Dear Christiaan hi. Firstly I would like to congratulate you for the release of Dark Dreams My Child. I would like to ask you if you are pleased with the final result.

Chris: Thank you for your congratulations. We are indeed very pleased, and we were actually positively surprised by the way some songs eventually turned out. You always create your own image of how a certain song will sound like, but sometimes you really get surprised by the result. This is of course thanks to Joost's brilliant studio work. I still play the record myself, not only because I like it, but also to think back of the great (and sometimes not so great) time we had making this record. The way it was received by the audience and press is just the cherry on the pie. But it tastes good...

Are you satisfied with the response of press and audience? What is the best and what is the worst comment you have received until now?

Chris: We are definitely satisfied. It would be a disappointment if everybody would hate this record after putting so much of ourselves into it. We have had lots of reviews, almost every single one is either positive, or completely lyrical. Personally I was flattered with the response we got from Vampire Magazine. The reviewer had also reviewed our demo and some concerts and was - and this is an understatement - not impressed with what he had seen from us in the past. After reviewing this album, he just had to admit that this is a good record. He must have had a sour taste in his mouth writing the very positive review. It is nice that we actually changed some peoples' opinion who disliked our demo or whatsoever. But - and I definitely don't want to sound cheesy, but it's just the way it is - the best compliment you can get is that someone you don't know tells you that he plays our record daily. I don't care if it is a crazy fan or the world's top-notch reviewer. The record is meant to be played. Not only by reviewers or people who claim to know a lot about music. The worst comment we got was from a German webzine. They said it was too well produced or something. Because of this production, it is not doom, he argued. Well, we make post-doom. We are trying to get out of the cliché that doom metal has to sound like it was produced by an overweighed pigeon wearing goggles after eating too much acid.
Robbie: Yeah hehe, that review sort of read like "this is not doom you hear me, this is not doom, don't let them trick you, it is not doom". Dude, get a life!

Let's go back to the past of the band. I would like to introduce Another Messiah and your new release?

Robbie: Well Mart, Chris and I (Robbie) have been playing together for quite a while now. It was a lot of fun mostly but nothing special. A few years ago we decided it was time to take ourselves seriously and we founded Another Messiah. Unfortunately our bass player at that time decided to quit. Luckily we got Erik to play with us. I knew him from college. We had played together in PUS and although that band collapsed Erik and I really played well together. I dropped Erik a line if he wanted to join Another Messiah and much to my surprise he was very positive and I convinced him to move back to Holland. From then on we started writing songs for ‘Dark Dreams' which was great fun mainly. But Chris has already said that.

How important do you think is to have a stable line up? What do you think that is crucial for one stable line up?

Chris: In our case it was/is crucial. Most of us have been playing together for such a long time, that it is hard to imagine to playing with other guys. I think it is one of the reasons why we have been able to develop our own style. One thing which is also crucial to us is that we actually like to hang out with each other. That in itself is quite an achievement since we all have terrible characters. Sometimes I even ask myself why I like to spend so much time with these guys. Maybe it is because they give me a feeling that I am not the only one suffering from the anxieties of ordinary life.
Robbie: I agree there. We are all worlds apart and it is some sort of weird morbid form of chemistry that binds us.

Can you tell us a few things about Another Renaissance which was released in 2003?

Robbie: It's loud and heavy. More rock-orientated, less doom. Some people like it and some people don't.

How could you describe your music? It's not clearly doom; it's not only atmospheric or death. It is so varied that may confuse someone.

Chris: Is it really that varied? I am not sure. Of course you can hear different influences, but the ideas are all from the same band. I think that people should be less concerned with trying to fit every band into a certain style group. But that is just my idealistic mind filled with clichés speaking. Orphanage actually made fun of the desire to give their music style a name by calling their music ‘Innovative Gregorian Celtic Groovy Melodic Danceable Doom Death Metal'. Obviously our music is more varied than others. If you are only into brutal gore death metal, only into funeral gothic doom metal, only into André Hazes or whatever, don't listen to us. But who is? Who is only focused on a particular style? If it is confusing to some people, heck, so be it. I guess those people have never listened to Opeth. Sorry I didn't answer your first question.

Do you think that the terms "energetic, atmospheric, innovative" are adequate to give someone understand what is that you play?

Chris: It is very hard to describe your own music. That is why I avoided answering your previous question. Since you are very persistent, I will try to shed a light on how we regard our music in terms of style. We like to use the term post-doom. That is because we think that the main element of our music is melancholy. Either expressed with atmospheric parts, aggressive parts or anything in between. The term ‘post' refers to the contemporary elements in our music. Doom metal doesn't necessarily have to sound like it was written or recorded in the 1980's or 90's. About your question: well, I think these terms grasp the main essence of our music. We make doom, sometimes aggressive or groovy (energetic) and sometimes atmospheric. The term innovative refers to the rule-breaking mentality we have. Don't think that innovative and for example progressive are interchangeable terms. We don't try to play as many scales in one solo or try to fit in at least 5 different irregular rhythms in one song. We do like to break the traditional rules in metal (ok, who doesn't) by using different instruments that are foreign to metal and mess around with clichés that are often used in metal.

How far can you think that the oboe element can go? Do you believe that will always have a vital part in your music?

Chris: Never say never but never say always. We have been using this instrument for quite some time now. It creates a special atmosphere that finishes our music. Although I don't think we cannot survive without the oboe (I don't think we need the oboe to write exciting songs), it has become our trademark. As long as the oboe contributes to our music, we will continue using it. We will never (ab)use the oboe just for the sake of using it.
Robbie: I agree with Chris there. Off course the oboe is a vital element in our music but we don't really need it to make fuckin' A music.

Have you ever thought of adding more classic instruments in your music or you believe that this would deteriorate your personal sound?

Chris: It was purely coincidental that we started using the oboe. Now, a few years later, it is just a part of our music as the guitar is or the drums are. I am afraid that we would have to add an extra band member if we would like to add another instrument. Well, I've heard that Robbie has the ambition to buy an alt oboe or something, but maybe he can tell you more about that.
Robbie: Haha, yeah well if I would have the money to buy a twelve thousand euro alt oboe. No seriously, if we write a song in which we think we have to use another instrument we will do just that. It's the same thing with the oboe. We build our sound with our basic line-up and sometimes we add just that little extra.

You have managed to cooperate with a very renowned producer, Joost van den Broek. How did this happen?

Chris: We knew Joost already for a long time. He was also playing in a band at the time we met. We used to visit each others gigs and played together a lot. When we became low-lifes Joost became a talented producer. We are definately glad that we could work with him, we all connect with him on both musical as well as personal levels, although we do think he should drink more beer.

Now a few questions about Holland. In Holland they are building a tradition about female fronted bands, from The Gathering to Morning and so on. Have you ever thought of adding female vocals?

Chris: Why add female vocals? Robbie has a great voice, I don't see a reason to add vocals. By the way, if you kick him in the balls really hard he can scream just as hard and high as Floor of After Forever. Of course, it crossed our mind once or twice (to add female vocals), but I like the band the way it is now. More people means more concerns and we have too many of those already. I think there are already many bands who are successful with female vocals, I don't think we need more of them. Why is it that every time when a genre or sub genre becomes popular every band suddenly wants to copy the successful bands in that (sub) genre? By the way, that was a rhetorical question.
Robbie: Though it would be damn cool if we would add some female vocals on our next album. I'm talking Paradise Lost style or something like that.

In your bio you refer to Gorefest. Have you listened to "La Muerta"? Are you positive towards reunions and do you think that Gorefest specifically have new things to offer?

Chris: We definitely listened to La Muerte. Actually, it got stuck in our cd player on our way to Poland, so we had the chance to completely learn it by heart. In general I am not positive or negative towards reunions. Most of the time I don't care for them anyway. The Gorefest reunion however is special to us because these guys were our hero's 10-15 years ago. They don't only play old songs, but actually made a terrific new album. It is hard to say if they have new things to offer, but then again, who has? What counts is that the album is Gorefest at its best: hard, heavy and dark.
Robbie: the funny thing is that every interview we have done so far people have been asking about Gorefest. We don't mind however, they kick ass!

And now what are your future plans? Do you have any contacts with any companies for an official contract?

Chris: Currently we are focussed on planning our Dutch tour for 2006. We will also be heading for Sweden and of course Eastern Europe again. I hope to play in Greece some day, since we have quite some fans there. We are also working on our distribution. At this moment we are expecting propositions from some larger and some smaller companies. The distribution is currently our main concern, but since the reactions were good, I am confident that we can work with a record company.

What about any possible touring? You did one tour after Another Renaissance, so do you plan any new touring now?

Chris: Hmm, I answered this question already I think. Well, we will be touring, keep an eye on our touring schedule!

I think that this is it. I wish you all the best. You can close this interview in any way you want.

Chris: Well, hope to see you some day in Greece; I think it is one of the best countries for metal in Europe!
Robbie: cheers!