At a certain time I was confronted with a band with such a simple, yet funny name. This band was called Vuist, which means Fist in English. The music was a nice mixture of Thrash and Death metal, with certain black metal influences. I reviewed their album MistorMelancholy and arranged an interview with these metalheads from Gouda. The result was a very interesting evening with a lot of beer and plenty of fun. It was the first time I ever went to Gouda and I didn't know about bands that were from this part of the country. I shall stop blabbering and give you the result of the interview, which has took too long already. I lost the tape with which I recorded this interview but Rik was kind enough to write the answers down and send them through mail.
Q: How have you come together in this formation and how have you started out?
A: We've started in May of the year 2000 with Rob, Edo and Rik with Vuist. At this time Rob and Edo weren't in a band and Rik was just messing around. We've started on a non-commital base, but after time went by and our repetoire was stretching, an urge came to work more on the music. We've known Erik for a while, because Rob and Rik have played with him and Timo v/d Plas in Morning Fall (now called Demalion) In the first months of 2002 we've asked Erik to come along and help us out. We have recorded our first show (with Erik on bass) and brought that out in a limited edition. This record is called the Megaknüppel InfernØ Live-promo. In our rehearsal room Rob was combining his vocals with the bass, but he wasn't able to combine that when playing live. The result was that we've played our next shows without a bass player. This wasn't doing any good to the sound so we've asked Ronald van Veen (Demalion) if he could stand in for some time. At the same time we've been searching for a permanent bass player. This search was ended in January 2004, because Jeff van der Putten (ex-Morning) joined our forces.
Q: Why in earth's name have you chosen for Vuist as a name?
A: After we decided to form a band, we came up with a band name in merely 5 minutes. Vuist is derived from the song "In Je Smoel" (In Your Face) of Rouwen (Mourning). We wanted to make music that had the same impact on people as this band. For the people who don't know the album "Rouwkots" of Rouwen, it's killer! In the Baroeg the song "Rot Godverdomme Op" is a classical one!
Q: Are your songs erupting spontaneously or does it involve a big process?
A: It usually starts out in the rehearsal room where Edo and I (Rik) are jamming. After we've come with some nice riffs I take it home and work it out properly. Sometimes, I already have finished half or maybe the whole song when we enter the reheasal room, but I prefer to write songs based on jam sessions, because then you have that distinct feeling with the music.
Q: Tell us something about your recording process for MistorMelancholy and could you explain the title?
A: We've recorded MiStorMelancholy in the same studio as Megaknüppel InfernØ Unlive, the A.M. studio in Gouda. It was because the co-operation with André van der Ree (Inifited Hate, Funeral Winds, Weltbrand) was really well, that we decided to record this full lenght with him. I know these studio's quite well, because we're rehearsing with my other band (Dark Remains) in the same room. The A.M. studio is very cosy, which makes in comfortable to record and there is perfect equipment available. We've recorded and mixed the album in 8 days. The recordings were somewhat delayed, because I was quite ill at the beginning. I had to do my previous recorded pieces again and the vocals weren't quite to our taste. The mastering of the album was done in the Excess Studio, where Hans Pieters did a very well job and pushed the album forward.
"Note" The title of the album had to be explained by Rob, but there wasn't anything at this time, so that part will come later!
Q: Could you explain what the artwork means. Does it actually means something or is it just a vague spot?
A: The artwork has been done by Arco van der Wolf, and the explaining part is for Rob
That'll come later as well
Q: Why are the titles of the songs written down in such a weird lay-out?
A: It was an idea of Arco. At one side it's pretty chaotic, but on the other side it's pretty cool too!
Q: What can we expect for the future?
A: We are currently working as ants, writing new songs. The new songs are way more aggressive and up-tempo. There are a lot more tempo changes as well. After we've finished these new songs, we're planning to record a semi-live-promo. With this promo we want to attract labels in our music and in Vuist!
Q: Are there certain things you definitely want to achieve with Vuist?
A: Our goal with Vuist is to explore our limits and reach them. This means to attract as much people as possible with our music by giving as much shows as possible and bring out music. So watch out, because soon Vuist will bring terror to your town!
Q: Do you have anything you want to spill out?
A: Erik decided to quit with Vuist, because he wants to focus more on his other band Demalion and his other band. So our message is to all guitarist out there: If you are a guitarist and interested in our music and you think you can help us out, mail to us by the following adress [email protected]
Thanks to Rik, who typed it out for me, I only had to convert the text into English. I also want to thank you guys for a very nice evening and for the arrangement on the show for Haklust!