Marking yet another first this year for The Metalist we attended our first ever Damnation. Among enjoying the fantastic live acts we were able to speak to some of the band’s performing in Leeds hallowed Union. Very kindly taking the time out of their incredibly busy schedules up first is Asphyx!

Announcing that the band will be ending the studio imminently, if not already before they hurried down however the band played a spellbinding set at Damnation. We were lucky enough to be able to speak to guitar master Paul Baayens and eponymous growling ghoul Martin van Drunen. Speaking of their recent mini tour around South America, the Death Metal scene at present and the all important forthcoming album. Listen to the full int view below the excerpt of our chat where we find out just what 2016 has in store for the Dutch legends.

Can you tell us about the new material?

Martin : Well what is there to say? I think it’s just strait forward Asphyx no?

Hahaha

Paul : Yeah, definitely. Strait forward but we got with the other albums. This is on the same path, so nothing really refreshing but still it is

Martin : I think some of your riffs are quite surprising! It still fits in the music and it still fits with the band but we always write songs. He does all the guitar work and the riffing and me later on once the songs are arranged, which we like to do in the rehearsal room I’m the one of course who writes the lyrics maybe we need a few riffs played longer or shorter… From the material that we have now i think it will be a really good follow up from Deathhammer. Which was I think the best album Asphyx ever made you’ve got a kind of pressure on you p. I think we’re going to manage with this one, it’s got some fantastic riffs not all of the songs are written yet or arranged but yeah fully confident that his will be a really good one. And you know it’s the same kind of mix that we alway do, I think the thing with Asphyx is, fans who like our music and follow the band will never get disappointed because it’s just that style.

Martin : The classic death metal style, comparable to a band like if you like AC/DC you never get disappointed. It may not be by refreshing  or new innovating but

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

Martin : Exactly

Paul : At least we dig it so hopefully other people will too!

Lyrically have you written lyrics to it?

Martin : I always do that once they have recorded the songs.

Oh ok!

Well not fully recorded, but if I know how the compositions and the arrangements are because I don’t want to have any surprises. When I wrote words where I have to rearrange it and change it all that. That’s the final one but I’ve got plenty of ideas!

Sounds very exciting!

Martin : Well I mean for me, seem times you the that after so many lyrics that you wrote with so many bands will be not easy to find another one but yeah if you read a lot and you’re just interested in all kinds of things you pick it up easily.

Where do you draw influences from, do you have particular draw of influence? Literature something like that?

Yeah it could be literature! Well not that strong literature, well I saw some good documentaries not history channel or National geographic you know like on TV channels. I like to watch a French show and German art as well. And also stuff that I read in the news! Stuff in the newspapers what news or discussions that are going on so its a wide range of all kinds of things that can interest me or trigger me to write some kind of lyric basically everything actually.

Paul : Its not like Black Metal where it has its own style of antichrist or the gore bands only gore, we have a wide range of lyrics so it’s interesting.

Martin : Sometimes I just make a up a story myself!

Why not?

Martin : Sometimes a kind of horror story to listen to the music, it’s just fun.

As long as it’s brutal!

Both : Hahaha