Poseydon, the acclaimed Thrash and Death-metal band, discusses their latest album, "Through the Gate of Hatred and Aversion," exploring its intense themes and musical evolution.
1. Congratulations
on the release of your latest album, “Through the Gate of Hatred and Aversion”!
Can you tell us about the themes and inspirations behind this album?
The variety
of themes has always a bit of a thread through the album. Most of the songs are
about the anger and worries that people can have. If you listen to “Human
suffering” or “Contrition”, you will hear about pain that people do to each
other. Not that difficult, because you see and read about such things everyday
on the news.
Songs like
“Rise of the Kraken” or “Awakening of
the gods” are more about a fantasy world. But hey, with a name like POSEYDON, i
guess it's normal to sing about gods anyway.
“For all
Eternity” and “The End is Near” are more songs to think about. Is the world
really getting to an end, is there something behind this life......... Also
“Enter the gates of Hell” is a song that can make the listener thinking, is
there really such thing as Hell??
With 4
people writing lyrics, we always get a variety of inspirations and themes. But
i think a happy lyric is not something that will happen in the very near
future.
2. Poseydon
has been active since 1992. How has the band evolved musically and personally
over these years, and what keeps the passion for Thrash and Death-metal alive
within the group?
Over the
years we had some line up changes. Some people left because of personal
reasons, some because of struggles with other members or simply because they
want their lifes to go in other directions. It’s a normal thing when you’re
been doing this for so long. As a band i really am sure that now we have the
strongest line up through all the years of making music with Poseydon.
The passion
for thrash- and deathmetal has and will always be a part in our lives. And
what’s better then playing the music you love.
3. Your
playing style is said to appeal to fans of early Slayer, Sepultura, Testament,
and others. How do you navigate the balance between staying true to these
influences and innovating to create your unique sound?
I don’t
think there’s a navigation or balance set when writing music. It's just what
our inspiration leads us too. It's never about staying true to anything like
sound or musicgenre. It's just what comes floathing out of our pen. I'm sure we
have already written songs that compare to Slayer, Testament or any other
thrashmetal band. But we also have songs, like “Human Suffering”, that is more
related to a band like Death.
4. Could
you share some insights into the songwriting process within Poseydon? How do
the band members collaborate to bring your songs to life?
Most of the
time it’s Alain, Leander or Jeroen that come up with the basic of a new song.
Sometimes it’s just a riff that we all like
and then somebody else throws in another riff that sounds great with the first.
But also a song that's
All music
and lyrics where ready for the album when i joined the band. They gave me the
music and lyrics and they told me to do
my thing. So some are a bit re-written, some pieces of lyrics were deleted.
Just to make them more natural for me and my kind of singing. Coming from the
hardcore scene, i have a different approach to vocal lines. And i guess that
the listeners will hear that little bit of hardcore on the new album.
5. With
a varied live set comprising both old and new songs, how do you curate your
live performances to create an engaging experience for your audience?
First of
all it's desciding wich songs we're gonna play. Over the years we have a lot of
songs to choose from. Then it's comparing which songs match with each
other. It's just looking to have a good
balance between old and new. We always try to make our playlist varied and
suprising. So it's more fun for people that have watched us mutiple times.
6. Poseydon’s
music is available on all streaming platforms. How do you think digital
platforms have influenced the way fans discover and interact with your music?
The
streaming platforms these days are a great way to let people find your music.
In the 80’s and 90’s as a musicfan, you really need to go out. To gigs or the
record store to explore new music. Now you can just stay at home and search for
bands you might like. Most platforms give you, on the hand of your search, a
list of bands that relate to the once you’re listening.
On the
other hand, it’s harder for a band to sell their music and make money to keep
going. Studio's and merchandise costs a lot of money and the fee you get from a
streaming platform isn't very big. With
everything on streaming platforms there’s a lower chance of selling cd’s and
vinyl. But in my opinion, most metalfans are still the once that buy hardcopies
of their favorite music.
7. Let’s
talk about the album title, “Through the Gate of Hatred and Aversion.” What
does this title signify, and how does it reflect the overall message or journey
conveyed in the album?
That's
about my only contribution to the whole album. It was something that just
popped in my head when we were talking about a album title. When you read the lyrics for this album, you
will see that there's a lot of Hate, death, hell...... in it. And with a song
that's called “Through the Gates of Hell”, it wasn't that difficult to combine
that with all the hate on the album.
8. As a
Thrashmetal band with deathmetal influences, what are some of the challenges
and rewards of blending these genres in your music?
It's more
of what comes out of our heads. It's not that we have to make sure that we put
some death influences in the more thrash songs and vice versa. We just happen
to love more genres and ofcourse you hear that in our music.
Even every
day is different. It can happen that you're having a bad period in your life,
where you feel very down. When you're trying to find some riffs it can cause
very fast and breath-taking riffs. Or maybe just the opposite. Every person is
different and deals with his feelings differently. And that's a good thing.
Because that's what makes variety in our music.
There is
never a bounderie in our songs. The songs evolves like it feels best.
9. Can
you share any memorable moments or stories from your journey as a band, whether
in the studio, on tour, or interacting with fans?
The most
stories will be when we're on the road. One time some young girl, who was
pretty drunk, felt the need to stand right in front of Leander and just stares
at him for some time. Then she held out her hand and wanted to help him play
his guitar. Wasn't the best way to keep his focus to the music.
One time we
played in the Netherlands. After the gig our drummer was driving his car back
home. All of a sudden a policecar made him pull over. They were standing right
next to his car with drawn guns. They thought he had some big amount of drugs
in his car. But is was just his drumkit.
Some time
ago we played in a bar. The bartender also was the soundguy. We shared
equipment with the band that openend for us. So most settings were already
fine. But there was one thing that made the bartender almost jump over his own
bar. I have a pretty loud voice of my own. So the moment i opened my mouth the
first time that evening, he almost jumped throught the roof. He ran to his
installation to put the vocals down. After the show he came to tell me he had
to put the voice like 50% less then the band that opened.
My own
weirdest memory will be, me joining Poseydon in 2020. I had my first rehearsel,
afterwards the guys descided that i would become the new singer. And then for
my second rehearsel i had to wait like 7 months because of covid rules. So that
was a real shitty time. Joining a band, but you can't even rehears together.
But the
main thing is, we want to make a lot more memorable moments and stories.
10. Looking
ahead, what are Poseydon’s plans and aspirations for the future? Any upcoming
tours, collaborations, or new projects in the works that fans can anticipate?
The main
plan is to visit as many places to let people hear the new Poseydon album.
We've been talking with people from spain to put on a little tour in Spain.
Hopefully we'll get the chance of playing some other country's too. For the
rest we're planning a new EP. It will probably come out end this year or begin
2025
Poseydon (@poseydon.metalband) • Photos et vidéos Instagram
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