Netherlanders Bodyfarm Keep it Simply Brutal — Exclusive Interview
Many of the up and coming death metal acts we cover here fall under the tech umbrella, but Bodyfarm are a wholly different animal. Formed in 2009, the Dutch group keeps their approach simple and punchy, crafting material in the spirit of early '90s death metal and channeling it with a fresh and youthful energy. Their recently released 'Bodyfarm' EP has even been getting praise from the infamously staunch death metal experts that spend every waking hour on metal message boards. Yes folks, the EP's no-nonsense songs and tar-thick guitar tones are that good.
Noisecreep recently spoke with vocalist-guitarist Thomas Wouters about Bodyfarm's love for pure death metal and the underground scene in his native Netherlands.
I hear some Pestilence and Bolt Thrower influences in your riffing style and overall choices of tempos. But then again, you also throw in blast beats from time to time. Where did you draw the most inspiration from?
Well, we draw our inspiration from a host of different metal scenes and sounds. We really love old school death metal bands like Massacre, Vomitory, Obituary, Bolt Thrower, and Vader. But we also listen to Amon Amarth, Satyricon and Immortal. We get inspired by lots of different styles of metal and I think that makes us a bit more versatile. Although we want to play old school death metal, we try to create our own sound called 'Bodyfarm.' The EP is pretty straight-forward old school death metal, but you will probably hear more influences on the full length album which will be recorded this coming fall.
What were the first few bands or albums that got you obsessed with heavy metal?
I bought my first metal album when I was 8 years old. That was Metallica's 'Master of Puppets,' which is still one of my all-time favorite records. Quint [drummer/co-founder] also started with Metallica at a very young age. Then in puberty I discovered more thrash metal bands like Exodus and Destruction. After that came death metal and there was no turning back [laughter]. The first death metal record I ever heard was probably an old album from Benediction.
What was the Netherlands underground music scene like this past decade? Is death metal as popular as say, black metal or punk?
Well, I'm only 23 years old so I can't speak for the last decade, but death metal in the Netherlands is still alive. Every big tour passes through our country, because we have a lot of big venues. The underground scene however is not that popular. Only a few die-hards really support the underground by going to gigs and buying our merch. I think the Dutch death metal crowd is a bit spoiled because of all the bigger acts who play here so much. When we play with two other underground bands, you never expect it to be a crowded gig. We don't care though. I'd rather play for a small crowd banging their heads than play for a bigger one that doesn't really care.
It used to be that death metal bands would spend endless hours writing letters and trading demos with people across the globe. Since Bodyfarm started out during this internet age, how did you guys get your name out?
Since day one, we've promoted Bodyfarm like crazy. The best part of the internet is that it's made it easier to spread our music all over the world. That's how we joined Abyss Records' roster. They contacted us through our MySpace page. We've also sent our EP to a ton of e-zines and promoted the band on several metal forums. We eventually received a message from Theo van Eekelen [Hail of Bullets] and he told us how much he liked our music. He's been a huge supporter of Bodyfarm.
More From Noisecreep
