Silent Edge interview

SILENT EDGE, The New Dutch Super Symphonic Rock Group??

Their debut album called "The Eyes Of The Shadow" (reviewed recently) is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. These four guys really know how to make a rock album interesting till the end. The band was founded 6 years ago and in 2002 Marco Kleinnibbelink was the last member to make Silent Edge complete. I had a talk with singer Willem Verwoert; so here we go.....

Martien: "What sort of music did you grow up with?"

Willem: "Lots of different styles, really. But from my 11th birthday I loved everything that had its origin in the USA. My real basis of music I found in Earth, Wind and Fire; the real American soulmusic. I have always had an enormous respect for Prince; from my point of view he was/is a musical genius. When I became 18 I heard Warrant and Giant for the first time and that was really a revelation. That was amazing, I can tell you that, I loved that sort of music."

Martien: "So, how did you end up in Silent Edge?"

Willem: "On a Wednesday afternoon an old friend Minggus Gaspersz called me and asked me if I had a few minutes to spare to talk to him. Ofcourse I had, so I invited him and he asked me the following: "Are you interested in doing something in the music business again?". At that moment I was in two minds really about my future in the music world. I only wanted to start in a new band if that would be a band with ambition and a perspicuous future plan.... So I told Minggus that I was only interested in a band where every musician would strain every nerve. Minggus was relieved because that was just his and Emo Suripatty's idea on how to become a really serious band; total commitment, no bullshit. So that afternoon we decided to go along with this and the basis for Silent Edge as it is today was placed there and then."

Martien: "In 2001 Silent Edge won the Metal Bash, a Dutch metal contest organised by Aardschok metal magazine, how was that and what did it bring you?"

Willem: "It was quite an amazing experience to participate in the Metal Bash, because our demo was selected from a pile of 400!!! We never expected to be picked anyway and there we were in the qualifying round and we even made it to the finals. That we won this contest was a huge surprise and it felt great to hear the name of the band as winner of the Metal Bash 2002. What we gained from this competition is ofcourse a nice trophy and the fact that we were "crowned" best Dutch metal act of 2001/2002. At that moment it was our only intention to let people know that Silent Edge "existed" and what sort of music we played. That worked out great, we had lots of fun and we got to know lots of people in the music business."

Martien: "Who is responsible for the composition of the songs?"

Willem: "Emo Suripatty, our guitarplayer writes everything together with Minggus (keyboards), they are ONE, the have the same goals, ideas about songs, sometimes it is just spooky to witness that..... I am very grateful to be in a band with these two talented guys."

Martien: "So you have no influence/input?"

Willem: "Every song is being played/executed just as the composers have written it. If it turns out that some melody vocal lines or guitarschemes do not really work as planned, then we figure out how to improve that. But this only happens under "supervision" of Emo and Minggus. My contribution is just noticeable in the details, definitely not in complete songs; at least not yet."

Martien: "Which bands/musicstyles have influenced Silent Edge?"

Willem: "We all listen to different sorts of music and ofcourse you are influenced by that. We listen to progmetal bands like Artension, Symphony X, metalbands like Priest, Ozzy and Anthrax, pop, rock, bluesrock, jazz, classical music, you name it. Unconsciously you "take" something from various bands and put it into your own music. Especially with progmetal nothing is inconceivable, if it deals with the mixing of music styles."

Martien: "What is your opinion about the modern music scene?"

Willem: "The music scene nowadays is very vivid and alive as never before. In my view there is so much interesting music, disregarding the fact if you like R & B, pop, rock or classical music. Music is universal and that is how it should be. I like all sorts of music, my favourites are Symphony X, Bon Jovi and Stevie Wonder."

Martien: "How would you describe Silent Edge to someone from another planet?"

Willem: "Silent Edge consists of four guys that make music because they enjoy that."

Martien: "Futureplans?"

Willem: "At this moment we are only trying to work very hard to give Silent Edge more notoriety. Furthermore we hope to play on some metalfestivals and then we will see what happens."

Martien: "What is your favourite track on the album and why?"

Willem: "Actually I have got two; "The Curse I Hold Within" and "Rebellion". The "Curse.." is a huge bit of feelings and nothing more; pure and honest. In "Rebellion" I can completely loose myself in total madness combined with lots of feelings."

Martien: "Is there a place for Silent Edge in the overcrowded music scene of today?"

Willem: "I really don't know; I think that people who will buy and appreciate our album, make that decision for us. If they like what we do then we will notice this and we will continue making music, if not then....??"

Martien: "How do you handle criticism?"

Willem: "When you make a record you know that there will be reactions, positive and negative ones. We respect all opinions about our music, that belongs to the vision of Silent Edge."

Martien: "Did you have singing lessons?"

Willem: "Well, I had them for about ten months, but that's a long time ago."

Martien: "Do you have "idols", singers in particular?"

Willem: "Russel Allen, one of my favourites, there is just one Russel, if you know what I mean.... Then John Bon Jovi, because he knows exactly what he can and cannot do with his voice and last but not least George Michael; there is nobody with a more beautiful timbre than he."

Martien: "Thanks for your time and your answers."

Interview by: Martien Koolen