Interview: Doodswens
I guess my mindset, and the mindset of the band, I wouldn't use hopeful, but empowering. Being able to turn these dark thoughts and feelings around through something that empowers you.
Rising Dutch black metal band Doodswens have just released their self-titled second album and it is nothing short of breathtaking. The band consists of bassist R., drummer/vocalist I. and guitarist P. and their approach to a genre of music that is shrouded in darkness, is to take it beyond even that and that is exemplified on the seven songs that make up the album.
To celebrate the release of Doodswens, Gavin Brown caught up with I. for an extensive chat about the album, its themes and the darkness of the music of Doodswens.
E&D: Doodswens’ self-titled debut album has just been released. How excited are you to have this record out?
I: I’m really excited. That’s a really good question to start off with as well because this is really what I’m feeling. We were back creating and now able to put it out there and put some stuff in motion. Hopefully the wheels will keep on turning and then we’ll go over the horizon and I’m very excited and curious to see what where it will end up, what lies behind the horizon.
E&D: You had stated that the album isn’t about wishing for death, but the death of the wish, is it a hopeful album above all else?
I: Well, to be honest, it makes me think of three separate things to answer this question. The general energy for me personally, it’s more saying that it’s not the wish of death, but the death of the wish is more what happens to me personally in the process. It’s more personal than it is related to the music, but it still goes hand in hand because of the personal process of going through that. This record is more about that whole process, of going from the depths and pits of despair and then up and down and up and down, but eventually being able to survive. I guess my mindset, and the mindset of the band, I wouldn’t use hopeful, but empowering. Being able to turn these dark thoughts and feelings around through something that empowers you.
E&D: Does that give you more power in an increasingly coldhearted world, to be able to make music like this?
I: Yeah, definitely, it’s an increasingly coldhearted world. I like that a lot. I’m gonna write that down, because I might use that as lyrics! With regard to that, the world is becoming increasingly more coldhearted, just in general, and it’s helped a lot to be able to put these feelings and thoughts out of your head into your hands or your voice and creating art and music. So in that way, for me, it’s always helped, and I know it’s exactly the same for the other guys. That’s why we had such a creative connection, because we could really find each other in that, just shit or negative things happening around you or in the world, or even just on a personal psychological aspect, but being able to turn it around, and therefore being able to deal with the coldhearted world a bit better.
E&D: do you feel that the albums opening track ‘Driven To Death’ is the perfect example of who Doodswens are as a band?
I: Yeah definitely, because for us, with ‘Driven By Death’, the song title, if it wasn’t the self-titled album, that would have been the title. When that song was written, we had already played it on a tour, even before it was recorded for album, and just immediately when we had that song, with the idea to start it with the tones, it’s always been one for us to start a live set with that song. When we went down to record the album, we didn’t even have to ask or question each other, which one are we gonna do first? Because it’s always that song for us. Whenever we have a rehearsal, when we recorded the album, when we play a live set, that’s the song we start off with. I really like to have it hit you in the face. When you put on the record or you watch a live show, just hit the ground running. It’s supposed to portray an anxiety attack, nervous breakdown, it’s just hits you like a ton of bricks, and then you don’t have time to think or stop. You’re just caught in the chase.
E&D: Did you feel any pressure following up your debut album Lichtvrees with this record?
I: No, not at all, to be honest, because the first album was with a different lineup and a different time, after the lineup changes, I’ve just kept going and going, mainly with session musicians, and then in the back of your mind, it’s always like, Okay, what’s next? Then as a band, it’s your next record, so it’s always been in the back of my mind, but it it just never felt right, and I’ve never felt pressure, like, oh, I have to make one now. Whenever I have an idea, I’ll write a song or make some other art or something. But the decision to go for a full album, for me, it’s only when it really serves a purpose or has a meaning, or it really just feels right, and it simply didn’t happen until now and when I had these guys that also initially got asked just to be a session musician for a tour that I was gonna do, but then we had this creative connection, so even before the tour started, we already wrote two songs, and then the process just continued on tour, and when we came back from the tour, we had the groundwork for the album ready. For me, it was just like, this feels right. These are the guys that I really feel like I’m supposed to do this with. So we just went for it, but then, still no pressure. We could have recorded it six months earlier, but we just didn’t have the right place and the right producer yet. For me, it’s really always felt like everything can end right now, and it’s perfectly fine, but if some opportunity or strong feeling arises that we’re going to do something more, then we’ll do something more. It just simply just happened now, right time, right people and everything.
E&D: Did you all work together on the creation of the album?
I: Eventually, yes. I would wholeheartedly say it’s a group effort. When we have conversations or questions about this, and I’m like, yeah, it’s because of all three, they always say, you shouldn’t discredit yourself, because without you, none of this would exist. So I guess I’m still the driving force or something, but I’m also saying that without them, this wouldn’t have existed. It started on the tour with Marduk and Origin, it was a 35 day tour, and when we got that opportunity, I said yes to the tour, even without having session guys. I was like, I’m gonna do the vocals too, and I’m just gonna practice it until it works. Then I had the idea for ‘Vlammse Vloek’, ten last track in the album, and that was just such a strong idea. It was the first song where I did vocals and drums, and I had been hearing that song in my head already for months. I had already recorded a little demo at home, and only then I found P our guitarist, and I sent him that demo, and he was like, Yeah, fuck yeah, I can work with that. It’s really cool, because I’m really not good on guitar at all. So when I have song ideas, I just record drums and a melody, and then some vocals. So I need a good guitarist to transform that into actual parts. And he did. I would say that’s where the album was born, because it worked so well. That second song came, and then we went on tour, and when we came back from tour, we had another four songs.
E&D: Were you constantly working on the album when you were touring?
I: Yeah, definitely. I guess just because I’m always creatively open. The inspiration for lyrics is because I’m 24/7, and then also because we creatively trigger each other. Especially when we were on tour for 35 days, spending the time together, making music every night like that just gave us so many ideas. And then even being on tour, you can really do stuff directly, the same night, in front of an audience, and you can immediately figure out what works and what doesn’t work. I think specifically that tour is what pushed us to where we have the full album now.
E&D: Was the creation of the music video for the song ‘The Black Flame’ as an intense experience for you as it looks on screen?
I: Really, really intense, most definitely.
E&D: Can you tell us a bit about the making of the video and how the idea came about?
I: I’ve had that idea for a really long time. I was at a worse place in life, mainly in my head also. Originally, the idea was even more extreme, out in the forest, and I wanted at least four or five guys tied to a tree naked, and then I wanted to cut in my own arm, upside down crosses. The whole ritual still has the same meaning in the video clip now, as my idea back then, but now, four or five years later, when it actually became reality and we started putting things in place to actually shoot the video clip, I did realise that my initial idea was unrealistic and a bit extreme, and my band and the video producer, they said, your idea is fucking great, but the producer was like, I’m not gonna film you cutting in your own arm. And my band was like, we’re not gonna allow you to cut your own arm. If you want to do that, you need to do it professionally. So basically, we still had the same idea, but then I started finding some professional guys to shoot it. And also, because I was going to be on camera myself, I needed a crew that takes charge of filming and directing, because I can’t do that if I’m being filmed at the same time. So when we had these guys around the table, and they started making plan and a script. We really had to organise stuff, find the right people. And for this, they basically were like, You need to find a professional, and it needs to be done hygienically. They did the camera and the script and everything. But then they said, your job will be to find the location, to find the people that you will shoot with, also the guy that you want to tie up naked, you have to find that. The guy that’s going to cut in your arm, you have to find it. So I went on a quest to gather all these people, and in the end, it turned out to be really special, everything turned out exactly as it was meant to be. Everything just kept on falling into place. The whole process, it was like, Okay, if this doesn’t work out it’s not meant to be, we’ll scrap it and we’ll do something else. But constantly, everything fell into place. And then I found this body mod guy from Cologne. He splits tongues on a daily basis, and he does scarification shit, so he was really up for it. He did it so professionally, and his presence was such a special presence to have on set. It was a very intense shooting, because all this preparation from an idea born four or five years ago, but we shot it in one day, we started at eight in the morning, organising everything, getting everybody at the right time, at the right place, putting everybody in the clothes, and shooting and everything. And then we ended at six in the morning the next day. We just went for it, and it was really intense, but also really cold, it was the beginning of January. It was really, really cold, and me and the girls had bare feet, and I wanted the guy, because he has this, Marduk chest piece tattoo, and that, for me, was such a big easter egg, because we had the tours with Marduk that basically shaped a lot of the history of those events where we are now. So having like a guy tied up with a Marduk tattoo was very important for me. It almost got to where we were worried about his health. At some point, people were also worried about my health, because we were getting cold but I was like, fuck it. I’ll get over it. I just want to make it happen, Don’t worry about me. But the other people were really, really suffering. It was so cool. and all very intense.
E&D: And the results were worth it?
I: Yeah. For me, it’s really important, it has a lot of deeper meaning,. The whole part with a witch in the woods, and it’s getting filmed secretly from the from the bushes, like found footage, That’s kind of mystical, like a mystical creature that’s been spotted in the woods, and then the ritual inside is to portray vulnerability, which is also why I wanted to have the guy naked, because in Dutch, if you have a very honest conversation, or if you portray something very vulnerable of yourself. In Dutch, they say bloathave, which literally means and translates to, to give yourself naked. That’s the part about vulnerability, and then the scars in my arms has a very deeply personal meaning and stuff. And it felt like we were fucking around with some darker forces that were constantly at play. So for me, it was really important, all these little things, like the letter falls over with everything that could get destroyed was exactly in a hole of the letter, you know. And there was another 1000 of those tiny examples, a few big ones that for me were like, Okay, we are meant to do this, and we’re blessed by the forces of evil that I called upon. I’m so happy with the end result. But even after shooting it, I remember calling my mom. I was like, it’s done, and it was so magical, and everything worked out. It was so special, I don’t even care anymore. Even if the footage gets destroyed, or it will never see the light, or whatever the fuck happens now, for me, everything I wanted to do is done, it was an experience but it was meant to be, because now it’s a video on YouTube.
E&D: You recently played the In Theatrum Denonium festival in France with Tormentor, how did that go and have been playing a lot of music from the new album?
I: Yeah, we did.. The set we play now is mainly focused on the new album. There’s a majority of new songs, but we’re not playing the album from start to finish. I created a set that flows through. We start with ‘Driven By Death’, that’s established, set in stone. We open with that track, but then it goes through some older tracks. I guess ‘In My Mood’ is the most liked and listened one from a previous record, and there’s even one from the very first demo. When I create a set, I’m really thinking, how does it flow, and how can the audience respond, or when can you take them by surprise? It’s still a curated set, but I guess it’s mainly focused on the new songs
E&D: How did the new songs go down?
I: It feels really good, but to be honest, we’ve been playing them live for quite some time, and I feel like we’re still a small enough band to get away with that. We play a new song, and it’s not like people film it and put it on YouTube, like, oh, look, a new song of Doodswens leaked. If you look back, you can find songs from the album on live videos from 2024/25, where we’re already playing them. But to us, it really works because we already embodied the songs so much, and we felt the audience respond to them, I think it’s part of the magic of that record, it’s not like demos, you play them for the first time in the studio, and it’s all weird and unnatural. We played three songs that we had never played before, and that was really special.
E&D: Do you always want your live performances to be as ceremonial and ritualistic as possible and do you find it a cathartic experience playing live?
I: Yeah, for me personally, it’s so much more than just sitting there and playing a song. I guess that’s also where this was kind of born from, because I’m literally incapable of just sitting there and playing a song and it’s so intense and so much happens. when I had bands back in the days when we didn’t really do a lot, we would just put a skull and a candle and play our show, and then after the show, I would sit behind the amp and go completely nuts, just feeling like there’s still so much inside of me, and I couldn’t even leave the stage, because it felt like that. I was still stuck there with my energy. So I would say it’s out of personal necessity.
E&D: You mentioned touring Marduk and you’ve toured with Gorgoroth as well. How were those experiences?
I: Well, they were experiences. Just being on tour is an experience, these are intense people, both on and off stage, so it was intense and an experience. But I’ve really learned so much especially from Marduk. Their vocalist is intense but also super chill, and the other guys are also chill, we drank wine with the guitarist. I would say the tours, just to think back about, I learned about so much music, and talk about music and what they’ve experienced in the 80s and 90s. The drummer, I learned so much musically and technically, the drummer is way more down to earth. Since the first tour, he’s really helped me with my drumming and using triggers. So much learning and growth as a band and as a person. It’s a big learning experience, many great memories created with Marduk. Gorgoroth was a crazy fucking time and experience! Things are out of control, extreme on that camp sometimes. So that was an experience too m
E&D: What are the most influential black metal albums for you as a person and as a musician?
I: I kind of hate that question, because it’s so difficult, and it could change from day to day. I really don’t have a set in stone top five, but there are certain albums that I really like or worship, maybe, but mostly it’s about specific songs or memories of the song. What I feel right now, Dragged Into Sunlight – Hatred For Mankind definitely goes up there. Drawing Down the Moon by Beherit and then Bathory by Bathory of course!
