Born From Pain: 15 years

Today Born From Pain will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a special show. Time to look back on 15 crazy years with the only original member left, Rob.

First of all 15 years Born From Pain. Did you ever think the band would come this far and where there moments you wanted to quit the band altogether. If so what has kept you moving on?

We never thought we would tour the world, record 7 releases, sell 10.000s of albums and play huge festivals when we started out 15 years ago . We started doing the band because we wanted to play a heavy brand of hardcore. Because our favorite bands were (and are) Merauder, Hatebreed, Stigmata and All Out War. We wanted to play like them and sound like them. We always played out a lot though so over the years we created a name for ourselves and got offered chances we never dreamed of when starting out.

I never had a moment where I really wanted to quit. I’m not a quitter kind of person. The band is and has always been my baby so you don’t just quit on that. What keeps me moving on is that I see that we still love what we do, develop our sound, have sick shows, get offers we can’t refuse and on top of that have a real good time doing it!

I’m not a quitter kind of person. the band is and has always been my baby so you don’t just quit on that.

Born From Pain has seen a lot of line-up changes over the years. Did you never consider to slow the band down just to keep certain people within the band?

We just considered slowing the band down a bit (which we did the past 1,5 – 2 years) to keep ourselves sane. Never because of people leaving or staying because of it. BFP is and has always been a wild trip.

The new EP was recorded with Igor Wouters (Backfire!). If I had told you 15 years ago that you would record with someone from Backfire would you have believed me cause at the time I though the scene around Born From Pain was kind of the different from the M-town Rebels.

Oh it most certainly was! Back in those days both scenes didn’t get along. There was this bullshit rivalry going on and a bunch of people were beefing with each other. That all faded later. We even played a Backfire! release show in Maastricht back in those days haha. Especially when Richie passed it was all forgotten. There are more important things in life than petty bullshit feuds.  Besides that, Igor is an amazing human being and a very talented producer/engineer.

Back in those days both scenes didn’t get along. There was this bullshit rivalry going on and a bunch of people were beefing with each other.

Not everyone seems to be charmed about the new EP. Did you expect the mixed reactions, considering some songs musically are different from previous Born From Pain material?

Of course. But we’ve had that with every release really. We feel we have become more ripe in many ways and I think it shows in the songs. We haven’t and never will write the same record over and over again. Some people will hate you for it, some will love you. It’s the same with everyone and everything that is thinking outside the box. I think we still have our hardness and trademarks. We just tried to make it a bit catchier and have other influences seep through. Do I need to write another Reclaiming The Crown riff? No. Do I still love the songs on that record? Yes. Anyone that has ever recorded more than 2 releases with a band will know exactly what I am talking about. We never compromised. We always do what we like and we say what we want. We bow for no one.

Throughout all these years you have stayed a band with a message. It seems though that in 15 years most things in the world have changed for the worse. Do you all see some positive things happening in that period of time?

Yes. I see people trying to create more solidarity with others and I see more and more people waking up to the truth. Of course there are also a lot of things that are really positive in one’s personal surroundings. You know, life should be good, so even if things get worse and being critical and fighting is important, always pick up the good things too!

Do I need to write another Reclaiming The Crown riff? No. Do I still love the songs on that record? Yes.

The line-up for the 15 years anniversary is a great mix of bands Dutch people should be proud of. Can we also expect some old members to join on stage?

Yeah, every old member, with maybe one exception, is joining us on stage. The new line up with Pete, Dom, Igor and me will start the set, the old line-up with Wouter, Servee, Che and me will end the set. And in between that, everyone else. That’s a one time only thing you will wanna see if you were ever into BFP.

What’s up in the next 15 years for Born From Pain and who’s the man behind the drums nowadays?

We have no steady guy behind the drums for now. Igor got too busy with his studio so we understand why he had to create more time. A bunch of our old drummers help us out frequently and so have a couple of other guys that are tight. So we are not that bothered at the moment! Next 15 years? Good tours, good releases, make people think and be critical and plan our 30 year anniversary show of course!

I see people trying to create more solidarity with others and I see more and more people waking up to the truth.

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