A few days before its release, Andries Beckers from Diablo Blvd. said us more about their brand new album!
Hey Andries how are you?
Andries Beckers (guitar): I’m fine. Thank you for asking. However, I am watching the news as I am doing this interview and needless to say we’re all shocked here because of what happened in Paris. Humanity is the Devil, I am afraid.
Your third record is about to get released. First can you explain us the meaning of its title?
A: “Follow The Deadlights” is about chasing love or something you really want, which is so powerful it could destroy you. When we had most of the song titles, this one absolutely stood out and we thought it would make a good album title.
In which state of mind were you before writing new music? What messages did you want to express through this new album?
A: When we started writing, I listened a lot to our first 2 records and although I like those records very much, we knew there was something missing. Everything needed to be a bit bigger. So we were very focused from the first rehearsals for the new album. The plan was always to get it released via an international label because due to conflicting schedules we were never able to tour on the first 2 albums. That’s one of the reasons they were only released in the Benelux. That being said, we also knew that in order to get this record out in the rest of the world, we knew it needed to be our best album so far and I think we succeeded.
Is there any guideline? What about the topics?
A: Music wise: from the first demo to this record, Diablo Blvd has always tried to write songs. We want to have catchy choruses, an overall epic production and lots of groove and then there’s Alex’ voice which gives it that Diablo Blvd sound. Lyricwise: a lot of Alex’s lyrics deal with duality in life. Good vs evil, man vs women but also our own struggles as we’re all part of a world we criticize so much. We’re a product of the society that made us the persons we are today.
How did the recording sessions go? How long did you put to fully record it?
A: The recordings went ok. It took us almost 3 months to finish it and then another 3 months for the mix, so it was a long process, but that’s what happens when you work with good people. They are not always available all the time, but it gave us enough room to improve and rewrite certain parts until we were satisfied. All in all, recording an album is a very intense affair and it takes a lot of energy, but as soon as you’re happy with the final result, you forget all the hard work.
Which three tracks could describe the best your new album? And why?
A: The opening track “Beyond The Veil” because it contains all the elements we have in our music and I like how groovy it was. Furthermore the title track “Follow The Deadlights” because it shows our catchy side but also with a dark twisted groove and last but not least “Inhuman” because it was the perfect ending for this record. A bit longer, but lots of atmosphere.
The sound is pretty clear and it isn’t over produced. What result did you want about the sound and its result?
A: First of all thank you for saying that. We were looking for a big sound. A big sound doesn’t mean it should be overproduced and we ended up recording with Ace Zec once again who has been our engineer/producer since the demo days at his home studio and also at the ICP studios in Brussels for the drums. Later on, Jay Ruston did the mix and we loved his work with Stone Sour, Steel Panther and Anthrax, so we hoped it would be a bit like those albums and Thank god it did, sound wise at least.
Which bands did you listen lately?
A: Lately, I listened a lot to Blues Pills, Triptykon, Led Zeppelin, Ryan Adams and Turnstile.
Can you say us more about Belgium metal scene? How is it out there?
A: I think it’s pretty healthy. It has become very broad, musicwise I think. There‘s so many heavy bands out there who don’t necessarily all play pure metal, but it ‘s definitely going the right way. I mean, there’s Aborted playing everywhere around the world, but there’s also Amen Ra doing the same thing. Both are metal bands, but both are also completely different. I think that’s a cool thing.
As you may know, Corrosion Of Conformity will release a new record with Pepper. Looking forward to it I suppose?
A: Absolutely! I’ve never been a huge fan of COC without Pepper doing vocals. “Wiseblood” is one of my favourite records and we have our name from the “America’s Volume Dealer” record, so if it’s going to be bit like those records, I will be stoked.
What are your next plans? Any special stuff for your 10th anniversary?
A: We will be touring Europe with Epica and Dragonforce in January. Afterwards we will do something else I believe, which isn’t confirmed yet. Summer will be all about the festivals and after summer, we will once again organise our own Diablo Fest which will also be our 10 year anniversary show.
Finally, we are “RockUrLife”, so what rocks your life?
A: Music, my wife and I’ll be a dad for the first time later in January, so I assume, it will be my daughter.
Website: diabloboulevard.com
