DESERTER

Deserter started out in 2010 in Belgium, when Yacine (vocals, guitars) decided to band together with Robin on guitars, Thomas on bass and Rüdi on drums to form a true Belgian thrash metal alliance. Back in the days when Thrash was big in Belgium, Deserter proved to be a real up and coming band bringing a very raw interpretation of Teutonic Thrash Metal like Sodom, Destruction and their all-time heroes Kreator.

A first release came out a year later, called ‘Beauty in Chaos’. A true raw and filthy garage sound thanks to the very old school recording process gave Deserter a first chance to show the scene what they were worth. It was a real success for a small release of a small band! After playing over 50 shows in the underground scene in Belgium during 2010-2012, the band eventually faced a first few issues. A first line-up change caused Rüdi to leave the band. Sander was welcomed in the band in 2012 at 16 years of age. The seriously delayed EP ‘Chernobyl’s Beauty’ was released a year later in 2013, a year later than was planned, and with its enormous costs and bad production showed to be a true burden for the band which made future endeavours way more difficult. You can’t sell a CD that you aren’t proud of!

However, Deserter is about the music. And the music is about our daily frustrations in society, the injustice and inequality, an aggressive musical manifesto against the reality of their time. This also goes to show the meaning of the band’s name. So even though the release of the EP left the band’s situation in disarray, the will to make music never left the band. As the band members grew more mature, so did the music. An openness in musical taste made room for more experimental riffs, refined drumming and lyrics which carried a significance way deeper than the original odes to the thrash metal lifestyle.

Global Ruï-nation was released in 2014, the first release with Sander on drums. It had a reasonable response and did encourage the band to move forwards to a full release. The songs were ready and several shows were being played, with the crowds getting bigger and the fellow bands sharing the stages as well. However, just like a lot of the bands from the same generation in thrash metal were experiencing as well: one needed to adapt to survive the changing environment. Like the harshness of Mother Nature lets some species survive and others perish, the band realised that they needed to adapt in order to remain a band in the spotlights. At the same time, internal issues were piling up and the band saw itself enter a first hibernation. Robin left the band, which certainly killed the creative vibe for a serious while.

It wasn’t until new life was blown in the band with the release of a first full album that light was shining at the end of the tunnel. Coils of the Lesser Serpent proved to be a proper display of the bands capabilities and showed the evolution of what the band had become. In a recent interview with metal-rules.com, the band stated that:

“Coils of the Lesser Serpent” is the result of a long musical journey, a journey that wasn’t always easy. We recorded the entire album once before, until we decided to practically redo everything. Lots of the songs on Coils of the Lesser Serpent are pretty old, but we reviewed them over and over until we were really happy with the result. In other words: we really took our time to put the bar as high as we could. Yacine rewrote the lyrics for some songs three times over!

Given that the band was very picky on the sound and the musical structure of the record, the end result was on a different level than the previous releases. The compact but extremely aggressive sound of ‘Coils of the Lesser Serpent’ formed the perfect transmitter of its transcendent lyrical approach. In addition to the heightened musical approach, the newest member of the band Pablo thoroughly decorated the songs with his incredible sweeping skills

on lead guitars. To illustrate that, the following comparison in an interview with Sander really clarifies the musical evolution of the band:

“Suffice it to say that we sounded like a completely different band on our EP and in many ways we were a different band (I wasn’t even the drummer on “Chernobyl’s Beauty” nor was Pablo featured on it). It is kind of ironic… one of the main struggles for the band was getting sh*t back together after the band’s first EP – which in a way turned out to be our own Chernobyl. However: it still is worth listening to, as is the case with our first demo “Beauty in Chaos” (2011). The raw sound kind of seems like a prehistoric display of what we are capable of musically. If I’d continue comparing the band’s musical record with the history of human kind, then “Global Ruï-nation” (2014) was when man discovered fire and the endless possibilities that go with it. “Coils of the Lesser Serpent” is undoubtedly Ancient Egypt in all its mystery and technological (better still: technical) superiority. Maybe that illustrates that we’re capable of getting even further than our latest record!”

In 2017 the band is ready to spread its music and view on society as never before! Having a deal with Vile Records USA, availability of music on several online platforms and the backing of a renowned metal veteran in the promoting business: the future of Deserter shouldn’t be as depressing as the societal reality it rebels against!