Interview with doom death metal band from Netherlands - OFFICIUM TRISTE.
Answered Pim Blankenstein (vocals), thank you!
Recenze/review - OFFICIUM TRISTE - Hortus Venenum (2024):
Ave OFFICIUM TRISTE! To start our conversation with a short story...I got up early and went into the woods. It was quiet and the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. I came to the ruins of an old church. In the ruins, I sat down for a while and listened to your new album "Hortus Venenum". It was at the end of July, the album had come to me for review earlier. I wasn't able to write anything until last week, I preferred to keep listening. Welcome to Hooland and thank you very much for your new album. How did the album come about, when did the first ideas and thoughts come about? What is the basic theme of the whole record?
Thanks for the story.
Just after the release of The Death of Gaia late 2019 we were confronted with the pandemic, which meant we couldn’t actually promote the album doing live shows and so on. So, we started working on new material since we couldn’t do anything else. We actually wrote a lot of new material and carefully decided which songs would end up on a new album. We did record and release a single in between. Late 2022 we started recording the new album. We always take our time doing so and in January 2024 we were finished. In general we always work on ideas that we all like and those become actual finished songs. There’s no special thought behind it. Along the way I usually come up with song titles and lyrics, although this time Martin presented the title Behind Closed Doors.
I first came up with the title Poison Garden and later on decided to translate it into Latin as we have done before. This title is a metaphor for the world we live in. And even when the subjects of the particular songs differ a lot, there’s always a link to the behaviour of mankind on this planet.
I listen mostly to fast music, raw death metal, black and thrash, but doom metal is kind of in my blood since the first albums PARADISE LOST and MY DYING BRIDE. A long time ago, when I was still in college, I discovered this style with my future wife. How did you get into this style? And what is it like to play doom metal in Holland? To be honest, I don't know many bands like that from you.
Before we started with Officium Triste we were called Reïncremated and played death metal. But at that time we already listened to bands such as Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Katatonia, Type O Negative or Winter to name a few. For our keyboard player Martin, who started out as our drummer, the show of My Dying Bride in early 1994 here in Tilburg in the Netherlands was the trigger to quit Reïncremated and reform as Officium Triste.
Being a doom metal band in the Netherlands is tough. It’s not the most popular genre. There are quite a few bands active though. One of our inspirations Celestial Season is active again and releasing cool albums with classic doom/death. Other than that there are a couple bands that are more underground, like Façade or Sad Whisperings.
I personally discovered you at a gig with OCTOBER TIDE in Pilsen in 2015. I must admit that I was literally fascinated by the atmosphere you were able to create. I immediately ran to buy a CD with a friend and didn't listen to anything else for two months. Every time I'm in a "sad" mood or need to stop, I choose doom metal. Do you remember the tour with OCTOBER TIDE? What do you think about the Czech fans?
I remember that gig well. Also the day after when Nifelheim had to perform for instance. This was our first time in the Czech Republic and we enjoyed it a lot. Especially the reception we got from the Czech audience. And last but not least; to taste pilsner beer in the city where it was invented was cool too. We even did a brewery tour.
If you saw my library, you might be surprised. You'll find old historical books and novels as well as modern detective stories, science fiction. I'm the same with books as I am with music. I like to sample. I'll go to a grindcore concert, listen to black metal. But doom metal is a very specific kind of music. It's got every note, drum beat, vocal. How do you actually compose such music? I'm interested in the process of creating a new song? Is that a motif you can hear somewhere? In the ether, in your head? For me, for example, the words for reviews come to mind most early in the morning when I'm walking to work. I write them down on my phone and then use them when I start writing. How do you do it?
It’s a bit hard fort me to tell as the others usually come up with the ideas en melodies. But I know from them inspiration often comes unexpected. And it comes from different aspects in life. Once an idea is presented we work on the arrangements as a band. And when the composition is almost finished I start working on lyrics. Ideas on lyrics also can come from anywhere. First and foremost they must fit the feeling I get from the music.
I also write down words or sentences in my phone. It’s my little note book i use when I actually start writing lyrics.
I'll confess to one thing. You know what literally fascinates me about Hortus Venenum? The vocals! You have a very urgent voice, it complements and enhances the music perfectly. It's like you guys have a special connection in the band? Do you have a musical background? Do you take singing lessons, for example?
I am completely self-taught. You know, back in 1992 or so, we were a big group of friends who were all active in bands. Ceremony lost their singer and asked the singer of Profane. I tried out for Profane, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. So, Profane asked the then singer of Reïncremated. I was good friends with the bass player of Reïncremated so I started out there. And I just learned going along. Practice makes perfect, right? As you know Reïncremated turned into Officium Triste and we’re still here.
Within the band we get along really fine and it just all comes naturally. No big secrets here.
You're from Rotterdam. I don't know if it's true, but it seems to me that the sea and the surrounding nature must have inspired you a lot? Or am I wrong? I imagine you're walking along the beach or visiting an old church and suddenly you think of a new motif for a song. Because I feel this strange melancholy from the new record, which is something that not only British doom bands have, but also bands from Finland. Does the environment influence you a lot in your work? Where do you actually like to go? What about you and nature, sights?
Well, Rotterdam is a city and at times a rather bleak one. This does inspire me. Together with our bass player Theo I am the only one in the band still living in or very near Rotterdam. The rest of the band lives in other parts of the Netherlands. Martin, our keyboard player moved to Germany many years ago and he actually lives in a part with great nature.
As the lyricist my inspiration largely comes from other sources like books, movies and real life. You know, stuff you see on the news. The state the world is in for instance.
Me personally I like cities, museums, history, literature and nature from time to time too. If you open your eyes there’s a lot of intriguing and beautiful stuff in this rotten world.
How are you on the gigging side of things? Do you play a lot and often? We have a few good doom bands in Pilsen and the gigs tend to be really poorly attended. This is a pity, although I understand that this music is not for everyone. How many people come to the club to see you? And what are the Dutch fans like? Do they support the bands?
It is not that different here I suppose. We do play regularly but not a lot. Putting on doom shows is hard. The attendance isn’t that good. The only way to attract more people to a show is to mix it up with other styles. Or to do a festival type thing, which I have been doing with Dutch Doom Days since 2002. Then you’ll attract a bit more people.
I have been wondering about this for a long time. And it all boils down to people. Why do bands like My Dying Bride or Candlemass sell out bigger venues? And why aren‘t 90% of the people attending those shows interested in gigs by similar bands? Something I don’t understand myself as I love to check out new bands or go see bands I haven’t seen live before. I guess I’m part of that small die-hard group of fans.
In the Netherlands you always see the same people at doom gigs. These are also the die-hards.
I also feel bands from abroad get more support opposed to Dutch bands. And I really don’t know why. We have so many great bands here.
Most bands have rather fluctuating quality in their discographies. But it's different for you. I don't think you've recorded a bad album yet. How do you explain that? Are you perfectionists? Or does everything happen only under the "guidance" of one person? They say a band is like a family. Well, yeah, but there's always got to be someone in the band who has the final say. How is it with OFFICIUM TRISTE?
Okay, instead of family I prefer to see the band as being in a relationship. And when things don’t work anymore you’ve got to make changes. That’s why we have had some line-up changes in the past. As a band we do function as a unit, where we decide on everything together. We don’t really have a leader. Creating music is a group process. One person delivers the basic idea, but we work on the song together till everyone is happy. Recording your music is like a snapshot. You deliver the best you can at that moment. You might strife for perfection but there’s always things you can improve or that you might not be totally happy about afterwards. This is only good, because this will make you work harder on your next release and try to do better. Also, if you deliver a perfect album it is time to quit, because perfection can’t be surpassed.
As I'm getting older, I'm becoming more and more aware of what things are important. There's a lot of chaos all around us these days. Social media, the news, wars, depression, it all affects us and every moment we stop and maybe just sit and look at the ruins of old churches and listen to music is terribly precious. Actually, for me, music is not only relaxation, but also a kind of therapy, it helps me to survive in the strange world of today. What does music mean to you as a creator and musician? And why doom metal?
You hit the nail on its head here. Our albums are fuelled by this man made hell on earth.
To me personally music or art in general is one of the things that make life still worthwhile. It indeed is therapeutic. Reading a book or watching a movie (both art forms) for instance make you drift away from all the misery around you. For a moment you don’t have to think about politics, war or stupidity. Creating art yourself is part of the same process. Enjoying art or creating art are both sides of the same coin. And doing this is a relief from every day life and you even learn from it as well.
The fact we decided to play doom metal is basically because of the beauty of this art form. It’s our vessel.
Could you please tell us how your lyrics are created and who is the author? Do you draw from literature, philosophy? But how does it come about that you think - this particular lyric, passage, book appealed to me and would be worth translating into music?
I write all lyrics and I basically try to come up with something that suits the actual music. Inspiration can come from anything. Let me give a few examples. The album’s title, which translates to Poison Garden, I wrote down when I saw the James Bond Movie No Time To Die. To me a Poison Garden is a great metaphor for the world we live in. The song My Poison Garden however has to do with mental problems a person can have. Something that more and more people seem to suffer from.
Angels with Broken Wings was something I came up with when I saw on TV what the impact of war on children is. This was an item about Ukraine but it can be situated anywhere.
Anna’s Woe is based on the story of the last witch sentenced to death in 1608 in the part of the Netherlands that was then called Holland. This happened in the city I was born and grew up in.
So, three different subjects inspired by different sources. It can be anything really as long as it fits the music. Like I said before, I write down things in my phone. Works like a charm for me.
One more trip into history, please. How did you get started in music? Who was your first role model? What about your first concert? And the first performance on stage?
Okay, when I grew up there was always music in our house and from an early stage I really liked music a lot. Still do. I listen to a wide variety of styles. And I love to collect. When I was 9 I got my first album from my oldest sister, which was One Step Beyond by Madness. I still have this record and it was a great start for my collection. In 1982 I went to my first concert. This was a gig by Doe Maar, a Dutch band that was huge around that time. They played reggae/ska inspired music with Dutch lyrics. Around that time I daydreamed about being in a band and I remember I wanted to be Ali Campbell of UB40.
I actually started out being in a band as I told before. But I had no real role model as far as the death metal vocal style is concerned. I just listened to plenty of bands and tried my best.
First live performance was with Reïncremated early 1994 a couple of months before we reformed as Officium Triste.
What are OFFICIUM TRISTE planning in the near future? Do you have anything to say to your fans? Here is the space.
We have a few gigs planned and hopefully we can do a few more. Since we still have quite a few ideas in storage I hope we can write some new songs soon. I know we take a lot of time between albums, but maybe we can return a bit sooner.
I also hope that our new album will be received well and that people will enjoy our music. We are very pleased with it and hopefully you are too!
I was up early preparing these questions, it's also the weekend and it's about to dawn. You can probably guess where I'm going. I've got my headphones ready, "Hortus Venenum" in them, and I'm looking forward to the woods. I'd like to finish by thanking you very much for your music. Thank you of course also for the interview and I wish you lots of inspiration and good ideas. May you do well in your private life too! Playing again...
Recenze/review - OFFICIUM TRISTE - Hortus Venenum (2024):
about OFFICIUM TRISTE on DEADLY STORM:
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