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The New Breed: Verona Beach, Kudra Mata, Waking The Dead

posted by: Tim de tweede on 24 September 2007

Three Dutch bands introduce themselves to you in this New Breed: Verona Beach, Kudra Mata and Waking The Dead. Check them out!

VERONA BEACH

Verona Beach is not really a new band. Can you describe the history of the band until today?

We started in 2002, recorded 2 demo’s and an EP in the years we exist. Except for the changes of bassplayers (our current basplayer is the fourth one) our line-up is the same as when we started the band. Also our style of music hasn’t changed much, in the years we added samples and synthesizer parts to give our music more layers. Next to that we learned to play better and learned to write better songs I think. Some periods we did quite a few shows, other periods only a few shows.

You've been playing since 2002, did quite some shows, and you haven't really reached a big crowd within the hardcore scene (yet). What do you assume to be the reason for that?

I think there are a couple of reasons for that.
Maybe the style of music we play: Too metal for hardcore and too hardcore for metal. We like to write heavy and melodic music without sounding like a standard “emoband”.
We have but a few contacts in the hardcore scene and we’re too modest to build up a network.
In the past our live shows were not of constant quality, sometimes we played a very good show and sometimes we really sucked. But with our current live experience and a lot of practice we finally manage to put up a energetic live show without messing up the songs. We also changed our view about how to approach a live set. Now we got intro’s and interludes. Adding these things to our show makes it more as live experience than just playing one song after another.
As we look at our last EP, which we are very stoked about, it surprises us too that we don’t play more shows at the moment.

Our songwriting was better then our live performance. The songs are pretty good but we aren’t the best band in the world although our live performance has gotten a lot better, even to the point we are pretty satisfied with it. Also we have quite some different musical preferences and are pretty stubborn, something that doesn’t speed up the writing process. Next to these things we all (off course) have jobs, school and a pretty busy social live so we haven’t committed ourselves a 100% to the band.

And for the people that don't know what Verona Beach sounds like: imagine that you had to describe the music to a deaf person. How would you do that?

A mixture between progressive metal and metalcore, quite some parts have a rocking feel to it. Next to the screaming vocals there are a few samples and synthesizer parts. The songs have pretty much universal song structures.

What are the bands that you feel related to, both musically and personally?

The five members of our band like quite some different styles of music ranging from classical music to grindcore. When we started the band we felt related to and drew influences from bands like Killswitch engage, Sepultura, Caliban and Underoath. Nowadays I don’t think we drew a lot of inspiration from any particular bands. We have a pretty much fixed style that is still evolving.

Recently, you've gotten a new bass player. Was it difficult to get accustomed to a new person in the band?

No, not at all. Since this is our fourth bass player we’re used to getting accustomed to new bassplayers. Next to that Rik is a very easy going guy and did his best to learn how to play the songs as fast as possible. He’s talented and has a energetic live performance. With that he also has designer skills, so we’re very happy to have him. So the transition from our former to new bassplayer went pretty smooth luckily.

It took quite some time for you to release a record. Was that just a coincidence, or did you really decide to wait until you felt ready?

It was pretty much a coincidence (as you can read in the next answer). But if we release anything in the future, we will release a record because we feel ready for it. The songs we’ll record then have to be as good if not better then the EP we released. So we will definitely wait with the next release until we feel ready for it.

It's also that the record is rather short: only three songs. Why didn't you make a longer record?

Originaly the EP was intended to be a simple demo which we would use to get some shows, we thought three songs would be more than enough for such a demo, especially when you keep in mind that the running time of the EP is about 13 minutes . The sound of the recordings turned out to be a lot better then we hoped for (we thought it was good enough to release it) and we had to wait a lot longer for the end result then we anticipated so we decided to place the 3 songs on an EP.

The record has been out for some months now: how have the reactions been thus far?

By now we have gotten quite a few reviews now, all of them were very positive. We hadn’t expected them to be this positive. It´s great to read those reviews, in a way I think it has strengthened the self-confidence of the band. Although we received a lot of positive reviews and reactions we wished a bit more people would pick our EP up. But the most important thing is that we can share our music with others. How we do that is not very important, there are several ways to do that; with our EP, myspace and ofcourse playing live shows.

To finish up this interview, there's a dilemma-question. Imagine you have to choose: either you can only play together with hardcorebands at hardcoreshows, or you can only play metalshows with metalbands. What would you do?

That’s a difficult question. In the first few years we have mainly played with metal bands, the last year also with a lot of hardcore bands. Anyways the line between the two styles has faded quite a bit the past decade but if I have to choose one I would choose the hardcorebands and hardcoreshows.The energy and the attitude of hardcore bands have more appeal to us than metalbands. Watching hardcore bands on stage is more fun than seeing most of the metalbands live. But musically wise metal will always have a lot of influence on our band.

Visit the Verona Beach website or the Verona Beach MySpace page

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KUDRA MATA

Could you give us the band history?

I'll try to keep it as short and clear as possible because this band has quite a history. Kudra Mata established in 1999 with Jozef on vocals, Mart on drums and Laurens on guitar. It was just for the fun of it, without any plans to go live or record a CD or whatever. Not much later they had found Glenn who was the right man for playing bass guitar. A year later, Tijmen joined the band with playing guitar. The guys have been experimenting their way throughout the years and through their music. At a certain moment somewhere in 2005, things weren't working out as they should. The singer wasn't in the right place and was kicked out the band. Within a week (because of an ad from Asice) they found me (Karel) and I was interested in fulfilling the vocal duties. And later I became their new singer.
Laurens didn't felt comfortable anymore with playing guitar in Kudra Mata. His musical interests changed so he left the band as still being a good friend. From that time we worked even harder and now Kudra Mata is a 4-piece solid metal core band. We wrote some new songs and this all worked out pretty well. Last year we did about 30 shows and we had a great time!

Was the recent line-up change what Kudra Mata needed to survive?

Yes! I always thought that they were good musicians. I have seen them play lots of shows, this always has been a hard working band and they practised a lot. I always thought that this band would grow bigger and bigger but it would just take some time.
When I came in to do audition for being the new vocalist, I remember that we played three songs and everyone was very excited. After the rehearsal it was more than obvious that this worked absolutely fine so from that point we knew that we should go on like that.
And until now it goes better with Kudra Mata than ever. We all have the same drive to create the music we make which is a blend of the old thrash metal sound, some new school tunes, and some influences from hardcore. I have been listening a lot to hardcore and played guitar/vocals in Goodfeather (R.I.P.), My Endless Fight (R.I.P.) and still play guitar in Precious Second. I think that I have brought Kudra Mata some hardcore influences and combined with that we just do what we love to do. Play hard music, practice a lot and have a good time! We know each other for years and are also good old friends. But we always want to improve ourselves and get better and better. For now we are pretty satisfied with the results we have accomplished with this new line-up so far.

What new influences where used to change the sound.

Well, I think the final line-up changes were of great significance and with that, also a big change of our sound. Since we have a solid line-up with the four of us, we find full motivation in doing what we do. The musical influences are coming from lots of directions. The best thing I can tell you is that our inspiration comes from everything hard 'n heavy. We love metal but one can hear some hardcore influences as well. We combine these styles to create heavy music! We obviously play every show as good as we can with 100% energy. We go for it every time and that is appreciated by the crowd. It’s no fun at all watching a band play while they’re standing completely still, especially those hardcore- and metal bands. We’ve been playing a lot of shows and on stage we’ve learned a lot of what works out and what doesn’t. I guess that automatically influences our songwriting.
There is also enthusiasm that is a big influence in our new sound. We did our very best getting better and better so I guess our next release will be better than our DIY demo “This is my pledge”. Not only production-wise but I'm convinced that also the song structure and the songs itself will be better. And HARDER. I can promise you that!

Do you think that you've overcome the nickname Kudramatic now?

Kudramatic?!...
Naah sorry, I have heard the name several times. It doesn't matter if we still have the nickname or not. It's funny to say anyway. We have a lot more nicknames which we use ourselves. We know that there were people who didn't like what Kudra Mata was doing back in the days. But hey, the guys where just playing in their first band after picked up their instruments by that time. Pretty much every starting band sucks. We’ve just learned a lot throughout the years. All those years of hard work paid off very well so far.
We invite you all to come to a show and judge again if you aren’t convinced yet! Reactions and reviews on our CD and most of all our shows have been awesomely positive. Moaning about who maybe doesn’t like us is a waste of energy and I think we could have better spent banging our heads. We had some discussions about changing the name. But after all, that was a no-go. We just don't feel like it. We feel comfort with all this and the name will stay. “This is what we do and what we stand for. If you like it: cool! If you hate it: also cool! I hope that is an answer to your question.

Is your music art, entertainment or both?

Both. Music is considered art. We make music, so yeah, we think our music is art.
On the other hand, by doing live shows and release our music to the public, we provide a form of entertainment. So it’s a combination. When we’re writing the songs we do try to integrate a certain amount of details which keep the songs even more interesting for us to play and also proves that the songs are well thought-out instead of the ‘one-two-fuck you’ mentality.

Are you already working on a follow-up to your recent DIY release?

Hell yeah! We wrote a bunch of new songs that are ready to record. We might hit the studio to record a few songs and distribute them freely through the Internet. Meanwhile we’re working hard on the follow up for ‘This is my pledge’. It’ll probably be an E.P containing 6 songs banging tunes!

Which historic person would you compare Kudra Mata to and why?

The Greek philosopher Plato once said: “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” I think we can all agree with that.

Visit the Kudra Mata website or the Kudra Mata MySpace page.

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WAKING THE DEAD

Can you tell the story of Waking The Dead so far?

Mike d.: Skulls and flames quit cause Dave didn’t liked us anymore. Ed and Mike wanted to continue thrashing.. Ed was bored with the 4-string mayhem and switched to 6 string power cord assault. Mike still tries to hit the skins and smash the cymbals.
We stole Jaap from Tor Johnson and he brought Tim on bass with him.
Jaap slowed down and quit this summer. Lucky we found in Max a great replacement and we’re fired up to take over the world!
Max: I was a big fan of Skulls and Flames (ED: Woohoo, we had fans!!) and always wanted to sing in a real thrash metal band. I knew Mike D. from the studio session with my other band, Owen Meany. So when he asked me to give it a try in Waking the Dead I didn't have to think twice.
Tim: For me, I joined in December/January or something and the immediately asked if i was free for a tour in may. Then everything went pretty fast, shows, demo, tour. Fun fun fun.
ED: The best has yet to come. We’re gonna release a split LP with a crappy band from Amsterdoom. Yes, I said crappy, so our side will be a killer and you will never switch it on your turntable. And hopefully more releases, touring and hugs from Tim.

Was your first gig with the new singer a success? What are the differences between both singers?

Mike d.: Yep, definitely a success. Max pulled it of to write 10 great lyrics and blast them with his diabolical screams well fitted in the already existed songs.
The main difference voice wise between Jaap and Max is that Jaap had the straight to the point hc approach and Max has a more stretchy leather pants rock ‘n’ roll approach witch gives the music an extra boost and personality.
Max: I had a lot of fun. Writing new lyrics and lines for an entire set in just two weeks and then seeing that it all works out the way you wanted is really great.
Tim: Best Monday night I ever played. The main difference between the singers is the metalness I think, Jaap had a raw hardcore voice and Max's voice is cleaner and more rock, metal, longhair.
ED: Tim said the most important differences. But what more important is, is that he fits in the group. I’m pretty sure I can spend 2 weeks in a van with him without twisting his neck at the end of the tour.

If you could play any other style but thrash core, what would that be? Is it possible at all?

Mike d.: As long as it’s intense and straight forward.. no trendy moments here.
Max: As a band I think not, it's the thrash that binds us. But I for example play in a garage punk band and have played in all kind of bands differing from classic rock to grindcore.
Tim: Probably Manowar-like power metal! With long hair, tight leather pants and songs about medieval wars, swords and motorcycles. To glory we ride!
ED: If it is DIY than it’s okay with me. No big major labels watching on our back. Just total control about our own product. I played in different bands, but again it’s not only the music that has to be fun, but also the people you play with. I can’t imagine I would ever quit making music. Maybe slow down a bit. I would love to make some heavy stoner or some lo-fi rock like Eagles of death metal when I’m older.

Your lyrics are pretty straight forward. What subjects do you emphasize most?

Mike d.: I understood that we could have BBQ again and that we didn’t like dogs anymore!?
Max: What I write about the most is war and thrash. It's really about the horrors of this world and the struggle to survive. Now I think about it the real theme is no matter how tiny we are and what circumstances we are in, we always try to keep on going and make the best out of it.
Tim: I think thrashing and tidal waves?
ED: “Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees And the flowers and the trees The moon up above And a thing called love”

Do you write Dutch lyrics as well so you can voice your opinion better than in English?

Mike d.: Max sings in diabolical evilness! What about that to voice his opinion?
Max: No, I'm a huge fan of English literature, Ernest Hemingway, John Irving and George Orwell. The Dutch language has never grasped me like the English did.
Tim: I don't know if Max wrights Dutch lyrics. Does he?
ED: No he doesn’t Tim. He just said that.

Do all of the band members skate? Who's the craziest skater?

Mike d.: Tim is a winner if it goes about craziness and skateboarding. With his size 15 and talent he makes the best pizza slams of the Amsteldam area!
Ed bought once a skateboard.. but that was even more disappointing, he even didn’t enjoy himself. As far for me.. I started when I was already old and broken.. I ride mini ramps, bowls / pools. Tricks early grabs, no comply’s, boneless ones.. and sometimes I hit the coping with my trucks. So to be honest Tim and I are the dead beats trying to fit in!? Max I dunno… think his interest is not in toy’s!?
Max: I don't have much spare time but the time I have I use to make music and get drunk...
Tim: Only Mike and I skate. I think I would win the craziness competition, I am the concussion king of skateboarding...
ED: Skateboarding only fucks up your knees. Look at Mike d. I’m glad he slowed down the last couple of years or else he would be in a wheelchair when he reached the age of 60. Than I would find myself a new drummer. But I think Tim is the craziest skater, because he’s sssoooo crazy without a board. All natural baby. Ask him about the joke with the beer bottle. That’s really crazy!!

If you could wake a bunch of dead musicians to form a band, who would that be?

Mike d.:
Ozzy vocals
Geezer bass
Bill drums
Tommy guitar
Max:
Vocals: Rob Tyner
Guitar: Fred "Sonic" Smith
Bass: Arthur "Killer" Kane
Drums: John Bonham
Tim:
Ritchie Valens. The rest isn't necessary
ED:
I’m glad that most of the musicians who inspired me to make music are still alive. But to answer your question:
Zakk Wylde: guitar (oh, he isn’t dead yet. Hmm, too bad)
Keith Moon: drums (They say he was a hell of a good drummer, I don’t hear it. But I would like to thrash stuff with him)
Satan: vocals
Sid Vicious: bass (crappy musician but I hope he can bring some good speed)
Myself: bagpipes

But starting a band with people who are still alive, this would be a killer line-up:
Justin Broadrick: guitar (Godflesh)
Pete Sandoval: drums (Terrorizer)
Rob Trujillo: bass (Suicidal Tendencies)
Dino: vocals (Dystopia)
Myself: cocksucking groupie

Visit the Waking The Dead website or the Waking The Dead MySpace page.

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Comments

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collision-tamm
i

Posted on 25.09.2007 (00:53)

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dino fear factory, rob metallica en pete morbid angel hahaha

verona beach nog niet gezien met de nieuwe bassist, zal tijd worden!

afke

Posted on 26.09.2007 (12:24)

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goed ep'tje die van Verona Beach! Snel weer eens live zien.

afke

Posted on 26.09.2007 (12:25)

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ehm, dat was ik: kenny

Tobias

Posted on 26.09.2007 (14:29)

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Jammer dat die jongens van Waking the dead het interview niet zo seriues nemen.......

Dystopia666

Posted on 26.09.2007 (22:52)

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Hey 'grappenmaker' Toob, van de 4 antwoorden op elke vraag zit er toch wel minstens één serieuze bij. Of nie dan......

Buzzsaw

Posted on 27.09.2007 (11:47)

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Verona Beach onlangs nog live gezien in de W2. Heerlijke band! jammer dat ze er, wat ik begreep, een paar maanden tussenuit zijn, omdat een van de leden naar het buitenland is.

Frank

Posted on 27.09.2007 (13:34)