Interview with legendary death doom black metal band from Netherlands - SOULBURN.
Answered Eric Daniels (guitars) and Twan van Geel (vocals, bass), thank you!
Recenze/review - SOULBURN - Quantifying Cosmic Doom (2026):
Ave SOULBURN! Greetings from the Netherlands. Something strange just happened to me. I was listening to your new album, “Quantifying Cosmic Doom,” in my home office when a storm broke out. I opened the window, and everything came together in a single moment. The new album has a beautifully chilling atmosphere. It literally captivated me. How difficult was it to follow up on your previous album, “Noa’s D’ark”? How did the new album come together?
Eric: Greetings back to you, Jakub, and to the Czech Republic as well. And wow… a storm breaking loose while you were listening to our new album. That is the kind of synchronicity you simply cannot plan. It almost feels as if the elements themselves decided to join in. Moments like that capture exactly what this record is about: atmosphere, tension, and that sense of something vast moving around you. Thank you. The new album definitely carries a strong atmospheric presence. It is something we focused on intensely while creating it, letting the music breathe, expand, and pull the listener into its own world. Our new album Quantifying Cosmic Doom is a step upward compared to our previous album Noa’s D’ark. We call it a step upward because this time we made more use of pure clean vocals, and that is immediately the biggest difference from the previous album. We continue to improve ourselves as musicians, and our interest in listening to music beyond just death metal or black metal also makes a difference in our inspiration and in composing new songs. Actually, all the songs came together quite smoothly. During the writing and arranging process we always record demo versions at home using Cubase. Those are our so‑called blueprints, and we bring them with us into the studio as well. One day the recording might flow better than another, but that’s just part of being human. There wasn’t really a difference between recording the latest album and the previous one. The only exception is that our previous album Noa’s D’ark was recorded during the corona period, and that was quite special. At the time, only three people were allowed in the studio at once. That created a very unusual working atmosphere.
I’m a bit of a traditionalist in certain ways, so I ordered both the CD and a T-shirt from you. It’s very fulfilling for me to hold such a perfectly executed piece of work in my hands. And I’m not just talking about the music here. The cover art was created by Manuel Tinnemans. What exactly does the artwork mean? And how does it relate to the new songs?
Eric: Thank you for your support in buying the shirt and the CD. We truly appreciate it. It means a lot to us when people not only enjoy the music but also choose to support the physical releases. That is something that is far from guaranteed these days.
Twan: The artwork for Quantifying Cosmic Doom, created by Manuel Tinnemans (Comaworx), is deeply intriguing. It weaves together octopuses, hourglasses, and cosmic imagery, centered around a female Goddes‑like figure. These elements collide and coexist, reinforcing the album’s themes of time, transcendence, and humanity’s search for meaning within the vast indifference of the universe.
“During our South American tour with Mork in 2022, we found ourselves in São Paulo one day. The city is home to this vast cemeterie, and there, among the silence, I came upon this statue a female figure of sorts. It struck me immediately. I took a photograph on the spot, with the quiet intuition that it might one day become the seed of a future album. At that time, not a single new song had been written.To me, the figure embodies that which people cling to as they move through life, an anchor, a source of meaning. In the artwork she stands at the heart of the cosmos, encircled by a serpent and by tentacles reaching outward. Time runs as a central thread through the album, hence the hourglasses. One holds an embryo, the other a feather, symbols of how an entire lifetime is, in a sense, suspended within time, inescapable and relentless. And yet the cosmos remains unmoved, utterly indifferent to it all. If you look closely, you see the chopped off hand underneath the hourglass, ‘the thief of time’ we call it. Because, what is time? Just another fucking made up thing of mankind to be in control. Well, here is news for you all; the universe doenst give a shit, haha! It’s that quiet, unsettling contrast I found so compelling.
You’ve had a new drummer since the album before last. His name is Marc Verhaar. Why did Bob Bagchus leave, anyway? In any case, I really like the drum sound this year.
Eric: Yes that is correct. Marc took over the drums in 2018, and wow, that is already quite some time ago. I had to refresh my memory for a moment. As far as I remember, Bob wrote to us through WhatsApp to say that he wanted to focus on other things in life and that he no longer felt the drive to continue drumming. That was a moment of reflection for us, thinking about how we wanted to move forward. Fortunately, Marc came into the picture very quickly. He had always travelled with Remco and helped us whenever needed, so the connection was already there. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Marc fits Soulburn flawlessly. He is tight like a Swiss clock and an absolute beast behind the drums. I am very glad that he agreed to join us back then.
The sound is great overall. Cool, dark, captivating. Yet every instrument and the vocals were recorded in a different studio (if I understood correctly). How was the album actually recorded? I still live with this romantic notion that musicians gather in one studio, have a good drink, and get to work, but it seems like you didn’t even have to meet in person?
Eric: Yes I remember that as well. That is how recordings used to be done back in the day, often even played simultaneously, with just a few overdubs and that was it. Things were much more direct and straightforward then. These days we have been working in a completely different way for several albums already. We record everything separately, choosing the studios where each of us feels most at home. One place for the drums, another for the guitars, another for the bass and the vocals. And of course the full mix and mastering as well. This approach gives us the freedom to focus on every detail and to capture the atmosphere exactly the way we envision it. The album was mixed, mastered, and produced by Erwin Hermsen at Toneshed Studio in the Netherlands. He delivered exactly the result we were aiming for. With his skill and experience, he shaped the sound into something powerful, massive, and just as important for us organic. That character fits Soulburn perfectly. The drums were recorded at Jörg Uken’s Soundlodge, the bass and vocals at Erwin’s Toneshed Studio, and all guitars were tracked at Tom Meier Studio Recording & Live Sound in the Netherlands.
SOULBURN is a band made up entirely of experienced musicians. Each member has a tremendous amount of great work under their belt. But you know how it is everyone also has their own ego that they want to assert. How does that work in your band? Does anyone have the final say? Do you ever argue? And what about cabin fever have you experienced that yet?
Eric: We have a professional mindset. In all the years we have been together we have never had a single argument, and that is something I find very special and something I truly cherish. We are simply not the kind of people who fall into that. Ego is not part of who we are. We are musicians who love our instruments. We discuss whatever comes our way, we solve things together, and there is not really one leader in the band. Maybe they would point to me because I founded Soulburn, but that is not how it feels and it is not something I want. The four of us are intelligent individuals with our own insight. We have been part of the metal scene for so long that we know very well what works and what does not. Cabin fever is not something we deal with. We have toured together, played shows, rehearsed, spent countless hours in each other’s company, and we always have fun. We enjoy what we do, and that is what matters most to us.
“Quantifying Cosmic Doom” hovers somewhere between death metal, black metal, and doom. Erik’s style is unmistakable at least that’s how I see it as a fan. I’d be curious to know how he composes the basic riffs themselves. A lot of musicians just jam around in the studio and then “something comes out of it.” Others put everything together only in the studio. Erik, how do you approach composing?
Eric: In the end it is not complicated. For me it has always been quite basic in a certain way. I play a lot of guitar at home and I have my own little mancave, so to speak. I love grabbing the guitar after a strong cup of Nespresso, plugging in, and simply playing. Practicing, going through the setlist, or just letting ideas flow. There is always some form of inspiration that appears. Often it starts with two riffs or two fragments of riffs. I record them on my computer using Cubase. I have a template that I use as a starting point, and from there I begin shaping those two guitar parts. I add simple computer drums underneath and, most importantly, I determine the tempo of the click track. That is how I build the songs, with the initial ideas always coming from the guitar. When the songs are finished and the ideas for samples or effects are clear, I record those immediately as well. Then I create MP3 files and send them to the other band members so they can hear the concept I have in mind. That is basically how the entire album comes together. Remco and Marc then create the ideas for the final drum parts and send them back to me. After that, Twan spends a weekend at my place and we arrange the songs together and later work out the bass parts. The ideas for the vocals are something Twan develops entirely on his own.
I’m reading through the lyrics, and each one has a sort of preface, an introduction to the story. A lot of metal bands forget this aspect, but your content is very well-developed. Where do you get inspiration for the lyrics? Is it books, movies? Or personal experiences?
Twan:
Thanks, and yes, all you mention plays a part. The lyrics are a cocktail of things. But first comes the music, which is my main inspiration for the vibe of the lyrics. It gives me direction, a pace, and that comes with a type of vocalline or melody how I want to sing to it. And then that vocal line comes with words that start to flow, it builds itself, and from there on sets a tone of emotions. I actually never really think about what I am going to write, I just litarally feel. And then words just start to flow and form lyrics. Topics are always philosophical in their DNA. Combine that with a deep-rooted dose of poetic misantropy and a lustful desire to intrique with ambiguous depth. The music is the vessel, the words are its ghost.
Are you familiar with the term chromesthesia? This also played a large part for me when shaping the concept of the album, the titles, the chapters, and the front cover artwork. This was not just black and grey; colorful enigmas began to emerge once the blueprints of the early demo tracks sank into my subconscious. And once the albumtitle revealed itself to me, the cosmic element, like a weavery, found it’s way throughout all the lyrics.
The connection I try to weave throughout the album is the notion that everything is a universe unto itself. No matter how deeply you travel inward, or how far you stretch outward lines, forms, shapes and figures; movements, forces and recurring patterns each existence is caught within what we, in our human inadequacy, have chosen to call “time.”
Much of this lies far beyond the reach of our limited minds, and that is precisely where I want to go when I write. Soulburn’s music becomes the boundless vessel that carries me there. And just as with music though it may be harder to achieve with words I believe lyrics must leave room for ambiguity. They should reveal themselves differently from moment to moment: something to return to, to conspire with mentally, or simply to experience as a source of inspiration and imagination.
The new album practically demands a live performance. Are you planning a tour? I’m sure you’ll play at some big festivals, but what about small club shows? Can we look forward to that? I can totally picture a dark club… fog… the first riff rings out…
Eric: This October we’ll embark on a European tour together with our brothers from the Norwegian band Mork the same guys we toured South America with back in 2022. That bond runs deep. And there are already confirmed shows for 2027, so we go hit the road again and spread our Quantifying Cosmic Doom. We basically play wherever our booker sends us the offers. Whether it is festivals, club shows, or a full tour, as long as the conditions are good we are there. So yes, that also includes a dark club filled with mist and an atmosphere that feels deadly. For us it is all part of the experience. If the vibe is right and the energy is there, we will play it.
SOULBURN is now one of those veteran bands that has gone through a certain evolution. I’m sure you guys are music fans yourselves. What influenced you in your early days, and what do you listen to today?
Eric : We listen to all kinds of music from Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Bowie and Nick Cave to the most extreme forms of metal. Type O Negative, Trelldom, Oranssi Pazuzu… our musical taste is very broad. All those influences find their way into our inspiration, but always indirectly. We never copy anything. Whatever resonates with us, we absorb it and transform it into something that becomes our own a true Soulburn ingredient. And of course we still listen to the same music we listened to in the early days of Soulburn. Bathory, old Venom, Celtic Frost, Slayer, the Canadian band Slaughter. Those records still carry a very special feeling for us. There is a certain rawness, a spirit, an atmosphere that has never lost its power. When we go back to those albums it is almost like stepping into the same dark room where our musical journey began. The sound, the attitude, the energy, it all shaped who we became as musicians. Even after all these years it still resonates deeply. It reminds us why we picked up our instruments in the first place and why we continue to create the music we do. Those early influences are not something we try to copy, but they are part of our DNA. They keep us grounded, inspired, and connected to the roots of extreme metal.
Everyone had to start somewhere. What was the initial impulse that made you pick up a guitar? Was it because of the girls? And who was your role model in the beginning? Is there a period you remember most fondly?
Eric: That is a funny question, no it wasn’t for the girls haha, it could have been but no, I was simply fascinated by playing guitar. I started playing guitar when I was 14 years old. That’s like 45 years ago. My parents bought me my first electric guitar a blue Aria Pro II and that’s the instrument on which I discovered how to play. I never took guitar lessons; I mainly figured out the chords myself while playing along to records by the Scorpions, Van Halen, and later Metallica, along with many other bands. I loved figuring out what they were playing. I wanted to join a band once I became a huge fan of the early Venom records the first album Welcome to Hell and then the second one, Black Metal. Those two albums made such a massive impact on me that I knew for sure I wanted to play in a band, but in the style of Venom meaning the extreme stuff for that time. I played a little every day after school and eventually I could play chords. I was never a fast lead guitarist, it just was not my thing. The doom solos or the melodic line solos are where I can really put my feeling into the music.
What does music mean to you? How do you perceive it in relation to your life? Is it a curse, a joy, a necessity? I, for one, couldn’t live without music; I listen to it all day long, and when I can’t, I miss it… how about you? Feel free to get into some philosophical musings.
Twan:
This question is deceptively simple in its asking, yet almost boundless in its answering. Where does one even begin to trace the origin of something so deeply woven into existence?
As far back as my memory allows, I have not merely listened to music, I have belonged to it. Even before language, before understanding, there was rhythm. As a child, I could not sit still; there was an irresistible urge to strike, to tap, to resonate with the world around me. Every surface became an instrument, every moment an opportunity to shape sound into pattern.
Over time, that instinct unfolded into many forms, singing, imitation playbacks, strings slightly out of tune, keys pressed in curiosity rather than mastery, drums found where none were intended. It never truly depended on the tools. Music was never something external to acquire; it was something inevitable to express. Even in the absence of instruments, the body itself became a medium. Hitting my knuckles against my skullbone while the hollow of cheeks turn into a chamber of resonance. Clicking my teeth and tongue creating the most crazy galloping beats...
Perhaps this is because music does not begin outside of us. It originates within. The steady pulse of the heart is our first metronome, marking time long before we understand its passing. In that sense, every life is already a composition to the rhythm of the heartbeat, writing the song of our lives.
What does SOULBURN have planned for the coming months, and what can we look forward to? If you have a message for promoters, labels, or fans, this is the place for it!
Eric: We’re currently taking the time to fully enjoy the release of our new album “Quantifying Cosmic Doom”. It’s a record we poured an enormous amount of energy, emotion, and creative intent into, so it feels good to finally let it breathe and share it with the world. The reactions so far have been overwhelming, and it motivates us even more to keep pushing ourselves as musicians. As mentioned earlier, we’ll be hitting the road in October for a European tour together with Mork and Arroganz. It’s an exciting step for us a journey into new cities, new stages, and new audiences. We’re letting everything that comes our way unfold naturally, embracing the unknown and the thrill that comes with it. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes, and the anticipation is growing every day. Promoters who want to bring this cosmic darkness to their stage can book us through our booker Stefan at We‑Live Agency. And to our fans: thank you for your unwavering support. It means the world to us. We hope to see you at our upcoming live shows, where we can share the energy of this new chapter together.
Thank you so much for the interview. I see it’s still raining outside; I think I’ll head into the woods and put your new album on my player. Thanks a lot for it there’s plenty to listen to. I wish the new album and all of you the best, and I look forward to seeing you at a concert someday. SOULBURN FOREVER!
Eric: Thank you, Jakub, for these powerful closing words at the end of this remarkable interview. Outside it is still raining a constant grey veil over the world, the perfect atmosphere for our new album, where every drop seems to echo the cosmic darkness we tried to capture. I wish you many deep and immersive listening sessions, the kind where the music pulls you into its own universe and refuses to let go. And I truly hope our paths will cross someday during one of our live shows, where the songs take on a life of their own and the energy becomes something almost ritualistic. Cheers, and dark greetings to the Czech Republic may the cosmic doom reach you soon.
about SOULBURN on DEADLY STORM ZINE:
Recenze/review - SOULBURN - Quantifying Cosmic Doom (2026):
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