Sentre is a new Belgian metal band with members who are trying to create a new style of metal. Nick Lamote on vocals, Dries Van Belle on guitar, Kristof Taveirne (ex-Spoil Engine) on bass and Jonas Delbecke on drums. They released their self-titled EP not too long ago and I had a chat with Nick and Kristof about the new EP and their new band Sentre.

GRIMM: For The people who don’t know your band. Can you tell us who and what is Sentre.

Kristof: I think it’s awesome that you call it Sentre, but the proper pronounciation is “Center”. Dries and Jonas are the founding members of Sentre. Me and Nick are the newest members. They started it a long time ago. I can’t say what year it was, but I know it’s a long time ago. We entered Sentre 3 years ago. I was the first one and then a couple of months later Nick came in. Back then we had a second guitar player who wanted to quit the band. So that’s the who and the what. That’s a difficult question. Simply put, we are a four piece metal band that does their own thing and we do what we think is right. So we are not playing a certain genre, we just play what we like and the input of the others members so that it’s sounds unique. For example, Nick doesn’t have that typical voice that you expect in a metal band like ours and that’s the thing we like. When he came to do an audition, it was a little out of the comfort zone. I was in a positive state of mind while the others had to get used to his kind of singing. I heared that Nevermore vibe. The power metal vocals. The metalcore vocals developed over time when we played together.

Nick: Indeed, in my previous band I had to sing heavy/power metal, something very different. So when I joined the band they asked me to grunt, but I was like “I can’t grunt”.

GRIMM: That’s not true. I heard your EP and you’re an excellent grunter.

Kristof: You see it’s a mix of all the members together making the sound unique. Sometimes you hear that we are still searching. We are seeing it as searching, but on the outside the fans might see it as varied.

GRIMM: You are the newest members, so how long does the band already exist. Did they release something before you 2 joined the band?

Kristof: No, Dries and Jonas played together for a very long time. They never played together on stage. Because Jonas wasn’t a drummer when I heard the story. Dries has taught Jonas how to play drums. In a very short time, he became and excellent drummer.

GRIMM: I think you said it already, but when I listen to the EP, the core influences are very prominent, musically as well as in the vocals. Is this the direction you want to go with Sentre: the metalcore direction or are you still searching you own sound?

Kristof: It’s not that we decide as a band that we want to play metalcore. But as we rehearse and jam, those are the things that come out, the core melodies. That’s the sound we like. When someone plays a riff that sounds really cool, but it’s not metalcore, it’s not so that we’re not going to use it, no. It has to be a little insane. I have been playing for a very long time and when I hear a riff, I can follow it very fast. But with Sentre it is a little bit harder due to the structures. So I think that is that little insane part. If you hear it, then it sounds nice and groovy, but then you want to write it down and you see that it is not that easy. That is what I like and that’s what makes it interesting. Does it mean that it’s pure metalcore? No, I think the vocals have a different vibe. We have been called a melodic death metal band depending on who is doing the review. Some people are hearing that heavy/power metal vibe back in Nick‘s voice. On the EP I think that’s not the case, but live you hear that heavy /power metal vibe more.

GRIMM: You hear the heavy/power metal as well as the metalcore vibe. I said Sentre is a metalcore band because your voice is perfect for singing metalcore. However, it’s not the typical voice you associate with metalcore.There are a lot of influences that I hear in your music and I haven’t figured out yet which influences and that makes this EP very interesting, unique and awesome.

Kristof: Thank you, that’s a very nice compliment.