https://www.facebook.com/behindbars.be
Sounds like: Hardcore/Metal
From: Belgium
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound?
We grew up in areas and in an era where music was getting more and more accessible. Whether we were hanging around skate parks, video game stores, school or even at home, there was always someone who was blasting some Metal or Hardcore or even Punk through their speakers. So the transition from getting into music, listening to music and eventually playing music was pretty natural. It's a feeling you get I guess, a feeling for more. That's the time you start picking up an instrument and after a while end up playing in bands with your friends.
Developing a sound can be very simple but at the same time very hard. You want to stay original but also be recognizable, Aggressive but still accessible. You'll eventually get there, but it can be a tough road to walk on. But I think it's mostly done by experimentation and listening to your favorite bands. See what they're using, what they're doing and take influence from that and apply it to your own setup. You'll never sound the same, we're not trying to do that but it gives you direction. And after that you can see what you like and how it resonates with you and go on from there.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Escapism, a sense of belonging, maybe even some help with personal issues. Our songs are mostly very personal to us. Talking about personal experiences and troubles. So we hope that people can relate to them, recognize their own problems and maybe even find solutions to them in our music. But in the end we want people to have fun. There's nothing sweeter than sitting in your car or room or going to a show, putting on a good track and just fading away from the hard day you had.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
We always joke about how if Hatebreed and Lamb of God had a baby, that baby would be us haha. But I think it's an accurate description. A mixture of Hardcore/Metal with a lot of groove, a pinch of technicality and hard hitting breaks. Some even say there's a bit of a Death Metal influence in there, which could be considering our background.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Definitely HATEBREED. That would be our number 1 spot, no question about it. They're a big influence to the band and it would be a dream to tour with them.
LAMB OF GOD would be up there as well, also a big influence. Not sure if it would work putting us together, but if they're game we wouldn't think twice off course, haha.
We have already done a couple shows with these guys, but it would be great to do an entire tour with PRO-PAIN. They're great guys and the couple shows we already did with them were absolute bangers so I think an entire tour would be a massive experience.
5. What's your thoughts on AI generated music?
Personally I'm not the biggest fan of anything AI related. I still believe that people can and have to think for themselves and figure out stuff without using a machine. It takes the soul out of it in my opinion. We're dumbing down society because we can just ask it everything. I can agree that it could be a great tool, but it's starting to control people’s lives and that's not something I can get behind. For me, the risk is too big.
When it comes to music, I'm not going to use it. I still believe that music has to be something organic and has to have a soul. I can relate more to the song if I know there's a person behind it that went through it, than a machine who just learned it from something it grasped from the Internet.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Hardcore/Metal?
I think it's going places. There are bands who are getting more recognized by the general public, which is always great for a genre. Now, Hardcore Metal can be a very wide genre with a number of influences. But I see both sides of the coin growing, the more cleaner and the more aggressive side. It's kind of obvious that the cleaner side gets more spotlight by the masses, but it's great to see that also heavier bands in the genre are getting some coverage. We've come a long way to get here so I would say, keep up the good work, let's keep going.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Belgium?
It has its ups and downs. In my view we haven't really recovered that much from COVID. Lots of bands that started with us have called it quits after the lockdowns and while there are still bands coming in every so now and then, it still doesn't feel the same. Maybe we're just from another era and were getting old, haha. But it's slowly evolving and coming back on its feet again. Maybe give a couple more years and it can be a family again like it used to be. That would be great to be a part of that again.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
We're currently not on that kind of level to live from what we do. So for us we look at the reach more than what we get paid at this time. In that sense I still think that streaming platforms are great. But I can agree that when it comes to payments, it's kind of sad. The effort that's been put into the music has to be in balance with what you earn from it and that balance is way off. The streaming platforms also have their costs to make, I get that. But without the artists, there is nothing on there. Which means that it couldn't function. One cannot work without the other nowadays. So it's sad to see that they're taking so much advantage form the situation.
9. What’s next for Behind Bars?
Now we're focusing on promoting the new EP. We also have some shows planned in the fall so it's going to be a busy period. But after that, it's probably back to the grind. Getting shows, writing music, striking deals,... Taking it one step at a time. And then we'll see. If the next level calls, we'll take it. If it doesn't, we'll keep grinding. We're not going anywhere.
10. Any shoutouts?
First of all our girls: Joyce, Ilka and Ine. They have been a support and help from the start and we couldn't do this anymore without them.
Yarne Heylen and Project Zero Studios for recording, mixing and mastering the new EP.
DeathWake Records and Ondergrond Records for the release of the physical edition of the EP.
All bands we shared stages with. Some of them became family, and that’s what it’s all about (You know who you are 😉 ).
