Singled Out: Heidevolk's Ontwaakt

Heidevolk just released their new album "Vuur van Verzet" ("Fire of Resistance") and to celebrate we asked guitarist Koen 'Vuurdichter' Romeijn to tell us about the single "Ontwaakt". Here is the story:

The band had gone through some difficult times when we started working on the new album 'Vuur van Verzet'. The line-up had changed on the guitar department, there'd been a lot of tours and festivals, and now all of a sudden we were talking about a new Heidevolk album. And, on top of that, we had a deadline to worry about. Work needed to be done!

Rowan Roodbaert (bassplayer) came to our rehearsal place one day with a large piece of paper and a marker, and started explaining what he had come up with for the new album. Traditionally, a Heidevolk album starts with the general story. It has to be. 'What is this album going to be about?' That's the question that needs to be answered before a single note can be written. This time was no exception. He started sketching the main theme, the storyline, and the way the lyrics would translate this story into the songs. We all related to his proposal. On top of his tracklist, ever since the demo-ing started, was the song 'Ontwaakt'.

Both Kevin (Storm) and myself (Vuurdichter) went over to Rowan's place during the first days of the songwriting process to work on the first song, 'Ontwaakt'. As with all songs on this album, Rowan had already created the basic outline of the song, and also determined the lyrical theme. Comparing that first demo with the final outcome of the song, there isn't that much difference to be honest. The chord progression in the chorus changed (That was my influence ;)) and became a bit more melodic, and we added some notes here and there, Kevin put in some nice leads, but the main theme of the song did not change drastically. It was a strong and solid foundation from the start.

So this song was the first song we started working on for 'Vuur van Verzet'. It also became the first track on the new album, and now it's also the first single and video. Quite exceptional if you think about it. It does not mean in any way that the other songs on the album are not as good, or anything. On the contrary, 'Vuur van Verzet' turned out to be a very diverse album, packed with strong and authentic songs. But the diversity made it somewhat difficult to choose the first single. 'Ontwaakt', being one of the more straightforward, 'in your face' songs, and lyrically dealing with a more general theme compared to the other songs, seemed like the logical choice.

Koen Vuurdichter

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

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