interview with Argonath
What´s the name of your band? Argonath
How was the band formed? Back in 2013, Jakke, Lander & Robin decided to start a band again after their former band, panda of mass destruction, ceased to exist. We contacted Brecht and asked him to be part of the band and the rest is history.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?
Jakke Mathijs – Vocals & Guitars
Brecht Neyens – Guitars
Nadine Closset – Bass Guitar
Robin Zels - Drums
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We started out just like any other band made up of high-school friends: fooling around and playing music together. When we progressed and did our first shows, we decided that it was time to step up a bit.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? It’s a mix of all kinds of rock and metal music. We like to mix a lot because everyone in the band has a different preference, musically speaking. For example, Brecht is more into Death metal while Nadine is more into Old School-stuff. This all adds up, you know?
Where was your first gig? In Bocholt, at VeranoFest on 23/08/2013
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Our way of dealing with songwriting is that Jakke comes up with an idea or already a finished song. Then it’s up to the rest to fit their personal touches in with the music. Jakke writes all the lyrics.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? I guess Robin and Brecht.
What are your songs about? Mainly about political issues and problems concerning the society we currently live in. We try to spice this up with a healthy dose of philosophy as well.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Mainly original material.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? The first recorded demo will be out hopefully this month (march 2015) It will contain 2 recorded tracks and 2 live tracks and the title of the demo will be Seeds Of Frustration (Demo).
Do you have any clips on YouTube? You can find some live clips on Youtube of us performing on Metal For MS and other gigs. We don’t have any real ‘clips’ yet.
How old are you? Brecht and Jakke are 18, Nadine is 16 and Robin is 20.
What year was the band started? 2013.
Best/worst gig you've played? One of the best gigs we played up to date was our first at VeranoFest 2013, fors ure. The atmosphere was amazing and really all of our friends and a bunch of others showed up. It was amazing. One of our worst gigs was at Café Ammehoela in october 2013. I don’t know how the crowd reacted but personally the music didn’t come out like it should have that night.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? One of the gigs we are looking forward to the most is definetily Metal Legacy III, we will be sharing the stage with our friends from Speed Queen and a bunch of local heavyweights.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Anything between 2 people and 200, I think. I’m not sure about the 200 though.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Probably release another demo, do more shows and keep on going, basicly. We don’t really have a set ‘plan’.
What are your goals with your music? Basicly it’s an outlet for our creativity and that’s exactly the reason why we play originals. We don’t have any real goals, other than spreading our music among everyone.
What are your sources of inspiration? Basicly the world around us, along with everything and anyone in it.
What' the first step when making a new song? Usually it’s a phrase or a lyrical idea or it’s a simple riff.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I personally (Jakke) think that downloading on itself is not wrong. It’s a great way for people to discover something they think is worth buying. I myself try to buy something I like and I download as little as possible.
What would be your dreams for the band? Going abroad, release an album. The standard routine, basicly.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? War.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Technical problems, flying tomatoes and power shortages.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Brecht, Nadine and I are studying either in high school or college. Robin is working full-time.
Now important are your fans? As important as the band. They’re an essential part of the bigger picture, fors ure.
How often do you rehearse? Normally once a week but lately things have been busy, making it hard to keep this up.
Where do you rehearse? In Bocholt.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Black Rose and Don’t Walk Alone
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? I’ve seen so many bands so I can’t really pick one. I have to say, though, that Warcry (the Spanish one) was simply AMAZING at Leyendas Del Rock in 2014.
Do you have any webpages? Except for Facebook, Youtube and Bandcamp? No.
How would you describe your sound in one sentenceDiverse but simple.