The Guilt
Parade’s latest album ‘Silver Leech’ is a true barnstormer,
described in my Sludgelord’s review as ‘is a mauling, churning
force of nature’. I was very lucky indeed to get to interview
these fine Netherlands warriors, and here is the result.
Q1:
Hello Guilt Parade. How are you today?
Hello Sludgelord, I’m doing very great today, thank you! And how are you?
Q2:
Would you mind telling the Sludgelord a bit about yourselves: how old
are you guys, where you’re from?
We all live in a small village in Holland called Lottum. The youngest member is 23 years old, and the oldest ones are in their 30s.
Q3:
How did you guys meet up and become The Guilt Parade?
When Roel (guitar) and my (Wouter, vocals) band Charlie*Adler stopped in 2009 we decided to form a new band. We heard Pascal (guitar) and Koen (bass) are also planning a new band… so we decided to combine our powers and start The Guilt Parade. After a few rehearsals with a friend on drums we decided to part ways and meet up with Ruud (drums) who was also looking for a metal band at that time.
Q4:
Where did the band name come from?
Brainstorming on a lot of cool song titles from our favourite bands, The Guilt Parade came from Cursed.
Q5:
Could you tell us a little bit about the metal scene in the
Netherlands?
In our area there is a little scene with cool bands like Acid Deathtrip, Inhume, Collision, Maniac Forces, Remorse etc. But playing in our area is hard, because there are not so much metal fans who like to come out of their shell to check out some cool bands.
Q6:
What bands inspired you while growing up, and what bands inspire you
now?
When I was a teenager I used to listen to a lot of 90’s metal and hardcore like Machine Head, Sepultura, Fear Factory, Pantera, Slayer (ok, 80s too haha), Sheer Terror, Madball etc. I also loved lots of hardrock: Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, Aerosmith etc. When I growed older I was more inspired by extreme death metal and grindcore bands like Extreme Noise Terror, Napalm Death, Gorerotted, At The Gates, Morbid Angel etc. At the moment some of my favourite bands are still the golden oldies I mentioned before plus lots of bands like Cephalic Carnage, Rotten Sound, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Faith No More, Alice In Chains, Airbourne, Florence And The Machine, Blood Duster, Nails, Converge, Misery Index… I could go on for hours!
Q7:
Are you full-time musicians now, or do you still have jobs?
We do The Guilt Parade and our other bands as a hobby, all the bandmembers have fulltime jobs.
Q8:
For those unfamiliar with the band, how would you describe your
sound?
Someone described our sound as a mix between Hatebreed, Slayer and Napalm Death… that was a real compliment for me! We use lots of elements from Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore and Grindcore.
Q9:
I reviewed your album ‘Silver Leech’ and I think it’s a
brilliant record. Have you been surprised with what reviewers have
been saying about it?
Yes, I was thinking lots of people who will review the album were just thinking we are just a mediocre band with an ‘good’ album. Don’t get me wrong, I love our album… but I didn’t expect all these great reviews hehe.
Q10:
If you had to pick one track from the album that people should
definitely listen to, which would it be and why?
‘Silver Leech’, it got all of the elements from our style: blastbeats, breakdowns, thrash riffs and a nice sing-a-long. Also the party song ‘The Boy Of Ash And Cigarettes’ is a band favourite!
Q11:
Is there a principle songwriter in the band, or do you all contribute
to the process?
Normally Pascal (guitar) comes with a lot of cool guitar riffs. We will work them out in the rehearsal room where all the members contribute to the songs.
Q12:
What were the first guitar/bass/drums you owned, and do you still
have them now?
I’m the singer haha. I got a bass guitar: I tried playing bass but it was horrible!
Q13:
Do you use a lot of social media/blogging sites to help spread the
word?
We started with Myspace, but turned over to Facebook and Twitter. We also have a lot of social media profiles.
Q14:
What venues have been your favourite to play?
I loved playing Barracuda in Hilversum (NL), a small café with enthusiast crowd. Also shows at Azijnfabriek, Blok 10, Little Devil etc. were really nice.
Q15:
Where would you guys like to play next?
Download, Graspop, Lowlands and so on haha. No, I would love to play more outside our small country.
Q16:
Where do you guys see yourselves in 10 years’ time?
I’m not thinking about that, I’m not sure if I’m still a member of The Guilt Parade or any other bands at that age… but who knows! Time will tell.
Q17:What
bands have you really enjoyed playing live with?
Peelander-Z! Crazy Japanese guys haha.
Q18:
What do you love and hate about being in a band?
I love playing shows and party with my band members. I hate sound checking in a packed venue.
Q19:
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about the music
industry?
CD’s don’t sell anymore, go online for free with your album.
Q20:
Finally, do you have any shout-outs you’d like to mention or
anything extra to say to your fans?
Check www.theguiltparade.com and download our album for FREE! Thank you for this interview and stay cool! Cheers!
Written by Chris Markwell
Thanks to The Guilt Parade for doing this interview. Very much appreciated. Thanks guys.
