EMQ’s with SHADE OF HATRED

EMQ’s with SHADE OF HATRED

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with De Bilt, Netherlands based Melodic Death Metal band Shade of Hatred. Huge thanks to vocalist Rik van Schaaik for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Rik and I do vocals on the last two Shade of Hatred releases. If you want a bit more of an in-depth story, you can read our biography. But I’ll give you the quick rundown.

Shade of Hatred as a concept started under another name about ten years ago. Our guitarist – Florian- and drummer -Yannick- met in high school and started playing metal together. Ever since we’ve had quite the line-up change but the philosophy of the band remained unchanged. We aim to create the perfect blend of bombastic pounding riffs and sweeping catchy melodies. Accompanied by thundering drums that groove as much as they make you want to bang your head. Oh yeah, there’s also lyrics. You can read them if you like!

How did you come up with your band name?

I personally wasn’t around during this process, but I guess the band really needed an edgy name. Over the years the name started to have a deeper meaning to all of us. The “shade” started to refer the darker side of the human experience we want to cast light on. By telling stories through our lyrics, we aim to explore these darker avenues of the human psyche and history.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

We hail from the Netherlands and honestly, I like the scene here. The Dutch are a somewhat sober bunch of people, so you don’t see that much crazy-ass crowds. But, there’s a deep love for the music and I think that might be more important than people getting drunk and banging their heads. 😉

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our latest release is the full-length album called “Reflection on Ruin”. Check it out!

Who have been your greatest influences?

It’s difficult to say. All band members bring something different to the table. When we started out, bands like Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Kataklysm, God Dethroned and Carcass inspired us musically. Nowadays, bands like Gojira, Decapitated and Meshuggah come to mind.

What first got you into music?

As a kid, music just didn’t really do anything for me. In my teens I heard one of those Linkin Park / Jay-Z collab tracks on the radio and thought: “Man, this guitar stuff is kind of cool, but I could do with less gangsta-rap”. Later I figured out that the parts of the song I liked were basically all coming from LP and I really got into their music! After that it was a downward spiral into heavier, more brutal shit. All the way down to Cattle Decapitation!

As for making music myself. I figured out I could growl kind of by accident and decided to do some Amon Amarth covers. Soon after that my first band invited me as their vocalist and the rest is history.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Oh man, that’s difficult. I’d really like to collab with Terry Stooker and Patty Gurdy again (like we did on the latest album). They really added that last 10% of awesome for me. 😊

If you’re asking what band I would like to share the stage with one evening, I think Gojira would be the one to pick.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Man, Metaldays! We played there last year on the “New Forces” stage and I really want to go back! Headlining this time of course. 😉

Seriously, look up some pictures. The atmosphere, the environment. Everything is so fucking amazing!

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Panties. Thrown on stage. I will never forget that one! xD

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

I really dislike the word “fan”, though I have difficulty explaining why. But to the people who’ve enjoyed our music, especially the ones who come to gigs frequently, thank you. I know it’s corny but just knowing that our music has impacted them in some way makes it all worth it. <3

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

So many great musicians have passed away. If I had to choose one, it would be Chester Bennington. His death has had the most impact on me on an emotional level and his passing is one of the saddest ones I can recall.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I just love to perform. Especially in front of a crowd that seems to be having a good time! It almost feels like a transformation. You become this version of yourself with heightened senses. Everything you do and feel is so much more intense, and you feel… Alive. Nothing can replace that.

What I hate the most about it is the level of self-critique we all seem to experience. For me personally, that “voice” seems to emphasise the failures much more that the things that are going right. Focussing on that hyper-critical voice for too long can become very toxic and detract from the beautiful side of making music.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I don’t pretend to be smart enough to know what the music industry needs right now. If I could change something it would be the arguing among metal-fans. Seriously, I like what I like, and you like what you like. Can we all just get over it? No band is inherently “better” to listen to than another band. Just love what you love. Be proud of it by sharing that love for music instead of critiquing the other guy’s preferences. 😉

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

I don’t really believe I have one. Ask me one day and I’ll say “England Keep My Bones” by Frank Turner and another day I’ll answer with “Spirit” or “Helvetios” by Eluveitie. Ask me now and I’ll have to say “Monolith of Inhumanity” by Cattle Decapitation.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

I’ll add streaming music to that. For convenience it’s streaming and downloads. For the experience of listening and “putting on an album” I really love Vinyl.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

I’ll have to say Metaldays. Not just because of the gig itself but the entire experience. It was the first big trip we made together as a band and I never felt this kind of unity with a group of people. Everything was epic! Well… that is until I puked and pooped myself into a German hospital. 😛

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

About the same things I do now when I’m not with the band. Just without a purpose in life. 😛

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

My band mates. All four of them. The last spot is reserved for someone willing to do all the dishes 😉

What’s next for the band?

We’re currently not playing gigs because of “the thing”, so we’re writing new music. We’ve also started to care more about our (social) media presence. None of us really enjoy the social media culture so we want to produce some content that is more in line with our values. Stay tuned for that!

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

We try to make our music available everywhere from streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer and iTunes to download platforms like Bandcamp. For communication we mainly use Facebook, though we’ve started using Instagram a bit more lately.
www.facebook.com/shadeofhatred/
www.instagram.com/shade_of_hatred/
www.shadeofhatred.bandcamp.com/

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Dude, are you kidding? The British will come and get me if I give you the wrong answer!

Btw. Dude…. Did you ever eat stroopwafels?!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for your time as well! And for taking an interest in the band. 😊

To all your readers out there, check out the new album “Reflection on Ruin”, it’s everywhere if you know how to look for it. (You know… type in the title and stuff 😉 )

Cheers!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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