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.
Tim's Favourite - A Deeper Advantage (lyrics video) (youtube.com)
Tim's Favourite (@timsfavouriteband) • Photos et vidéos Instagram
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