Houwitser
Wywiad przeprowadził Tomasz Osuch
Houwitser was said to be a project band of Sinister's musicians - now they are one of the most important acts on European death metal scene and it seems that future will be more interesting and promising for Hou than for Sinister. A few months passed since they released their new album and even more time passed since the last interview with Houwitser in our magazine. There are always new questions you can ask and the article below is the third interview with Houwitser in Masterful Maga 'zine (frankly speaking - three are in polish and two are in english version). Last year I talked to Theo, now I asked Alex (who is currently playing only in Houwitser) about couple of things.Hello Alex, how are you? How many interviews have you answered in the past few months?
"I'm doing good Tomash! No, not that many interviews (fortunately :)) for me lately. I always did the interviews for 
Sinister in the past but since that is a closed chapter it's pretty relaxed nowadays. Usually Theo takes care of the interviews for Houwitser so I don't have to worry about that, mostly."
When you have interviews, which way is the best for you - via phone, e-mail or face to face?
"I like the face to face interviews best, but with the telephone is alright too. I'm not a fan of e-mail interviews since they always take so much time to answer them. But I will give it my best with this one, haha!"
Ok, thanks! When I did an intie with Theo in August last year "Damage Assessment" wasn't available yet. The release date was October. Now that a few months have passed could you tell me if you are satisfied with the response to the newest Houwitser's album?
"I think the response on the new album has been phenomenal. Better then I expected since Houwitser is more a band for the public and we are usually not much loved by critics, etc. Especially because of our war and military image. These days stuff like that is totally incorrect in the opinion of many. The only country where we got really bad reviews was in Germany."
"Damage Assessment" is one of the best death metal albums which were released last year, at least for me. I think that this is the most mature and interesting stuff ever done by Houwitser... Do you think about that in the same way?
"Yeah, I agree! I'm very proud of this album. Personally I was a little disappointed with the previous album "Rage Inside The Womb" so I'm glad that everything worked out as hoped for this time."
For a long time people used to say that you sounded a little bit like Sinister and that there were lots of similarities between you and them. I do not agree with that and I think those people should listen to "Damage Assessment" and see that they were not right in the end. Is there any way that you could persuade them that they are completely wrong?
"I think that is a hopeless effort since people will always compare Houwitser with Sinister. But I agree that the similarity is none. Most recognizable is in my opinion the drum-style of Aad who has a real own way of playing, I think."
Theo told me that he is interested in WWII. Do you have the same passions? Your new album includes many war intros. Where did you get them, do they come from movies?
"Well, my fascination in these topics is average. I'm usually more interested in the political games behind the war then the war itself. The war intro's are from the movie Predator. We just made some samples of them and used them between the songs."
Last year you and Pascal left Sinister and it seems that it was one of the most important decisions in your life. No reasons were given about your departure and since I don't like fucking rumors could you please tell me why it happened? The whole situation was a shock to me!
"That's a long story, but I will give you the short version alright? :) There are several reasons why I made this decision but most important was that the atmosphere within the band wasn't that good anymore. After our tour with Cannibal Corpse last year we decided not to play with Pascal anymore since he didn't fit in the band that good. I was just too fed up with all the line-up changes etc., so I pretty much decided then also to quit the band. Another reason is that Houwitser for me became the highest priority. Since the situation in Sinister wasn't that good anymore, the decision wasn't that hard for me."
Do you know their new band Infinited Hate? Is this band's music similar to Sinister in some way?
"Well, it's more death metal like Hate Eternal so it's not that similar to Sinister and the stuff is recorded with a drum-computer."
I remember that Bart left Sinister because of some family issues. I know that you also have children. Aren't you afraid that one day perhaps you will have to choose what is more important - family or playing in the band?
"Not really! I will always play as long as I like it. But I will not go longer on tour then a month or so because my daughter is of course really important for me. But that doesn't mean that there is no time for the band anymore."
I think that it will be very hard for Sinister to come back with a great album in the nearest future. Of course, Ron is back, but for many years you and Bart were the backbone of this band!
"Thanks! I take that as a big compliment. I know what you mean but Aad is not ready yet to give up Sinister since this band was always his little child. But I have to admit that the situation isn't getting better after each line-up change. For what I heard they are working on a new album at the moment."
Do you remember times when you played in Unexpected and Godly Beings? How could you describe those times and both bands to someone who did not have a chance to hear their music?
"Well, in Unexpected I sang. My grunt was very similar to John Tardy. Godly Beings was a grind-project of me, Bart, Aad and my brother who also drummed in Unexpected at that time."
You have not played any tour since the time when "Damage Assessment" was released. You were announced for the tour with Hate Eternal but finally you didn't participate in this event and you also had a possibility to play on No Mercy 2004. Don't you regret that Houwitser didn't participate in these tours?
"Yes and no! The tour with Hate eternal was really to long for us (almost six weeks). We can and will not get al these days off from work. In my opinion a tour for three weeks is long enough. The fact that we don't play the No Mercy shows is the fault of Osmose who confirmed our participation too late to Metallysee. Anyway, we will see if there is another tour coming soon."
I saw new band's pics from the show. Isn't it too difficult and hot to play in terrorist's caps? I was wondering, because I think I would not be strong enough playing brutal music in this stuff on my head! :)
"Haha! Well recently all the band members cut their hair, so be glad that our faces are covered nowadays. I don't think it's that hot wearing the caps. At least it doesn't bother me much. I also think that it really looks cool with the white shirts and the blood. People seem to like the outfits also when we are on stage so that makes it alright too, you know!"
It looks cool and extreme! This is my opinion....Ok, in your guestbook there is a message including opinion that Stan could become Robbie Williams of death metal. What does he think about it? Is it true that during the tours Stan is very popular among girls and they are really interested in him?
"No comment, haha! Some girls may read this :) !!! But indeed Stan is a subject of lust to all the women. I can tell stories for hours about him and his bitches, haha! On the tour last year with Dying Fetus he fucked a different girl every single day. All the other bands on that tour didn't stand a chance. Their efforts to get any were futile, haha!"
Stan did a great work on the new album! His vocals on "Damage Assessment" are fucking great and the best in Houwitser history so far. It seems that today he is the best Houwitser vocalist!
"I think so too. But I will not say that you said this otherwise he will be getting very arrogant :) !"
Ok :) ! Maybe it's too early to ask about the next album. Do you have any clue what will the fifth Houwitser album be like?
"Well, I already wrote four songs for the new album. We didn't have a chance to rehearse it yet with the rest of the band but personally I think it's even better then the stuff on "Damage Assessment". You can expect a continuance of the sound as presented on "Damage Assessment" but the stuff is a little bit darker then the previous releases."
I think that you followed the metal scene last year. I would like to know the albums which were in your opinion the best in 2003. For example, 5 albums....
"In no particular order (sorry for the missing album titles! I'm not that good with names). New Exhumed ["Anatomy Is Destiny" - T.O], New Disgorge (mex) ["Necroholocaust" - T.O], Marduk- "World Funeral", Houwitser - "Damage Assessment", Dying Fetus - "Stop At Nothing". "
And at the end of this interview tell me... is it true that you do not have a favourite band?
"Not really! If I have to choose, I'll end up with older bands like Iron Maiden, Carnivore. But I can't name one in particular."
Thanks for the answers bro. I'm awaiting the next Houwitser album, can't wait too long for next attack!
"Thanks for the interest Tomash. Hope to see all of you soon again somewhere on tour!"
