Interview: Crouch
It felt good to dive into the new record with more adventurous intentions. We really went all out with this first full length and I believe it’ll only go up from here on out when it comes to pushing boundaries.
Breaking The Catatonic State is the debut album from Crouch, and it sees the Belgian band that features members from Oathbreaker, Wiegedood, Rise and Fall, Living Gate and Ventilateur, destroy all in their path with their intense and formidable music. To celebrate the release of the album Gavin Brown caught up with Crouch guitarist/vocalist Levy Seynaeve to hear all about it and how the band have evolved since their first EP as well as discussing the members other bands, live dates with Converge and the influence of the Belgian hardcore scene.
E&D: Your debut album Breaking The Catatonic State is out now. As it is the first album you have brought out, did you want it to be the biggest statement of the sound of Crouch?
Levy: We do want it to be a big statement about the sound of Crouch. I believe every record should top the previous one and since we only had an EP out so far with a more straight forward post-metal feel to it. It felt good to dive into the new record with more adventurous intentions. We really went all out with this first full length and I believe it’ll only go up from here on out when it comes to pushing boundaries.
E&D: What have been the biggest influences on the sound of the album?
Levy: We really dug our teeth into the complex hardcore scene from early 2000’s. Bands like Botch, Knut, Converge, Burnt By The Sun, Coalesce and everything “Hydra Head records” really snuck in as an influence and opened many creative doors for us.
E&D: What has the reaction to the music you’ve brought out so far been like?
Levy: Very good! People are really noticing the change in pace on this record and I feel there’s still a lot of appreciation for this kind of music. It’s nice to see people still like to be challenged by music.
E&D: How was the process of creating and recording the album?
Levy: Letting go of certain preconceptions of what this record was supposed to sound like gave us a lot of freedom in writing and recording the album. We stopped striving to sound like anything but ourselves and it really shows I think. We worked with Gilles Demolder for recording and mixing the album and it was an absolute pleasure. He gets what we’re trying to do and captured it in the best possible way. He really pushed us to commit to the identity we’re trying to develop. I’ve never recorded a record where there’s only one guitar line, and was a bit skeptical at first but I’m forever glad that we did. The recording process was all about capturing what we sound like playing these songs together in a room. No fancy digital computer tricks. Just the raw sound we develop on our own, captured in the best way possible.
E&D: Can you tell us about how you created the mesmerising cover for the album?
Levy: The cover represents the title and sentiment of the album. Breaking The Catatonic State embodies that very concept on different levels. It shows us breaking free from any musical restrictions we might have enforced on ourselves. And not only musically. I also tried to break free from my usual way of writing lyrics. Drastically toning down the metaphors and just calling things what they are. With that in mind, the idea was to place a seemingly immovable object in an environment where movement is constant and free. The album cover is the result of the effort of some great people. The statue on the cover is made by our friend Bram Vanderbeke who makes sculptures in aluminium and concrete. We dragged a sculpture he made especially for the covert of this record, through Brussels with photographer Jeroen Mylle en Videographer Jonas Hollevoet following us around. The result is the cover art off the album as well as a videoclip for our song Bad Seed of the making off process, capturing every aspect of our day in Brussels.
E&D: Is your 2023 debut EP a big indication on the sound of the new album and how have the band evolved since then?
Levy: The EP was the starting point of this band so the sound of those first 4 songs are woven into the DNA of the band, but like I said, we did step away from the purely post-metal sound of the EP.
E&D: Was making the video for ‘Lhotse’ a powerful experience?
Levy: For the video of Lhotse we worked with Jaak De Digitale who has done videos for Wim and my other bands Wiegedood and Living Gate. He has a fantastical mind and we basically just fed him the concept of the song and let him do his thing with it. The song is derived of a story in Norse mythology. About how the earth is made up out of the body parts of the gods. The rocks are their teeth, the water is their blood, etc. Which further hints at the fact that we are the earth ourselves and we’re exercising some self-destructive behaviour.
E&D: How important is the visual spect of Crouch for you?
Levy: We really enjoy figuring out ways to translate the music and the deeper meaning behind some of these songs into something visual. It’s just so much nicer to have all the pieces fit together. To be able to look at a record we made and to see the songs we wrote represented in an image. That being said, we also believe in not taking everything too seriously. There’s enough of that these days and I think there should be room for some satire here and there.
E&D: What have your other bands Wiegedood, Oathbreaker and Living Gate got planned for 2026?
Levy: Wiegedood is in the process of writing a new album but we’re taking our sweet time. Very excited about where it’s going so far though. Oathbreaker is playing some shows in 2026. So far we have Roadburn and Arctangent confirmed but some more stuff is being announced soon. Can’t wait to play these songs again!Living Gate has the weird situation that we don’t all live on the same continent, which makes playing shows and making music a bit hard sometimes. But we all love being in a band together and making death metal so I’m sure there will be new stuff coming out in the future. Just can’t say when…
E&D: What have been some of your favourite memories in those bands so far?
Levy: That’s a hard question! So many memories to pick from. If I can pick one for each band. With Wiegedood, playing Primavera festival (of course) and playing Berghain in Berlin are two shows that are on the top of my list. I mean, not many black metal bands get to say they played the most famous techno club in the world. And the best part is, there’s no filming allowed in there so there’s no footage of it either. There’s something about a crowd without phones that amplifies the intensity of the moment. With Oathbreaker, I’d say doing my first ever US tour is a great memory. I was still so young, how envy that dude haha! Living Gate has a less extensive history but while touring in Europe last year we went to Europapark in Germany on one of our days off! What can I say, I love rollercoasters!
E&D: Would you ever considers doing a special gig with all your bands and Amenra/adjacent Church Of Ra bands at all?
Levy: I think Amenra are the kings when it comes to special gigs, and there have been occasions where I was involved. For example, Oathbreaker and Hessian played a “head to head” set on an event in a church with Amenra. Don’t know what the future will bring, but I feel like everyone is doing their thing for now.
E&D: Do you ever have any ideas for Crouch that you think might work better with one of your other bands or vice versa?
Levy: Mostly when I sit down and write stuff, I’ll do it band-specific. So usually there’s not a lot of overlap. Which I like, I really want to avoid making music that interchangeable between the bands I play in. That would mean to me they all start sounding the same.
E&D: Are you looking forward to playing live with Converge once the album comes out?
Levy: Very much so! Back when I still played in Amenra I had the pleasure of touring with them in the US twice alongside Neurosis. Talking about great memories… So yeah! Very excited to play these shows with them!
E&D: How do you feel the material from Breaking The Catatonic State will translate in a live arena?
Levy: Like I said before, the recording of the album aimed at capturing these songs as they sound when we play them live. So I think they’ll translate pretty good. We don’t have a bunch of guitar overdubs where we’d need 5 guitarists on stage to play these songs as they are on the record. Gilles, who recorded the album said we sound great on your own and all he had to do was a put a microphone in front of our cabinets. And to an extend I think he’s right. On the other side he did A LOT more than just putting up a microphone in a room. He really got the most out of us and we learned a lot in that recording session. Interesting stuff to transfer to a live setting.
E&D: Have you got further dates planned for later in the year?
Levy: We just want to play as much as possible. We’re only getting started so the offers aren’t as frequent as with a band like Wiegedood or Oathbreaker. But we went through the same thing with those bands. We’re ready to earn our dues!
E&D: How was the experience of touring with Yob last year and what were some of the highlights?
Levy: It’s always great touring with Yob. I play in Living Gate with Aaron so we obviously have a good connection, but we definitely do with the rest of the band and crew as well. They’re all full of love and appreciation for good music. Seeing someone like Mike watch us side stage, posting about how much he likes our music. It’s surreal.
E&D: What have been some of your favourite other gigs that you have played with Crouch so far?
Levy: We played Roadburn two years ago, which was a great way to introduce ourselves to the public. Also, touring with Russian Circles was a big one for us. What a great sounding band live. I think bought me a Hiwatt straight after that tour because Mike’s guitar sounded so good. I can’t afford three of those puppies though…
E&D: Has the whole H8000 hardcore scene in Belgium been an inspiration for you to this day?
Levy: I’m a bit too young to have fully experienced the H8000 hardcore scene in its glory days. But it surely influenced the people who influenced me. There’s just a small generational gap. I only popped my head in that scene when Liar and Congress were calling it quits (for the first time).
E&D: What albums would you recommend checking out for those unfamiliar with H8000?
Levy: There’s a couple classics you can’t skip like, Congress – Blackened Persistence and Liar – Invictus. But I think my favourite H8000 record is Colors that Bleed by Spirit Of Youth. Very 90’s, very Morning Again, and sounds pretty good production wise seeing it’s probably recorded in a DIY studio in the fields of Flanders.
E&D: How is the extreme music scene in Belgium at the moment?
Levy: The name H8000 still gets thrown around by some people and bands from time to time. But let’s face it, it’s over… Bands like Liar and Congress are playing again as well but I think there’s a time cap on that and I don’t think their current performances do their legacy much justice or good. But obviously other bands took over at some point and there’s lots of good stuff that came out of Belgian hardcore. Rise and Fall and Amenra all have their roots in that scene.
E&D: What newer bands are doing it for you at the moment?
Levy: I really think Siem Reap doesn’t get enough attention and credit for the great album they’ve put out recently. If you like anything Mark Kozelek was in, you’ll love this!
Also, a small hardcore band from Belgium called Fazed. With Ivo who used to play drums in Oathbreaker and some of the guys from Justice. Glad to see a band that doesn’t have Madball as their sole influence, or racks up cliché punk riffs as if their life depended on it. Lot of Bad Brains in the music, some Leeway styled vocals! Love it!
Photo by Geert Braekers
