Another Now: The Power In Vulnerability

After ANOTHER NOW made their explosive debut into metalcore in 2021, the Eindhoven based band have been itching to record again. While their first album was based on the experience’s vocalist Stef Rikken had through his day-job as a social worker in mental health, their second release, Hex, is much more personal, reflecting on his own journey in becoming more emotionally vulnerable. Like every band, the pandemic prevented them from playing live and recording, causing the frustration to spiral, and for Stef, Hex feels like a long time coming. 

“A lot of these songs were written in a few hours, just spilling our negative emotions into the tracks. That was very therapeutic and also so much fun, because we felt like there was always someone holding the brakes when it comes to being a band. So that was pretty hard sometimes, and being in the studio with my best friends was super awesome. We really needed this album to spit it all up.” If a debut album is there to establish a band’s standing in the scene, and help them find their sound, then the second release is where they truly get to experiment and let loose. For ANOTHER NOW, this means their heaviest and most vulnerable music yet. Stef explains, “at one point, we were very angry and had some self-pity, and at some moment we decided that had to stop, we need to go even further as a band and just go for it.”

While through his career, Stef is no stranger to emotional conversations surrounding mental health, but it does mean he tends to put others before himself, and not always share his own feelings. Although you wouldn’t know it from the lyrics in this new album, the writing process was reflective of his own journey of opening up, surrounded by his band mates and best friends. “The hardest part for me was accepting the way that I felt and expressing it in the right words. You have to decide what’s right and what’s a great asset to the music, and every band needs to have those type of discussions, about the lines which described our feeling the best and the story behind it. In the band we can discuss everything.” 

When writing such personal lyrics, they are being perceived by the whole world, not just the rest of the band, which can definitely be a daunting concept, but Stef quickly discovered the benefits to writing in this way. “In some ways, it helped me a lot and it was pretty therapeutic, because you’re just processing a lot of things you haven’t thought about before. So, I kept a lot of things away, and it was time to face some of those difficult things.” By the time the record was complete, it was clear that the process had paid off, with the lyrics on Hex being some of the most emotional, intricate and relatable the band have ever written.

ANOTHER NOW didn’t just push themselves emotionally on the recording of Hex, but also in terms of their sound. After the success of their first album, there was some level of pressure to achieve something similar, but after a conversation about the changing world, the band knew that the only direction to take their music was forward. “I was really curious to see how I would sound with a more deathcore track, so I was pretty nervous, and I really want to prove I can do something like that. There’s a lot of variety in this new record, and instrumentally it’s more raw, and heavier. That’s how I like my music, I love a good breakdown.” The contrast of their sound versus their personality as a band isn’t lost on Stef, and he laughs at the difference. “Why did we ever go that heavy? Is that even us? It’s just about having fun, having no boundaries and wanting to write about anything we feel like.” While it might be seen as an unlikely sound coming from these five guys that just want to hang out and have a BBQ, (in Stef’s words), it works extremely well, and happened fairly organically.

ANOTHER NOW are extremely dedicated to keeping everything they do DIY, for a variety of reasons. This latest album was mixed, mastered and produced by their bassist Rik Bosmans, and while this is a convenient decision that keeps the costs down, Stef explains that the main reason for this is that nobody knows the band better than themselves. By avoiding outside influences, they are able to create a completely cohesive brand, and their passion for everything that they do is palpable. Stef states, “everyone has their own discipline. Everything is done by us, and that makes us very proud of what we do and what we can do.”

A perfect example of this is their music video for the title track Hex, based on a short story Stef wrote, where guitarist Max Van Esch created the special effects. The video depicts a professor who creates an evil entity, which ends up getting the better of him. Like everything the band do, it is extremely well thought out. “The track is about a dark identity within yourself that is awakened by something evil. Especially in lockdown, a lot of people were confronted with so much negativity, and it can change you. People can be sour and angry, and are somehow dehumanised. We need to be aware that we all have an evil within, and it’s important to control that.”

After having to face his own negative emotions to write Hex, Stef is determined to encourage others to do the same. “Every emotion has its own worth, and it’s all part of the human experience, and it’s good to be confronted with those types of challenges. Eventually, it will only make you stronger and more versatile.” Despite the intensity, ANOTHER NOW are always able to find some kind of positivity from every experience, and they want their listeners to do the same. “Draw lessons from experiences, but don’t forget to laugh and have fun. That’s the philosophy behind the band, always looking for a better now, ANOTHER NOW.”

Hex is out now via self-release. 

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