Anchillys is a new death metal band hailing from the Netherlands. They (or I should better say "he") just released their debut album "Elan Vital" independently and scored a superb #2 in our August top album ranking and what you can find there is some pretty good old school death metal. I had the opportunity to talk to mastermind Andy Wit via Zoom about the debut and the agenda all behind this very mystic name. But just read by yourself and enjoy the interview.

Michael

You released your first Anchillys album called "Elan Vital". Can you tell a little bit more about the band?

The whole band is in front of you (laughs). It has been a solo project from day one on and I did have a bunch of musicians also joining but it was always tricky – who can function and who not – and I had a bunch of musicians that I wore down in a way and I was starting to record the first songs of the CD on the drums and the last other member left. So I thought that I'm gonna do it all on my own and this is going to be great. That's the beginning of the band and it started 10 years ago and it was a kind of a compilation of everything that I have learned from bands that I listen to, my favorite music and also from bands that I already played in. That helped me to learn to play and to write. That's where it all started.

What does the name mean? Is it originated in Greek mythology?

It is very close to this, actually only two letters off. But it's not related, it rather stands for the name of my inner demons. I asked myself this question – which name that would be – and I came up with Anchillys. And so I had the name for the project. It is just a fantasy name.

Did you get any reactions about the album so far?

I got pretty good reviews actually and reviews keep coming in. They seem to be pretty praising. It's a very special feeling for the first album and it's great to see how people kind of tell you what your music is about. It's pretty cool to see that people understood what I was trying to write. I also get cool reactions from people I know personally, it's very nice.

You play some very brutal old-school death metal like Cryptopsy, Suffocation on the album. Are you mainly inspired by some North American technical death metal stuff?

Well, Suffocation is definitely influenced along with Necrophagist and Deeds Of Flesh. These are my big top 3. I wonder why people keep mentioning Cryptopsy because I never liked the band (laughs). It is really interesting, I still have to get in there. About brutal death metal - it's there in the music in some parts. People think about slam when it goes to that but it's definitely not the main line. It is mostly death metal – in parts it is old school, in some parts brutal and some technical death is too in there. I just had to put a stamp on it and said it's technical brutal death.

After listening some more times I also discovered some Cannibal Corpse influences, especially in 'Gate Of Hades'…

Well, not consciously. The double vocals here and there were inspired from Cannibal Corpse but for this Deeds Of Flesh were the main reason for all those very short bursting doubles just as Goregasm also. But Cannibal Corpse – it's the bigger death metal pioneer so I'll be in there obviously.

Do you have a lyrical concept on the album?

I guess it turned out into a bit of a concept. I'm not much of a lyric writer; I really like to focus on the music but you also need lyrics of course. So it kind of turned out into figuring out my own perception of what life is and what our existence means. My answer to all this is: nothing. We all feel importance to this planet but my opinion is that we just destroy it and this is the point where all will end and nothing will have mattered anyway. But at the same time we are here so we have to make something out of it and we can do a pretty good job here, too. So it is kind of all together thrown in there and it's kind of like the world is shit on the one side and the world is beautiful on the other. 'Extramundane' for example is about the journey I had writing this album. For me, that's a rather positive note. 'Elan Vital' itself is pretty much based on a spiritual voyage. It was mostly inspired by meditation of moments and out-of-body experiences that I had. It really brought my consciousness to what our existence is and this means the moments in life that brought the spark of our consciousness and existence. Of course this is my point of view and not meant to be facts. I guess Elan Vital is mostly about what is life per definition in a certain point of view. It's very cryptic and even to me, too to be very honest (laughs). I think it is mostly spirituality and the love/hate relationship of our existence.

That sounds pretty much interesting. Do you have printed lyrics in the booklet since I just got the digital promo without any lyrics?

Yes, it was a lot of work in there and I didn't want to leave it out.

You are the only person in Anchillys. Is it challenging to perform all instruments on your own or is it easier for you because you don't have to deal with other people who may have different opinions about the band?

It's very double-sided because on one side it's very easy. All the decisions are your own and you don't have to argue with anyone. If you want to go to the right there is nobody who says let's go to the left. On the other side sometimes it's all on your own and you want some feedback from somebody else who says to go into another direction because something may be better. This can be challenging. To play all the instruments, it goes with love so you just do what you love and it takes a long time. I cannot train everything at the same time. First I started recording the drums and I had a few months practicing them and there was no space for any other instruments. After recording them I did the guitars; after two years not playing the guitars and the same goes for bass and vocals. I guess I haven't done vocals for eight years so they were a bit rusty. It takes a lot of time to do all this but in the end it was amazing to do it and it was all worth it.

"Elan Vital" is self-released. Why did you decide for that option and not to distribute it through a label?

First I was looking for a label and I had a few offers. But it all felt so restricting, for example I got one restriction from a label that said that I wasn't allowed to post anything at all on social media without consulting the label about this first. I really didn't like that because I already don't like social media and I already don't like postings so there is an extra step coming in between that and I cannot do anything at all and cannot go anywhere. So I had to find an easy way. I still want to have it distributed though because I think at the same time it can also really help, of course because of letting the social base grow and reaching more people that might be interested in listening to the music. I'm open for the future, never say never, I think. We are just gonna see where it goes with this. I just want to do it independently first because the thing is already difficult enough without all the restrictions and label offers. At the same time you have to do everything yourself and that can also be challenging but I never took the easy road so let's go.

Where can I buy the album? Is it on your Bandcamp site or where do I have the possibility for that?

Yes, it's on Bandcamp. I have a t-shirt, CD and a package with a sticker and a pick.

Do you already have some plans for the future of Anchillys? Do you plan to record a second album? Maybe with a different style?

I definitely want to write more. The writing process but also the recording, mixing and mastering process has been a big job. I don't want to have all that knowledge that I have gained go to waste. I feel like I can write more and it probably will be in the same style but I will always look for new ways to express music and make it more interesting. It will not just be an extension of the first album. I will see how this one goes and when the mind is a bit clearer again I will start writing again. I'm very excited to do this.

Do you want to play live in the future?

Yes, that was always a bigger dream. In the beginning it was never meant to be a solo project but without a band of course you cannot play it live. Well, you can, technically but I don't want to. I want to play with a live line-up and in the near future I will start looking for members. I already talked to a guitar player – a friend of mine – and we already made some pretty good steps. So if there is anyone who wants to join in, please do – let's have a blast live! I'm really excited to do this, this was always a bigger dream.

The final word belongs to you!

Thank you very much for reading or listening! I really appreciate all the attention I'm getting so far and it has been an amazing journey. 10 years in the making and I really respect all the response I'm getting from you all: you as interviewer, all the other interviewers and reviewers. The fans seem to be very excited about this and I wanna thank everyone for the amazing response! I'm really looking forward to the future and what else it will bring.

Dutch experimental metal duo Prospectors, recently launched their first album "Proven Lands" (read review here). It is quite a tough one but really worth exploring. I had the chance to get an interview with Matthias Ruijgrok (bass, synths) to get more into detail about the album and its influences. Hopefully this interview will help you dig deeper into the world of Prospectors - have fun exploring it!

Michael

Hey guys, thanks for doing the interview. How are you doing?

Thanks for having us! Things are reasonably well over here. Our release has been out for about three months now and the reception has been positive so far!

You've just released your first album "Proven Lands" which is a pure instrumental album. What was the intention for it? And what was the (musical) inspiration?

For us, Prospectors is about discovering new ways of composing and arranging music. Creating purely instrumental music was a novelty for us, a nice challenge, but at the same time freeing. Lacking vocals as the usual anchor for the listener, you have to think of different ways to keep things interesting and maintain flow and coherence. It also leaves a lot of space for the individual instruments to develop their parts. Since the musical side is our focal point, this approach was a logical way to go for us. We're actually also inspired by a lot of purely instrumental music, ranging from bands like Dysrhythmia, to contemporary classical composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki and Steve Reich.

How did you come to the idea to do such experimental stuff? I mean you are involved into some Dutch black metal bands and this is quite a different musical approach.

It is indeed, and that is exactly what also appealed to us. The two of us share a longtime interest in experimental music, so it was quite a natural development to expand on that side. While we still like our black metal a lot, sometimes it can be a bit of a narrow frame to musically express yourself within.

Is there a red line behind the album?

There's certainly a red thread in the way the album is put together. It is written and intended as a whole, so we tried to keep some flow going from track to track as well. For instance, 'Become Void' serves as a sequel between 'Descent Into the Unknown' and 'Monolithic Structures'. That's the quite tangible thread.

Besides that, the album's core aesthetic idea is represented by the artwork. It is ever changing, yet always motionless, it is familiar, yet unknown, it is focusing and adapting, but also disorganizing and disorienting. It is acting, but also observing.

Do you want to tell some stories with the music? When I listen to tracks like 'Ravelling Motion' or 'Become Void' I get certain images in my head.

It is a journey of sorts! As stated before, the musical side is our main focus, not so much any specific message we want to get across. We might for instance start the songwriting process with a theoretical idea or musical concept that intrigues us. You could in some sense say that we translate these abstractions into something relatable, into music that could also provoke images and emotions. In the end, because there are no vocals and there is a certain degree of abstraction, it is always good to hear that the listener has a personal experience when listening the music by for example, as you say, picturing certain images.

What I can further add is that the song titles convey some kind of vantage point for the listener to approach the tracks. Whatever one experiences is in the end still mostly open to oneself, I think that is the very beauty of music.

What are you searching for - I mean a prospector is searching for some natural resources?

Nice question. We are searching for the proverbial gold; it is a kind of alchemical theme. That is, prospecting in the sense of refining our methods to create gold out of the rubble.

Can you tell a little bit more about the cover? Is it a cave one is trapped inside or what is it?

The cover art portrays continual motion, in the form of the number eight (or a lemniscate, a symbol for infinity). It is based on an idea that the universe is maintained by the motion of ongoing change. It is very apt for how this album came together, through a long process of restructuring and refining. "Proven Lands" resonates with that idea of 'stability through change'.

What about the title - is there some irony in it to call it "Proven Lands" and leave the well-known territory of "typical" metal? I mean if you match the music with the title, it's some kind of oxymoron if you know what I mean.

I can see where you come from with that question. Interestingly, we see it from the opposite angle: "Proven Lands" is still clearly rooted in Metal, and more specifically, riff-based songwriting. The album title would probably make more sense once we have our ideas for future music with Prospectors out. Our ambition is to delve even more into unexplored terrain and stray further from the Metal territory.

As I stated in my review, "Proven Lands" is no easy-listening album and needs to be explored. What would you say it the best atmosphere to dive into your music?

I think it would certainly help to not have too many distractions going on while listening to the album. In general, any moment when you could sit back and listen attentively.

How did it happen that you got Michiel van der Pflicht as session-drummer? Did you know him before?

One of our friends, who happens to be the drummer in some of our other bands, got us in touch with Michiel van der Plicht. Beforehand, we only knew him from his work with various Death Metal bands. We basically sent him some demos to see if he was interested to contribute to the album, to which he agreed. We feel that he really lifted the album to a next level, by also adding his own ideas, character and flair to the drum tracks we had written previously.

Is this album going to have influences on the song-writing for your black metal bands in the future?

Musically, not so much, I think. Prospectors is really a different entity with regards to songwriting. Though maybe some minor details will seep through, after all you always integrate whatever you learn, even in ways unnoticed. In terms of recording and sound design, however, I'm quite sure we'll bring our experiences with "Proven Lands" unto our other musical endeavors. Personally speaking, I am really content with how the overall sound came out.

Was this album a unique project or will you release more albums with Prospectors?

For sure we will keep on exploring! We have a lot of new ideas and a general direction to go in mind. We are currently working on a follow-up album and we have some subsequent plans as well.

Do you have some plans to go on tour with Prospectors if the situation will allow it again?

Well, a tour might be a bit of a distant dream still… but we're definitely set to play some live gigs as soon as we get the chance. We do however want to wait with our live debut until we can do a 'normal' show with standing audience, no restrictions in crowd size, etc.

Do you have some last words for our readers?

Thanks for the support we've had so far. And for all those aspiring prospectors: Get yer shovels out and dig another hole! We've got some more music to delve into in the works.

Dank je wel voor het interview!

Kein Problem. Thank you for covering us on MetalBite!