Ctrl Alt Music recently had the pleasure of chatting with the silly masterminds behind Gnome, one of our more recent international Belgian exports. We took a deep dive into their latest release, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome, uncovering not only fun insights into the album but also some wild tour stories—including the time they met with none other than Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Tool’s roadies!
Meet Gnome: Band, Hats, and All
Stefan: “Let’s kick things off with the basics—who are you, what do you do, and how do you do it?”
Rutger (Lead Singer & Guitarist): “We’re Gnome! We make stupid music…” (laughs) “We’re a three-piece rock band from Antwerp playing somewhere between metal and rock. Some folks like dissecting sub-genres, but for us, it’s stoner, rockish metal. Oh, and we perform in gnome hats!”
Marie-Laure: “Where did the gnome hats come from?”
Rutger: “We started as Sleepless Titan, but our first songs didn’t fit such a serious name. That’s when Egon, our drummer, suggested we go with Gnome—because gnomes are both badass and silly, like us! We leaned into it and decided to wear the hats on stage and in our videos.”
Egon (Drummer): “The hats make everyone feel at ease. If we look ridiculous, it’s easier for people to just have fun.”
Rutger: “Accidentally, it was genius for merch too! Selling the hats at our booth has been huge—no other band does that! When you see people at festivals in gnome hats, you know they’re here for us.”
Geoffrey (Bassist & Backing Vocalist): “It reflects who we are. Metal isn’t always about heavy or sad themes. Metalheads drink beers and have fun too! We embrace that side—we’re all nerds who love fantasy anyway!”
Egon: “Especially in the UK, where fans come to shows in full gnome costumes, pointy shoes and all! During Masters of the Riff, someone made 50 hats and handed them to the crowd!”
Rutger: “That was actually the partner of the festival organizer!”
Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome: The Aftermath
Stefan: “Your latest album, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome, has been out for a few months now. How’s that going?”
Rutger: “You say it better than we do” (laughs) “It feels like yesterday, but it’s been out for 3 months now!”
Egon: “The response has been amazing. The colored vinyls on our label’s webshop sold out in 30 minutes, and our stock is almost gone too. We’re planning another pressing soon!”
Rutger: “Sales are good, people are buying our stuff! We gained traction with our previous album, King, and especially our videos—‘Wenceslas’ (2.8M views) and ‘Ambrosius’ (1,6M views)—that blew up on YouTube. That opened so many doors for us. For this album, we’ve made three videos for the new album so far, though they didn’t go as viral like before”
Egon: “We’re taking a few months off from shows now, though next year we have some cool festivals lined up. Stay tuned!”
Geoffrey: “It’s also a chance to spend time with my kid.”
(Context: Gnome had to cancel a show at DesertFest Antwerp earlier this year due to Geoffrey’s wife going into labor just as they were supposed to start their set. In exchange, the festival gave everyone free beer for the set length)
Behind the Scenes: Writing, Laughs, and Choirs
Stefan: “Any fun facts about the album or tour stories?”
Geoffrey: “The silly ‘Old Soul Reprise’? That’s only 20 seconds, but we laughed so hard making it. The producer, Wayne Adams, suggested emphasizing Rutger’s ‘old soul’ with a childlike, kindergarten melody, and we went completely over the top!”
Stefan: “What’s your writing process like?”
Rutger: “I write most of the music—a mix of random riffs and ideas I jot down. Sometimes I wake up with a riff I dreamt about or hum something into my phone while driving. Later, I build a demo in Reaper or GarageBand. Then we take it into the rehearsal room and get to work!”
Egon: “We don’t overthink it. If it works, we go with it!”
Rutger: “It’s quicker when one person leads. In our old band, Ivory for Elephants, writing was collaborative, but it diluted everyone’s ideas, songs that nobody was really actually looking forward to. I lay the foundation, and these guys add the sauce.”
Geoffrey: “Like the sax solo on ‘The Ogre’ or the mariachi parts on ‘Golden Fool‘!”
Rutger: “For the final track, ‘John Frum’, it has a very epic vibe with the choir. Since my wife used to sing in a choir, we thought, why not feature the choir in the song? Unfortunately, we couldn’t bring all 10 singers with us to London for the album recording. So instead, we recorded the choir separately beforehand and gave them their own dedicated section in the track. We figured if it didn’t blend well, we could always leave it out, but it ended up working perfectly—so we kept it!”
Inspirations and Fun
Stefan: “So you’re really drawing inspiration from all over the place, from Jazz to Choir, but do you have any inspirations from outside of music?”
Rutger: “Fantasy! The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss inspired ‘Stint Thy Clep’, while John Abercrombie’s Before They Are Hanged influenced ‘Back to the Mud.’ ‘Golden Fool’ references Robin Hobb, and ‘Ambrosius’ is from the movie Labyrinth. Lots of nerdy stuff!”
Egon: “Not all our songs are about fantasy or gnomes, though. The hats are just a fun bonus. We’re not trying to be the next Wind Rose.”
Beer, Weed, and Rock ‘n’ Roll
Stefan: “Since we’re at a brewery, are you into beer? What do you usually drink?”
All three: “Absolutely!”
Geoffrey: “Orval!”
Rutger: “I’m a classic Flemish guy—Duvel and Tripels. I’m not really into dark beers though, because I get diarrhea very easily…”
Egon: “I love darker beers, like Patrache from Antwerp, and of course, the Belgian classics.”
Geoffrey: “We also love trying local brews when we travel!”
Rutger: “Touring Germany was fine, but their beer never wowed me. The U.S., though—so many microbreweries! Way better than we expected.”
Stefan: “What about the ‘devil’s lettuce’?”
Geoffrey: (laughs) “Kentucky’s Louder Than Life—someone handed Egon a joint, and I ended up too high to enjoy Tool’s set. First time seeing them live, and I just sat on the ground, completely tired!”
Rutger: “That festival was stressful—visas, last-minute gear—but we pulled through. Even if we weren’t perfect, the crowd loved it.”
Geoffrey: “And there was free Whiskey backstage since we’re in Kentucky! We actually got to sit backstage with the engineers and techs for Tool and Dave Mustaine from Megadeth but I was too stoned to talk.” (laughs
What’s Next for Gnome?
Stefan: “Any spicy news before you hit the stage?”
Rutger: “No new album soon—those take time. But we’d love to make more videos for Vestiges! Also, Geoffrey’s a dad now, so we’re figuring things out. We could maybe do a little baby gnome and put a hat on him, he’s already in our debt for our DesertFest show!” (laughs)