1-How was "The Apotheosis" received in the metal scene?

Martijn: Well, it is received very well we must say. The reviews are very good!

2- The songs in "Obliteration...." were rerecorded for "The Apotheosis" or did they remained unchanged?

Martijn: We re-recorded all the songs on "Obliteration of the Despised". We could have copied them to "The Apotheosis", but that would result in songs with different sounds on one CD and that is never good.

3- Do you have songs that were left outside "The Apotheosis"? Why?

Martijn: No we haven't. We had a deadline to record "The Apotheosis", so that we could go on tour with The Crown and Skinless, to promote this album. So we had very little time to write new songs, and all the songs we wrote at that time are on "The Apotheosis".

Martijn: Usually Michiel (guitarist) and I come together and exchange our guitarriffs. We than combine them, change them, change them again and finally work them out with the whole band.

5- How were the shows with Skinless and the Crown?

Martijn: Great! They are great guys to tour with, we had lots of fun! Our shows were great, the audience was enthousiastic. I must say that the audiences are more banging their heads than the Dutch audience! It was a great experience and we hope to tour some more!

6- Which is your equipment in studio and in live concerts?

Martijn: On stage we use 2 Peavey 5150 amps, 4 x Marshall cabinets, Yamaha drumkit, Peavey bass amps and 2 bass cabinets. Michiel and I use BC Rich guitars, EMG elements, Robin uses Ibanez 5 or 6-string fretless bassguitars. We use the same in the studio, because we want our live sound to be the same as our CD sound.

7- Which is Monolith´s main source of inspiration?

Martijn: I think ourselves. Offcourse we have our favourite bands, like Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, My Dying Bride, etc, but the main spirit that keeps us alive is that we all give our lives for The Monolith Deathcult, we really like to play and really want to go for it.

8- Which are the elements that set you apart from any other death metal band?

Martijn: I think that is in the double guitar riffs and the way our songs are build up, the overlapping vocal attacks and the hystorical solo parts. I think these things make it interesting to listen to.

9- Which are your main musical influences?

Martijn: For me personally bands like Obituary, Napalm Death, Guns n' Roses, Cannibal Corpse. Especially Obituary, I am a big fan of this band.

10- Something more to add?

Martijn: Yeah thank you for this interview and watch out for The Deathcult!

Martijn

Guitarist The Monolith Deathcult

Interviewed by Federico Marongiu