Legion Of The Damned
When The Damned Go Marching In

30.12.2014

Even when you think you’ve done it all, there’s always a way to go further. Holland’s Legion Of The Damned may have done 11 studio albums (six under their current name, and five under the Occult monicker), got record deals with powerful labels such as Massacre or Napalm, worked with famous producers such as Peter Tagtgren or Andy Classen, and toured the world relentlessly, but they have never played in Russia. This gap is about to be bridged in February 2015 with a full-fledged tour across this country, and while the shows are being put together, we got in contact with vocalist Maurice Swinkels to discuss the upcoming trek, as well as the band’s latest album “Ravenous Plague” and a lot of other interesting subjects.

Greetings from Moscow, Maurice.  How has it been going so far?  I’ve heard “Ravenous Plague”, and it sounds killer! Tell us about the process of recording it. How did it go?

Everything is OK, thanks for the interview. The process took more than a year, we also spent more time in studio than on previous albums. That’s because we had our new guitar player Twan (van Geel) doing his first album with us. It was critical for us that we could be happy with the album. as well as our fans, of course, because they had high expectations – they were used to our former guitar player Richard (Ebisch). The band writes songs when jamming, we have been doing this since day one, it’s the most spontaneous way of writing, and we never do anything beforehand, so nothing is planned.

As far as I know, you started out as a drummer. Do you play drums when it comes to writing new material?  

I was playing drums in 1989 which was a long time ago. (laughs) No, I don’t play drums in the studio, mostly when they write songs I don’t interrupt. Once a song is done I get to hear the final output and I make my comments on this and that.

You have been a very stable band since day one, I would say. What helps you stay relevant and true?

Do you mean music-wise or band-wise, that we always stay together? Music-wise I think it’s the passion we have for this music, we would never easily go off this path. We are also workaholics when it comes to music, we have been rehearsing together every week since the day we started the band in 1992. Usually after a tour or working some time in the studio we have a week or two off, but then we start rehearsing again. We do it because it also keeps the fun alive, we don't want to practice like berzerk when a tour or anything else comes up, we just rehearse every week.

Before changing the name, you were known as Occult. Why did you decide to change the name? Was it because it sounded a bit like black metal?

You are right! I could write a lot of stories about why we changed the name. Basically we were heading against a brick wall, there was no reason anymore to go forward, we were releasing the last albums but they were going nowhere, also previous record labels went bankrupt or tried to get us into the court, lots of shit happened. And like you mentioned, people thought we were a black metal band or stopped supporting us because our first album was a disaster. I had to sing on the album with a throat infection. After we changed the record label we decided to change the name, taking one of our songs for it: “Legion of the Damned”!

Tell me about your influences. What were you listening to when you grew up? What bands influenced your band? I assume you guys are big fans of Venom and Black Sabbath. or some of Kreator and Sodom earlier works?

I grew up with music my cousin was listening to, at that time he was 17-18, while I was 12-13. This was mainly Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer, Possessed, SOD. When my parents would visit his parents I would sit in his room as a little boy and look at all the great posters he had on the wall and listen to his music. I started to like it and dug the lifestyle. I started to listen to Gary Moore, Iron Maiden etc., then later in the 1980s I also started to like the underground thing, writing with bands, ordering demos and from that time I took to death metal and black metal, early Mayhem, Sathanas, Samael in 1988/1989 etc. I was never really a big Venom fan, I must say, some songs are OK, but I wasn't a big fan. But Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Candlemass, Sodom, Kreator were really good...

You’ve got such a massive voice. How do you keep it fit? Do you do any vocal exercises, or does it just come from the heart? What are your influences vocal-wise?

I just sing, that’s it! (laughs) I don't do any exercise, but of course my voice doesn’t sound like proper singing. Ha-ha, that’s maybe why it creates this typical ‘Legion’ voice. I usually suffer from a lot of pain when I sing a lot on tour.  But nowadays it’s better since I keep myself calm, no alcohol, lots of rest on tour etc. Yeah, I do think that my voice has this typical sound that when you hear the voice you will instantly know: this is Legion Of The Damned!

You are visiting Russia next year, which will be your first time here. What do you expect from the gigs? 

Yes wow, Russia for the first time! It was always a country I would love to play in and we only hear good things about Russia - booze, people going crazy! But what we can expect I don't know, Legion Of The Damned isn't very big in Russia, so I have no clue actually, but I can tell you our songs are intense, so hopefully we can show some people what Legion Of The Damned is all about.

Have you heard about the ‘religious’ issues in our country which happened a few months ago with Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse, etc.? What do you think about all this crap, being a member of a band with such a ‘non-Christian’ name? The cover of the “Cult of The Dead” album (2008) is a bit controversial, I guess, and as are some of your lyrics.  

As for this political shit, it has always been a target by Christians and shit, even years and years ago you know, especially in the U.S., when someone is killing himself, people say it’s because of the music and blah blah, they just need a scapegoat. Targeting bands may be the easiest and maybe they think they will prove something, but they can rot in hell you know!

Do you consider your band satanic? In your earlier works there were some references to the Devil and Satan. Could that be considered as a reference to black metal?  

No, we are not a satanic band. Sure, “Cult Of the Dead” was a religious album which dealt with certain religions, but we are not Satanic. Most of the lyrics deal with serial killers and World War II.

Have you or some of your albums’ artwork been banned anywhere?

I know that the artwork of “Feel The Blade” (2008), where a small kid killed his wife, was banned in Norway, or some shit like that, but other than that, no. You must have thought “Cult Of The Dead” got banned, but no!

Who you would like to tour with and why?

I am fine with every band to tour with as long as they are down to earth and have no big ego, I hate that, man! I do not really have a band where I would say: Wow yeah I would love to tour with them. If it were so, it would be a band we are friends with like Exodus, we have been touring with them before and we loved it!

What kind of music do you listen to apart from heavy metal? Which shows have you recently been to?

I went to see Madonna once in Amsterdam, and The Cranberries! But I also listen to The Jezebels and London Grammar for instance!

How would you describe the style of the band?

I think it's thrash with a touch of death metal, it’s fast and aggressive without compromising. It’s thrash with a modern-style production I guess. We are not modern thrash, I hate that shit! But I also don't want Legion Of The Damned to sound like Sodom 1988. (laughs)

Why are there not so many harmonic parts and solos in your songs?

We have always thought if there’s a great riff for headbanging, it doesn’t need a solo! Also we used to be with one guitar player, so doing a lot of solos was cool in studio, but we could never do them live, and if we could do them, one guitar was out. Only now with our session guitar player Hein (Willekens) we are able to do extra things, that’s why “Ravenous Plague” has more solos and melodies. But we hired him by the end of the writing process, so all of the songs were written only for one guitar.

What did you want to show on your new album cover? The “Ravenous Plague” cover is actually kicking! There is a dead raven and a devastated city, skeletons of men and total chaos. What does it symbolize? Is that from the Apocalypse Horsemen or the Black Plague? Does that mean that the end of the world is near or it has become a pretty fucked-up place?

You have already mentioned the album cover. (laughs) We didn’t want to convey any message, it has to do with Armageddon though and apocalypse, spiritual and religious views on the apocalypse but also political apocalypse. The album cover is minimalistic and strong, I love it!

What do you think of the ‘rock is dead’ statement made by Gene Simmons? What’s your opinion on that matter?

Rock is not dead. Ppeople come and go of course, but if you look at the festivals held in Germany, like “Wacken Open Air” or “Summer Breeze”, it feels great!

Is there anything you want to say to all your Russian fans? They are eagerly waiting for Legion of The Damned to crush upon their mortal bones.

Thanks for the interview and hope to see you guys all in Russia joining The Legion of the Damned men! See you soon!

Legion Of The Damned on the Internet: http://www.legionofthedamned.net

Special thanks to Alexander Satsyuk for arranging this interview

Stanislav “ThRaSheR” Tkachuk
December 22, 2014
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