On the moment of writing this foreword Martyr is presenting their new album ‘Fear The Universe’ at Azotod in De Meern. Parenthood is a bitch. But all well, I did hear their latest album, and Rusty Cage Records approached us with the question if we could interview Martyr. And during the research I discovered that this band has an impressive resume. Not too long ago they toured Europe as a support of American shock rockers Lizzy Borden (You know, those from ‘Rod Of Iron’ and ‘Give ‘Em The Axe’), and in the past they shared the stage with then big name Exciter. Lords of Metal spoke to Rick Bouwman, guitarist and founding member of Martyr about metal, metal and more metal and what Joost Belinfante of Dutch 80's teenybopper heroes Doe Maar had to do with it for Gods sake!
Martyr, one of Holland’s First true metal bands has returned with a new album. How does it feel to have something new out after all these years? Is it a logical follow up to ‘Darkness At Time’s Edge’, or do you consider ‘Fear’ to be a totally new chapter in the history of Martyr?
The new album called ‘Fear The Universe’ did actually start as a re release of our very first album ‘For The Universe’. But because we also did re-release that album in 2004 we decided that this release had to be something really different than the 2004 one. So we started writing new songs which went so very well that we just could not put them after the FTU songs on 1 CD as a sort of bonus. So with support form Rusty Cage Records we now have released a totally new album called “Fear” with five brand new tracks, and the re release “FTU” in a double digipack called ‘Fear The Universe’. We think ‘Fear’ is indeed a new chapter in the history of MARTYR and the way back for the band into the metal scene. Lots of people know us as a Dutch Cult classic metal band from which the albums were hard to get. But we have played a lot of live shows the past three years or so after our reunion at KIT IV. Now the old and new fans are able to reach out to our material again and will be surprised by the new songs as well. A new start for MARTYR to continue our live performances and fun for us as well to play some new shit live!! Next goals must be a full length new album!!
As I do with all bands that reunite after a long time, I would like to dig into a little bit of history before we delve deeply into the new record. Martyr was formed in 1982 and recorded two demo’s ‘If It’s Too Loud, You’re Too Old’ and ‘Metal Torture’. The first one reveals a big ANVIL influence to me. Was Anvil one of the bands inspiring Martyr?
Twenty years or so ago nobody mentioned Anvil as one of our main influences. These days I hear it a lot after the re-release of the FTU album.They are not, actually, although we did like the band. And also Iron Maiden is not one of our influences although the early MARTYR does have a NWOBHM-ish sound. Our main influences those days were actually bands like Warlord, Loudness, X-Ray, Satan Jokers and the very early Queensrÿche (The Queen of the Reich EP)!!
When Roadrunner Records contacted you to contribute material for the ‘Dutch Steel’ compilation album, were there high hopes for a larger recording contract over there?
Of course there were high hopes, but imagine that we were only about seventeen years of age (average). I think our very first drummer was I guess about fourteen years old or so. We were so inexperienced then. Alfred Lagarde who produced the albums was thrilled by the band, but unfortunately we were not satisfied with the final result. One of our songs, the classic ‘Speed Of Samurai’, did not even make it to the album because of its heaviness. “It did not fit”, was the argument. But it is one of the classics and one of the faves of many fans! So although Dutch Steel did bring us a lot of good response and press etc. we knew we could do better.
Eventually Martyr became a household name in the metal scene, and even internationally you got great press; Aardschok considered Martyr to be the best heavy metal band to come from the Netherlands (Yeah, I remember those reviews), and finally you ended up on Metal Massacre 6, the famous compilation-series from Metal Blade. How did you end up on such an internationally acclaimed sampler?
Yes, that’s correct. We were considered to be the most promising metal band of the Netherlands those days. That was even after we released just one song “Snow And Fire” from our demo cassette “Metal Torture” on a compilation cassette called “When the hammer falls down”! After that and after the release of the Metal Torture demo things went crazy indeed. We sold so many copies of that cassette worldwide, that it was obvious that it had to be noticed. Megaton did, but also Metal Blade did. Brian Slagel approached us and asked if we could contribute a track to the MMVI release. We contributed a track called “En Masse” which got good response and reviews. And that’s remarkable because it was the only non speed metal track on the entire album. After the MMVI release we noticed, by press, all the letters and fan mail we received from all over the world (no email yet haha), that MARTYR was now considered to have grown more internationally!
Martyr then signed to the new label Megaton Records, which was run from the famous record store Boudisque in Amsterdam. As I remember correctly, you were label mates with bands like Angus, Exises and Emerald. Has there ever been an initiative to tour with label mates?
No actually there hasn’t. You know: we did so many shows and have played with these guys somewhere for sure, but never on tour. MARTYR did play all over Holland every weekend. Those shows were our nights out, you know what I mean? Mostly we played with great bands and friends of ours like Together, Allied Forces or Defender because we had so much fun with them. This was and still is the main reason for us to play music anyway.
You then went on tour with Exciter. Back in those days, Exciter was a big name in the metal scene (I suspect that it was around the album ‘Long Live The Loud’ or ‘Unveiling The Wicked’). How was it to do a tour with such a band? Were they arrogant asses, or cool guys to hang out with?
With all these questions about what happened more than twenty years ago I’m almost feeling old haha. Wow, it is sometimes hard to remember details of that tour. What I do remember is that when we supported Exciter we already had our backline and drum kit painted red/white. So when the Exciter fans entered the venue lots of them responded anxiously that we were doing the support shows. Exciter did not really like that. Especially in Rotterdam, I remember they would not give us the opportunity to do a sound check. Although they were already done a long time we were not allowed to get on stage and had to do a line check when the audience was already in! We did nothing out with these guys really. Not in the way I remember as we hung out two months ago with Lizzy Borden during our European tour, haha.
In your biography you state that Megaton wanted to make some money off Martyr. Was that also one of the main reasons why you switched to Metalloid Records?
What I meant by that is that we dropped our demo cassettes at Boudisque, and every week they would contact us to deliver more. So Megaton, which has a relation with Boudisque, must have been thinking: these guys are selling so much of these cassettes (‘Metal Torture’ and ‘For The Universe’) , let’s release one of them on vinyl. So we can also make some money out of it. And so they did. But it was also for us of course great to have an EP out on vinyl, and not have to send these cassettes by (air) mail all over the world! So I must say: we were both satisfied with this deal. And till today I still don’t regret it. We were so proud when the first album was released. Gerard (vocals) and I sat down for hours only watching the FTU cover thinking: wow this is our album!
In 1986 your second album ‘Darkness At Time’s Edge’ was released. The first thing that hit me was that the cover-art wasn’t in league with the album title. Was there a specific reason for using that cover-art?
It was the idea of Metalloid records. We liked the idea but it did not work out the way it was planned. It had to be more of a metal thing! It was not our intention however to have the cover art in league with the album title. You know MARTYR is a band that has always tried to be a little different than expected. For instance on the D.A.T.E. album you van hear some instruments you don’t hear (and especially in these day) often with metal music, like trombone or tin whistles. Those instruments were played by Joost Belinfante, multi instrumentalist and a member of Doe Maar. Can you imagine, a member of Holland’s most popular teenage boy band at that time performing with a metal band. (Doe Maar weren’t a teenage boy band back then, those guys were well into their thirties, ed. Wilmar). We didn’t care. We did not want to sound like others, that was our main goal from the very first beginning of MARTYR.
Martyr suffered some drastic line up changes, which actually caused the end of the band in 1987. The big question then is what you have been doing since the split up in 1987 and the reunion in 2001. That’s about fourteen years to tell something about! What have you guys been doing?
We have been doing a lot actually and we all have been playing in several bands after MARTYR. Some in the same traditions, others sounded very different. On the 2004 re-release we added a Martyr labyrinth of all the MARTYR members and their post-MARTYR acts. And even that is not a total list. To name a few bands you might know: Medallion, Syrenade, Mindscape, Hot Legs, Picture, Vangouw, and My Brother Jake amongst many others. After the Heavy Metal Maniacs reunion Gerard Vergouw (vocals) and Elias Papadopoulos (drums) eventually followed their non musical careers. Me, Marcel and Toine kept on playing several bands and joined again 2004 (KIT).
In 2001 you reformed for a gig at the Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival, and it was quite successful. How did it feel to play all your old material again for a live audience? Why did it actually take another three years before you actually returned to the scene?
The HMM fest was a good show and indeed our 1st reunion after fourteen years or so. Many friends came to see us. It felt really good to play the old material again, it still does. And you know, even if you haven’t played it for so many years, you’ll never forget the arrangements and keys. We were so close musically and as friends back in the eighties that after fourteen years there was this immediate “good feeling“ to play with each other again. So we didn’t had too many rehearsals to make that show have a great vibe to it! The HMM show was supposed to be the only MARTYR reunion show. But after three years we were asked, mostly by German promoters, to play again and to re release both our albums. So we did and started in 2004 with more reunion shows like Keep It True. And after that the urge to do more MARTYR reunion shows never stopped!
In 2004 you reformed again for a gig at the legendary Keep It True Festival, a festival where my heroes of Manilla Road have been frequent guests. Germany is always a better place to be when it comes down to metal, so how did you experience the outrageous German crowds? How did the German fans conceive Martyr’s brand of metal?
That show was probably the best show we had ever done till then. What a crowd, what fun we had doing KIT. We were so pleased and surprised really by that response we received that night and by that fantastic crowd that seemed to know every word of every lyric of every classic MARTYR song we played. It was excellent. We just could not believe it! After the show every superlative was heard and we got so drunk of happiness (or was it the booze) that this had to be continued!
After Keep It True you decided to stay together?
For sure it did, although it was Gerard’s last show we immediately decided to ask Rop van Haren, our very first and original singer back to the band. And after that the band grew better and better, especially live. That is mostly because Rop is THE frontman every band wishes to have. He is crazy, interacts with the crowd during the entire show and the crowd digs everything he does immediately! Besides that, of course he is an excellent singer! So we stood together and did more and more reunion shows in the Benelux and mostly Germany (like Headbangers Open Air).
In your biography it’s stated that both your albums were re-issued. Why did you choose to re-issue ‘For The Universe’ another time through your current label Rusty Cage Records?
RCR kept on asking but we already had the albums out. So after a couple of years and lot of shows and growing interest in MARTYR we said OK. But let’s make it different then the other re-release.
How did you get in contact with Rusty Cage? And how much time did it take you guys to decide if Martyr was going to release new material?
We know these guys well as they are from the same era as we did and also played metal bands during that period (like Defender). After the decision to release FTU again we immediately decided to add new material as well. We wanted more for us and more for the fans. By writing and adding new songs the band as well was thrilled to let their audience hear some more variety in the MARTYR material. But we were also thrilled of course, after 20 years, to let out our own new ambitions and to be creative again in the writing process!!
Listening to ‘Fear’, two things come to mind: the sound is by far the best you ever had, and the songs seem heavier and more modern than your previous albums. Can you relate to that?
Yes I can. What we have been trying to do with ‘Fear’ is not letting go totally of the eighties feel, but because of our own progression, and the fact that we are twenty years away from the FTU release, it has a modern twist on the songs. That is our purpose, not to be completely different from the older material, but yet to sound stronger, heavier , with of course a better sound and fresh ideas. We kept the basic elements in the songs, but approached them with a more modern vision. So ‘Fear’ can hopefully be seen as the bridge to bigger things and a bigger development for MARTYR in the near future!
On ‘Different Kind Of Rain’ I hear some alternative influences in your music. Did your taste in music differentiate from the taste you had back in the eighties, and are those influences now audible in your music, or is this mini-album something you always wanted to do, but were not able to due to meddling record companies or managements who think to know what’s better for you?
‘Fear’ has of course our eighties influences, as well as all influences after that period for us, in its songs. ‘Fear’ is not the album we always wanted to make, but ‘Fear’ is mostly an album that developed during the process of writing new songs. There has been one moment in MARTYR’s career where a record company tried to influence MARTYR’s musical development and that was after the release of Darkness At Time’s Edge. We then almost signed with Polydor but they kept on pushing us to write a commercial single. And we could not do that. We can’t write on a command. We can only write what we want to write ourselves. So that was a fiasco in ’87, and was one of the reasons the band split up eventually.
You went on tour with Lizzy Borden. Now he was always good for some melodic American Metal, but his shows were always kind of cheesy with beating up Santa Claus with baseball bats and that kind of stuff. Nowadays the band looks more like a Norwegian Black Metal band. Wasn’t Martyr fading away next to Borden’s extravaganza, or did you simply kick his American ass with Dutch brand metal?
The Lizzy tour was a blast. 5700 km in two weeks, doing ten shows with them. You can imagine driving about more than 500 km average each day was a bit exhausting, because the booked venues were not always that close to each other. For instance after Poland, back to Holland and up to Sweden, Denmark, back to Sweden and Germany to end up in Holland again… The Lizzy guys are GREAT guys and we had lots of fun with them. They gave us everything we needed to do a great show. And we did have great shows. I honestly can say that we were a good support act for the Lizzy guys because though not all the Lizzy fans had heard about MARTYR before, we got terrific response everywhere. So the fans were indeed warmed up when Lizzy hit the stage. A great band as well, good musicians, and good metal music! I must say I liked their horror show a lot, and almost every evening I enjoyed watching it (for some parts) amongst the crowd.
On February 20th 2009 you will present your new album to the Dutch press and audience. What are your plans after that? Are there any nice tours waiting for you, or are you going to write new material? Let’s be honest: for a first time in twenty two years, a mini-cd is a bit thin, don’t you think? When can we expect a new full length?
After the CD release party there are some more shows planned, but most important is our release party next Friday the 20th of February. There will be a lot of friends and press over there. We are currently working on some summer festivals and will play Elsrock 2009 for sure with Flotsam and Jetsam. And also we are working on a new European tour this summer but that is not yet totally confirmed. So keep yourselves informed by our website or MySpace. After our CD release party we will start writing new material for a full length album we hope that will also be released by RCR, because these guys are GREAT for us and we love working with them! Unfortunately I can’t tell you when to expect a new album.
Well, this wraps it up for me. Do you have any final words for the readers of Lords of Metal?
Well Wilmar, thanks so much for this interview. You have freshened up my memory about my own band haha. I hope all our (old and new) fans will really like the old as well as the new material on ‘Fear The Universe’. And we hope to see every Lords of Metal reader on the road somewhere, sometime, somehow!! Rock On!!