Interview Tim's Favourite

Discover the origins of "zen metal" and Tim's Favourite's journey through genres. Explore "amaConda's" societal critique and the band's dynamic evolution.

1. How did the concept of "zen metal" come about, and what does it mean to you as a band?

Well, first of all, what’s in a name? Apart from “metal” being the undeniable red line that runs through all of our songs, our music seems to be pretty uncategorizable, so I guess one day we felt we had to come up with a totally unknown, new sort of term to describe it. Another thing, apart from metal, which I think stands out very quickly after you’ve heard a couple of our songs, is this more "oriental", psychedelic, almost trance-like touch to it. As a kid, I used to listen to bands like The Doors, and I simply loved their song ‘The End’. Adding that sort of influence to Heavy Metal is something I’ve always wanted to do. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m the last one to claim that we’re the first band to have united these seemingly irreconcilable elements (Tool and Soundgarden and innumerable other bands did that before us), but we probably are the first ones to come up with the label “zen metal”, haha! That is not to say that it covers every aspect of our music either. But the least you can say is that it indicates that there’s more to it than heavy metal. 

2. Can you tell us about the story behind the band name "Tim's Favourite" and its connection to your nephew Tim?

Well, ever since he was a little kid, Tim has always been one of our most ardent fans. One day, my brother discovered his then 3 year old son with a pair of headphones, listening to a demo for what was to become the first album of Tim’s Favourite, then still called “Heart of Darkness”. I don’t know whether he really dug our music at that tender age, but we sure had him hooked, haha!  Coincidentally, we were looking for another group name just at that time, because for some stupid reason "Heart of darkness" was deemed too… dark. After much brainstorming and probably even more DRINKING it was decided that, given the particularly high sex & drugs & rock & roll content of the anecdote with the headphone-wearing little nephew, “Tim’s Favourite” would be thé perfect and ultimate name for what was to become the most tormented band in the world. The fact that the little nephew has in the meantime joined the band makes it even more... haunting, wouldn’t you say so? Right. Next question, please.

3. Your upcoming album, "amaConda," explores themes that question modern societal forces. Could you elaborate on the inspiration behind this album?

Many, if not almost all of our songs, in one way or another, deal with the philosophical ramifications of the supposedly "scientific" but actually "scientistic" worldview: the ideology/belief that the only meaningful way one can say something valid about the universe and about ourselves is the scientific/reductionist way. This worldview leads some of its most fanatical adherents to believe that the logical and automatic outcome of science is always unequivocally good, and that at the political level this always results in nothing more or less than... democracy. I think that is an extremely dangerous delusion. Science is capable of doing both fantastic and downright evil things. Science created nuclear energy. But prior to that, science also created the atomic bomb. Rockets sent us to the moon. But one of the first rocket scientists was Werner Von Braun, who created the famous V1 and V2 rockets for the… nazis. Science gave us genetic tests. But science also gave us… eugenics. Anyway, the list is endless.

Our new album, “amaConda”, deals with, a.o., one of the more recent, and not necessarily democracy-enhancing creations made possible by science. The first song, "Connect and Divide", e.g., deals with probably one of the most connecting, but probably even more so, polarizing forces in the world these days: social media (and, ultimately, the world wide web). Whereas its creators initially thought (or at least promised) that it would connect people all over the world (which it also does, we're all online, "connected", i.e.), and enhance democracy by making information free and facilitating freedom of speech worldwide, the result in the meantime is somewhat... less positive, to say the least: misinformation and fake news are being spread as never before. More and more, people are beginning to believe and live in totally different, alternative realities, which is not exactly bringing them closer to each other/unifying them. The title of the song could be seen as a preceding, first part of the motto "Divide and Rule": "Connect and Divide... Divide and Rule". Very strong evidence suggests that thé creator par excellence of social media was, from the very beginning, not so much (probably not at all) interested in “promoting democracy” or unifying people as in ruling. Read: making tons of money. And all, oh yes, all scientific methods were and are still good enough for him to achieve that goal. If there is 1 thing that is well known about the opaque algorithms governing the platforms’ operation, it’s this: they’re designed to confirm people’s biases and keep them… hooked. 

Another song, "Totalibertarian" (a word we coined ourselves), was written during the Covid pandemic and is about one of the craziest conspiracy theories we have ever seen emerge around us and which was propagated by, among others, a - believe it or not - university professor in Ghent. The mad professor wanted to make you believe that the pandemic was the logical outcome of the so-called mechanistic, scientific mindset which, in his opinion, had totally indoctrinated our Western world. At the same time, he tried to reassure his followers that he didn't believe it was a real conspiracy, deliberately set up or planned by the scientific "elites", but that, as a matter of fact, it was even worse: the scientists, in his opinion, didn't even realize it themselves anymore. They were so "hypnotised" by the "mechanistic" worldview that they couldn't help but believing that virusses and diseases could and should be contained by science, which was unacceptable to him. The scientific world view, in his view, was becoming totalitarian and was inescapably destroying human... freedom. Human freedom, in his view, should never, in any way, be curbed. It's either total freedom or total nothingness. Our professor (and his thousands of disciples, his book was a best-seller in the US) waged a libertarian and transgressive crusade, setting himself up as the defender of individual freedom against sanitary "repression", to the point where, in a rather hallucinatory short-circuit, he even compared the anti-vaxers to the Jews forced to wear the Star of David under Nazism. I wonder what he is making now of that totalitarian "mechanistic" regime that "they" are trying to impose on us, now that COVID's recommendations and restrictions have been substantially, if not completely, lifted for more than a year.…

The title track, "amaConda", is a pretty obvious pun based on the word "anaconda". In brief, it plays on the comparing of a pretty disruptive multi-national you can’t in my opinion possibly be unfamiliar with to an all-choking anaconda. The split head on the album cover suggests that ultimately it is not so much about the snake (the snake only being a metaphor) but rather about an, in our opinion, extremely dangerous human phenomenon: the fundamentally scientific/technological facilitation and maximization of totally deranged, Earth-threatening mass consumption. The insane ("infinite") maximizing of consumption is something which is made possible by people who easily pass the qualification of "mad scientists", yes. Just for the record: we have NO fundamental problem with science (the explanation of "Totalibertarian" should have made that clear by now, we hope). What we do have a problem with is, like I said before, SCIENTISM: the extremist belief that only science can say anything meaningful about the universe. The phrase "rocket science" in the song, you may take that quite literally, by the way. One more relevant thing maybe to think about: Elon Musk's grandfather was the founder of the extremely anti-democratic "Technocracy, Inc." And little Elon hasn't forgotten that at all. The colony he desperately hopes to found on Mars someday, he once said, will be a... technocracy.

The title of "Embarrassment Now" is a sarcastic reference to a book by Steven Pinker, "Enlightenment Now". Mister Pinker, if you want our opinion, is a pretty arrogant believer in reason and science as all-saving, fundamentally moral forces. Convictions and ideologies (let alone religion) are, so he claims, totally irrelevant. If only politicians would stick to the scientific facts, all our problems would be solved. Pinker is even convinced that sticking to the scientific facts is enough to achieve a democratic, "Enlightened" society. But what he seems to forget is that even scientists are human beings (luckily) with all their ideological convictions, agendas and flaws who very often contradict each other even when it comes to the pure scientific facts. The fact that in the course of human history, scientists and science not seldom chose the side of downright evil ("There is one question that only scientists working in genetics and race have to grapple with. And that is: "What is it about me that the Nazis like so much?" - Jonathan Marks), Pinker ignores it, completely. Moreover, if politicians should stick to the scientific facts and put all their convictions aside, then the spectre of a technocracy is becoming a (not alternative) fact. And Pinker & co may say what they want, but that is far from democratic.

Anyway, does that suffice as an answer to your question?

4. How would you describe the evolution of your sound from your earlier albums like "Noises from the Dark Room" to the upcoming "amaConda"?

I think rhythmically it’s become a little bit more complex (with not always the most obvious time signatures) and a little bit more “adventurous”. I’m particularly fond of Alice in Chains (does that surprise you?) but I also simply adore Intronaut, a band not always equally accessible to the untrained ear, to say the least. Apart from that, I think our sound has probably become even more uncategorizable.

5. Tim's Favourite is known for blending various genres like grunge, thrash metal, progressive metal, and more. What challenges do you face in merging these diverse influences into a cohesive musical style?

What is a cohesive musical style? Is it even necessary to have a cohesive musical style? One of our (at least: mine!) main musical influences has always been the Beatles. Especially their later work such as the "White Album" or "Abbey Road" left an indelible impression on me. These albums are almost impossible to categorise, with songs ranging from almost British music hall style ("Honey Pie") over jazz ("Blackbird"), country ("Rocky Raccoon"), blues (“Yer Blues”), rock (“Back in the USSR”) to something that probably originated outright heavy metal ("Helter Skelter", "She's So Heavy") (I really think the Beatles invented heavy metal, yes). In short, if there was one thing the Beatles did, it was this: exquisite songwriting, regardless of genre. Don’t misunderstand me, I by no means want to compare our songwriting skills to the Beatles’! But if there’s one thing we do have in common with them, it’s that, in the end, the songs matter, not the genre. Of course, we’re undeniably a heavy metal band, but apart from heaving heard of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Tool and Prong, we consider ourselves to be... a band. One day, we might even end up writing a disco song, hell why not.

6. Could you share some insights into your songwriting process and how you approach creating lyrics that delve into serious topics?

Every time somebody asks me how we write songs, I tend to give the same answer: there’s no formula to it, man. And in our band, our writing process has definitely changed a bit over the years. Let’s say that in the past it very often used to begin with a catchy, groovy guitar riff, the validity of which was then tested during a rehearsel with the rest of the band and especially with the drummer (because, in the end, in my experience at least, it’s very often the way a riff interacts with the drums, which ultimately makes up the catchyness and groovyness of it all). But sometimes it was also “just” a jam session which originated a song. Or sometimes, completely the opposite, especially I (mea culpa) would even turn up with a virtually complete new song which only needed the ”scientifically correctly” proportioned number of stanzas or basic structure or whatever to finish it. The covid period resulted in a lot of those along the “virtually complete new song” formula written songs on the new album, because there was just no possibility to compose while rehearsing anymore. Before I knew it, I found myself ramming up 20 completely worked out new songs down the throats of the rest of the band (who basically only needed to learn how to play them). And then suddenly remembering that, to some people, there is more to being part of a band than basically playing “covers”. Let’s suffice it to say that of at least one of the songs on the new album, at least 80% of the riffs were not written by myself. And that, in spite of our album being a tribute to democracy, playing in a band along democratic rules is… really not something that comes along of itself without any deliberate, conscious effort. But we're working on that. 

As to the lyrics, I tell myself that, more than your regular metal band, we really do try (!) our best to make those lyrics add value to what we, being a (metal) band, basically do: composing songs (read: making music). WRITING a song lyric about “fighting the world with our metal forces”, well, I’m sorry but, for some reason, that simply is just no option for us. Writing a song “about” evil or the devil (horns included) simply for the sake of that being what metal bands happen to write about, sorry again, but count us out. Suffice it to say that we, honest to God, take our time (time being money, way too much, I know) to… (hopefully) have something to say about things not only Manowar(-fans) can relate to. That indeed implies that, I repeat, we really have no business with that typical ‘us versus them’ narrative.

7. You've played numerous gigs, including notable festivals like Alcatraz Metal Festival. What has been your most memorable live performance so far, and why?

Well, you named it: We all had and still have a really good feeling about our performance at Alcatraz Festival 2021. When we started playing, there were like, 100 or so people, attending the concert. At the end, the place was packed with, my guess is 800 or something like that. And they all gave us quite a “standing” (read: “screaming for more”) ovation. But say what you want. You can do a “perfect” gig. You can also do a “perfect” rehearsal. In the end, live, it’s the feedback from the audience that makes the difference. You can even, purely theoretically, do an awful gig. But if the audience responds and they like what you’re doing, then who are you to tell them wrong? I guess our latest release show, where we presented our new album, was in that respect – feedback wise – hell, thát was pretty bang on it.   

8. The band's lineup has remained consistent over the years. How does this stability contribute to your musical identity and creative output?

The only two founding members in this band are Elie (drummer) and me (singer/guitarist), so I guess we haven’t, as a band, been that consistent after all. But, if there is any consistency/bond in this band (betweem Elie and me), maybe it’s this same sort of bizarre (but maybe just a tiny little bit less succesfull) bond as there is between Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield. Hell, I really don’t know man. You’re asking me to rationally answer questions about something which, in my opinion, is anything but rational: making music. But notwithstanding that, straight from the day he was “One of Us”, Tim composed at least 80% of the riffs and lyrics of the most intricate song (“Andy’s Fall”) on our new album. And when it comes to composing catchy basslines (think about “Embarrassment Now”!!), I think I can safely say that our bassist Wolf has quite a talent for that (understatement). 

9. What can fans expect from your live shows, especially in terms of the energy and atmosphere you aim to create on stage?

Sheer joy, in spite of all the, admittedly, sadness and  serious stuff we sing about. Playing music live is probably the best therapy we can think of. 

10. Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals for Tim's Favourite in the near future?

Apart from conquering the world with our new album (haha!), we’re planning to release a few clips while rehearsing. And we’re already writing songs for a new album. 

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Tim's Favourite - A Deeper Advantage (lyrics video) (youtube.com) 

Tim's Favourite (@timsfavouriteband) • Photos et vidéos Instagram