Some days ago, the news became official that drummer and founding Carach Angren member Ivo “Namtar” Wijers has left the band. I contacted him and he was kind enough to answer some questions on why he left the band, the metal music industry and of course, drumming.
TMO: In your statement about leaving the band you said that you became “a sort of employee of the metal music business”. Without any finger pointing, what would you say are the entities that have been steering you around and what are their interests in doing so?
Namtar: This should be understood differently. It’s not that all parties involved tell you do this or do that of course.
It’s a thing that has an indirect effect. It’s all everyone’s business, which I actually respect. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be bad at all. It’s the same if for example you have a construction company and always buy steel from the same supplier because then you get a discount, don’t pay transport costs or have other benefits. It’s the same in metal, with labels, merch shops and so on.
Sometimes your band can also benefit from this. But I’ve noticed many times that it brings us in some kind of trouble. And as said in my statement, you can find solutions. But at some point it’s over. You just wanna prepare, get on the plane, play the show, have a beer and go home. And not be busy with all kind of trouble every time right? And now it influences your show plans, so I’m done here.
TMO: Apart from the music and visuals, how much of Carach Angren do you guys manage yourselves in terms of logistics, promotion, booking or general behind the scenes aspects?
N: You always have a percentage of work in everything, it’s normal and depends on the situation. If we play a show in our home country, I don’t expect transport is being arranged or something like that.
Bands in general can do a lot of promotion themselves on the internet, so do we. Years back we’ve had bookers (our team, not the promoter of the show) that tried to cover to whole show part. But after may troubles there we split this up and I took production back. Flights that were not booked (high last minute costs), riders not at show or festival. For example one time at Graspop, the local crew didn’t even know who were when we arrived and what we needed…Not their fault of course and they did a great job making it a succes. But it was a rush.
We’ve even been flying back to a wrong airport too in the past. *statement: lack of common sense?
TMO: Do you think labels, promoters, show organizers should listen more closely to artists needs and preferences? What do you think they are doing wrong and what are some possible solutions?
N: I think not, that sounds strange right ;). I’ve had perfect arranged shows as well. Apart from the fact there are not always rules everywhere for everything and you have to try to navigate through things. We all have fun with music, have drinks, good atmosphere, yet you need to take it serious. Very serious.
I experienced many funny things there as well. For example when releasing 1 of the previous albums, we’ve noticed there was something wrong with the track quality, distorting on some moments. We mentioned to the ones responsible and what you initially get back is, ah well it’s not that bad and let’s go on. Are you kidding me? We wanna release quality music and tracks and you have to make sure it’s pressed in the right way. The main basic thing is not done properly sometimes.
This got solved in the end btw, but you get the point 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkNY9A9ToTU
TMO: I get that a lot of your difficulties have manifested in the live shows/touring department, but have any of these pressures affected your studio work or creativity?
N: Not at all. Studio is something you can prepare very easily. I never noticed I lacked creativity, I even have more plans for the stage but I see the first plans haven’t worked out for long term so why start on the next ones having the same risk.
TMO: Some of the die-hard Carach Angren fans prefer your earlier work, over the last couple of albums. Do you feel like a certain “magic touch” that they could see in the band was maybe lost over the years, maybe as a consequence of you becoming more high-profile in the industry?
N: It’s pretty logical you stay with the initial works of a band, because those works got you into them. We never lost anything. All albums were written as we wanted them to be. We often had too much material. The challenge is to wrap it up in a story again.
TMO: You gave some strong comparisons between the pop music and metal music businesses in your statement. What do you think in general sets the metal scene apart from those of other (more mainstream) musical styles?
N: What I meant there is the metal music business is (luckily) still leaning on the efforts of bands and their fans. Although often it’s behaving like it’s the other way around, it’s an illusion.
If all metal bands stop, nearly everything would collapse.
If all pop bands stop, they would have a huge dip. But just put together a boy or girl band again or something else. Force it through radio and tv and you’re rolling again. This explained in a nutshell.
TMO: Despite their decision to continue Carach Angren, do your bandmates share your views on these matters?
N: They agree on this. But we also have different personalities. I’m much more direct and when I for example don’t see the point of something, why would I do it. The others are more go with the flow like. I’ve tried that too, but it seems not to work out for me. There’s no right or wrong here.
TMO: Obviously being a metal musician isn’t all peaches and creams, but I suppose there’s a lot of good in it too. Looking back on your career, what would you say are some of the highlights of your time in Carach Angren?
N: I don’t agree on that. It’s what you make of it yourself. I started off as a musician without a certain goal, it’s just enjoying your hobby. Later when things seem to work the challenges start, also very nice. Now I’ve come to a point the challenge is over, at least with this band at this moment. I have to take steps back instead of forward regarding shows, I’m asked to agree on future tours where basics haven’t shaped yet. So most likely without all the stage stuff. So I’m maxed out. I’m proud of everything but I don’t care much about status, that makes these kind of choices much easier of course. Every show you’re asked to perform around the globe is actually a highlight, people like this shit. Having your face tattooed several times is pretty awesome too 🙂
TMO: And what do you think you will miss the most about it?
N: I have no idea. If I’m gonna miss something, I’ll notice when we’re further from now.
TMO: I know that the situation isn’t fully cleared out yet but what can you share about your plans in the foreseeable future, musically or otherwise? Anything fans of Carach Angren might be interested in?
N: Musically, I have no idea really. I’ll see what comes on my path, there’s no plan. I have my own company in technical support, electronics, robotics and automation which I love. So I’ll be busy with that.
So, if you need anything for your stage 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViIbVRXjPn4
TMO: I’m not a drum expert but let’s end with some drum related questions: What’s your view on drum triggers? Some people seem to think it’s cheating. Do you use them?
N: Those are absolutely necessary on the kick drums if you wanna produce noticeable kick drum sounds when playing fast.
It’s actually cheating if you DON’T use them while playing fast. Because using a microphone, nobody will hear the notes and if you played too many or too less, too fast or too slow.
What a trigger does, is it only sends a signal every time the skin where it’s mounted on is touched. It will make every hit noticeable, so you better play super tight as it will register all your mistakes as well 😉
TMO: What do you think are some essential skills for a metal drummer?
N: I’ve had that question a lot and I think the only thing I can say is a lot of effort. It’s not necessarily about techniques or so.
But my preferences seeing a drummer are, actually HIT the drums, no touching, HIT and master the songs you have to play.
TMO: Your band has a very strong visual component especially live. Does this make performing more difficult? Is drumming with corpse-paint harder than without it? 🙂
N: That’s a good one. I’m the wrong one to ask probably as I’ve always performed with paint. I was wearing special stage clothes too which doesn’t make it more comfortable at all, but you’re used to it. For the brain it works great, because you step into Namtar mode and become unstoppable. 😉
TMO: Aaaand, I guess the fiery question that everyone wants answered is: Did you record the drums on the new album?
N: Yes I did, as I posted some months ago.
That’s all folks! You can check out Namtar’s Facebook statement on leaving the band for further input. Carach Angren will continue to haunt the globe with a live drummer yet to be revealed. The band’s sixth studio album is already recorded and set to be released later this year through Season of Mist.
