Peter, a classically trained musician, merges saxophone with death metal in Wound Collector. His passion for both genres fuels this unique fusion.
1. How did the concept of merging saxophone
with death metal come about, and what inspired you to pursue this unique
fusion?
Peter : Actually I’m a classically trained
musician with several conservatory diplomas and lots of orchestra and chamber
music experience. My heart has always truly beaten for death metal as it is the
music that moves me most. When I was young I played bass guitar in a band but
just didn’t cut it for me. The saxophone is an extension of my body so the
speak, it’s the language I speak best. Therefore in my head it makes perfect
sense to combine saxophone and death metal.
2. Peter, as the founder and saxophonist of
Wound Collector, how do you approach incorporating saxophone into a genre
typically dominated by guitars and growling vocals?
Peter: For Wound Collector I use the tenor
sax which makes it easy to play both solos or melodies and go along with the
rhythm guitars as well. Most of the time I take the part of the lead guitar but
since Poncho joined the band I like to go along with the other guitar and bass
parts as well.
3. Guy, Poncho, and Stijn, coming from diverse
musical backgrounds, how does this influence the creative process within Wound
Collector, especially when crafting the intricate layers of your sound?
Guy: It's precisely the diverse nature
of our tastes and interests that all adds that extra layer of spice to our
flavour. Peter does all the heavy lifting concerning writing and arranging the
songs. We just add our playing style to the mix. And if we write tracks, then
everything goes into the Wound Collector blender and what comes out will always
sound like us. Consistency is the key and if it doesn't fit, it doesn't get
used or we change it so the final result does feel like one of our tracks.
There's always tweaking involved, but the blueprint will usually shine through.
Besides, we all like metal in its various guises, so throwing in some stuff
coming from different genres makes it more fun to play. We have some Balkan in
there, some Latin stuff, … In the end, it will always be brutal, but me
personally, I have never understood sticking to only 'genre' items. Variety
makes things stay interesting and alive if you toss it all in a blender.
4. Nico, having been with Wound Collector since
2018, how do you contribute to the band's distinctive blend of epic
saxophonised death metal, especially considering your background in other death
metal projects?
Nico: I hit the skins and make the
coffee!
5. "Begging For Chicxulub" is your
latest EP. Could you share the thematic inspirations behind the tracks,
particularly focusing on the title track "Chicxulub"?
Peter: Chicxulub is the name of the meteor
that set the eradication of dinosaus in motion. While at one hand we are
describing our version of how we think it could have happened, at the other
hand we are actually “begging for Chicxulub” to come back and destroy us like
it did with the dinosaurs. Humanity didn’t do a good job at maintaining the
planet, you know. Especially with the climate crisis and the amounts of waste
we produce it feels symbolic to make a new start as a race.
In ”River
Of Scalded Corpses” we describe the biggest boat accident recorded in American
history when the USS Sultana got on fire in the middle of a big river during a
Winter night. This disaster was documented only briefly because the Americans
were already fed up with the news of the Civil War. More American history is
sung about in “Dehumanized By The Auburn System” which is about the prison
system of the late 19the century up till the 60’ies. “Progress Through
Dishonor” tells the story of Russian scientist Vladimir Demikhov who performed
gruesome experiments on animals in order to learn more about transplantations.
6. Your music videos often carry a strong
visual narrative. How important is storytelling for Wound Collector, and how do
you ensure that your visuals align with the intensity of your music?
7. With guest vocals from Tommy Dahlströhm of
Aeon on "Depravity," how do collaborations like these enhance the
overall dynamics of your albums?
Guy: The basic point is that it always
has to add something to the track. You could put together an entire album with
guest appearances, but if it doesn't add to the song, then what's the point to
start with? And seeing as some of us have been Aeon fans for a while, it felt
like a good choice to get Tommy to do some growling. He was easily approachable
as well, which makes it all the more fun. For some people, you need to jump
through an insane amount of hoops (management or otherwise) before they even
know you exist. Here, it was a simple question and a while later: done!
8. Peter, you've had an extensive career as a
saxophonist, spanning various genres. How does your classical training
influence your approach to creating and performing death metal with Wound
Collector?
Peter: In fact I take a lot of my
experiences into Wound Collector. When we record my saxophone solos in the
studio it’s always surprising how much influence from balkan is inside of them.
Also free jazz and free impro is carried out regularly in the songs but always
aim to have the sax parts intertwined within the songs in a suiting style and
manner. While composing a often use classical forms. For instance the song
“Death By Guillotine” from our second album is actually a baroque rondo.
9. The band's lineup has evolved over the
years. How does this evolution affect the band's sound and dynamics, and what
strengths does each member bring to Wound Collector?
Guy: Every member brings something to
the table and we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but as a unit, we
function with deadly precision. People sometimes leave for various reasons, but
you should always look ahead. And we now have had a really solid line-up for a
while. Peter's a friggin' genius on a level of musicianship I can't even begin
to fathom, which is fun because he writes cool tunes. :-p Stijn is probably one
of the best bass players out there with a really cool style; Poncho has the
soaring lead chops and Nico is a bloody machine. I once jokingly referred to
him as the Belgian Flo Mounier, but that actually isn't far from the truth in
skill and tightness. I'm just a tight rhythm player with a big mouth, so I'm
playing catch-up, but it does force me to keep on improving and I need that
kick in the backside or I probably would have never left the three-chord-chug
back in the day.
10. In your live performances, how do you
recreate the studio sound of Wound Collector, especially with the complexity of
saxophone integrated into the music?
Guy: That isn't too difficult, actually.
I mean, sure: we don't have the occasional bass saxophone, but we pride
ourselves in putting to disc the things we can play live. There's no
backingtracks, no extra layers that we could never recreate live. We're a meat-and-potatoes
band, so what we bring live isn't thàt different from the record, except you
can see us going bananas on stage. Our albumsound and stagesound are fairly
close together. Some bands sound vastly different live from their albums, but
I'm fairly certain we stay consistent.
11. Can you share any memorable moments or
challenges you've faced as a band, either in the studio, on tour, or during
live performances?
Guy: Suddenly not being able to play
decently as soon as that 'Record'-light is up? XD Speaking for myself, I always
get way too nervous in the studio. It's fun hearing songs truly come together,
but getting there is nerve-wracking at times. For me, at least. I can say that
life is now a lot easier since we've added Poncho, because before that I had to
lay down all the guitatracks and that is exhausting at times. Now it's split
more evenly. Doing vocals is more fun for me, because I can lay them down
rapidly and pretty consistently as well.
Peter : One of the biggest challenges we
face is getting booked by organisors who haven’t seen us live before. Many of
them think the saxophone is a bit too curious or experimental fort heir
audience. But once they’ve seen us live they usually are pursuaded to book us
anyway and give it a shot.
12. Looking ahead, what are your aspirations
for Wound Collector, both musically and in terms of reaching new audiences or
exploring new territories within the metal genre?
Guy: Reach higher is probably the biggest
thing. First and foremost playing live a lot and steadily doing bigger venues
or festivals. That is the main thing for me. Sure, having a label backing us to
take care of promo and all the less rock 'n' roll things would be great, but I
just want to play live so that more and more people can enjoy what we bring to
the table.
Peter : Musically I’d like to bring a bit
more edge tot he table still. Wound Collector has a great line-up of skilled
musicians and I want to explore these skill further. It will always be a form
of death metal but there’s a whole playground there that I still want to figure
out more and more.
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