How did the change of vocalists (Philippe and Wim for Koen) affect Rule of Thumbs music?

Koen quit Rule Of Thumb on the end of February, because of medical reasons. This was the reason we attracted some new musicians, Philippe (vocals) and Serge (bass guitar). Wim (our former bass player) has taken up his vocal skills. After a while of making new songs we came to the conclusion that our music was more evolved to metalcore and sounded different (more powerful and aggressive) than before and we decided to change our name because of this reason. That way we have retired the name Rule Of Thumb out of respect of Koen (he will always be known as the true vocalist of Rule Of Thumb). Our new name is RIVAL. We have played our first show with Rival a couple off weeks ago and all the kids where very positive and enthusiastic about the new developments.

How was "Triangle of Hate" received by the underground scene?

We have got a lot of positive reactions on "Triangle Of Hate". The first 500 albums were sold out in 2 months. Most magazines have given very good reviews. We hope we can accomplish the same (or more) with Rival.

Why did you choose Grindstone studios to record "Triangle..."?

Because Grindstone has done some other great production of bands (XkombatX, ...) we know and the producer was very professional and honest towards the band. We all liked the final outcome and I guess we would never have gotten that result, for the same amount of money, with another producer.

Would you describe Rule of Thumb's music as being pure death metal or do you think that is too narrow to describe your music?

Rule Of Thumb has put more hardcore influences in the latest release. We would like to call it Deathcore. Rival has changed the style even more to metalcore. But we just play the music we like. We just let everybody judge for them selves what they think about us. We like bands that stand active, energetic and aggressive on stage and we try to do the same.

How would you compare "Triangle..." with "eROTica"?

With erotica we were still looking to find our true style and with Triangle Of Hate we found our style. EROTica is our first studio album and we had a lot to learn. We all were rookies back then and that is why the production isn't that good, but we strived to make a better album with Triangle Of Hate. I think the whole band has grown to better musicians over the years.

Do you have plans of a new recording for 2003?

We are making plans now to record a couple of new songs with Rival. Just for promotion purposes and to get gigs in and around Belgium. So we can spread the Rival virus across the world :))). We are making plans for a full length, but for now we only got about 7 new songs, so we are very busy writing new music.

Which is the main element of Rival's music: brutality, speed, some melody?

I think music is a great thing to express our feelings. You can put anything in music. The main thing is that we always have played as a bunch of friends and that has created a very tight bond between all of us. And we will continue this with our new band. Friendship was and is very important in our band. The music is very energetic and aggressive.

How would you describe a typical Rival show?

A typical show of us is energetic, aggressive and honest. We just like having fun on stage. We all stand behind our music and lyrics.

Which is your live and in studio equipment?

Our guitarists Gianni and Paul both use Marshall JCM 900 amps and boxes. Gianni plays on an Ibanez guitar and Paul uses a Jackson Roads. Serge (Bass guitar) uses Peavey amp and a Ibanez ergodine bass guitar. Kris (drums) plays Tama drums and all the cymbals he can find. Phillipe (vocals) shouts in a Sennheiser e835 mic and for myself (Wim) I abuse a Shure SM58 mic.

Any final words?

Interview by Federico Marongiu