Prejudice
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
After a few years of relative silence Belgian technical death metallers Prejudice are on the verge of delivering another stellar album with "Megalomanic Infest". The highly anticipated follow-up to 2005's critically acclaimed "Dominion Of Chaos" sees Prejudice raising the bar once again. Without a doubt their most uncompromising, ambitious and accomplished record to date, this disc is bound to open doors which remained closed for the band until now. Masterful Magazine caught up with vocalist Erik Lemmens and guitarist Def to discuss the conceptual details of their latest mind-melting opus, the ills of line-up changes and life on the road.
First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Prejudice right now?
Erik: Well, thank you for the effort and support, bro. For the moment we are rehearsing the new songs as well as the old ones to be ready for the upcoming year and blast some stages away again. As you probably know, we have two vocalists now and so we had to make some changes in the old songs, so we can both be on stage the whole show.
It has 3 years since your last record "Dominion Of Chaos". In the meantime you have played select local and international gigs, worked in a new drummer and finalized new material. Was it ever planned to have such a long break in between albums?
Erik: Nope. The reason for that is that, like you said, we had to work in our new drummer Christophe [Piette] for the old songs and at the same time work at the new stuff. That made it, together with the changing work hours, a long process. But it paid off well, I think. He's worked in now and ready to go for it.
I guess we're sort of obliged to discuss the departure of long-time drummer Frank Vangeneugden. He's running a successful record store and recently launched his first release of his label Absorb Records. He was replaced by young talent Christophe Piette. Lastly, you also recruited a second vocalist in Chris van der Valk. Fill us in on the details, please.
Erik: The departure of Frank was something we had seen coming, so it wasn't as shocking to us as most people think it has been. It was a major setback for us, I agree, but in the end I think we'll overcome this setback when the new album comes out and people hear the stuff Christophe does on it. Chris was part of the studio when we where recording and did some of the backing vocals on it at the beginning. When everything was recorded, the old idea of me and Def came up again to have 2 vocalists and so we asked Chris if he would be part of the band. After that, all vocals were deleted, parts re-written and recorded again the way they are now. There's a big difference in our voices so the result sounds great. Chris is currently also learning the bass lines so he'll be doing that as well.
Your previous album "Dominion Of Chaos" was considered a great artistic success by critics and fans. Did this put some pressure on you when writing/recording for this new album?
Erik: Yes and no. We knew it was for most people too difficult to follow so we worked on that and the new album will sound more "open" but still it will be a Prejudice album so the chaos continues.
How long was the process of putting the album together, as far as writing the music, the concept and arrangements is concerned?
Erik: That actually started right after we got back from the tour with Hate Eternal [June 2006] but there were those setbacks as two changes in location for rehearsal rooms, the departure of Frank and also the departure of Greco. Every time someone new comes along, you lose time in the learning process.
What differed about the creative process involved in your latest album, "Megalomanic Infest" and previous Prejudice albums?
Erik: Nothing, I think. We still work the same way as we did, except then for the vocals this time because Chris lives in the Netherlands and so we really made the new lines for the vocals at the studio while we were recording them. Now, that was also because a lack of time so next time they will be done and ready before we enter the studio.
Is there an overall theme to this album or how would you say "Megalomanic Infest" is different from your other albums?
Erik: "Megalomanic Infest" is opposing all forms of worshipping a god. All religions are full of themselves about being the one and only an being the best thing that can happen to you, while they all (except for some) only want one thing in the end and that is to dominate all of mankind. There is nothing wrong with people that believe in a god, but you can also do that without going to extremes to overwhelm people that believe in another god or gods or people that don't believe at all.
You also recorded a cover of 'Lack Of Comprehension' by legendary death metal combo Death. Plus, you have re-recorded the band's ideological anthem 'Prejudice'. Any particular reasons for these tracks to appear on this album?
Erik: 'Lack Of Comprehension' is more some kind of tribute and because we have had played this song live years ago. People nowadays still were asking for it on shows, the idea came up to put it on the album. As far as 'Prejudice' goes, well that's not a tribute hahaha. We've been playing that one for so long now on almost every show and it has become so much faster and more brutal than it originally was that we decided to put it on the album the way it is now.
Is there a particular song that you prefer that you feel really stands out on the new album?
Erik: I think I speak for us all when I say that would be 'Compulsive Leech' but like most of the time, people that hear the album will have another one. That is as far as standing out goes in the meaning of favourite. If you mean a song that comes unexpected, I think, that will be 'Die' then.
Can you tell us a bit about the lyrical themes and concepts you touch upon with your new album "Megalomanic Infest". In the past the band mostly dealt with social-critic themes such as racism, class struggles, poverty, corruption and the adverse effects of organised religion.
Erik: This one mainly has lyrics about religions. The way they use and abuse people in their quest to become the number one in the world. The cover of the album also represents that part of the lyrics well.
Despite being around since the mid '90s you've managed to keep a steady core line-up over the years. What would you say contributed to that; good internal dialogue or taking breaks from each other when not involved in band related matters?
Erik: Nah, we are hard to each other. There are no actual breaks because we're always busy with the band and besides that, we also go to parties and bars together. I think we are just lucky that we all understand each other well and we all get along great.
The current death metal scene has loads of bands. This results in many sounding exactly the same, which causes the majority to sound very mediocre and perhaps even boring. What is your vision on that?
Erik: You have a good point there. But still a boring metal band sounds better then Mika, hahaha. Nah, I think those bands get filtered out in time. People are very critical listeners nowadays.
What are the last death metal albums which made a big impression on you personally?
Erik: Actually, this year I wasn't impressed at all. [the main part of this interview was done in late 2007] Also because I didn't had time to do things and go to fests and stuff. So, I had a rough year in work and a slow one in checking out new bands.
The Belgian death metal scene is quite anonymous seen on a global scale, names like Aborted, Emeth, In-Quest, Suhrim and Prejudice being the exception. What are your reactions to the scene today? Are there any bands that you feel are not being recognized that should be?
Erik: Well, without saying names and forgetting a band that way, I think the bands that should be recognized will be in the end; if they won't give up playing and promoting their stuff. The Net makes thing so easy to promote what you have, so take advantage of it and go for it.
Recently you and guitarist Def have founded Blast Agency. This booking agency is meant for both Prejudice and international metal bands to set up tours in Belgium and abroad. How did this idea form and were you planning on doing this for a long time now?
Def: This agency is more for booking international bands on Belgium soil because here in our area is nothing. Only here and there will be playing some local bands, but we want to go further with this project, of course. We are not ignoring the small bands in Belgium because we know how it is to be looking out to play with the big boys of rock & roll. We started Blast Agency because this is something we wanted to do a long time ago. We are a little older now and we have some experience with that because we spent some years on the road with Prejudice. We know how it is to be on tour and what bands want. That's a 
major thing for us because we want to treat the bands right, because there's enough shit to eat on tour already. Of course we'll also be handling the Prejudice booking & stuff and in the future we'll be doing some other bands, as well. If everything runs smoothly! Nothing is sure for that, of course, but it is in our heads to extend to that level. The Cryptopsy show in June the 1st is our main concern now. If this turns out great you'll be hearing a lot more from us, hell yeah.
Do you have any future touring plans?
Erik: Yeah, we'll be touring again this year. We already had one booked for a month but it was cancelled a few weeks ago for some dumb reason. But there definitely will be a big tour this year and some smaller ones also again. Can't wait to be on the road again.
Is touring the best thing about being a musician?
Erik: I guess that depends on how you look at it. For us, its fun and we like it so I think I can say it would be the best thing. Can't speak for our new members because when we'll do a tour, it will be the very first one for them
Which tour are you most happy with so far?
Erik: I think for me in person, that would be the tour with Hate Eternal, Dying Fetus and Deeds Of Flesh [January-February 2004]. Most people didn't expect us to be on that one because the posters were already pressed when we came on, but in the end we had a lot of good reactions.
What do you do when not playing death metal? I suspect you can't make a living through your music only?
Erik: Nope. In fact we all need to work to keep the band alive. Without money there would be no band anymore. That being said, without illegal copies we wouldn't have to work so hard anymore to feed money to the band, haha.
Thanks for the interview! Good luck with all your future endeavours. I would like to extend my praise for a killer fourth album. Last words are up to you.
Erik: Thanks for the interview, bro. I think you'll like number four too. I'd say, if you get the chance, check us out live. You won't be disappointed. We'll do a lot of shows again, so we'll play somewhere in your area for sure. Take care!
Booking: www.blast-agency.be / www.skydra.net
Site: www.prejudice.be
