EMQ’s With The Last Bear Ender
EMQ’s With The Last Bear Ender
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Netherlands Industrial Metal solo project, The Last Bear Ender. Huge thanks to Main Man Wilrik 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?
Hi, my name is Wilrik, also known as The Last Bear Ender. Two years ago, I started this project as a means to express all my creative ideas that didn’t fit my other musical projects and bands. I bought an 8-string guitar and started jamming. The first track was as it came together with the guitar. The first track and single was born ‘The Last Bear Ender’.
How did you come up with your band name?
Everything has already been done. Asking Alexandria. Between The Buried and Me. Oceans Ate Alaska. You can’t really be original anymore, so it would seem. I was catching up with the Nickelodeon show The Last Airbender. I switched some letters around and so The Last Bear Ender was born. I liked it and it got stuck. People seem to like it too, plus bears are awesome!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
I’m from The Netherlands. You know, the capital of Amsterdam 😉 We are best known from Within Temptation and Epica I think. Textures is my personal favourite actually. An awesome Progressive Metal band. They don’t exist anymore, but they were great, and the genre wasn’t as big as it is right now.
When I was younger, we had a pretty active Metal scene. We still do, but it’s a little harder nowadays, because of all the bands that are out there. Forming a band has never been easier in this digital age. It’s great to be honest. So many people can finally be creative and get followers and listeners. It’s also a bit more competitive. But, for each genre there is a listener. Try to avoid the saturated ones I would say.
What is your latest release?
“Never Say No To Panda”, featuring Post Descent on vocals, was released on December 23rd. It got added to a Spotify Editorial playlist and got quite a few streams in a short time, which is really nice! My next release is a deathcore track called ‘Maneater’, featuring Anna Pest on vocals. It’s really brutal and fierce. If you like Humanity’s Last Breath, Veil of Maya and Vildhjarta this release is for you!
Who have been your greatest influences?
Dino Cazares from Fear Factory and Mick Gordon from the Doom Eternal OST.
What first got you into music?
The Mortal Kombat movie and its soundtrack. Especially the track ‘Zero Signal’ by Fear Factory really spoke to me. It’s still my favourite track to this day. I even did a cover of that song with The Last Bear Ender, featuring Anna Hel from Conflict.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I would love to work on a track or two with Andromida, but he only collaborates with vocalists unfortunately. Fractalize is another artist I would love to work with. He’s real busy though. That, and Dino Cazares and Mick Gordon off course he he he!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Wow… Not sure actually. The Last Bear Ender is not a live act. I would love to do one big show with my metalcore band The Punisher though. Something close at home would be nice ha ha ha!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I got two shirts sent to my home address and still to this day I have no clue who I got it from.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
THANKS! Without any of you The Last Bear Ender could not exist. Keep listening, keep spreading the word, stay awesome!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Dimebag Darrell
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Getting positive feedback from your fans and supporters on your work. It’s the best thing in the world. Don’t underestimate the power you as a fan have! Let the artists you like know that you enjoy their work. It really keeps them going. Keeping up with all social medial on the other hand really is a day job on its own, and that’s the biggest downside. It’s needed for exposure, but it’s a hassle and a chore.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Let artists earn more from their streams. It’s a really tough job and a steep hill to climb to get paid from Spotify and other platforms.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Demanufacture” by Fear Factory, without a doubt. It’s a classic, set the bar, defined Industrial Metal and influenced tons of modern bands with their machine gun riffs.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Downloads. Come on, it’s 2023. Cassettes and CD’s are dead, but Vinyl has a nice comeback and I get that. I would like to have some vinyl of my full-length albums, but it’s quite expensive to produce.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
At a super small venue. We were kinda bummed out when we arrived, but the show was sold out and all people went berserk during our set. It was a memorable night!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’m a computer engineer teacher, so yeah, that ha ha ha!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
My wife, son, mom and my two best friend. I’m no fanboy, I like good company.
What’s next for the band?
I just got added to a Spotify Editorial playlist. Hopefully ‘Maneater’ will also please the Spotify curator gods. By the end of this month, I hear weather or not my track ‘Kumakaze’ won the Cyberpunk 2077 GrowlFM contest. So, I hope that 2023 will kick off with a blast!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
All of the below links are active and relevant:
https://thelastbearender.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thelastbearender
https://www.instagram.com/thelastbearender/
https://thelastbearender.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@TheLastBearEnder
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XiP8X4U0vsAVcbK2fkSZl?si=UvDYm1GYQRaB4fLpzDdrQg
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Say what now? LOL!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for this interview. This is really helpful for smaller artists like me. Keep fighting the good fight kind people of Ever Metal! ROAR!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
