Interview mit Brock Van Dijk von Panzerfaust

Hello Brock! Thank you very much for taking the time to this little talk.
You’re very welcome. It’s my pleasure.

For someone who doesn’t know PANZERFAUST yet: How would you introduce your band, and which song would you recommend to start with?
PANZERFAUST, for better or for worse, is a band that will hopefully make one think. It would be my suggestion to start at the beginning of the Suns-series – „The Day After ‚Trinity‚“. I think this is a fair harbinger of all that succeeds it.

„The Suns Of Perdition IV : To Shadow Zion“ has been released last year. Congratulations to 10 out of 10 points for the album on Metal1.info! This release marks the finale of an album quadrology. Let’s start from the beginning. How did you come up with the idea?
Thank you very much! The first movement of this project was that of ambition. We wanted to create the largest concept album that had yet been attempted. This, of course, didn’t come out of thin air. The ground was fertile, so to speak: We had been without a drummer for a few years, during the course of which I had been writing alone. During this time, an enormous reservoir of riffs and ideas were idealey waiting to take form. The moment at which Alex joined the ranks behind the drum kit, many of these ideas, as well as countless new ones, began to take shape.

In terms of the lyrics, in addition to very tangible themes such as war („War, Horrid War“), you also have metaphysical, philosophical and psychological approaches in your lyrics. „To Shadow Zion“ is another example. What was the basis or the lyrical idea behind your current album?
„To Shadow Zion“ is the intersection of two central ideas: Firstly, „Zion“, in the context of a ‚utopia‘ or ‚holy place‘. Secondly, the Jungian concept of the Shadow – representing that which is most repressed in one’s consciousness. The title is consistent with a central theme throughout the Suns-series; what Freud referred to as „Enantiodromia“ or the interpenetration of opposites.

If you haven’t yet dealt with the album series „The Suns Of Perdition“ – are there concrete lyrical and musical connections between the albums?
There are certainly central themes that run throughout all four chapters. I would have to leave it to the curious listener and reader to find those for themselves, rather than demystify it during this interview. I apologize if this may seem like a deflection, I assure you that I don’t mean it to be.

You have never shied away from using foreign influences and instruments from other genres on your last albums. Are you generally open-minded musically, and what inspires you musically when you’re not busy with PANZERFAUST?
Between the four of us, our musical tastes vary quite drastically.

You are generally categorized as black metal. This genre is considered very conservative. How do you feel about the commercialization of this genre?
I suppose the irony is that there is a strain of the black metal community that is heavily resistant to change while, at the same time, the music has become increasingly innovative. Black metal has, and always should be, rebellious by its very definition; how that is to be practiced is an entirely different question.

How does the songwriting process work for PANZERFAUST? Do you write together in the rehearsal room? Does it all start with lyrics? Where does the process start?
The writing process has evolved over the course of the Suns-series. It has increasingly become a collaborative effort. We consciously remove any ego from the composition process. As for the lyrics, I am constantly writing at almost every waking moment. The writing essentially does not stop.

PANZERFAUST have a very unique sound. Like your lyrics, it makes you stand out quite a bit. You also worked with Greg Dawson again for „To Shadow Zion“. He also produced the other three parts of „The Suns Of Perdition“. It’s exciting that he is personally more active in the metal- and hardcore genres. To what extent has he influenced this particular sound of your music, and what do you appreciate about him?
We have been working with Greg Dawson for over 13 years now. Over this time, we have developed an incredibly deep relationship both as musicians and, more importantly, as dear friends. We consider him to be the shadow fifth member of the band, which is to say, that he is the final filter through which the music flows. He genuinely puts his heart into every record that he works on, perhaps even more so with every PANZERFAUST record. I consider him to be „the great translator“, having the unique ability of being able to comprehend the very essence of every idea that passes through his studio. We could not be more grateful for his involvement in this enterprise. If it were not for his contribution and care, the Suns-series would not be possible.

You were on a big tour with Kanonenfieber last year. I had the pleasure of seeing you at Chemiefabrik in Dresden in 2022. Back then, you were on tour with Uada. I was deeply impressed by the atmosphere during your show. How important is the atmosphere in general to you – lighting, location and all that?
I think, fundamentally, that PANZERFAUST is a band that must be seen live to fully understand. It’s the violence of action. Every show we play, we are completely covered in dirt. We try, to the best of our ability, to source the dirt from an important place. For example, on the tour that you reference, we sourced the dirt from the trenches of Verdun. We also employ an unorthodox stage plot, placing Goliath behind the drumkit, overarching the band. With these components, i belive it creates an authentic display of the band.

As far as I could see from pictures, Goliath (vocals) is the only one in the band who consistently hides his face. What’s the deal with that? Is that also a part of your atmosphere, or is there a deeper sense behind this decision?
The idea of Goliath is a visual display of something that stands behind the human and the abstract. His character – for lack of a better term – is a mask of doomed men. You may have noticed that, with each chapter, a new mask accompanies it. This also allows him to take on the spirit of the associated face.

When you’re on the road as much as you are, how do you keep it up physically? Don’t you get completely exhausted at some point?
Operational exhaustion is very much a real thing. Any practitioner of this trade will tell you that adrenaline and alcohol is the only cure.

Let’s get back to the music. „To Shadow Zion“ is a merciless reckoning with humanity. Ultimately, it’s even a call to acknowledge the failures of our species. Looking around the world at the moment, your new album could hardly seem more fitting. How do you feel, or how do you perceive the current situation surrounding crises, wars and the global trend towards right-wing social structures?
I worry that the conventional wisdom and post-war structures that have allowed our civilization to thrive are demonstrably deteriorating. As faith in our institutions rapidly deteriorates, and the principles our societies are built upon are abandoned, people will seek refuge in alternative solutions. The past 10 years has seen the public conversation swing considerably left, and now, inevitably, we are seeing the pendulum swing back the other way – and the harder the pendulum swings one way, it will come back with equal force the other way. It is only in the interest of demagogues to see the politics swing too far in either direction.

What do you think (without any doomsday scenarios) – would help humanity to better deal with its own repression?
At its core, If people would simply listen to one another with honest intentions, many of the pathologies that engender Mankind’s worst instincts could be kept at bay.

Are there already plans for the future of PANZERFAUST? Especially in a musical context, now that the creative process on „The Suns Of Perdition“ has come to an end?
I think it is too soon to tell. I always have ideas forming in the back of my head, so time will tell.

Last but Not least, our Metal1 brainstorming:
Trump? I’m optimistic considering the people he has chosen to surround himself with (RFK, Tulsi Gabbard).
World War III? This must be avoided at all costs.
Oppenheimer? (not the movie): A case study in the complexity of the human mind.
The German black metal community? I t has always been very kind to us!
PANZERFAUST in 5 years? Reaping a potentially great harvest.

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Publiziert am 2. März 2025 von Philipp Sorger