1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
ONEGODLESS was founded by me (Robin Zielhorst) in 2013. After playing technical music for a couple of years in bands like Cynic and Exivious, I wanted to do something different, a new outlet for this musical side. The starting point was the idea that I wanted a band just for fun, nice groovy metal music, to which you could drink a few beers, have fun with friends, and have an overall good evening. After writing the first few songs, it felt like I was on the right way, the Pantera/Down/Black Label Society kind of feel and attitude in the music felt really good. After some initial lineup changes, we eventually found the current lineup with Pieter Verpaalen on vocals, Yordi Lopez on guitars and Yuma van Eekelen on drums.
2.You have a new album coming out in June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Heavy, clear, hard, transparent, honest. I'm extremely happy with the mix, I think Tymon Kruidenier did an outstanding job. Obviously, being a bass player myself, I wanted the bass sound to be a big part of the sound, pretty much 50/50 with the guitar. I think in most metal productions, the bass is way too low in the mix. I wanted to do something different with "Mourner", and I think we succeeded in that. I just hope there's more people that like it hahaha!.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Most lyrics are written by Pieter Verpaalen, and he has a unique approach to lyrics. He writes them so you can interpret them how you'd want. As an overall feel, his lyrics really match with the lyrics I wrote myself, with topics like depression, suicide, the ups and down of life, and the world we live in. Not the most light and happy topics perhaps, but to us it's what's worth writing about, something that makes you write down those words and fitting them in the music. Pieter is a personal hero for me for the way he works with lyrics and vocal lines. It was amazing to work with him on that.
4.Originally the band was known as 'Mourn', what was the cause of the new change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Onegodless'?
We received a friendly but pretty stern and clear e-mail from the manager of the Spanish Mourn, asking if we would change our name. They claimed the name, so we didn't really have much choice in the matter. OneGodLess was a name I had in my head for a few years. It's not so much about "God" as it's about the loss of belief in idols, ideals and ideas you have when you're younger, losing faith in that kind of external hope and confirmation. It all comes down to yourself, all the hope and faith you have should be in yourself, which makes it pretty hard sometimes.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We played a few shows with the current lineup, as we were focusing on recording and mixing the album. We had a great show recently in The Hague, which I think was our best show thus far. I would like to describe our live show as energetic, groovy, honest, hard and loud. I'm curious to hear what the audience thinks about the shows, until now, the response has been great, though.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are currently bookings shows to promote the album, dates are to be confirmed.. As we are a "new" band, much will also depend on how the album is received. But I'm positive about our future, I really believe in this band.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We're not really looking at the moment, wanting to control all the aspects of the album. Having a label of course has its upsides, but it also comes with some consequences that might not be worth it at this stage of the band. Of course, if the band keeps growing, at a certain point I'd rather work together with a label, but that's something for the future.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of heavy rock and metal?
Overall, responses have been great, extremely positive, people seem to like the mix of Pantera-like metal with the stoner/sludge feel we make.
9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
I'm currently working as a session bass player for various bands, recording album in my home studio, and I'm still involved with Exivious and Our Oceans, and writing solo pieces for bass, recording them and releasing them online. Yuma is playing with Exivious, Our Oceans and Cartographer, Yordi is playing with Red Eyes and recently founded a new project called 3D Monster.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think the style we have, the songs I've written and combined with the lyrics and people in the band match really well. Musically, I don’t think a lot will change, but I'm not really thinking about the next record yet. First "Mourner", getting that released and out in the world, and we'll see after that how it all goes. It's more important for me everything feels good, and the music is honest and close to the heart.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Influences are Pantera, Black Label Society, Down and Black Sabbath. Those are the bands I got most of my inspiration from. Those are also still the bands I listen to mostly when I listen to metal. Besides that, I like pretty much everything, as long as it's good. Whether it's Kendrick Lamar, Meshuggah, A Perfect Circle, Dimmu Borgir, Deep Purple, Eminem, Dr Dre, Miles Davis, Anaal Nathrakh, Bill Evans Trio, Alain Caron, Devin Townsend, Deadmau5, Sia, Karnivool, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Led Zeppelin, Red Fang, Tipper…
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I started doing Yoga recently, I liked that a lot. I'm a big fan of nature and animals, my 3 cats are always a good part of my day. I also like to travel with my girlfriend, we've gone to Asia for a few times now, and we love it there. It's great to be out of the Western world every once in a while.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the interview. And for the people out there: be sure to order the CD and/or shirt at our website www.onegodlessofficial.com. Thanks for all your support, we hope to be grooving on a stage near you soon!
ONEGODLESS was founded by me (Robin Zielhorst) in 2013. After playing technical music for a couple of years in bands like Cynic and Exivious, I wanted to do something different, a new outlet for this musical side. The starting point was the idea that I wanted a band just for fun, nice groovy metal music, to which you could drink a few beers, have fun with friends, and have an overall good evening. After writing the first few songs, it felt like I was on the right way, the Pantera/Down/Black Label Society kind of feel and attitude in the music felt really good. After some initial lineup changes, we eventually found the current lineup with Pieter Verpaalen on vocals, Yordi Lopez on guitars and Yuma van Eekelen on drums.
2.You have a new album coming out in June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Heavy, clear, hard, transparent, honest. I'm extremely happy with the mix, I think Tymon Kruidenier did an outstanding job. Obviously, being a bass player myself, I wanted the bass sound to be a big part of the sound, pretty much 50/50 with the guitar. I think in most metal productions, the bass is way too low in the mix. I wanted to do something different with "Mourner", and I think we succeeded in that. I just hope there's more people that like it hahaha!.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Most lyrics are written by Pieter Verpaalen, and he has a unique approach to lyrics. He writes them so you can interpret them how you'd want. As an overall feel, his lyrics really match with the lyrics I wrote myself, with topics like depression, suicide, the ups and down of life, and the world we live in. Not the most light and happy topics perhaps, but to us it's what's worth writing about, something that makes you write down those words and fitting them in the music. Pieter is a personal hero for me for the way he works with lyrics and vocal lines. It was amazing to work with him on that.
4.Originally the band was known as 'Mourn', what was the cause of the new change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Onegodless'?
We received a friendly but pretty stern and clear e-mail from the manager of the Spanish Mourn, asking if we would change our name. They claimed the name, so we didn't really have much choice in the matter. OneGodLess was a name I had in my head for a few years. It's not so much about "God" as it's about the loss of belief in idols, ideals and ideas you have when you're younger, losing faith in that kind of external hope and confirmation. It all comes down to yourself, all the hope and faith you have should be in yourself, which makes it pretty hard sometimes.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We played a few shows with the current lineup, as we were focusing on recording and mixing the album. We had a great show recently in The Hague, which I think was our best show thus far. I would like to describe our live show as energetic, groovy, honest, hard and loud. I'm curious to hear what the audience thinks about the shows, until now, the response has been great, though.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are currently bookings shows to promote the album, dates are to be confirmed.. As we are a "new" band, much will also depend on how the album is received. But I'm positive about our future, I really believe in this band.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We're not really looking at the moment, wanting to control all the aspects of the album. Having a label of course has its upsides, but it also comes with some consequences that might not be worth it at this stage of the band. Of course, if the band keeps growing, at a certain point I'd rather work together with a label, but that's something for the future.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of heavy rock and metal?
Overall, responses have been great, extremely positive, people seem to like the mix of Pantera-like metal with the stoner/sludge feel we make.
9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
I'm currently working as a session bass player for various bands, recording album in my home studio, and I'm still involved with Exivious and Our Oceans, and writing solo pieces for bass, recording them and releasing them online. Yuma is playing with Exivious, Our Oceans and Cartographer, Yordi is playing with Red Eyes and recently founded a new project called 3D Monster.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think the style we have, the songs I've written and combined with the lyrics and people in the band match really well. Musically, I don’t think a lot will change, but I'm not really thinking about the next record yet. First "Mourner", getting that released and out in the world, and we'll see after that how it all goes. It's more important for me everything feels good, and the music is honest and close to the heart.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Influences are Pantera, Black Label Society, Down and Black Sabbath. Those are the bands I got most of my inspiration from. Those are also still the bands I listen to mostly when I listen to metal. Besides that, I like pretty much everything, as long as it's good. Whether it's Kendrick Lamar, Meshuggah, A Perfect Circle, Dimmu Borgir, Deep Purple, Eminem, Dr Dre, Miles Davis, Anaal Nathrakh, Bill Evans Trio, Alain Caron, Devin Townsend, Deadmau5, Sia, Karnivool, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Led Zeppelin, Red Fang, Tipper…
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I started doing Yoga recently, I liked that a lot. I'm a big fan of nature and animals, my 3 cats are always a good part of my day. I also like to travel with my girlfriend, we've gone to Asia for a few times now, and we love it there. It's great to be out of the Western world every once in a while.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the interview. And for the people out there: be sure to order the CD and/or shirt at our website www.onegodlessofficial.com. Thanks for all your support, we hope to be grooving on a stage near you soon!
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