Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ghent (Belgium) – Celje (Slovenia) / e-mail
Interview date: 09.02.2013
Herfs† are a five-piece melodic death/black metal band from the city of Ghent (Belgium). The lineup combines the brutality and sonic build of death metal with the dark charm of black metal. Their »perversely wicked« musical mix, seasoned with rich harmonies and guitar sorcery and peering into the black corners of a soul stuffed with melancholy and visions of doom, builds the group’s unmistakable charisma. They’ve christened their homegrown death/black metal culture »Nekromantic metal«.
Last May the band put out an EP called »The Deathcult (Chapter One: An Oath in Darkness)«, on which they ambitiously stretched the creative range of the musical character of their studio debut “Necrotica” (2009). RockLine took the chance to unravel the story of Herfs†…
RockLine: For the last two years you were just visitors at Metal Camp, vacationing there, but this year you’re playing two festivals – Metal Days and Burning Sea. How does that feel?
Matthieu: Actually, Herfst already played MC back in 2007. We were supposed to play the year after too, but we cancelled because of illness, so this will be my first show at that festival, and I can say we’re all really happy to be visiting Slovenia and Croatia! Like you said, we’ve been loyal festival-goers for quite a few years, because we love the great vibe and the location. Of course we consider it an honor to be on the bill this year too. We’re really looking forward to it, and we promise you a show »straight from hell«!
RockLine: Let’s rewind to the beginning. When and how did Herfst come together?
Bram: It all started somewhere around 1999. The name popped into my head during my high school years, when I was still laying the foundations for my band and feeling lonely inside. In Dutch it means autumn, the season, which reflects the mood I wanted to bring out in my music. Joking aside, the name is both a blessing and a curse. It’s often the target of dumb jokes (along the lines of – why are you playing in the summer if you’re called autumn?), and people abroad have a hard time pronouncing it. But whatever happens, we’re still happy with the name and it’s very close to our hearts.
Anyway, we started out as a doom/black metal band, but back then we were all still learning our instruments. We developed our style over the years. We wrote a few original songs, played a few gigs, and started exploring the mysterious world of metal musicians. We released our first demo in 2003, and an EP two years later. During that time we played a lot of shows around Belgium. After quite a few lineup changes, we recorded a CD called Necrotica in 2009, and our latest release (with a new vocalist) is the EP »Deathcult«, out in 2012.
RockLine: You’ve named the kind of music you play »necromantic metal«. You summon the dead to scare the decent world that only wants a night of virtuous sleep.
Bram/Cristophe: That’s how we decided to do it. Partly as a tribute to the German film »Nekromantik« (1987), and the term struck us as a perfect fit for the stylistic combination we play. It’s sometimes a complex brew of all the styles of metal we love. We’re not a typical, predictable German thrash metal band, to take one example. This mix of raw and melodic of ours is our recognizable, signature sound. It’s definitely something that comes naturally from within us, otherwise we wouldn’t want to play what we create. It also ties into the “romantic” principle we have in our music and lyrics, and we want to bring that out by showing the clear influence of »romantic horror« literature: Fin-de-Siècle, Victorian London, Edgar Allan Poe… That search for beauty, for the past, for a romantic feel for poetry. When you know you’ll never reach it. That’s what we want to serve up in our music. At the same time, I mustn’t forget that we’re also fascinated and inspired by the beauty of death.
RockLine: Matthieu, you joined the band in 2010. How did it feel to become part of a band that already had quite a bit of mileage behind it? Did you fit in quickly, or were there any difficulties?
Matthieu: The first time I saw Herfst live (in 2006) was at a gig I organized myself, and I became a fan right away. They really blew me away that night, and for my birthday they gave me their album. I followed them all along and saw quite a few of their shows. I can’t even tell you what an incredible honor it was when they offered me a spot in the band in 2010. I had a pretty tough job, because all the previous vocalists were really good, and we were also about to go record the new EP. From the very start I got along great with the other members. But I’ve never felt as nervous since as at my first show, which was on a big event stage. We played alongside my idols Rotting Christ. Despite the stage fright I had no problems with the performance, and the response was positive too. Since then I’ve been trying to level up my stage performance and improve different elements of my vocal approach. I think it matters a lot what kind of person you are. On stage I always try to give the crowd a passionate show and become one with the mood, the feelings and the messages of the songs.
RockLine: In 2009 you released your first full-length, »Necrotica«. How come it took a whole 10 years to get it out?
Christophe: The release of »Necrotica« followed a long period of the band growing, and of course lineup changes. The band was formed in 1999 by Bram and Peter, who were still greenhorns back then. The first demo saw the light of day in 2003, then came the first gigs and a more mature release in 2005. And then the trouble started. Members came and went, while the writing and recording of the CD ran terribly late. Once those problems were over and the album was ready, a long stretch of fruitless label-hunting began, looking for someone to put the CD out. In the end we decided to release »Necrotica« ourselves.
RockLine: What are the main themes of your music and lyrics?
Matthieu: We’re big fans of the occult, the grotesque, the baroque, romanticism and that »Lovecraft« atmosphere. Horror movies and stories, history and ancient occult rituals draw us in big time, so we try to weave that into our look and our shows too. And of course the lyrics of our songs live in that same mood. Our latest release, the EP »Deathcult«, is built as a concept, a kind of story that isn’t finished yet. It takes place in the narrow Parisian alleyways of the Fin-de-Siècle era, where the leading roles usually go to oddballs dabbling in dark magic (The term comes from the French name for the creative movement at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century. A famous artwork from that period is »The Scream«, and among the well-known creators who belonged to that creative pulse are Nietzsche, Wilde… editor’s note).
RockLine: Who writes the music and who writes the lyrics?
Christophe: The basic ideas for songs are always first brought in by me and Bram, the two guitarists. The ideas vary in how polished they are. We might bring just one ‘cool riff«, or show up with an almost finished sketch of a song. From there we try out how it works as a band. Then comes a jam, and at that point the others add their suggestions and ideas too. The lyrics are written by Bram, he’s our »scary and ill-tempered« storyteller. He always comes up with some good concept.
RockLine: In Belgium you’re among the better-known bands. You’ve played over 100 shows with big names in the metal world, like Dark Funeral, Vital Remains, Belphegor, Tankard,… What’s the metal scene in Belgium like, is it hard to get a chance to play live? Which kind of shows do you prefer? Headlining your own, or sharing the bill with several bands, like at festivals?
Christophe: In our small and unimportant country there really are a lot of bands. Some are truly very good and work very hard to make it. Sadly, that effort often goes unnoticed, and those bands don’t get the chances they deserve. Promoters naturally favor foreign, proven bands that’ll fill their pockets with profit instead of giving a chance to bands from their home turf. Luckily, there are also smaller organizations and individuals putting on events and festivals to counter what I just described. Those people are doing really good work.
RockLine: How did you shape the sound of the EP »The Deathcult«?
Matthieu: We recorded the EP during a brutal freeze last February, at Red Left Hand studio in the Belgian town of Stabroek. The studio’s owner is Sven Janssens, former bassist of Aborted and Epica. He did a great job. Despite a few minor hiccups during recording, like a power outage or our lead guitarist falling ill on the exact day picked for him to lay down his solos. Overall, though, everything went according to plan. After recording, we sent the material off for the final sound, meaning mixing and mastering, to Dan Swanö – the famous wizard from the legendary Unisound studio in Sweden. Working with Dan went smoothly too. Dan is also an extremely pleasant guy and it was really fun working with him. So in the end we were all very happy with the results.
The EP’s cover art was once again handled by our very own artist and guitarist Bram, so both a superbly designed cover and the CD booklet’s insides are top notch!
RockLine: Which bands inspired you to play the music you play today?
Matthieu: Our music has evolved over the years, but the bands that inspired us have pretty much stayed the same throughout our time as a band: Dissection, Carcass, the ‘old school’ Gothenburg bands (Sweden) like At The Gates, the Greek masters Septic Flesh, and also Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth. Of course every member of our band has their own personal favorites, but the bands I listed are a kind of common denominator of everyone’s musical taste in the band.
RockLine: What can we expect from the Herfst show at Metal Days 2013?
Matthieu: What’s always typical of our gigs! Passion and lots of energy. We always give everything and only our best so that our soul and music hit the listeners and take them along with us on our journey through »Lovecraftiana«, ghosts and rituals. Come and experience a »necromantic romance« with us!
Rockline: Wishing you lots of luck in the future, thanks for the interview, and see you at Metal Days 2013 if not sooner!
Herfst: We’re looking forward to meeting you at Metal Days! Thank you, come over for a drink, and after the show we’ll share a beer or two together on the beach in Tolmin!
interview by: Blažka Lovšin
edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
