Rockezine.com interview with Within Temptation on Jul 14, 2002

with Robert Westerhold and Martijn Spierenburg on Jul 14, 2002

Within Temptation is probably one of the quickest rising stars of the gothic metal scene. Record sales for their most recent album Mother Earth, which dates from 2000, skyrocketed over the last year. From being well-known within the Dutch gothic metal scene, they moved on to being famous in the entire Netherlands within just in a couple of months. Time for Rockezine to speak with the band and look back on this hectic period. Sitting in front of me on a nice and sunny terrace on the Dynamo Open Air festival, are Robert Westerhold: guitar player and male vocals, and keyboard player Martijn Westerhold.
		Well, first of all, how is business? Martijn: It’s been going really well for us. Everything has been going so fast the last couple of months; a lot of concerts, also abroad. Even in Belgium we still get a tremendous response. Robert: Last weekend we played on the Belgian festival “Werchter” and we had to play quite early, at noon. But the response we got from the people, who were just out of their beds, was really something.
		Are you still allowed to use the pyrotechnics and the ventilators blowing artificial snow so early in the day and what does the fire department think of the combination of the two? Robert: Yes, we still had all the show elements on stage, and the pieces of paper used for the artificial snow are all fire resistant and bio-degradable. Indeed they have very strict rules on those kind of things these days.
		What about the Rammstein show, I didn’t see any pyrotechnics and inflatable trees there? Robert: the Rammstein set was indeed even more strict. We were directed to a small part of the stage, but they had a lot of fireworks laid down in front of us, and we can’t stand on top of that. Therefore we had to perform within this limited amount of space.
Very exciting, tense and hectic; television was also present!		How did you experience your performance on the TMF Awards (Dutch version of the MTV Awards)? Martijn: Very exciting, tense and hectic; television was also present! Robert: It was actually our first show which featured the flame pods and where we were able to use more show elements during our performance. We were looking forward to doing our first show which actually featured show elements.
		But on the other hand one might think that the TMF Awards isn’t the right place for WT, being a gothic metal act between “artists” like Britney Spears or R&B and hiphop music. Robert: Well, TMF of course is a music channel which ought to be showing all styles of music, so if performing on the TMF awards gives us the opportunity to show our music to a wider audience at prime time instead of midnight, then we will gladly say yes.
		WT’s music has become more mellow, for example the last album Mother Earth didn’t feature any male grunts. Why this choice? Robert: Apparently less or no grunting is synonymous with more mellow music. Or that’s what people think, but if I listen to both albums (Enter and Mother Earth) I disagree. I feel that Enter is an album with a much slower tempo and therefore more mellow than Mother Earth. But if you look at our stage performance you will see that we`re still quite heavy. The heavy parts are still very important in our music, especially for the balance between the heavy and soft parts and no grunts -to me- doesn’t necessarily mean softer music.
		Are you already working on a new album, or will there be some more single releases from Mother Earth? Robert: We are planning to release a new album at the start of 2003. Well, Lowlands will be the last festival here in Holland and this festival season will mark the end of the “Mother Earth period”.
		And you did a lot of festivals this year. Robert: Again, that’s what a lot of people say, but if you look at last year, then you will see that we did just as much festivals. The only difference is that people are beginning to notice WT now, due to all the latest media attention. Maybe we’re performing on bigger festivals now and with a larger stage act. However, compared to earlier years, when we did at least 12 festivals, one can’t say that we’re performing on more festivals this year.
		What’s it like to perform three times in just two days (one weekend to do Parkpop, Werchter and support act for Rammstein). Does this put a lot of strain on the band? Martijn: I found it very exciting. Tension is building before every performance and during the concert we still give 200% every time; you’re getting so much in return from the audience that you forget all the tension. So it doesn’t feel like a lot of strain and stress. The only thing that takes about three days to process, are all the different impressions that you get from every performance, it’s all going so fast that it’s sometimes difficult to comprehend.
		What was the best experience during that weekend? Martijn: Actually, they’re all just as good. Robert: Those three gigs in a row, it was an entire weekend and that was pretty cool. However it’s the reaction of the audience that determines if a performance is successful or not. You can think as a band that you have a killer set list, but if the audience doesn’t like it then it’s still a bad experience. All three gigs that weekend were very special, and what I like about festivals these days is that they’re all so different. Every time you have a different reaction from the audience, so it’s difficult to compare as well. Parkpop and Werchter are completely different festivals and with Rammstein, people come especially to see Rammstein. So with all three shows you have different people standing in front of you, which makes it all the more interesting.
I find the number of people that are coming to see the show never a measure for how much pleasure I get from a performance.		What do you like more: the big festivals or the earlier performances of WT in smaller venues like Staddijk (Nijmegen) and De Effenaar (Eindhoven). Robert: I find the number of people that are coming to see the show never a measure for how much pleasure I get from a performance. Again, you can play for a small crowd that completely goes insane, and have a terrific evening, or play for a few thousand people that are just standing there or are completely drunk, which will result in a terrible feeling about the performance. Of course playing for just a handful of people isn’t as much fun as performing for hundreds, but it’s the reaction of the audience that counts.
		WT has now become much bigger than they were before, are you still working or studying or do you already earn enough to make a living? And is that the intention or do you still prefer a regular job? Robert: Most band members have flexible jobs, so that can be combined very well with the work for WT and a few of us don’t have a side job any more. We always had the intention to do as good a job with WT as possible, but nowadays it requires a lot more time.
You can compare it to a jigsaw puzzle, at a certain point you can see the bigger picture and then you can fill in the blanks.		Have you already started writing new material? Robert: Yes, we’re very busy with writing at the moment, but in the beginning you’re just sitting down and waiting for it to come. I already have several ideas. Martijn: You can compare it to a jigsaw puzzle, at a certain point you can see the bigger picture and then you can fill in the blanks. Robert: If you compare it to making a puzzle; pieces are falling from the sky and some fit, but others don’t. The pieces that don’t fit now, might fit later. Sometimes you can fit a lot of pieces at the same time and a big part of the song is finished, but other times you can sit for hours and never find a piece that fits.
It’s strange, but there is actually no exact recipe for creativity.		Do you write the songs together, or by yourselves? Robert: Both, sometimes we write at home and get together later to fit everything together and other times we’re in the studio trying different things together. It’s strange, but there is actually no exact recipe for creativity.
		What can we expect from the new album: more Enter-like or Mother Earth? Robert: It’s not that we’re writing towards the style of one of the two albums. We’ll see what comes to mind, but I think that we do have our own style and that’s not something that is likely to change. So the next album will just be WT, but in what way is yet unknown to me.
		What are your personal favourite songs? Martijn: Well, every song has something different. It’s the same with food; sometimes you feel like eating chocolate and other times you have a craving for peanuts. Robert: It’s the same as with other music, sometimes you hear a song and you think that it’s the best song you’ve ever heard, while a few days later you’ll hear another one and then you think that that’s the best one you’ve ever heard.
		What kind of music do you listen to a lot at the moment? Robert: At the moment Rammstein a lot, because of us being the support act a couple of days ago. Martijn: Yeah, me too. The last two weeks a lot of Rammstein. Robert: You want to think about the concert and how great it was, all the fireworks and all. Playing the music helps you to relive those moments. Martijn: And I recently bought a very nice Miles Davis record. It depends on my mood what I listen to. I have music varying from classical music to Manson.
		Does this influence your writing a lot? Or do you think that when people say it sounds like a certain band, that it was never meant to sound that way? Martijn: If it happens it’s always subconsciously, you’re being formed by everything in your surroundings: the music you listen to, the neighbourhood you grew up in. Robert: I’ve never read or heard notions like that, but I can imagine that we’re being compared to certain names of bands that you sometimes hear.
		Do you read most reviews from, for instance, concerts? Robert: I try to read most of them, but if it’s from a concert in a foreign country like France, I can’t understand the language. However most Dutch and English reviews I try to read, especially if it was from a concert where I had a special experience. I like it if a review catches the mood and the chemistry between the audience and the band that was present during the concert. The reaction of the audience is still more important though.
...when I was somewhat older lift mechanic seemed to be a nice job for me.		When you were a child, did you want to play in a band when you were older? Martijn: When I was very little, I didn’t know what profession I would be in, but when I was somewhat older lift mechanic seemed to be a nice job for me. Robert: Lift mechanic? Martijn: I liked to push those buttons and later I saw the movie “The Lift”, and then I knew pushing buttons all day was the kind of job for me. My current job is studio employer so I can still push buttons.
		Sharon always wears wedding gowns on stage, when are you going to marry Sharon? Robert: I don’t believe we’re the marrying kind. Martijn: And there was also a sudden gossip on the internet that Sharon was pregnant. It said congratulations with your upcoming baby. Robert: Yeah, where that gossip came from, I don’t know, but at the moment we’re too busy with the band. I’m 27 at the moment and we’re not thinking of having children in the near future.
But if we had to choose then Tori Amos would be a good candidate.		What major act would you like to support one day on a tour? You have to pick one… Robert: Can we negotiate within the band otherwise we`ll end up fighting over it… But if we had to choose then Tori Amos would be a good candidate.
		When can we expect to see WT as main act selling out big venues like ‘Ahoy in Rotterdam? Martijn: It’s not that we strive to sell out big venues in the future, we prefer to make a great show in a nice entourage. Some time ago we performed in a church in Zwolle, which was very suitable for our kind of music. Robert: We hope to make bigger shows in the future that are both even more creative and exciting and where this will be doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s creative and suits the music.
		Well, thank you for your time and good luck with the show.
(Matthijn Vos)