There are not many real hard rock bands in the Netherlands, some might say hard rock was dead there. But in 2010 there was a new band formed around former Powervice guitarist Willem Verbuyst called Vanderbuyst. They released their first album at the end of 2010, and the second at the end of 2011. In the beginning of 2012 the band is even playing at the Noorderslag festival where Dutch bands get the chance to present themselves to big festivals all over Europe. At the annual Speedfest festival in Eindhoven frontman Willem was so kind to spend some time with Metalrage.com and talk about being in a band nowadays.

‘We just got back from Vera in Groningen where we played yesterday, back in the day we considered that place to be on the other side of the world but after the amount of miles we travelled it is almost next door’ Willem states. Vanderbuyst is on a roll, they play all over Europe and it can be almost called a miracle if you have not seen them at one of the festivals last summer. But where did this band came from? ‘With Powervice we were going way too fast. As there was quite some pressure because of the tons of shows we played and recording process of the album it was almost impossible to keep on going. After the split happened I was completely done with music, yet another band I played in failed and this one was one of the first I actually truly believed in. After the split I packed my suitcase and went on a trip. During this trip the feeling came back and I started writing some songs. Back home I called Jochem and Barry who were already friends of mine to try some things and everything fell into place.’

For some of the old school Metalrage.com readers you might remember the previous band Willem played in. We interviewed Powervice at our favorite festival Paaspop back in 2006 and saw them play amazing shows quite some times. But all of a sudden it went wrong. Willem explains; ‘With Powervice there was way too much Rock ‘n Roll, and that mainly took place off stage. It was Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll. I loved it but it killed the music and eventually the band. It was devastating. But we are over that now luckily.’

And they sure are, with Vanderbuyst the band played almost 100 shows in 2011 including a supporting slot on the European Saxon tour. ‘It is like a dream come true to play this many shows. You play in a band to be on stage and if you get this many shows they also include shows with Saxon, which are our heroes, many festivals like Paaspop and Rock Hard festival it is almost impossible to believe.’ And surprisingly enough the band also managed to play quite some shows in the Netherlands. ‘That was a big surprise to us, we always thought most of our focus should go to Germany where there is a huge audience for our type of music but we found those people in the Netherlands too. And we also reach people who actually do not really like the heavier stuff but do like us because we are not that heavy and have enough melody.’ In January 2012 the band is even playing at Noorderslag, a music industry festival where new bands are being presented and the entire Dutch industry is present to check out the new and hot material from all over the world. Vanderbuyst is playing on Saturday where there are only Dutch bands playing. The last couple of years there was hardly metal or rock on this evening so it is good to see something happening there. ‘I have never been there and we are playing there during a 10 day tour with Grand Magus in which we play 11 shows. On that specific day we play two shows and on Sunday we play in Tilburg at the 013.’

Looking back at all those years of making music you have to be proud of what you have achieved. Willem explains he could not have wanted it any other way. ‘We all have a part time job next to Vanderbuyst. So we cannot live from this band but we are almost there. I am the first one in the band who quit his job to start recording the next record. It is unbelievable that it is possible to do nowadays with the genre we are playing. Our tactic is to not overprice our band. I know what the price is to produce the product and you have to give the potential buyer a fair price. Selling vinyl for 15 euro and our CD for 12 euro is a fair deal.’

During the startup of Vanderbuyst Willem had one guy supporting him, one of his close friends who he knew from Powervice. Most of our readers will know him from being the brain behind the Dutch formation The Devil’s Blood Selim Lemouchi. Selim has been a mentor to Willem while recording the EP back in 2008. After Powervice they split ways where Selim ended up into a Satanic oriented band and Willem in a pure Hard Rock formation. ‘There are many differences between our paths but also a lot of similarities. We are both passionate about what we do and are motivated to do it the best we can. Every time we see each other we always have a good time. We have had good and bad days in the past and it made our friendship rock solid.’ During their time in Powervice and the time they spent after the band broke up Selim always pushed the boundaries of Willem. ‘During Powervice I always played the slower and more bluesy solos and he the quick ones. I always tried to play what he played. And when he helped recording our EP he taught me so many things. He tried to make every note sound better and he kept redoing stuff until it sounded perfect.’

So Willem is already thinking about the new album, when can we expect it? ‘I do not know if I can keep up with the tempo of releasing one album a year but if I got the ideas and they are good why not record them. As long as I enjoy doing this I will continue with doing what I love.’