Interview with Wim van der Valk
Originally published in Kronos Mortus
in English and Hungarian languages,
15.X.2017
Hail Wim, hellcome to Hungarian Kronos Mortus e-zine! First of all, tell the Hungarian readers all the important information about the re-union of the legendary INQUISITOR in 2014 and about the re-release of INQUISITOR’s debut album „Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust”, which has been released by Hammerheart Records in collaboration with the members of INQUISITOR.
W: Thanks G. and hello to all at Kronos Mortus e-zine. How the reunion took place after almost 20 years, well… not to complicated actually. It all started with Hammerheart Records planning to re-release our infamous ’96 album and because of that Erik and i came in close contact again. We hadn’t spoken in years but kept following each other throughout the net and things like that. After being busy with arranging things like artwork etc. the idea of playing some tunes together came up very soon. I got my gear together for the first time in 12 years but it took only 15 minutes to get comfortable behind the kit again. Original bass-player Alex also joined the very first time and the idea of a full reunion came quick. The only question-mark was singer Alex. He has some physical difficulties and we weren’t sure if he was able to deliver his unique voice again. But happily he joined and is doing a great job ever since. So….one thing let to another… Inquisitor was returning to the Dutch Metal scene !!!
Meanwhile Hammerheart Records had put together an amazing re-release of all our past work; the ’96 „Walpurgis-Sabbath of Lust” CD as well as the two demos. It was released as a „Die Hard Bundle” which had the double CD, both LPs, a shirt and posters. All great stuff; remastered; a new lay-out and with a proper promotion as well. We are still very fortunate to have this as well as being a part of Hammerheart Records.
I’ve already written a Hungarian review for Kronos Mortus about the upcoming „I am Sick, I Must Die” 7″ EP. I’m still under the influence of this perfect material. (It will be published with a brief English summary in September). The EP includes a brand new INQUISITOR song, called „I am Sick, I Must Die” as well as two covers, (PESTILENCE: „Extreme Unction”, DARK ANGEL: „Perish in Flames”). Tell us please when and where did you record it, who produced it, etc. and what we should know about the circumstances of „I am Sick, I Must Die” track. As far as I know, it has been your idea to cover PESTILENCE’s „Extreme Unction”, any thoughts about it?
W: Yeah; thanks a lot for the awesome review. It’s doing very well on the net haha. All the songs from the new 7″ EP were recorded during the „STIGMATA ME, I’m in Misery” recording sessions at the ToneShed recording studio, Horst, NL, last April, May and June under the professional supervision of mr. Erwin Hermsen. „I am Sick, I Must Die” is one of the first new songs we wrote since being reunited and it does have some very interested lines, I think. Especially the bass-track is very unique, which even is recorded in one single take what tells a lot about our bass-player’s very special qualities.
It seemed a good idea to record some extra covers for an 7″ EP to overcome the time between recording and releasing the full length CD/LP, because that takes some time and we didn’t want people to forget about us haha. The Pestilence track „Extreme Unction” was indeed mine idea; it suites our style and our interests very well. Studio owner and engineer Erwin came up with the Dark Angel track; which we learned in a few days before recording. During this time my drumkit was in the studio so i could not learn the song. I only „played” it in my head before recording it on a hot Saturday in June.
The cover art is brilliant, absolutely fits the conception of INQUISITOR. Who suggested you to use the famous and impressive painting of Flemish Pieter Brueghel the Elder, called „The Triumph of Death” (1562)?
W: At first we suggested a picture that had to do with the „STIGMATA ME, I’m in Misery” CD/LP cover, but that didn’t work out very well. So, while on a family holiday I had to deliver a cover very soon and during figuring out the lyrics of „I am Sick, I must Die” I came across the painting. It has a lot to do with the lyrics and suites the song quite well, I think. Besides that; it’s a absolutely amazing painting by a great artist.
Enlighten us please what should we expect from your second full-length, „Stigmata Me, I’m in Misery”, which will be released through Hammerheart Records in January, 2018. (You told me via personal e-mails, that „I am Sick, I Must Die” is too slow ☺ so I hardly can imagine how the other tracks will sound, of course, in a good way).
W: The single "I am sick, I Must Die” gives a good idea of what to expect next January, that’s why we wanted to do the EP some time before the album release. Telling you that "I am Sick, I Must Die” was too slow, was me joking around of course. All the songs of the new album are in the same INQUISITOR vain and are fast and aggressive as we always were. In spite the fact that it’s 20 years after our latest studio recording we kept the same spirit in writing music, yet we all aged damned well in handling our instruments, and even our singer kept his voice. The new "STIGMATA ME, I’m in Misery” album consists of nine tracks, eight new INQUISITOR tunes and even an extra surprise as well. Just a few more months to figure out what that is haha.
Let’s talk a little bit about your past bands, DESULTORY and CENTURIAN. I’m a big fan of CENTURIAN and NOX since the 90s and like a lot all those albums (including of course the ones where you played on the drums). Please share with us some old stories about your past in these excellent hordes.
W: All the bands had a little to do with each other actually and DESULTORY was the origin of it all. Around 1989 I formed DESULTORY along with some local friends, and Alex Bakker also joined after a while. After a few years; both Alex and I, together with Erik and Alex created INQUISITOR (Dec. 1991). We had a great time creating our unique style, made some great recordings and played gigs all over Europe. Especially our CD „Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust” did very well and made us known in the European underground scene. When there raised some problems after 5 years within the band, I started CENTURIAN with the last guitar player (Rob Oorthuis) who filled in for Erik after he left for Ancient Rites. Also with Centurian I had an excellent time. We reached more then expected, made great albums and were a favorite of lots of well known bands. I remember Morbid Angel playing in Centurian shirts at a Florida gig and there were lots more doing the same, like Marduk, Angelcorpse, Immolation among many others. When CENTURIAN ended in 2002, Rob created NOX.
In between all those years I’ve also been playing in Occult during the „Sons of Northern Darkness Tour 1994” with Marduk and Immortal and I’ve been playing with Judgement Day when they were without drummer for 2 years; I’ve even recorded one EP with them. My stint with CENTURIAN was the most productive; I’ve recorded the „Off Purest Fire” demo/mini CD ’97, the „Choronzonic Chaos Gods ’99 ” and „Liber ZarZax ’01” albums; played in the USA at the Milwaukee Metal Fest among other great gigs throughout Europe and toured with Vader through England, Scotland and Ireland March – April 2002. Unfortunalety that ended in 2002 when it all became to much next to my family and very busy job. Now that my kids are almost grown-ups I finally find time again to do what I like best; playing the damned drums.
Desultory –
https://soundcloud.com/wim-van-der-valk/sets/desultory-demo-1991-luminious-assassination
Inquisitor – https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WwaUvqD8lG7fhGuicHsE3
Centurian – https://open.spotify.com/artist/3yyz42VvQADvWLi7g5DmL4
Judgement Day – https://open.spotify.com/track/5YIRqCMZ6jOuQsK1P2Y4r7
How was the situation with INQUISITOR shows back in the 90s and how they look after your re-union?
W: At first things were great. We were a very fanatic band, we rehearsed a lot; at least twice a week, played nice shows and we could get along very well. After a few years some of us let drugs get in the way which made ‘m loose focus on the band. At some point Erik took the change to play with Ancient Rites to play way more shows. This all made me consider what to do and after I tried out a new guitarists I found out that a new guitarist also brought a new sound as well, so I decided to start all over again…… as CENTURIAN !!! The next years I occasionally ran into Erik at a show but I lost contact with the others. When we met again in 2014 we all had our difficulties in live but were all very interested and eager to start INQUISITOR again. It took only a few rehearsals before we played most of the songs again and played a try-out gig within 2 months.
You joined forces with the Dutch Black Metal horde SAMMATH in 2016. How this Hellish Alliance happened? What are your future plans (new stuff, live shows)?
W: After reuniting INQUISITOR I became good friends with the promoter of Hammerheart Records, Jan Kruitwagen, who also is the SAMMATH main-man and he asked me to join his band. He seemed a fan of my drum-work for a long time and knew all my releases so far.
However….. joining SAMMATH was the hardest thing I ever did. The drumming-style of their latest releases is great but it’s all recorded on a impulsive, spontaneous way and timing is ehhh ….different than I’m used to.? But after a while it is all working out very well. We are close to the first gig with the new line-up (we are playing with Abbath next Dec. 2nd in Leeuwarden, NL) and are working on a new album. So, busy times ahead of us.
Besides that, next to playing in the most insane Thrash Metal band and having created the most brutal Death Metal band it was simply time to join the most evil Black Metal band as well !!!
W: All experiences so far have been great; in 2015 and 2016 we’re played about 8 shows each year and they went very well. We’ve done shows with Thanatos; Collision; Neocaesar; Disabuse; Antropomorphia; Soulburn; Dead Head; Ungod; Sisters of Suffocation and many more. We also played some new songs already in our hometown to try them out and response was awesome. We try to keep it interesting for ourselves by only playing the gigs that are somewhat special, like festivals and/or shows with close friends. We all are close to the age of 50 and have busy personal lives so playing every weekend isn’t our thing anymore. In the nineties we drove hundreds of KM each weekend to play for a handful of people sometimes, but now we pick the things we like to do.
This year has been a little quite because we needed a lot of time preparing the new recordings and also studio-time of course. Next to that Erik has some medical problems with his hands and because of that he needs surgery this month. This probably will be fixed within 2 months and from that moment we start playing new gigs again. Keep focused on our Facebook page for news concerning the gigs and on our YouTube and Instagram accounts for vids and photos.
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