-- TurboWarrior Of Steel gets shredded --

07/07/2016
Stijn Daneels
Ah, TurboWarrior of Steel! I was really looking forward to seeing them perform at Paul’s Metal Fest (August 1, 2015) in Kortrijk. Several friends of mine already knew the band and were very fond of their work. And judging by some pictures and videos I had seen beforehand, I expected an intense, beer-spilling mosh-thrashing party and it fucking was!

And so, shortly after the event had ended, the guys from TurboWarrior of Steel (now referred to as TWOS) invited me to join them in their tour bus for a turbocharged conversation! Featuring naked chicks, goatskin socks and of course booze! Have fun, folks!

BMS: Tell me, guys, how is it to live your lives in constant turbo mode? I hope you don’t get fined too many times for speeding!
Jonas: You’ve made a good point there, man! But seriously, we do live our lives in a sort of ‘Turbo-mode’. It's not just with the music but it goes much further, it defines our lifestyle. For us, turbo means living out loud and wild partying, intensely enjoying all the good things of life.
BMS: Yeah, like all those pictures of naked babes on Jorg’s drumkit!
Gianni: Oh, we don’t know anything about that. Ask Jorg about that!
Jorg: It’s just a simple matter of esthetics! What’s more beautiful than a lady wearing nothing but a smile?!
BMS: So how did you guys get started?
Jonas: My brother Jorg and I started jamming together some years ago. We had been playing in several bands of our own before, but being brothers and having the same musical influences and backgrounds makes it very natural and productive to write songs together. As you grow as a band, your songs get better. We feel we have a solid base now but still, there is room for progress and we are working hard on new material.
Jorg: In fact, TWOS only truly began to get its signature Turbothrash-style and (se)X-factor after Gianni had joined in two years ago. He’s our brother from another mother!

BMS: You’ve heard them, Gianni. Time for you to spill the beans about your main contribution to the band!
Gianni: My contribution? I’m just drinking beer and everything gets started from there! I actually have been a fan of TWOS since the beginning. I saw them live with their original line-up. One day, the band asked me if I wanted to join the band as a bass player. I couldn’t believe my eyes, told my mommy about it and auditioned for the band right away!


The TWOS line-up from left to right: Gianni Vuylsteker (bass), Jonas Vandamme (lead vocals, guitars), Jorg Vandamme (drums).
BMS: Awesome story! It has been 5 months now since you released Turbothrash. How do you look back at the production of your debut EP?
Gianni: It has been a crazy ride these last few months. The release of our EP was a great mental boost for us. We are reaching out to more and more fans and received very positive feedback, it means so much to us!
Jonas: Having said that, it was no walk in the park to produce the EP. Just before we entered the studio Wannes, our previous singer, had to quit the band and we were left as a threesome. Since we did not want to waste any time, we decided that I’d take my chances with the lead vocals, as I already did some backing vocals before.
Jorg: Which immediately turned out to be the right choice! Gianni and I couldn't believe our ears when we first heard Jonas’ recordings. It was spot-on, bull’s eye. Powerful, rough and very versatile.

Gianni: All the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. We now clearly know what we want to play and how we’ll play it and we’ll never let that go. We also see by the reactions from both longtime fans and newcomers alike that they dig our stuff!
BMS: I certainly noticed that during the show tonight. The place was packed and the mosh pits were fast and destructive!
Jonas: Tonight’s show was one of the craziest shows we’ve done so far. There were about two or three hundred people present. It’s such a huge achievement for us to play in front of that many people. Not only that, but pretty much everyone jumped inside the mosh pit and went fucking wild!
BMS: Where do you get ideas for songs like Polonaise Pit?
Jorg: That’s pretty simple. When we go out, whether to perform or to see other bands, we get in all kinds of crazy shit! I break my nose, Gianni gets drunk and gets laid with two black women…
BMS: (now things get interesting!) Whoah, Gianni. Was it fun?
Gianni: Ah I can’t remember this one, but yeah, I guess it was fun.
Jorg: You know, a lot of bands sing about dark, depressive stuff. War, death, pestilence, the failing economy etc. We don’t like such things. We love to sing about the bright side of life. We love to party and we mean that!
BMS: I see, we should read your lyrics as a diary. Well that makes it even more awesome! What are your other individual activities aside from playing with TWOS?
Jorg: Nothing special. Just drinking beer and visiting other gigs. I also play squash every Tuesday with my two daughters, Annabel and Jessica. Oh scrap that, I’ve just been bullshitting you there.
Jonas: Well, TWOS takes a lot of time and dedication from all three of us. Most of our time goes to supporting TWOS and other bands. Aside from that, I breed goats and make socks out of their fur.
Gianni: I spend my time going out and drinking beer. Having fun is the main thing in my life besides TWOS.
BMS: What are your plans for the very near future?
Gianni: Well, since we have now “conquered” West-Flanders, we are setting our sights at playing gigs in the other Belgian provinces. We are also working on new tracks which will be even catchier than those featured on Turbothrash. At the end of this summer, we are going to tour with bands like Distillator and Hitten and we're also going to play shows in Switzerland.

Jonas: It takes a lot of hard work to make yourself known as a band. We are doing well in West-Flanders and now we’re setting our sights on the other parts of Belgium. Playing outside of Belgium is something of an extra for us but we understand that nowadays you can’t just play everywhere you want to right from the start. You have to build up your reputation and repertoire, but we have a great time doing it.
BMS: I heard that you helped organize tonight’s event? What was your part in making Paul's Metal Fest come to life?
Jorg: One night, when I was drunk as fuck, I started chatting with one of the guys from the Swiss heavy metal band Mind Patrol. I said to him that I could arrange a gig or two in some cool venues here in Belgium. He agreed and then I passed the idea on to Frederik from the Kortrijk youth bar Den Ast, where tonight’s event took place. Originally only TWOS and Mind Patrol were on the roster but we quickly added several other bands to the list and so the first edition of Paul’s Metal Fest was born!

Jonas: It has been an awesome night for every band that performed here! It also gives us a chance to show our support to those guys.


And showing their support they did, backed up by the folks from Mind Patrol.
BMS: Well, that’s pretty much everything I wanted to ask. I’m very grateful that I was here. Is there anything else you fellas want to add for the fans? I’ll start with you, Jonas, since Jorg is couching his god damn lungs out!
Jonas: First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone who attended Paul’s Metal Fest tonight! People travelled miles for the event, even coming from the other side of the country to see us play! Then they buy our merchandise and CDs, giving us plenty of support.

Gianni: I also want to thank everyone who supports us. For me, they’re not just our fans, but our friends. All the people who showed up in front of the stage and joined the Polonaise Pit, I’m very grateful for all those crazy motherfuckers!

Jorg (finally stopped couching): We’re already looking forward to our next concerts. In addition we’ll be back in the studio soon to start recording our next album, since the Turbotrash EP is almost sold-out. We’re also working on a DVD, showing people who we are and the things we do behind the scenes. In other words, we’re always busy and this won’t be the last thing you’ve heard from us! So stay tuned!
BMS: Glad to hear that. I’m looking forward to seeing you guys again! Thanks for this turbo interview!

TurboWarrior Of Steel - Polonaise Pit