AD: For the benefit of those who don’t know about you, can you tell us what atmosphere you are seeking to convey to listeners of your music.

CC: We try to create an overall melancholic atmosphere. We all hate ´happy´ music because it makes us feel sad and angry, which is quite ironic I realise now. Although the atmosphere is generally melancholic, one could also find other emotions like despair, aggression or simple hopelessness.

AD: I recently reviewed your latest album “Dark Dreams, My Child” and had difficulty pinpointing the style so that readers know what it sounds like. The words I came up with were doom, death, progressive, psychedelic, goth and pagan. How would you describe your style?

CC: Pagan? That is the first time someone mentioned that! Maybe it’s in the band name (which is not a religious statement whatsoever). Ok, to answer your question: our style can best be described as post doom. Believe it or not, but Hans Rutten (drummer of The Gathering) came up with this term for this specific style that actually is an evolved kind of doom in combination with other styles you mention. Currently we are not the only band who plays this style, but we were the first!

I now realise I haven’t answered your question. Well, just think of bands like Amorphis, My Dying Bride, Tiamat, Orphanage and Gorefest, combine it and give it a modern sound and melancholic touch with an oboe.

AD: How has Another Messiah developed musically since “Another Renaissance”?

CC: We have mainly grown in what we do. Another Renaissance (AR) clearly was an experiment to us. The styles we used and combined on AR are even further apart than what you experience on Dark Dreams, My Child (DDMC). Comparing AR and DDMC, the main statement I can make is that the latter is just a logical evolution of the first. We managed to integrate different styles of metal into one song, instead of having one song differing greatly from another.

AD: Who have been the principal influences on your music?

CC: Hehehe, check the answer to your second question and you will be quite close!

AD: One of the more unusual features about your music is the inclusion of the oboe. What do you think the oboe brings to the overall sound?

CC: The reason why we think we make post doom is because of the overall melancholic atmosphere. The oboe plays a special role in the creation of this atmosphere. We often use the instrument to make tearful parts even more tearful. The oboe is such a unique and emotional instrument and the experience we have with it creates our sound.

AD: What was the thinking behind the creation of “The Bee Queen”, the strange last track of “Dark Dreams, My Child”?

CC: Well, the answer is in the lyrics. The track is not a joke. It clarifies and end the ‘story’ that is told in the other tracks. You have to be persistent though, the songs (and thus lyrics) have been mixed. Actually, to be honest with you, it is a concept album. We have never presented it as such because we hate this fucking term and ‘theme album’ sounds to cheesy and would be a lie.

AD: I noticed that “Dark Dreams, My Child” is advertised as being released in 2005, yet did not come out in the UK until 2007. What’s the story behind that?

CC: There is a long version, but I wouldn’t want to bore you with that. Although some labels wanted to release DDMC worldwide, we didn’t sign with them because they couldn’t offer us what we wanted on the long run. Restrain Records could. It is better to wait for the right deal then just to sign a deal you’re not comfortable with.

AD: Is there a metal network in Holland, as you would find in Scandinavian and other countries? If so, is Another Messiah part of it?

CC: I guess it is a small scene in The Netherlands. I am not sure if the metal scene in The Netherlands is comparable to that in Finland for example. Whether we are part of the scene, well, I am not sure. Maybe it is not up to us to make a statement on that matter. I am quite sure we have been outcasts for a long time, which in its own way affected our music and spirit.

AD: What are your aims as a band?

CC: At first, we will argue about each others drug abuse. Then we will split up and gossip about each other in the media. Ten years after the break up we will start a reunion tour because by that time, we all have run out of money.

AD: What are your immediate plans for touring, writing new material and recording?

CC: Currently, we are busy arranging some shows in the UK to promote our album. Of course we will also do some shows at summer festivals in The Netherlands. Right now, we are working on our second full length that will be released in 2008.

We would actually be quite honoured to play in the UK since this country brought us Anathema, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and many more great bands…

AD: Is it true that “the drummer is in charge”, as one of your counterparts in another band once told me?

CC: In charge of what? If you mean that I am in charge of the music, I have to deny. We’ve all had an equal share in creating DDMC although every band member had a different role (and I don’t just mean that everybody plays another instrument).

If you mean that the drummer is in charge of the band, I am very happy to deny that as well. We are one of those bands that is hard to control due to our big ego’s, unlimited perfectionism, alcohol abuse and bad tempers. Would you want to be in charge of people who deal with their day to day struggle to cope with life like that?

AD: And finally, is there anything else that you’d like to say to the readers of our web site?

CC: Well, don’t forget to check us out when we play in the UK! And please finish the last bit of beer in the can. It's such a shame to waste it.

Thanks very much for your time and good luck to you and the band for the future! We look forward to seeing you out there.

You can visit Another Messiah on the web at www.anothermessiah.com/

Interviewed by Andrew Doherty
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