INSULT (RIP) – interview 1999

Well, the next interview is an interview with the crazy dutch HC band INSULT. For me, they are one of the most collest bands around in the ‘dutch’scene (this is serious, no bbutt-kissing or whatever). I did this interview with Rob Nabbe quite some while ago, so some information (like releases, concerts) are a bit outdated. Sorry for that, but hey it’s an interesting interview (at least that’s what I think about it)

1)Out of which people does INSULT exists ?
Insult is:

Grizzly Rob – Grr Growler/Guitaargghh/Nightcrawler
Loekie Adams – Axegrinder /Horny midget
Fartboy Willem – Guitaarrgghh/Bad Jokes & Unholy rice-waffles
Nabbe the Bastard – Aaarrghh Screamer/ Blastbeats/Pimp daddy

2) Rob, can you tell me how INSULT has started and by you you are inspired?
Bah? I heard this question too often..Too make a very long story short, we started in ’92 and fell apart in ’95. Since ’93 we’ve got Loek in the band and our bass-player Luc took the vocals. Our orginal singer Sjors aka Scumbag Duke had left us and after his departure he started a black metal band called Cirith Gorgor. In that period we sounded like our first 7”. Lots of these songsare also made in ’93. In ’95 we fell apart because of various reasons but in ’97 we’ve came back together with our orginal singer Sjors. Actually it was only meant as a project to record the 7” and release it but soon again we started with concerts. No we’re playing with the best line-up we’ve ever had and it suits us fine! In the early years we were especially influenced by INFEST but nowadays our music also contains grindcore-elements. INSULT often get labelled as power-violence but we don’t care about that. We are and just be a brutal and fast HC-band.

3) Do you guys have some kind of purpose with the band? What do you guys want to achieve?
A purpose? What we want to achieve ?…Hmmmmmmmmmm. Our lyrics aren’t written to improve the world or to influence people. If people can’t find themselves in our lyrics of feel insulted, then that’s their problem! We can deal with our agression and frustrations in the music and that’s what it is all about. Further we all comfort it very much to play in this band, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. So there’s not really a purpose behind it. It just comforts you to express your emotions and opinions through music.

4) Your lyrics, what are they about and how important are they for INSULT? Could you explain some of the lyrics?
The lyrics are very important. HC is all about lyrics! Just like I said earlier, it comforts you to express your emotions and opinions through your own music. These lyrics can be positive but, more often, also very negative. On our Scumbag Duke-sessions 7” we started the attack on the popular and trendy HC-movement. In the time I wrote that lyrics, I was badly irritated by trendy groups in the “scene”. Disgusting! HC, for them, waso nly about macho-dancing, expensive sportclothing and abot who had the largest amount of coloured vinyl. However, by a large amount of people in the “scene” it’s still about these things. But now can I say that I’m not interested anymore in the “scene”and that I can only laugh about that kind of people. If we don’t have to play ourselves, I non’t go to many shows, unless there are bands that interest me because they know what they are doing and do their own thing. Further I can tell you that subjects of our lyrics and that we write about everything what bothers s or abot something we like to write about.

5) How do you feel about the current resurrection of HC? For example the new school Straight edge scene with trendy bands like Backfire but also the growing grind/HC scene?
The total HC-scene can kiss my ass! I won’t worry abot the resurrection of trendy new school SXE bands. These weaky, carrot-eating Slayer-clones are crawling out of my ears. There are all just a bunch of tough gangsters-hiphop wannabe’s who want to play metal. There are a few bands that say usefull things but in general this music is made to kick eachother with Nikes in the face in a brutal moshpit. I’m amused if I see these idiots in front of the stage. I love to see people being busy in a moshpit but they can do that ridiculous windmilling and kickboxing on a gymclub. Because of this behaviour you can only get fights. In today’s SXE trends I prefer to see the fats youthcrew bands but it must be bands that have more to say then that weak unity and friendship lyrics. The most Youthcrew-kids always take care for a party in front of the stage. I prefer that more than a toughguy-crowd or a weak emopublic that only stand boring with their arms crossed. These trends are also find outside the SXE-scene. Nowadays all crust/punk bands try to make grindcore and then they call it powerviolence. That doesn’t make sense. Does it?

What I say about HC sounds very negative but what I’m trying to say is that HC is one big trend. Each genre into HC has got thousand carppy wannabe’s of the good bands. I prefer a small scene with bands that have to say something and respect eachother no matter what kind of HC they play. What can we do with a big ‘scene’ full of trendy posers who don’t respect eachother’s lifestyle or music and labels that only trying to make money out of it because HC is becoming big and poplar? Absolutely nothing!

6) I also have a question that is not abot INSULT but about MALLORN. What I’m curious about is why MALLORN fell apart?
MALLORN fell apart because the members of the band didn’t want to make the same music anymore. Guitar-player Aran only wanted to play easy music with clean vocals but bass-player Willem and I only wanted to play hard music without the easy parts. Our drummer Bjorn could find himself in both styles, so for him it didn’t matter which way we would go with the band. The musicstyle of MALLORN was always a perfect balance between hard and easy. Brutal screamcore was combined with easy and melodic parts. As a singer I could get rid of my frustrations by screaming and on the easy parts I got rid of my feelings. That some new songs were getting easier wasn’t the problem for me until there came some different opinions about my lyrics. Guitar-player Aran and drummer Bjorn said that my lyrics were too negative or confronting. They also had lyrics that I could use. By a few songs I used these lyrics but for me it wasn’t satisfying. I don’t have any sense to sing vague or happy songs. I didn’t play in a HC band for that. After much talking, we had come to the conclusion that we better could stop now as friend before we would get a fight. After all, you make music for fun and because of the satisfaction it gives you. If these feelings have left, you better can quit! But after all we are still friends. Willem and I always have had INSULT where we can put our agression into and Bjorn and Aran has started a new band with a friend of us. And yes, it’s a tight Indie-popband. Those who are interested in this new band can contact me, so that I can give you Aran’s adress or phonenumber. Even it isn’t a HC-band, I wish them all the best, so emo-lovers, GET IN TOUCH! For people who want to know how MALLORN sounded before there were arguments, our “Newborn” MCD is still available.

7) Now a personal question for you: what does HC mean for you in your personal life?
HC means for me that I live how I want and do the things that I think is correct. Don’t let people walk over you! Further HC means everything to me. Music is my life. Music made by and made for pissed-off kids who have something to say and show their agression and frustrations in a positive way.

8) Can you tell me something about concerts, releases of INSULT?
It’s going well with the INSULT releases. Of our Scumbag Duke sessions 7” we sold in a year 1300 copies and our split 7” with B.S.E. will appear in December (allready out now). Further we will go into the studio to record a CD and we will be heard on the “Onslaught”comp.7” that will be released very soon on G7-records. Further there are loads of compilationtapes with INSULT on it. About concerts we have nothing to complain about. The last few months we were very busy with concerts in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with lots of cool bands. Absolutely cool was the dutch tour with HARD TO SWALLOW and B.S.E. ! In April we are going to England to tour with B.S.E. and HARD TO SWALLOW for one or two weeks. That’s totally crazy offcourse. We just have to wait in patience!

9) At last I want to clear some space for you and you may say what you want to say…
Koen, thanx for the interview andl ots of succes with REVOLT and ANGRY MINDED. Further I want to mention that soon the MIHOEN/COCKROACH split 7”will be out and the new POINT OF FEW 7” will be out. It will be two great releases, so the real HC/punks must keep their eyes and ears wide open. Further real grindcorefanatics must look out for the new INHUME CD that will appear soon and BILE will go into the studio in February 2000 to make some recordings for a CD

UPDATE:

This is an old interview, done some years ago in COMPREHENSION issue #1. INSULT allready split up now and was in my opinion a innovative brutal HC band. They did several releases and nowadays you can get their “Discography” at SIX WEEKS RECORDS (USA) with all their recordings. Rob is still active as a drummer in BILE (grindcore) and HOT ‘N’STEAMY MONKEY LOVE (sludgecore)!
http://revoltrecordings.triad81.nl/rr_insult.html