EMQs With Bomber
EMQ’s With BOMBER (Jürgen Wattiez)
21/01/25
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
We are Bomber, a Thrash Metal quartet active since 2013. Formed by Jürgen Wattiez (singer, rhythm guitar), Vianney D’Alessandro (lead guitar), Romain Ircio (drums) and Hugo Belval (bass), we released a demo in 2015 (Witness Hell) and our first album in 2018 (Sommation). After the departure of Hugo Belval, Léo Vuylsteker took on the bass duties in 2023, and we released our second opus “Cages And Windows” this year.
How did you come up with your band name?
Apart from the obvious homage to Motörhead, it was a short name and easy to remember, illustrating how we wanted to sound to people: heavy and crushing.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re from Lille, France. It’s up north, near the Belgium border. We have a great number of bands here but our hometown has made it difficult for bands to play, closing more and more venues each year. The scene is slowly coming back to what it was before 2020, but we’re not here yet.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our second album just came out in January, it’s called “Cages And Windows”, and we made a video for the eponymous song, already available.
Who have been your greatest influences?
We are mostly influenced by Thrash Metal bands from the 80/90’s (Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Sepultura), Hardcore Punk (Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat) and Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands from the 70/80’s (Motörhead of course, Venom, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate). You add a little bit of sludge (Crowbar) and Grindcore (Napalm Death) and here we are, but the list could go on.
What first got you into music?
My father is a musician so there were always guitars in the house. One night, when I was twelve, my parents left. Before that, they were watching some DVD from the AC/DC Bon Scott era, and I heard “Walk All Over You”. It was the first time I actually listened to music, and I was blown away by the energy of the band. There was this little guy in a schoolboy suit running everywhere, playing solos at full speed. The main riff didn’t seem too hard, so I picked up a guitar and tried to play the chords until my parents came back. I never stopped since.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
If we ever collaborate with someone, it would probably be more interesting if it is someone who’s not in a Metal band. However, if Tom G. Warrior wants to record some “ugh!” for the next album, that would be fun.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, just because it was my first festival as a teenager in 2008.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A punch.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Buying merch and CDs is one thing, but the most valuable thing someone can do is spreading the word. If you like what you hear, don’t be too possessive.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I mention it in our song “Gôtzen-Dämmerung” from “Cages And Windows”: I never got the chance to see the green man. As a big fan of Carnivore and Type O Negative, Peter Steele of course.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The creative process is one of the best parts. When you create something and you know it’s good, that’s an unmatched feeling. Then there’s the moment you play that song and it connects with the audience. Awesome. The exact opposite of that is what I hate the most: being stuck with something without knowing what to do with it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
If people could focus more on the art than on the paycheck, we would all come out of it better.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Ugly And Proud” by Sheer Terror. Mean love songs where hardcore punk meets Celtic Frost.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
It depends: if you’re a record collector, vinyl is probably the best, even in terms of artwork, but it’s BIG and expansive. I never understood the hype about cassettes, I see it more as materialistic fetish. Download is great because it breaks every boundary, allowing bands to be heard in places they’ll never land a foot on. I started collecting CDs at an early age, so I stuck with it.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We played a festival in France called “Petit Wood”. We were headlining and started playing at midnight. We were the only Metal act, but the people went completely crazy, moshing all around, barely stopping between the songs. We played every song we had because they just won’t let us out. The party after the show was great too.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Trying to be a musician.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Debbie Harry. She can come with the four people of her choice.
What’s next for the band?
We are promoting the new album any way we can for now. We’ll do a small tour this year in France and Belgium, and we’re trying to book some festivals too. Musically speaking, we have a lot to start with for the next thing, we’ll see how it goes.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
FB: https://www.facebook.com/BomberOfficialBand
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bomberofficialband/
Bandcamp: https://bomberofficialband.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/artist/4SojfDjKGVkZNzsHStKNlb
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bomberofficialband
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BomberOfficialBand
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
I really don’t know what a Jaffa cake is, but here’s one for you: Pain au chocolat or chocolatine?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Find something you want to live for, give it all you can, and if you should fail, time will give you its most precious gift: oblivion. The same goes for anyone. We hope to see you on stage or reach your ears at some point before that.
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