we didn’t
add any unique effects or theatrics to that particular concert, we wanted this
gig to represent the band as it truly is in a live setting so that people have
an accurate idea of how a typical Evil Invaders gig looks and sounds like.
Joeri: Yeah and things went very smoothly
that day. We’ve had our fair share of technical difficulties over the years but
during that particular gig we didn’t have any on stage issues.
Joe: Most of our troubles actually happened
during post-production, because after watching the footage we found the images
to be a bit too dark and some stage props were a bit too much behind us. Yeah,
we’re pretty perfectionist, we always look at everything with a very critical
eye.
BMS: That’s a great mentality. Tell me, are you also going to release “Surge of Insanity” on VHS as well, just like you did with the “Live in Biebob” video in 2015?
Joe: Ha ha ha! No, we won’t put it out on
VHS. Back then, more and more people were begging us for a live DVD and then we
decided to troll everyone with that “Live in Biebob” videocassette. A pretty
expensive joke, I do have to admit. But now with “Surge of Insanity” we really
wanted to give our fans a long-waited and well-deserved treat.
BMS: So, what are your plans for 2020?
Joe: We’ll be doing a headline European
tour with Spanish thrashers Angelus Apatrida and our buddies from
Schizophrenia. That tour will serve as the final part of the “Feed Me Violence”
chapter (our 2nd studio album, FYI).
Joeri: And we’re also working on new
material.
BMS: I’m already looking forward to that! Now, in 2018 you’ve played at Wacken Open Air, how did that gig go?
Joe: It was an amazing time, the field at
the Wasteland stage was packed. It was awesome to play during that hot summer
evening, with the sun gradually descending and the flames on stage soaring
through the skies and the people going absolutely apeshit!
Joeri: It certainly was one of the
memorable festival gigs we’ve done thus far.
BMS: Personally I was very proud that several Belgian bands played at Wacken 2018. Diablo Blvd, Spoil Engine, our WOA Metal Battle contestants Behind Bars and of course you guys!
Joe: The pleasure is all ours!
BMS: Now, here’s a question I also asked during our first encounter but since you’ve now grown so much compared to 4 years ago I want to ask it again. What advice could you give to other young, aspiring musicians?
Joe: Generally speaking, I’d suggest taking
your time to create a proper vision for your band. What sound do you want to play?
How do you want to visually represent yourselves as a band? What name do you
want? Also, make sure to frequently rehearse and discuss with each other to
make sure all noses point in the same direction in terms of musical creativity,
visual presentation, overall ambition, etc.
Joe: Consistent hard work is also extremely
important. One day you may be performing in front of 1000 people and another
day it’s just 100 or even less. Sometimes you may have a poor PA, lack of sleep
or forget to put this or that prop on stage. Don’t let any of that crap
demotivate you! It’s important that you stay level-headed and that you, as a
band, always give your absolute best, no matter the circumstances! There’s
always a chance to make new fans or build new connections, so never let your
work rate or your fans down.
Joeri: When you start out, don’t make too
high demands. Remember that in the beginning, you still have everything to
prove. In your band’s early stages it’s especially important to play as many
gigs as you can, no matter how little the venue is willing to pay you or how
small the stage or crowd is. As I said earlier, nobody has heard of you yet and
you haven’t got anything recorded thus far, so the only way to build a solid
fan base early on is to come out and play! Afterwards, once you’ve got some
solid material recorded, obtained a record deal and built some reputation, then
you can be more selective of which events you’ll be performing.
Joe:
As a metal band it might be harder to reach a big amount of people compared
to mainstream bands that get loads of airplay but we do have the advantage that
a typical metal fan base remains very loyal to their bands, even if those bands
haven’t performed or recorded anything new in many years. Building a metal fan
base is a slow but rewarding process if you keep on working on it.
Joeri: Also always keep your feet on the
ground and remain humble. Many starting bands believe that one gig at a major
festival like Graspop is enough to make it big but that’s not true. Playing on
a prestigious festival is just another step in your musical career and you need
to keep going. Stay hungry, stay foolish!
Joe: Communication among your band
colleagues is also vital. Be sure to frequently both compliment and criticize
each other and don’t let any personal grievances get out of hand. Sometimes we
also get on each other’s nerves but we always tend to deal with it before
things get too nasty. Remember, when you’re on tour you’ll be spending a lot of
time with the same people and eventually everyone’s best and worst sides will
come out. So be able to talk, console and forgive each other.
BMS: I must say this has been another inspiring shred for me and everyone else who’s reading this. So, you got anything else you wish to add before we wrap this up?
Joe: It was great talking to you! Be sure
to remain in touch with us!
Joeri: And be sure to meet up with us on
the road!
