Grand Supreme Blood Court

From now on the Dutch underground scene got richer with an excellent Death/Doom band called GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT. Featuring very well-known musicians from ASPHYX, SOULBURN & HAIL OF BULLETS the quintet is about to release their debut album shortly. I was happy about questioning the riffmaster of obscure & grief harmonies - Eric Daniels, who told us all the recent news & the born of GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT. Now the grand jury sentences you to read the following supreme lines!!!



Eric Daniels @ Sonic Assault Studio
Hail to thee Eric! Welcome back to the spheres of real Death & Doom Metal. Tell us more about the antecedents and factors that motivated you to form GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT in 2011.
- Hi Kornel thank you. Well after a long resting-period it was boiling again inside me to play the doom/death again. Grab my guitar and started to compose. I sent the demo-riffs to Bob and Martin and they liked it very much. The idea was to form a band together, and we asked Alwin and Theo if they like to join us. Together Alwin and I shaped the songs made new riffs and made demo-songs at our homes to get a view for the songs. Alwin has the skills to make demos, and we all liked it very much. This was the idea to form GSBC.
You teamed up with Century Media Records. Was it natural or due to your past in ASPHYX and later on in SOULBURN? When can we expect the release of your debut album?
- Well, before we teamed up with CMR, we already had contacts with other record-companies. However concerning the past and the good relationship with CMR we decided together to sign with them, 'cause we are very satisfied with the work they do and personal contact we have.
Where did you record it? Who was the producer and who will be charged for the mixing & mastering?
- We recorded the guitars, drums and bass at the Sonic Assault Studio with Frank Klein Douwel as studio-engineer, planning is to do the vocals at Harrow Productions with Harry Wijering. The mixing and mastering will be done by Dan Swanö at his Unisound. We already received two songs mixed to get the idea of the sound. It sounds really awesome and we are very happy so far.
Alwin Zuur @ Sonic Assault Studio
Musically you mention that there won't be any wink or connection to your former bands. Please describe us then the way and musical approach GSBC will follow.
- Well that's hard to describe in words, however our musical influences are random, bands like : old POSSESSED, DEATHSTRIKE, NECROVORE, INFERNÄL MÄJESTY, HELLHAMMER and MALHAVOC. It sounds heavy, downtuned to open B, and with 2 guitar-players. It has possibilities this way. GSBC has its own character, but if you listen later when the release is done, people can hear for themselves. Pure and real doom/death it will be.
The band's line-up consists of all the good, old & pretty well-known Dutch Death Metal warriors. Was it a conscious way to unite with them or it happened spontaneously? Any mysterious story behind this alliance?
- It all happened spontaneously, it was not planned. We kept in touch for a time ago. I started to compose riffs and together with Alwin we made the foundation of the songs. I am very happy to play in this band. Of course, with Bob and Martin, it feels like home. The drums pounding with his own style... it never stops the beats, pure death metal. And Martin his vocals to me the best death-voice in metal-land. And I like the style of Theo bass-playing... brutal and give a punch between the guitar-saws. I wasn't used very much in the past to play with a second guitar-player. With Alwin it feels right... tandem-wise. It was always a personal wish to play with 2 saws, now it's getting real. No mysteries in the back of the story. Just some friends with the doom/death in the veins and playing with heart and soul, like to play together. That's all.
What kind of lyrics will contain the debut album? Who wrote them? Please share with us the album title and some song titles respectively?
- The album is gonna be a concept-album about the Blood Court. All lyrics are bounded together for this idea. Martin wrote the whole concept, and what we heard so far it sounds awesome. It is too much detail to tell about the lyrics but the main inspiration is that the Blood Court is coming on earth, don't know where it came from, and will judge everyone inside the court a brutal death. When you are picked out and dragged inside the court you know already going to die. Which way you're gonna die you don't know that's the decision about the grand jury and judges. After the task is done for the Blood Court it will vanish to another place nobody knows whereto. This is the main inspiration for the album packed in brutal lyrics and of course music. We have only work-titles yet.
Bob Bagchus @ Sonic Assault Studio
In 2010 you've played one show with ASPHYX. How did it turn out? Didn't you plan to return to your former band?
- I had a great time to play as a special-guest at CM Yardsale in Dortmund 2010. It felt really good after 10 years not being on stage. They did a great job to let me feel comfortable, and I played the whole show. We just had a good time and I am thankful for this opportunity. No that's not on my mind and my decision, it was a one-time show I did, my focus is at GSBC. ASPHYX is an oiled machine, never change a winning team I say.
You've been away from making music more than a decade. Didn't you miss it? What have you been doing over these past years?
- Yes that's true. I made the decision back than to pull back from making music. I had other things in life which got my interests. But after some time I really missed to play the guitar again. So 3 years ago I started to play again, just for myself, got the feeling back, and it gave me so much comfort and joy, I started to make riffs and recorded them into my pc. Just ideas I worked out, and after some time, I started to send them to the other guys just to ask their opinion. Well, the story is further in this interview how it turned out. It feels great to be a member of a band again, new energy, and the heart and soul to spread the Real doom/death.
How do you estimate the two latest ASPHYX albums? What is your opinion about HAIL OF BULLETS and their kind of Death Metal?
- I really like the last two ASPHYX albums very much, from the "Death the Brutal..." I played a couple of songs live together on the CM Yardsale, and they are killer songs, very crushing riffs and in your face. It feels good to me the story continues and that matters. I got the advance CD from Martin before the release of the latest HOB album. I liked listen to it, it's different from my personal taste of death metal, but I can hear the energy and songwriting it is done with the true believe and that always will have my respects.
Eric Daniels & Martin van Drunen @ Sonic Assault Studio
You are a pretty experienced musician, thus tell us more about your gear and special guitar sound. What kind of guitars, amplifiers, effects and strings you use?
- Our guitar-sound is in the effects. Alwin and I we are not guitars and amps – branded. However we use both the Jackson flying V X-series the most. The neck gives so much playability they are famous for and the sound is awesome with this ones. The type and brand of picks and guitarstrings are important to give that clarity and crunch. We both use a different brand, but that's a personal matter. Also the style of playing, we don't treat the strings as our lovely house-pets but just be angry at those 6 steel barbed-wire things. Aggressive but tight playing is our thing. The guitars we use nowadays are B.C. Rich, DBZ, and Jackson. All Flying V's 'cause that's the shape of guitar for Metal! When we compose we like the variety of brands 'cause they all have a different neck which we like, and the mood we are to pick the guitar with that kind of neck when we are playing or composing riffs. All guitars are neck-through or set-in. It gives more sustain and sounds more tight. All equipped with EMG active pick-ups 'cause the steady sound of it. For the aggressive trem-solo's Floyd Rose original trems. We can use cheap guitars and amps or expensive ones; we can manage to get our sound from any guitar and amp. All our equipment is out of the box, no modifications. That point of view, if something will damage or fail, it can be bought right away without the time and money to spend on modifications. It will be a long list to write what stuff we are using so I keep it shorter this way. We don't like to spend lots of time in studio or at home or on stage to adjust the sound. The last recordings we did for GSBC it only took about 5 minutes to get the sound for the recordings.
GSBC has also signed a deal with the independent booking agency, namely TMR Music Promotions. When do you plan to start your concert activity? Any plans for a continuous European tour (maybe along with ASPHYX & HAIL OF BULLETS)?
- That's a bit too far ahead to discuss about playing shows, where and when. Our major concern is to finish the album, the release, and then we just see how we want to plan shows. We want to play shows but not too much. Yes it's correct we are in contact with TMR Music. However touring is not an option, concerning the busy activities and commitments of the other band-members. Some of them have families to take care of, and we also have jobs besides music. Just see what coming our way, about shows.
Eric Daniels, Bob Bagchus & Theo van Eekelen @ Sonic Assault Studio
How's the metal life in Oldenzaal? Do you often visit local gigs? What was the latest gig you've visited?
- Metal life in Oldenzaal itself is hard to find. If we go visit gigs from other bands we like to go to Enschede "atak" and Hengelo "metropool". The last gigs we hanged out together were at NAILGUN MASSACRE and ENTRAPMENT. Very good bands, playing the real kind of death.
Please list us your recommendations regarding the Dutch national food and drinks for all those who aren't familiar with.
- Beer: Grolsch... Food: stew, kale, potatoes, gravy, and others. Douwe Egberts coffee, Van Nelle Export tobacco, and sure many other grocery's I forget here. Just try it... if you dislike it, well... at least you tried it!
Are you into arts & museums? Is there any notable museum around you? The Netherlands is pretty famous for their painters, like Hieronymus Bosch, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Paulus Potter, Jan de Bray and many more. Do you have your favorite ones?
- Personally I am not into art that much, but I don't go very often to museums. I was in the national Museum in Amsterdam, but that was years ago. I am not a knowledge person of museums and art. My view is…When I see something I like it right away or I dislike it right away. I like music more than art. But as an open-minded person I am not right away leave things or dislike 'em. I know the painters you mentioned. In history-class they came up. A few years ago I went to a weekly-during museum to see the paintings from Van Gogh. I like his colours he used and the details of his paintings. Besides a rich death-metal country, we also have famous painters as well.
Thanks a lot for the interview, Eric! Please finish it by sending your grand supreme wishes to all the Ukrainian Death & Doom Metal fans...
- Thank you Kornel for this interview. Deadly Doom/Death-wishes to all you, Ukrainian Death-thrashers... YOU RULE! Check out the GSBC album later, death-metal even got deadlier.


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