Rockezine.com interview with After All on Apr 28, 2005

with Dries on Apr 28, 2005


		Hello there, I don’t think everybody knows After All. Can you introduce yourself and the band? Hey. After All is the hardest working metal band from Belgium, and I am the hardest working man in the band, hehe. My name is Dries and I am one of the guitar players. After All has been around for quite some time now. So far, we released 5 full length CDs and 4 EPs. Our previous album "Mercury Rising" was the first one that received a decent European release. It was also the first album we toured for throughout Europe. In 2003, we did 2 European tours as support of Anthrax and one European tour with Overkill. Over the years, we also played shows with bands like Saxon, Voivod, Paradise Lost, Helstar, Angel Witch, Life Of Agony, Destruction, Tiamat, and so on. Last year we played the Dynamo Open Air warm-up in Eindhoven, with Agent Steel and Shadows Fall. Right now, we have a new album out on Dockyard 1 records, called "The Vermin Breed".
		The album is out now for a month, how are the reactions? Did you expect this? The response is very, very positive. We`re very happy with this, because we really feel that we have made some important progress on "The Vermin Breed". Touring has had an important influence on the way we have written and recorded the new songs.
		Are you satisfied with the way the record turned out? Absolutely. The album was produced by Harris Johns. It was the second time we worked with Harris in his Spiderhouse Studio in Berlin. Harris is the man who worked with bands like Voivod, Helloween and Kreator, so he has this 20+ years of experience in working with metal bands. After the previous record "Mercury Rising" was released, it was obvious that we would return to Berlin to record the next album with Harris again. This time we wanted a more live sounding record, rougher and heavier. I think Harris did a wonderful job. And yes, we are very pleased with the result on "The Vermin Breed". A couple of weeks ago, we were in Berlin during our tour with Agent Steel. We had a show plus a day off in Berlin, so we had this big party with us, Agent Steel and Harris. That was fun!
		Who wrote all the music and the lyrics for “The Vermin Breed”? Is there a standard procedure? For this record, I have written all the music and Piet (vocals) has written all the lyrics. That is pretty standard for After All, apart maybe from the fact that Christophe (guitars) usually comes up with a riff or two. Anyway, what I come up with are rough songs. The other guys - Piet, Christophe, Erwin (bass) and Kevin (drums) - have an important role in cleaning those songs up, making interesting arrangements, and so on. That way we keep each other awake, being very strict on every part of every song. Only the strongest ideas survive...
		What are the future plans? We just finished a European tour with Agent Steel, which was really cool. Right now, all I do is giving interviews: for radio stations, webzines, magazines, and so on. It is real fun to do. Honestly, I really enjoy talking about metal to people from all over the world. At the same time, I`m putting together some shows for the summer. We are going to play a couple of club shows with Heathen, yes indeed, the legendary thrashers from San Francisco. Apart from that, we have some headlining shows and some festival dates as well. After the summer, we`ll probably go out on a full blown European tour again. In between all that, I`m writing new stuff. It never stops...
		What’s your opinion on the internet and the online magazines in relationship to bands like yours? It`s great those e-zines exist. We are not exactly the type of band that receives enormous exposure from the so called mainstream music media. I think it is important for the scene to have a specialised, almost underground network of media. I mean, the support bands receive from metal websites is really amazing. There are literally dozens and dozens of webzines who have published reviews of our new record. That`s really great, because this way a lot of people hear about us and our music.
		What is you all-time favourite and how did it effect the music you make? I grew up in the 80s, so I guess my favourite bands are from that period of time. Iron Maiden was one of the first bands I got into. They are still important to me. Same for Metallica (up to "Master"). Other faves include Mercyful Fate, Acid, and lots of NWOBHM and US metal bands. If there`s one thing I`m proud of, then it is that - over the years - After All has shared the stage with some of my all-time favourite bands, like Voivod, Angel Witch, Helstar, Overkill, Anthrax (always been a great Armored Saint fan) and most of all Agent Steel. I consider myself still a fan of all these bands, but it`s nice to see that the people of some of these bands have also become my friends in the meantime...
		How was touring with Agent Steel? Absolutely awesome. They played the entire "Skeptics Apocalypse" album - one of my favourite albums - every night. Really nice people too. We first met last year when they invited us to play the Dynamo warm-up in Eindhoven. We got along really well and they like our music a lot, so when they returned for a full European tour, they asked us to join them again. We had a super time. Some great shows, like the Keep It True festival in Germany, the shows in Geleen and Slovenia, and some great parties too, hehe...
		Any last words for the rest of the world? We hope to tour some more this year, so check us out live if you can. All info about the band - including tour dates - is on www.afterall.be Thanks again for the support. You rule! Dries
(Jeroen Habets)