FATAL MOVE
Answered by Thomas Luyten
Q1. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! For our readers who are not familiar with you, can you talk a little about where you’re from, when you formed, that kind of thing?
The original line up was formed in 2009 by a group of friends living in Merksem; a city next to Antwerp, Belgium. After some line up changes in the first years we only had one change; I took over the bass in 2018.
Merksem is a small city with a big community. A lot of people here played in metal or hardcore bands. And those who didn’t play an instrument would still come to the local shows. Most of us kind of knows each other through previous bands or shows.
Q2. What got you into hardcore in the first place, and what made you to want to start a band and pursue making music in the way that you have?
For me (Thomas) it was the love for loud and heavy music. I started playing bass and guitar in punkrock bands when I was 15, got into metalcore and hardcore at a later age. Playing in bands, and I’m sure everyone from Fatal Move agrees on this, it’s just so valuable. I mean it’s a bunch of friends agreeing on seeing each other regularly to start playing and writing songs. Everyone contributes to the band in his/her own way. You get to go to new places and meet new people. You learn to organize a small business, to network, to party, to control your boundaries, to become a better musician, … It’s freedom also. Because there’s no rules or playbook for this thing. There’s no teachers, mentors, manuals, at most some parents that agree on helping you out haha. It’s all DIY. You get out of it what you put into it. Playing bigger shows and becoming more successful is awesome and incredibly rewarding – but not the final destination. It’s really cliché but the journey is what makes playing in a band so rewarding.
Q3. What are some of the biggest influences on Fatal Move’s sound?
The sound has evolved quite a bit throughout the years but I think we can all agree on bands such as Terror, Nasty, Paleface, Get The Shot, Lionheart, Comeback Kid, No Turning Back, Trapped Under Ice …
Q4. The second single from your upcoming EP “F.U.G.A.Z.I.” was recently released. I absolutely love the line “Freedom is not a reward”! Can you tell us a little about the song—the sound, the meaning, etc.?
The single is also the title track of our new EP. F.U.G.A.Z.I is a military slang that stands for ‘Fuck Up Got Ambushed Zipped In’. The meaning behind this word is a fucked up situation or ‘damaged beyond repair’. Our guitarist came up with that title and we all instantly agreed.
F.U.G.A.Z.I. is a warning; It’s about trust, about cracks in the democracy. Which may just be cracks, but where is the line with incipient polarization? Do we trust our politicians or do we take matters in our own hands? What happens when they begin to impose their will and personal agenda on people? Whether they think they are doing it for justifiable reasons, and whether they are really justified, it is still a scary thing when there is no room for debate or negotiation in a democracy. Should we trust governments blindly when history has proven over and over again that this was not always the right move?
F.U.GA.Z.I. is way more politically inspired than Somewhere Between Life And Death. The world has always been and will always be a sh*tshow and this EP is our way to process all of this. The first victim in every conflict is always the truth and that’s almost always the starting point for every war or form of extremism. It’s so f*cked up because mankind has always been and still is our own worst enemy. We could all live in peace but instead we chose to destroy each other for whatever reason. Whatever, that’s a whole other conversation.
Q5. When does the EP come out in full and what else can we expect?
The release is for May and this EP is our heaviest – yet most progressive to date. There’s singing in there, a legendary guitar solo from a guest, we experimented with a whole bunch of guitar effects… We took our time during the spring/summer to record everything DIY with the help of our friends Max Everaert and Tim ‘Penny Beats’. All of this in private locations in Merksem, which made everything really more laid back. Most riffs and structures come from our guitarist Kenny who did a really good job writing most of these songs.
Artwork (yet to be released) is done by Chuck Anderson from the states, who has worked for Drain, End It, the Chicago Bulls, PBR, … We’re really happy with how this turned out and can’t wait to share it.
Q6. What are some of the best shows/tours you’ve played and are there some coming up you are excited about?
Too many to list up… Graspop 2023 was of course the biggest and craziest show we have ever played (and the best, everyone was on f*cking fire that day). Dour Festival was another dream come true, really crazy to be part of that festival. For me, Extreme Fest 2022 was my favorite. Imagine playing a big festival with a personal vibe in the south of France, with some of your best friends, surrounded by nature, with a lake nearby, and an amazing afterparty with all bands and volunteers at the end. Headlining and almost selling out Trix Club with Mark My Way, Mindwar and Surge Of Fury last year was also amazing. Seeing so many friends, families and colleagues support us is so great. Another one that comes to mind is playing Elfer Club in Frankfurt AM in the winter of 2019 (shout to Laura Diehm). The show was great and we got to do karaoke with that whole German crew afterwards. That was a wild night. Or that one show in Luzern in Switzerland where we got free drinks in every bar in the same street and ended up sleeping in our van while it was freezing outside…
Q7. Who are some other bands or artists in the scene we should be paying attention to?
For me Mindwar is the biggest band in BE HC at this time, Becoming AD is the most promising rising band (they just released a killer EP) and Primal Truth wrote some of the sickest riffs ever (hope they play shows again soon). Antwerp legends Eightball and our friends from the south Do Or Die are the real deal. Strayed is also a really good beatdown band from Wallonia.
From FR: Affenpinshers (Useless Pride Records) is a fresh wind of inspiring hardcore riffs, our bro’s in Beyond The Styx are ripping it every show and Alea Jacta Est (UP Records) is always solid in everything they do. I was very impressed by Headbussa from Paris when they supported Jesus Piece and I’m happy for them that they get to support Knocked Loose on tour.
In other genres I’m stoked about Campus playing shows again, can’t wait to see them live.
Q8. Is there anything else on the horizon for the band or any other things you want to tell our readers about?
Right now we’re focusing on our release and we’ll see from there. We have a bunch of cool shows planned already in BE and FR, we’re playing Alcatraz Festival and playing a very cool festival in Denmark in September.
Master an instrument, start a band with your friends and embark on one of the greatest adventures of your life. You won’t regret it. Namaste