It’s the new year, and time for some new music! Rise of the Wood is a metal band from the Netherlands, and they are definitely on the rise with their newest release, Sleep. Which, by the way, I highly encourage you to take a listen to it on your platform of choice, and share it with your friends! I was able to find it on the red fruity platform, and on YouTube as well. I had a chance to ask the band some questions via email recently, and I hope you enjoy it!
Can you tell our readers a bit about how your band got together?
Jeff Teunissen (guitar) Rise of the Wood: After a reunion show of a local band (nonscore) some of the members decided to start a new band. Rise Of the Wood was born.
The band name is very interesting, inviting curiosity. Where did that come from?
Jeff: After a Red Fang show a few of the band members were sitting at the bar and they came up with the name Morning Wood, but we decided to make it a bit less obvious.
Leo Gstrein (vocals) Rise of the Wood: I joined the band about 1.5 years ago when the former singer left, so the band name was already there, and I don’t take any responsibility for it 😉
Listening to some of your music, especially your newest EP, Sleep, I hear a refinement of the band’s sound. Who are some of the artists that provide inspiration and influence as the band grows?
Jeff (guitar): All our band members like a different kind of metal, so I like modern and nu-metal, the drummer is more of a death metal guy, and the other guitarist is all about the prog metal.
Leo Gstrein (vocals): For me it’s a bit of a strange thing, as I am not really a Metalhead although I do like Metal. So for me influences and inspiration are a bit different. I like to take the things I listen to, to the band’s songs and I think for the first EP it did workout quite well. Music and bands I listen to are for instance Glen Hansard/the Frames, Blur, the Beatles, the Posies and Queens of the Stone Age.
I saw on your Facebook page that you’ve started to get some airplay In England. Has there been much exposure in the States?
Leo: We indeed have had quite some Airplay lately, but it’s sometimes a bit hard to keep up where, I think we had some Airplay in the States, but never enough, right?
As the band gets more exposure, are there plans for any touring?
Leo: For now, we are busy writing and recording the follow up to our last EP “Sleep” and still deciding if it will be a next EP or a full album.
The artwork on your album covers are unique. The one for Sleep is especially nice. Who does the artwork, and why the change from the previous covers (the mammoth sketches) for the new EP?
Leo: The old artwork was done by Jason Teunissen, but the cover for the Sleep EP is my design. I wanted to keep the red color as used in the previous cover, but as we are a bit of a different band since I joined, also wanted to change it a bit. Our first idea was recording 4 EP’s that would have similar covers and that would eventually become an album, but for now all options are open.
As a way of letting our readers get to know you, I like to close with “3 for the Road.” Three fun random questions.
Can you remember the first record / tape / CD you ever bought?
Jeff: Hello Nasty ~ Beastie Boys
Leo: Not 100% sure, but I guess it was something of the Beatles.
What was the last movie you saw, and did you like it?
Leo: I’m more a series guy and watched the series of Geddy Lee (Bass player and singer of the band Rush) and I quite liked that, but I’m a bit of a sucker for music documentaries.
If you had a chance to go anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you want to go?
Leo: Well, the States would be nice, so feel free to set it up 😉
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions! Hope to see y’all here in the States soon!
I’m Music Magazine Photographer/Writer Michele Hancock
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