Dutch band ILÆNDER conjures the spirit of 2000s metal in a dark and moody but captivating sound that they describe as “melancholic, aggressive and nostalgic.”
The quintet of Martin (vocals), Michiel and Karel (guitars), Stijn (bass) and Oscar (drums), from Hengelo in eastern Netherlands, knew each other from different bands before deciding to join forces in mid-2023. The desire to start ILÆNDER – which was Martin’s grandfather’s surname, and also means “islands” in Danish – came from a collective desire to play in a band that took influence from the 2000s nu-metal period, with a heavy lean on Deftones.
After a few rehearsals, they knew the band was going to work. They played their first show in January 2024, released their debut five-track EP, Alpha, in October, and are now gearing up for their second EP, unsurprisingly called Beta.
On the sound they’ve crafted over the last couple of years, Martin told us: “As we’re inspired by the early 2000s Deftones sound, you’ll definitely hear resemblance. But we’ve all played in bands for over 15 years and bring our own personalities to the table. A bit of New York Hardcore riffings, grooving drums, singing and screaming a la Mike Patton.”
Our first taste of this is Not Dead Yet, the first single released from Beta. It opens up with a heavy groovy riff that continues under Martin’s engaging high-pitched vocals. A cool descending guitar comes in and quickly jumps back into the bumbling riff, before the pace slows to set up a cool catchy chorus “It must have felt good, To finally step out of line, I bet this felt good, But it’s not over yet.” The high-pitched vocals return and builds up to another chorus, which drops into light guitars and rolling drums. A huge diving guitar jumps in with intense screamed vocals, before drawn-out guitars set up a final blast of the chorus.
And on the track, Martin told us: “The reception has been great! You can expect a vibe of ‘Deftones meets BeeGees in a disco-metal fever dream.'”
As mentioned, the track comes from their upcoming EP Beta, which is scheduled to be out by the end of October. “We’re super excited for people to hear it,” Martin told us. “There are two songs on the EP that feel a bit unusual compared to what we have done before. One ballad and one really heavy song compared to what’s out until now. You should expect a lot of different emotions packed into five versatile songs. It’s going to be a bit of an alternative metal rollercoaster.”
To get a taste for what’s to come, we firmly recommend checking out Alpha, including the superb opening track Crown, which has massive Deftones vibes, the excellent I Know Nothing and the delicious closing track Down We Go.
The ILÆNDER sound has, as mentioned, most predominantly been influenced by Deftones. But they also draw inspiration from 90s and 2000s bands like Faith No More, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Type O Negative and Alice In Chains, as well as modern bands like LOATHE, Thrown and Stray From The Path having a big influence on their sound and songwriting.
And on what inspires them to write music, Martin told us: “Most of it is very personal to my life. Bad or good life experiences, fears, disappointments, hopes and anger etc… Except our latest single Not Dead Yet, which is definitely politically inspired.”
ILÆNDER’s second EP Beta will be released later this year. They’ll have a few shows and festivals coming up – including two gigs tomorrow in Enschede and Arnhem, according to Bandsintown – and are planning a release tour around the EP, before they get to work on writing more new music.
You can follow ILÆNDER on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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