Interview Temptations For The Weak - "We were hoping for a half filled tent, but we got a full one" • GRIMM Gent

We had the pleasure to welcome Timo Opdebeeck for an interview at Alcatraz 2024. He is the drummer of the band Temptations for the weak, a growing metal band with thrash metal and metalcore influences.

GRIMM:

How has it been for you here at the festival so far?

Timo:

I’ve been here since today. The performance of our band was beyond all expectations. We opened the Swamp and hoped for a tent filled about half with the crowd, but we got a full one. A very grateful audience, and everyone went crazy. That was the perfect scenario for us.

GRIMM:

Your band name –Temptations for the Weak– how did you come up with this as a name?

Timo:

That is a very good question. The name was chosen before I joined the band. It started with other band members and of the original line-up only Djoni (backing vocals and guitarist) is currently present in the band. What I suspect, I may be wrong, is that it has to do with a song by In Flames ‘Only for the weak’. It may be that that was an inspiration.

GRIMM:

What is the process of writing a song with Temptations For The Weak? How do you start?

Timo:

It starts with the plan of “we are going to make a new CD” or “we need to make a new record”. Djoni is the creative brain of the band. He is a musical genius and also plays every instrument: a whole band in one person. He writes most of the songs: starts with things he has in his head and comes up with riffs. He builds the skeleton of the song, and then he fills in the organs. By the time the songs have taken shape for 80%, they are sent to the rest of the band to see if they are something/not something. Afterwards, the rest of the band is involved and everyone gets to work with their own instrument. Can something be added? Can there be some added value from everyone’s perspective? Because we are not going to change anything for the sake of changing. Later, lyrics are written and vocals are worked out. Everyone studies the song at home and then the song is drilled in during rehearsals. It goes from five separate blocks, comparable to Lego, to a solid whole. This is kind of a pre-production phase before we go to the studio. Instrument by instrument is recorded to hear how it sounds. The final step is going into the studio and recording everything.

GRIMM:

I can imagine that when the songs are sent through and you practice at home, some rehearsal is needed or do you quickly get in tune with each other?

Timo:

It depends on the song. Some go in smoothly and you can feel that it forms a solid whole. Other songs take some time but once they are right, they pop.

GRIMM:

Since things are conceived song by song, is there a theme or vision beforehand, or do you look at which songs fit together for an album?

Timo:

I would say that we don’t agree on a theme right away. It’s whatever comes out of Djoni‘s brain that is released on the group, and then it’s a matter of feeling whether it will become something and whether it has potential for everyone. If not, it is discarded. It’s mainly about getting familiar with the song. A song has to sound like a TFHW song, but it is not defined. We don’t pin ourselves down to how it should sound, like a song by Machine Head or Killswitch Engage. It can certainly deviate from that, but it has to sound like “us”. When someone hears the song, it has to sound like a TFHW song. “It’s those guys but they did it differently than on the previous album.” For the new CD that is coming – we played three new songs today – there are songs with punk influences and influences from Gojira. Everyone will find influences from the bands we listen to ourselves. We are not pigeonholed. We have to like the songs ourselves in order to enjoy playing them live, that’s our starting point.

GRIMM:

You have had, as you yourself indicated, a turnover in terms of band members. How did you meet or get together?

Timo:

We will start from the original setting: Djoni, Benjamin, Geert and Tom. I used to play in another band with Benjamin, we already knew each other. Through him, the question came whether I would like to play on the new CD. This was more as a project. From there came the question to do some live performances. It became broader, which gave rise to the idea of staying on as a permanent band member. The style suited me and the songs played easily because of the good connection we had and good musicians. So for me, that was a no-brainer. Then we participated in the Red Bull Bedroom Jam to play at Graspop Metal Meeting. We were also able to play at GMM through that route. At that time, we were already partly busy recording the CD Black Vision. Benjamin was busy with the recordings, mixing and the video clip, the rest still had to be done. That’s where it went wrong: it took a while before the CD was ready, and then Benjamin‘s fire had gone out a bit. Playing at Graspop was his goal, we achieved it, and then we lost some of our energy. The CD was too long, which made us miss the boat. GMM was a good springboard, but the effect was lost when the CD came out. Jonas, the guitarist who replaced Benjamin, already knew Djoni. We did auditions: a song was sent and we saw different guitarists. That’s how Jonas joined, and it was a good fit right away, also in terms of personal chemistry. The next change was Geert. At a certain point, he indicated that he didn’t see himself playing in the band anymore, so we looked for a new bassist. That’s how we ended up with Ken. He’s a friend of mine, and we played together in the previous band that Benjamin also played in. He had just quit the current group, and TFTW was completely his style. Those puzzle pieces fell into place and at the perfect time. The four of us continued for a while. Afterwards the idea came to take an extra singer to add an additional sound or color to the music and to evolve or grow. Everyone in the band supported that. Djoni had been the frontman for a long time and wanted to focus on guitar parts and backing vocals. As a frontman you are somewhat tied to a stage on a square meter. Djoni wanted to be able to do his thing more on stage and have room to move. Coincidentally, at that moment we had asked a number of singers to come and test the songs and Jadran sent us the question whether we wanted to take on an extra singer. Jadran came to audition like the other singers and that is what happened. That is how we got to the line-up we have today. A story spread over ten to eleven years.

GRIMM:

You’re getting a lot of praise for your latest album ‘Fallen from the stars’. What did you do differently when writing and recording this album than you did on previous albums?

Timo:

There are a couple of things. Jadran joined, so there is an extra voice. This gave a different timbre to the songs. Jadran does the screams and heavier vocals, Djoni mainly does backing clean vocals. Both voices are very complementary. A second thing is that they tried to write songs for an album, in the perspective of really writing songs instead of a couple of riffs that fit well together. The intention was to write songs that move people, that can be danced and moved to, and the music sticks. From this angle, we approached it differently. In terms of production, we looked for “that has to sound hard” to get the dynamics of playing live on a record. We wanted to bring about the same boost and get power on the record. The combination of all the above has led to us writing an album that has been well received and has opened doors for us. This is now the second time that we play at Alcatraz and have done both Jera On Air and Headbangers Balls Fest. This would not have been possible without our last album. The album was necessary to give our boat, which we missed at the time, a fresh start. That way we played more live again and became visible again. We then decided to make more video clips, which was rarely or not at all done before. We kept that in mind to approach it more professionally. The whole thing has to be right, and I think that is the case with ‘Fallen From The Stars’: music; artwork; t-shirts. Jadran designs the t-shirts himself and is a tattoo artist. The new CD will also be partly designed by him. We may still work together, but that is not certain yet. When outsourcing, there is a risk that it will not come back the way we have in mind. Today we saw people walking around with our merch and that feels surreal. It is a pinch of salt to know that it is real. It is a grateful feeling because people will not buy it if they do not like the music. It is the best sign of appreciation that we can get, as well as people who come to see us play live.

GRIMM:

Most bands have a routine or ritual before they go on stage. Would you like to share what that moment looks like for you?

Timo:

That’s a good question. I have to make sure I’m not saying anything wrong, that there are a few huggers in the group. It may sound strange, but it could be a group hug, it could be a fist bump. Usually it’s one of the two or a combination. Briefly wishing each other good luck and saying, “let’s kick ass”. Part of it also happens during the rehearsals for the performances because then we prepare ourselves as a group to play a set. Knowing that we’re going to blend everything and unleash a tsunami of sound on the audience. Everyone is going to do their thing, but we can trust each other.

GRIMM:

Would you like to convey a message to the fans yourself?

Timo:

We want to thank everyone who supports us, comes to the live shows, buys merch, listens to our music or makes the effort to listen to our music. It’s cliché, but without fans you are nothing as a band. As a band it is rewarding to get live feedback like a crowd surfer, a starting mosh pit or a loud applause. There is nothing more rewarding than this because it also gives energy. Between the cymbals, I also see the audience but see them go wild… there is no more fantastic feeling than that. And there is a new CD coming. It will, cliché as it is, be better than the previous one. It will sound different, but we are very enthusiastic about it. Everything has been recorded. We still have to adjust a few songs, but then they are studio-ready, and we will hand it over for mixing and mastering. We hope to, we are not pinning ourselves on that bast, come out with the new CD at the end of November or beginning of December. The timing is flexible, and we are dependent on the producers and mixers to meet the time slot we have set. The response has been good to the songs we’ve played live. I think we’re going to release a good record.

GRIMM:

Are there any bands on your list to see that play today or this weekend?

Timo:

Spiritbox is playing soon. I want to see them live. As in the past, I have a preference for female fronted bands. In the past, I listened more to metalcore, hardcore and Walls of Jericho. There were no real clean vocals in those. I think it’s great to see that, for example, at Jinjer, one person does the clean vocals and the heavier vocals. I’m also looking forward to Europe, that’s a childhood nostalgia from MTV. Now we’re scheduled on the same day and it’s still hard to grasp.

GRIMM:

If you had the choice to have one superpower, what would you go for?

Timo:

Now I have to think hard… I don’t know if you could call it a superpower but if I had the ability I would create equality. By that I mean make the gap between rich and poor disappear. Let everyone live happily and no one has to worry about food, paying bills etc. Take away the worries. If this were possible, with pleasure.