After flipping the Hellhole (live report here), we sat down in very good company. Accompanied by some members of Echoes Of Nihil, Ice Sealed Eyes or Through The Void, we had the opportunity to discuss about the future of these young projects from the underground scene… not for long !
You are three bands who know each other well, will you be able to give a quality to the other two bands?
TTV: Echoes Of Nihil have found a real homogeneity in their sound with this 90’s roots and more modern ones. Whereas Ice Sealed Eyes is pure modernity With Noé on vocals who works very hard, it fits and there is a real atmosphere. Everything matches and that’s never too much.
ISE: Through The Void has a unifying effect to reach out to the public…There is always a crazy atmosphere, and the fans are always together in the pit. For Echoes Of Nihil, the vocal performances of Romain are quite incredible. The vocals are a real highlight of the band and we even saw him at the soundcheck, to see him so comfortable with his voice is impressive.
EON: With TTV we’ve been friends for a long time, we’re like brothers, they manage to put a lot of rage in their set. For ISE, it’s the second time we’ve met and it’s also very hard hitting. They are good musicians and the show is tight.
Let’s reverse the question after this moment of euphoria, what is the point of improvement for the projects you have seen tonight ?
EON: The clean singing in TTV can be improved, he knows that and we’ve talked about it.
TTV: For Echoes, the rhythmic part could be tighter. There’s real progress with the new drummer and that’s crazy after 5 months but the work put in is progressing. For ISE, it’s more about interaction with the audience. Noé talks a lot more with people and that’s good to see.
ISE: All these reflections are constructive and it’s really nice. We think for both groups that the sound could be improved. Maybe doing a big residency or having a dedicated sound engineer to define a sound identity, that’s for everyone and it’s something we work on a lot.
You all come from the same cocoon to some extent. What is your opinion on the current scene ?
TTV: The Walloon scene is very difficult to access. When you think about Charleroi, especially Liege, we really had to fight to get a gig or not and I don’t know why… It was easier to play in Antwerp and Amsterdam than in Liege for example.
ISE: For us it is rather the opposite. We all start in youth centres, we meet each other and as time goes by we quickly get to know the Walloon underground scene, which makes you want to go higher but the highest is Flanders or even Brussels for some scenes. There is a real difference between Flanders and Wallonia…
EON: It’s all happening there in fact.
TTV: I think that the public does not have the same references already. The Flemish are eager for new things, while the Walloons are rather stuck on their references. We have a big generation of metalheads who are not very open to the new generation.
EON: They make it work and people really support it.
Let’s move on to everyone’s news, starting with TTV ? What’s new for you ?
TTV: We’re going back to the studio in May and a few gigs but that’s all I can say… We’re going to fight to get to Wacken on April 8th right here with our friends from Echoes.
EON: We’re due back in the studio in April with a planned late summer release and the single you heard tonight and a few gigs in Brussels before the studio to stay in shape.
ISE: For us, we’re releasing a single in the next few weeks (congrats). And it’s the first song we’re not doing totally self-produced anymore. We have evolved in musicality and it will be accompanied by a video shot by our collaborator James. We’ve taken this song seriously and we’ve built something. We are trying to build an image and make our project sustainable. A lot of things are going to happen up to a new EP…
Ice Sealed Eyes was included in the Court-Circuit programme, did it change the band ?
ISE: As a metal band it feels good. We thought we were going to go further than our final result, but it was a great opportunity and we got to play with some great bands. It was very weird to play in talent shows that mixed genres.
TTV: I think it’s great that metal is represented in this kind of project, you have represented Brussels. It was surprising to play in front of an audience that is not used to the codes of our music. We were able to get briefings and that was a trigger to get off our asses for our project.
Three bands that just need your ears, thanks to them for this triple interview. Three different styles for a common energy, what are you waiting for to come and support these stars in the making ?