BMS: Hey there, guys! A year has passed since you released the EP Hell in Paradise. What have you been doing for these past twelve months?

Jeffrey: It has been a rough year for us. We had to fire Lucas Baten from the band, he was our rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist at the time. I used to be the Organised Chaos’ bass player and after a few band meetings, we decided that I would change to rhythm guitar and backing vocals in order to replace Lucas. Then we went looking for a new bassist and we recruited Jonathan.

BMS: Tell me, Jonathan, how did you join Organised Chaos?

Jonathan: I have been close friends with the other guys of the band for a long time. We usually go to gigs and bars together on weekends. When they told me that they were firing Lucas from the band, they offered me to play bass for Organised Chaos. I immediately accepted but I also said to Lucas that I was going to join Organised Chaos since he’s a friend of mine as well. Before joining the group as the bass player I used to work for them as the primary merchandise seller. Quite a promotion, right?

Organised Chaos’ current lineup. From left to right: Jonathan Petit (bass), Jeffrey Van Den Bossche (guitar), Mathias Van Den Bussche (drums), Jean de Coster (vocals), Bizon (guitar).

BMS: It sure is! Now your turn for a question, Bizon. How did you get your nickname? Do you always play as M. Bison in Street Fighter or something?

Bizon: That’s a very long and interesting story. You want me to tell you all about it?

BMS: OF COURSE!

Bizon: When we started Organised Chaos, the band members thought of a clever, cool sounding nickname for me and Bizon was the first name they came up with!

BMS: And that’s it?

Bizon: That’s it, baby!

BMS: Groovy! Now, I read on your band’s Facebook page that you call your band’s style Microwave of Belgian Heavy Metal. Does that mean I can warm up my lasagna when your music is bursting through the speakers?

Jeffrey: You can always try warming up that tasty lasagna when our music is playing. It may warm up a bit and if not, we may need to get ourselves a new amplifier. Ok, now for a serious response, we actually combine a lot of metal subgenres together. And so to avoid the trouble of describing our style using an existing metal subgenre, we decided to call our music Microwave of Belgian Heavy Metal. We came up with that name just for a good laugh.

BMS: Why not, actually. The next Belgian band may call their genre Frying Pan or Bain Marie of Belgian Heavy Metal or whatever kitchen instrument they can think of! Now something else, do you guys have any individual preparations before you start your gig? Like eating spaghetti or reading Playboy Magazine?

Jeffrey: Before every gig I take at least four big dumps down to toilet!

BMS: But who’s going to pay for all that toilet paper?

Jeffery: The gig’s personnel, I guess. At least I’m giving the local toilet paper industry plenty of employment.
Jean: I like to sleep a lot the night (and day) before I play with Organised Chaos. That gives my voice enough rest. And I also like to drink some tea before playing. No alcohol, I only drink adult beverages after the gig is finished.

Mathias: I myself do enjoy gulping a few beers before playing.
Jonathan: Shortly before we start our gig, we like to spend some time backstage rehearsing without amplifiers. The day before a concert I prefer to give the EP another spin so I can refresh my lines.

Bizon: Let’s say that I love to spend some time with myself before playing (winks).

BMS: I get the message (and so does every other adult male reading this). Now, what are your other individual activities aside from playing with Organised Chaos?

Jean: I’m a teacher in French and English. But I decided to try something else and am trying out for a desk job at the moment.
Jonathan: I work at Volvo Cars in Ghent.

Bizon: I work in a chocolate factory. My main job is to put all the chocolates together in a box and put all those boxes on top of each other. 
Mathias: I own a music store in Ninove called Music Street. I sell music instruments and other accessories.
Jeffrey: I’m a painter.

BMS: That’s nice! I’d love to see some of your work.

Jeffrey: Oh, it’s just some random paint smacked against a wall. Nothing to be excited about.

BMS: What’s your favorite individual Organised Chaos song to play on stage?

Jeffrey: I love playing our latest track, Hell in Paradise. Which, for the record, does not appear on the EP of the same name.
Mathias: Me too. I love to play the songs which we have written with our current lineup.
Bizon: I also love playing the song Hell in Paradise.

Jonathan: I actually prefer to play Winterslave. A song that does appear on the Hell in Paradise EP.
Jean: My personal favorite pick goes to our two most recent tracks, the Hunt and Hell in Paradise itself.

BMS: I see that most of you love to play Hell in Paradise. Is it because that track gives the audience a better idea of your playing style?

Jeffrey: Hell in Paradise is one of the final tracks we play during a gig. By the time we reached that song both we and the audience are fully pumped up thus making it a much more fun song to play.

BMS: Tell me something about Organised Chaos’ plans for the future.

Jeffrey: We’re working hard on writing new songs. Our main priority is to get enough good stuff together for a new CD. That’s the main reason why we won’t be playing any gigs for a while.

BMS: One thing I noticed while I was watching you play is that there already was quite a crowd filling up behind and around me despite you guys being the first band on the roster. Did you expect that many people to show up so early?

Jonathan: Actually, no. We thought there would’ve been something like twenty or thirty people but then we saw that there were at least twice as many people attending our concert.
Jeffrey: Before the Black Out Bash doors opened, Angel Witch (who were the final band for the festival) were busy rehearsing for their show. They finished about fifteen minutes too late, so that gave us the chance to start later and the audience had some additional time to arrive here for our show.

BMS: Have you guys attended one of the earlier editions of Black Out Bash? And if so, who were your favorite bands?

Jeffrey: Me and the other guys have been attending Black Out Bash since it began two years ago. My personal favorite band was Hyades, who performed here two years ago and who’ll also be playing today.
Mathias: For me, certainly Angelus Apatrida, who played here last year.
Bizon: Angelus Apatrida for me too. They were awesome!

Jonathan: For me Xentrix and Hyades from last year and two years ago respectively. Truly epic performers!
Jean: I used to listen a lot to alternative metal and nu-metal. Since joining Organised Chaos, I’ve been discovering the true side of heavy metal and it’s so much fun.

BMS: Me too. There’s a lot of great metal stuff out there. I myself attended last year’s Black-Out Bash with virtually no knowledge of the bands that would be playing there expect for a few tracks from Xentrix. But all those bands truly blew me away!

Jonathan: Hey Stijn, I’ve got a question for you!

BMS: Go ahead!

Jonathan: What do YOU think of our gig?

BMS: It was very enjoyable. I’ve listened to some videos on your official YouTube channel and I was excited to see you. You didn’t disappoint and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only guy in the crowd who thinks that.

BMS: Is there anything else you wish to add to the conversation?

Jeffrey: I’m genuinely pleased that guys like you dedicate themselves to promoting Belgian metal. There’s a lot of great Belgian metal out there and the more people know about it, the better! So keep up the good work!
Matthias: I’ve got nothing more to add.
Jonathan: Me neither, thanks for the interview!

Jean: I’ve told you everything I wanted to.
Bizon: … (makes a fish bubbling sound)

BMS: What the hell is that supposed to be, Bizon? A goldfish?

Bizon: Nothing. But I had to say something.

BMS: Damn right! Great. Thanks for this interesting chat, guys. See you soon!