Interview Willem Elbers (bass) by "Metal Fanatix" (september 2009)

Interviewer: Jeffrey D. Adkins

The Sin Committee is an up and coming metal band from The Netherlands. With their first demo under their belt, they released a 5-song EP entitled "Confess" in April of 2009. Progressive metal bands like Tool, Mastodon, Gojira, Opeth all have helped to shape their band to what you hear today.

Come with me while I chat with bassist Willem Elbers as we talk about the band. We cover topics like playing shows, his bass equipment, their EP "Confess" and future plans for The Sin Committee.

Sin is in! If you have a "Regression of Faith" it's time for you to "Confess" to The Sin Committee...

Metal Fanatix: Hey Willem! How are you doing?

Willem Elbers: Hi Jeffrey, I am doing great actually. I enjoyed a several metal festivals in the last couple of weeks and my holiday is about to start, what more could a guy want?

Metal Fanatix: Well let’s get right into the interview… how did the band form?

Willem Elbers: Raymon (guitar player), Victor (drums) and I already played together in a band called Gravity before we started The Sin Committee. Well, that band never worked out and when [we] lost our singer we spent almost three quarters of a year in 2006 looking for a new vocalist. At some point we started to despair because we couldn’t find a decent one, until we saw Joris (the band's current singer) performing with his other band. We knew instantly knew he was our guy and luckily we managed to convince him of that as well.

Metal Fanatix: What were your goals upon formation? How does that compare to where you are at today? Have you reached those goals?

Willem Elbers: In the beginning we didn’t really have clear goals besides making the kind of music we liked and simply having fun. Although these goals are still there, we have become a little bit more focused since then. Basically we want to establish the band in the underground metal scene in the Netherlands as well as abroad. This includes amongst other things getting signed by a label, doing tours and releasing a full-length CD. We are still working on attaining these goals.

Metal Fanatix: Onto your EP “Confess”! How long did it take to write the EP?

Willem Elbers: Well, in a strict sense you could say it took us more then a year to write Confess, but it actually took us less than half a year or so. This was because I had to work abroad for half a year in 2008 while our drummer Victor also spend three months abroad. We wrote about eight songs of which we picked the five best ones to record.

Metal Fanatix: One thing that I hear within your music is a Tool influence. What are The Sin Committee’s major influences? Include anything from music, movies, books, environment, dreams, etc.

Willem Elbers: Musically we are definitely inspired by some of the more progressive metal bands like Tool, Mastodon, Gojira and Opeth although we definitely also listen to a lot of different stuff. Joris and Raymon (singer and guitarist), for example, really dig Devin Townsend while Victor (drums) loves Zappa. Apart from that, we simply make the type of music we like ourselves. The result is some hybrid type of metal that does not follow any band in particular but certainly contains many references to other bands.

Metal Fanatix: Did everything go as planned during the recording and mixing process? Anything out of the ordinary happen?

Willem Elbers: It went as planned except for the fact that it took us more time than we had in mind. Basically, the whole recording and mixing process was a major eye opener for us in many ways. This is largely due to the input of Erwin Hermsen who, in the Netherlands, is quite reputable when it comes to producing metal. He really lifted us to a higher level with his feedback regarding the musical arrangements and the vocals. Of course it helped that he had beer available at the end of a hard working day. We initially planned to do everything is six days but once we noticed what we could achieve with more time we decided to take more time. Of course the production of Confess is not as good as, let’s say, the newest album of Mastodon. But given the fact that we had about 300 times less money to spend (no kidding) as Mastodon we are very happy with the result.

Metal Fanatix: When lyrics are written for a song are there certain themes that you like to stick with? What are your favorite topics?

Willem Elbers: I think it is too early in the band’s career to say whether we already have favorite topics. What I can tell you is that you won’t find any of our lyrics dealing with, for example, how somebody lost his girlfriend. We feel that in our type of music, lyrics should have some real content. Joris, our vocalist, writes our lyrics. The lyrics on Confess deal with the apparent need of people to follow higher authorities like religion or charismatic political leaders, even if this goes against their better judgment. Joris’ argument is that anybody who blindly follows others is guilty when atrocities are committed, and they usually are. Therefore there is a lot to “Confess”.

Metal Fanatix: “Straw Men” has grown to be my favorite track. Willem, what are your favorite tunes off of “Confess”? Any particular reason?

Willem Elbers: Personally I like “Confess” and “Regression of Faith” the most. First of all, I think they are really cool songs, but in addition I also really like the bass lines on those songs (this happens when you ask the bass player). Straw Men for me is by far the most technically demanding song on Confess to play. As a result, I need almost all my concentration to play the song well which makes it far more difficult to give the energetic live performance that people are used to when they come to see The Sin Committee.

Metal Fanatix: There are two releases so far in the band’s history, the 2007 demo “Wormwood” and your new EP “Confess” which was released earlier this year. What do you see as the band’s major differences between the two releases? Are you happy with the progression?

Willem Elbers: Basically, there are three big differences: the songs on Wormwood have far more simple song-structures, they are technically much simpler to play and they have clean vocals only. When we recorded Wormwood the band only existed [for] four months and we were still very much trying to figure out what we wanted to do. I personally feel Confess is a big step in our musical evolution. We honestly feel that Confess is only the start of our development so we are already looking forward to the new album.

Metal Fanatix: Willem, I saw that you have recently released a music video. Tell me about it! How did that go? Are you pleased with the results?

Willem Elbers: Well we sure had a lot of fun in making that video but it wasn’t particularly easy. The video consists of a mix of live images and us playing at an abandoned factory site. The day when we were recording at the factory site happened to be quite a rainy day with only short periods of sun. During the recordings we had to bring our gear into shelter to protect it from the rain and bring out again at least four times. Although the video is finished, we’ll wait with releasing it formally in the beginning of September when people are back from their holiday.

Metal Fanatix: What is the future plans for The Sin Committee? Are you working on new material? Do you see a full-length studio effort in the future?

Willem Elbers: It is definitely our intention to release a full-length album next time, which will probably be somewhere at the end of 2010. We already have new stuff written and it kicks ass I can tell you.

Metal Fanatix: How often do you guys get a chance to play out? Any upcoming shows people need to know about?

Willem Elbers: Since the release of Confess we’ve not played as much as we wanted to since April (when Confess was released ed.). People often don’t realize that unless you play in a well-known band, you have to arrange all your gigs yourself. Thus far we had to devote a lot of our time to get our stuff organized in a professional manner. I can tell you, things like designing and maintaining a website, building an online presence on sites like myspace, facebook, making promo pictures, shooting a video, and contacting magazines for reviews cost a huge amount of time. Luckily, most of these things only need to be done once after each album release and by now we’ve mostly done them. But coming back to your question, I expect a lot more gigs after the summer holiday. Next year we plan to do a short tour in Europe so we are really looking forward to that as well.

Metal Fanatix: Several bands have a preferred place to play. Do you have a favorite place to play a show? Where is it? Why do you like this venue?

Willem Elbers: Well, the best places to play are those where there are lots of people that know and like your music. Although we have certainly started to build a fan base outside the local scene, it is still a fact that we get the most enthusiastic response when we play in our home town, which is called Nijmegen. A venue where we played some really cool gigs is called “Merleyn”.

Metal Fanatix: What is the most important thing to The Sin Committee when you play a live show?

Willem Elbers: The most important thing is that the audience is having a good time. Because if they are enjoying themselves, you usually are having a good time as well. Apart from that, the quality of the mix is quite important. Although this is largely beyond your control as a band, it still determines how the audience perceives you. Even the very best bands in the world sound shitty if they are not properly mixed and amplified.

Metal Fanatix: Willem, do you have a routine or ritual that you do before you play a show?

Willem Elbers: Before a show I always do two things. First, I take time to do a last-minute check of my gear, particularly my effect pedals. Also I make sure my strings are still in tune. Second, I “warm up” my fingers by playing scales. Actually, the latter is not needed at all, but it is a kind of ritual that mentally prepares me for playing live.

Metal Fanatix: Time to talk about your equipment! What is your favorite bass?

Willem Elbers: Well, there are many basses I like, including several models of Warwick and the Music Man Stingray, but I also really like my own bass which is a five string Cort Elrick Josh Paul Signature model. As you may have heard, my sound is quite determined by the effect pedals I use which include a Proco Rat, Big Muff, Boss EQ and chorus pedals. For the studio I borrowed a very expensive Aguilar amp and cabinet to get thickest bass sound within my reach.

Metal Fanatix: I used to play bass myself and I favored a particular brand of strings. Do you have a favorite brand?

Willem Elbers: Yep, I prefer to use Elixir Nanoweb strings. These are coated meaning that they stay crispy a long time, but I also like how the coated layer feels to my fingers when playing. I heard some people complaining about the Nanoweb strings because they supposedly have less bottom end. For me that argument doesn’t hold, however, as I always use an EQ pedal to manually add bass after having run the signal through my distortion pedals.

Metal Fanatix: Some bass players change their strings before every show, some try to keep what they have on their instrument until they are on the verge of breaking. How often do you change them?

Willem Elbers: As I use the Nanoweb strings I can use them up to three or even for months. It also depends on how much I play of course.

Metal Fanatix: Endorsements! Do you have any?

Willem Elbers: Nope, would be nice though as being a musician is not particularly cheap.

Metal Fanatix: How long have you been playing? Are there any other instruments you play?

Willem Elbers: I have been playing for about 16 years or so, although I haven’t always played as intensive as in the last five years. I also play a little bit of guitar, so if you want to hear me play “Stairway to heaven”…

Metal Fanatix: Willem, I’ve seen some crazy equipment malfunctions in my time… from necks breaking on guitars to amps dying and smoking. What’s the oddest thing that’s happened to you when playing out?

Willem Elbers: I had my share of usual malfunctions such as strings that snapped and cables that decided to die during a gig. Thus far, luckily nothing out of the ordinary happened. It did happen [when] Raymon’s (guitarist) cabinet literally blew during a gig tearing one of his speakers in the process. Fortunately it was during the last minute of the last song of our set-list.

Metal Fanatix: Many musicians like to grab a beer or stiff drink when they are playing. What’s your favorite beverage when jamming?

Willem Elbers: I am a metal head man; I definitely like beer before, during and after playing!

Metal Fanatix: Well Willem, we are getting to the end of the interview. I want to thank you for your time in answering some questions for us at MetalFanatix.com. I have one more question for you, do you have any final words for the Metal Fanatix of the world?

Willem Elbers: Sure, first I would like to thank you for doing the interview. And to all Metal Fanatix out there, be sure to check out the new EP of The Sin Committee which can be downloaded from www.thesincommittee.com. Apart from that, horns up!

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