2023 marked the year Sammath released ‘Grebbeberg’, an album that I played the most that year. And it’s still an absolute grenade blast. “Bestial Warlust, Sadistik Exekution, Angelcorpse, Marduk, Infernal War, Zyklon-B…you can mention them, but Sammath makes it something of its own” is what I had to say about ‘Grebbeberg’ and I still stand by it. We’re now two years on, and a lot has happened in the Sammath camp…
Hello Jan! Once again, we’re catching up to talk about Sammath, the scene, and Extreme Metal in general. How are things with you these days? Got any music on in the background while you’re answering these questions, maybe with a nice Weizen to hand?
Greetings! Thats a long time ago last interview was 8 years ago. All is well. The same as back then only older and wiser, or just older. At the moment I’m listening to a new young band Abhorration. Killer Death metal ala Morbid Angel with a twist looking at hem they must be all combined my age. No Weizen. The Weizen lover needs to shed some kilo’s before going back on stage again. Ive had a truckload of Weizen this summer. Life is changing fast. Children are 17. So the parenting part is almost over haha. Back to more chaos!
‘Grebbeberg’ was a very personal album for you (Jan’s great-uncle fought on the Dutch side and is buried at the Military Field of Honor of Grebbeberg). I can imagine that while writing, recording, and releasing it, you were totally immersed in the subject, but now that the record is 2 years old, how do you look back on the album and the underlying theme? Does the pride still dominate, as it did in the first few weeks, or have you drawn a line under it and moved on to the next and forthcoming album?
Pride is huge! Grebbeberg is the best Sammath album in way of songwriting and almost everything. The album is the ultimate Sammath album along with ‘Godless’s Arrogance’. Ive drawn the line totally though. I need to move forward. It usually takes me 2 years to write an album, once it’s done it’s always strange to fall into a sort of artistic hole. Nothing to be done. One of the reasons I started Kaeck in 2013.
The album is one of the albums I sometimes still listen to. Like also with ‘Godless..’ , ‘Dodengang’ and ‘Triumph in Hatred’. It all just worked wel.
And a more personal question: how did the Kruitwagen family react to you using a family event like this as your theme?
The family is proud of this. My 87 year old aunt is proud as hell of it, so is my father. He has always been supportive of Sammath since i started playing guitar in the 80s. On the back of the album you can see the headtstone of his grave. Ive even had people from different countries send me pictures of them with the headstone at the Grebbeberg war cemetery. That is of course the best way of a tribute.
More people have seen his name now then the last years combined.
Around the release of ‘Grebbeberg’, you gave the world a glimpse of the sheer volume of orders through photos of the stack of packages. What stood out was the tone of the accompanying text; one could detect a genuine surprise and corresponding gratitude. Even though you were and are proud of the album, it seemed that all the attention overwhelmed you somewhat. Or perhaps you just didn’t expect it? Am I off the mark? If not, where did that surprise come from? Was it perhaps the thought of, “We’ve been doing this for years, why now?”
We Have always been lucky enough to sell well as a band. The Across the Rhine is only death shirt sold 500 times. Which is pretty nuts. I’m always just seriously proud of the amount of orders we get. And a lot of the time I recognize names of people from all over the world who have been ordering stuff for years. It’s not as much being surprised as just being proud of it really. The entire Hammerheart Records with Napalm records distro made the album available worldwide. Which was insane.
The departure of drummer Wim van der Valk came as a slight surprise to the outside world, although his self-cited physical condition was likely known internally much earlier. The fact that veteran Koos Bos, Sammath’s drummer between 2001 and 2016, stepped back in might have been an even bigger surprise. You did mention that finding time for live shows or a new album will be difficult for him, and time was also the reason Koos originally left Sammath. Did you have to persuade Koos, or was one phone call enough? How is the reborn collaboration with Koos working out? When it comes to writing music, where do you see the difference between Wim and Koos, or do you simply work with a style that suits both Wim and Koos?
We knew that was coming with Wim, and it was good really. It just happened 1 gig to soon. We had to cancel a gig, which I had never had to do before. We had 8 great years but it was time for us all to change teams. Ruud had to take a break as his wife had a baby coming up. He did amazing work on the last Kaeck album. He is back writing basslines for the new Sammath album. And once his family life permits it time wise. We will be back making music together. The last Sammath show with Wim was a huge one. At Eindhoven Metal Meeting we played to a packed crowd. It was time to stop for Wim, he was done. As a band playing this live was hard for him the last years. He would be unhappy sometimes so that didn’t go well with Ruud and I. In the end we ended on an explosive note. Koos left also due to time and family in 2018. Koos is not an active band member at the moment. But he will be back soon. But he will be on the next album for sure. The man plays the most intense drums, total fury, just listen to ‘Godless Arrogance’. I’m writing music like back in the day again and enjoying this way of writing with Sammath a lot more than the last years as a full band. We played in Russia and the USA. Who can say that? Especially considering the loudness of our music.
A 7” titled ‘Amongst The Dead In The Darkness’ has been planned for February 2025 via WolfKult Religion, with the artwork already released online, to celebrate 30 years of Sammath. Besides the new title track, the B-side was supposed to contain a live track. Since then, it’s been radio silence, but it is still scheduled; can you tell us a bit more about it, about the status, for example?
It’s a simple answer really. Kaeck Happened. Also as a band Kaeck is preparing for live shows.
Completing that album took all my time. Sammath also totally fell apart after the last gig with Wim and Ruud also doesn’t have the time right now, luckily Kaeck formed as a band about the same time. I really need to play this music live in a small venue. I really enjoy those gigs and the atmosphere. But the first offering will be the 7inch on Wolfkult Religion.
We are now waiting for Koos, who is almost ready to return. In the meantime. I’m writing the best tremolo stuff I ever did
The live track is ready. The Sammath track to. Time…..
‘Godless Arrogance’, released by Hammerheart (CD and 12” vinyl) and Zwaertgevegt (cassette) in 2014, and may I add a fine album it is still, is being remastered and reissued. Why this decision? Were you dissatisfied listening back to it, or did you have that feeling immediately after its release? In our interview following the album’s release, you indicated you were satisfied with all aspects of the record. Or did you simply receive the offer and only have to say “yes”?
That album has been sold out for years and has a really good following worldwide. With Doc-Records and Zwaertgevegt i have a good history of then releasing Sammath albums on vinyl or doing rereleases. I simply only had to say yes. But with old albums a remaster adds more to it. Having Peter Neuber remaster his own albums. That’s great for him as well. The sound on the remaster is brilliant. Loud and perfect It will blow people away. All albums have now had a rerelease in 1 or more ways. The first album has 7 re-releases total.
A new album is already half-written and has been described by yourself as ‘Dodengang on speed’ in an interview with Merg & Been Magazine. Can you reveal anything more about the upcoming album? Do you have a specific goal in mind? What do you see as a change, both in approach and musically, compared to ‘Grebbeberg’?
The cover of the album is already done. by the master of arts Dylan Humphries. He also did the Gruwelijk Onthaal cover. It’s something I can’t describe yet, it is a masterpiece. I’m done with 4 tracks and working on 3 others. The goal is the last weeks of world war two. The approach is never really set in stone as I simply write riffs that I feel. This album must be better than the previous one, or it will never be released. So we just work at it. The only real goal is to write an album that is relevant and better than the previous one and not a copy.
You once stated, “I walk my own path, to me that is Black Metal peak”. For someone who has been part of the Extreme Metal scene for over 30 years and has seen everything pass by over the years, it is more than understandable that following your own path is the result. In a previous interview, you mentioned that new movements no longer appealed to you. Now we are a few years further on, and we have landed in an (online) toxic cocktail where people are being digitally pilloried for listening to a certain band or album because of a nobody need to label it as problematic, daily global events are factored into determining the credibility of an individual or band, and bands are trying to blackmail each other off a line-up or out of an organisation because of something someone said 25 years ago. Even if it was just a tasteless joke. Where do you think things went wrong? Too many separate scenes and new movements calling themselves Black Metal without embracing the original aesthetic, for example? The entry of individuals who take offence at everything? I’d love to hear your (unvarnished) opinion.
Politics and the lack of communication of both sides is really rather pathetic. I refuse to take any sides as with some subjects I’m a bit left and a lot a bit right. But that was never really a problem. These days everyone just screams at each other and they all act like little children whose feelings are hurt and the other person is communist or a nazi. If I got 20 cents for every time someone told me they hated Sammath or the lyrics or Black Metal or some religious fanatic wrote to me I would be an even richer man. Grow some balls.
Today I heard a dude from say he doesn’t want to play with Master ,because they played Metal Threat fest. He also said, Metal is white dominated. He made it sound racist in 5 seconds. So lots of white people make metal. He made it sound like just being white makes you racist. Total idiot. It’s been worse though when people get cancelled because someone said something 25 years ago. Guilty for life! I make daily jokes about gays. Germans. the war. Dutch people. Fat people. I have friends of different colours and we make racist jokes about each other. Or a mate with disabilities. I also can thoroughly enjoy it when friends of mine take the piss out of me and make me look like a dick in public or make jokes about me. People these days really feel so damn important. I’m not going to be told I have to respect another backward religion making women wear things on their heads to cover their hair. Its bullshit.
Same as those idiots knocking on your door. Fuck off. Believing in fairy tales is not anything anyone should respect. Not in Europe where we spend 1000 years getting people over that crap. Pray to your bullshit at home and leave the public domain to the normal people.
Our last album is about my great uncle who died fighting nazi’s….. and i read some idiot calling me a nazi because we sound militant. That really just goes to show how pathetic some of those people are. I’m a proud European and can’t stand religion, if you think I can’t say that, you suck and your just a product of modern bullshit, fuck off.
We both are old farts, you’re just a tad bit older than me, but you’re not blind to innovation and you’re not opposed to everything, as long as it benefits Sammath. For example, you can also be found on Tik Tok to appeal to the younger generation. I’m personally unfamiliar with it as a user, but are you succeeding as Sammath in actually drawing those young people into the Sammath world? And is it purely about spreading the disease, or are you also noticing any change in webshop sales for example?
Everyone was saying how tik tok is bullshit. Well its the same as any other social media thingo in my book except everyone on it isnt 50 plus and almost dying. Posting on Tik tok gets you a shit load of views and reaches a totaly different audience. Which i see more with Kaeck. I don’t think it helps sales much and that’s not the goal. Sales don’t get better on these types of platforms. Just listens grows. It’s just a way of reaching a younger generation and letting them hear what real angry music is. Today’s way to reach the youth is via big Black Metal pages on Tik tok or instagram. Simple as that. Times are changing and i wont be the grumpy old dude telling everyone it used to be better.
In the meantime, you’ve been with Hammerheart Records for over 10 years and also have a long-standing collaboration with Zwaertgevegt, after spending 18 years with Folter Records. We can certainly call Sammath a loyal outfit. How do you look back on those collaborations, and what do you see as the core of both partnerships? Is it “getting” what Sammath is and does, clear agreements, or something else entirely?
I’ve always had the luck of being with labels that are run by fanatics and good people. total artistic freedom and the possibility to make and release great things, like the wood box release of Across the Rhine is only a death album. 100 boxes with spent shells I dug up from the Rhine battlegrounds. I’m still amazed all of them made it to everyone around the world. Hammerheart had that idea, that kind of thing makes it all worth it. I signed to Folter Records with Kaeck the same month I left with Sammath. So I’ve been with Folter in one way or the other since 1997. Insane. I’m also just in this for music and passion. It’s never about money. Labels live off this music. Warme its passion. It gives a bit of money, but has never cost me a dime except the first year.
“War is pointless, but damned interesting” was a statement you made in an interview with Addergebroed. Something I wholeheartedly agree with. Personally, the morbid thought process and actions, the why behind it, and the loss and subsequent re-emergence of humanity during combat fascinate me. For example, the story from the Middle East where a mine is placed under a wounded soldier, gambling on the enemy going to help him, and while doing so the enemy and the wounded soldier of their own, will be blown up. But also the Christmas Eve celebrations in the trenches during WWI, where men from both camps gathered together. Only to shoot each other to bits the next day for a centimetre of gain. In addition to visiting WWII battle sites with a metal detector, do you devour every book and watch every documentary? Is there a particular story or theme from WWII that you would still like to cast in musical form? For example, Die Glocke or the plan to assassinate Hitler at Wolfsschanze (Wolf’s Lair)? Or are you going for a completely different subject/theme for the next album?
It’s all totally pointless, I’d hate to die for a country, what a waste. I’m more of a all round European western minded person. I feel a close connection to Europe and Australia. Not the EU as the politics is insane. But i feel greatly at home in the western world and love it. Also in Australia where i grew up. Whenever I land at Sydney airport I feel at home to. I don’t read a much as id like to these days. except books about war and battle area’s. I spend quite a lot of time online searching for places to hunt for war with the detector. Me and a mate have been doing that for 12 years or so. 3 years ago we even found a soldiers remains and he was bought back to his home town to be buried by the graben dienst. The next album will be about the war after the Rhine crossing. That part of the war had some really strange episodes.
I’ll leave Kaeck out of this for now; I want to ask everything about that in its own interview. But given your preference for Death Metal, would you like to realise another such project, pure Death Metal, should the time and opportunity present itself?
Funny you should mention that. I have a full album of Death Metal written and waiting….can you look inside my head? I need some aluminiumfolie (tinfoil)…..
As mentioned, you’ve been around for quite a few years, and you still follow the scene closely. Because of that, you’ve heard so much and most likely held it in your hands, too. Besides old Pestilence and Centurian, albums like Bal-Sagoth’s ‘The Chtonic Chronicles’ and Gehenna’s ‘First Spell’ also command your enormous appreciation. Are there a few albums or demos that you consider fantastic, whether for nostalgic reasons or not, that you think “these are hardly ever mentioned”?
Arckanum ‘Fran Marder’, the title track is a personal fave. 3 riffs of perfection. Sadistik Exekution’s ‘K.A.O.S’ is my bible. albums that I view as brilliant. Enslaved ‘Eld’. Obtained Enslavement ‘Witchcraft’, Bolt Thrower ‘Realm of Chaos’. Incubus’ ‘Beyond the unknown’. Autopsy ‘Severed Survival’. Most Nordvrede. Dawn. Grand Belial’s Key. Incantation. Immolation ‘Dawn of Possession’, Urgehal….aarghhgg so many killer bands. Summoning. I could go on for hours. But the albums you mentioned are perfect. The strange thing is that i really cant stand any other of the Bal Sagoth albums except the brilliant debut. the 6th album ‘The Chtonic Chronicles’ is a insane well crafted Metal album. Those riffs! And modern bands. Well. Anyone who loves Death metal should listen to Abhorration from Norway. Death metal perfection.
Thanks again for answering my questions, Jan! Personally, I’m looking forward to the next thing Sammath is going to release. In the meantime, ‘Grebbeberg’ and the new Kaeck will be getting quite a few spins. Should I have forgotten anything you’d like to share with our readers, this is the moment!
Thanks for the great in depth interview. Support your local record dealer.
