Doomed Confessionary: Andoni Lombide Carreton (Witch Piss)
Photo credit: Kurt Blommé Photography
Witch Piss is a stoner metal band from Mechelen, Belgium featuring members of Marche Funèbre and Drawn Into Descent. Witch Piss hit the stage in early 2022 and recorded their self-titled EP in the same year. The EP was recorded live at Rockstar Recordings studio. Live, because groove is the most important part of this band. The process was engineered, mixed and mastered by Chiaran Verheyden. »Witch Piss« EP was released on April 7th, 2023 via Saturni Records.
Witch Piss consists of Andoni Lombide Carreton (guitars), Dennis Lefebvre (drums), Glenn Van Bael (bass), Peter Egberghs (vocals) and Stijn Georges Moens (guitars).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Witch Piss is a stoner metal 5-piece hailing from Mechelen, Belgium. Witch Piss was conceived by a bunch of friends over beers, some of them who also play in other local bands like Marche Funèbre and Drawn Into Descent. So there’s a clear heavy metal and extreme metal influence into our stoner. “Stoner” remained the theme around which we drape our influences, but the idea from the get-go was to be a bit musically adventurous and let the influences of our members cook in a green-smoked, beer-marinated stew until something tasty comes out. We exist now for about 4 years I think, but we only got really going after Covid for obvious reasons.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
The biggest challenge was that we were just getting a stable line-up and a few songs to play when Covid hit. Our singer and founder, Peter, his initial idea was to play guitar in the band. So we started with three guitar players, but decided that this doesn’t work very well for us and Peter started singing. In addition, we changed drummers and rehearsal room. Then Covid hit and we couldn’t continue getting comfortable with this new setup. But post Covid we had some really productive rehearsals where we really came together as a band. The fact that we attempted to record some early songs at home in lockdown really helped to get a handful of songs that we could use to get better at playing together.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Three things. First of all, our first EP (or album, depends how you look at it) was originally intended as just a demo with passable sound quality so that people can listen to our music to get some shows going. However, the recording process went so smoothly and the end result was much better than we expected. The record itself and the fact that we all worked together so smoothly to put out that record still amazes me. More of that.
Secondly, opening for The Obsessed in Antwerp was our first show with a bigger band.
And finally, playing Desertfest Antwerp. We have been part of the Desertfest audience for a while now and I remember during one of our early rehearsals somebody discussing what our end game was. The answer was that if we ever could play Desertfest we would be happy. Less than a year after putting our first record out we did. *Brain explodes*
What was your biggest regret?
For me personally, not doing enough earlier in my life to be part of a great experience like playing in Witch Piss!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Playing Reeferfest in Malta. We played together with Hemplifier, a Maltese stoner doom band. They did some shows with us in Belgium and the Netherlands a while back and now we came together again to play on their island. We got to know them pretty well and because of flight schedules we were forced to spend 3 days in Malta. Oh no! Both the hospitality, great company, delicious food, refreshing drinks and hot weather put us into a rock ‘n roll wave that we rode until it was time to fly back. But not before we got kicked out of a snobbish Maltese beach party after our show, which triggered our drummer Dennis to get revenge and steal their balloon decoration. We had a lot of balloons in the hotel room. Needless to say, memories were made that will be with us forever.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I suffer from impostor syndrome and I’m not the technically most proficient musician. The biggest surprise for me was the wide range in musical skill in the scene: from people like me playing like a caveman to some real virtuosic players and everything in between. However, the amount of knowledge and experience that is in people’s minds to deliver exceptional music and performances is crazy. I improved as a musician ten times more by just hanging around these people and playing music with them than in the last 15 years doing stuff on my own.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
From our local scene, I really play the latest Fire Down Below record a lot. From Italy, I enjoy what Tons is putting out. I also dig the sheer sonic assault of the latest Lorna Shore record. I’m not much of a deathcore fan, but these guys mix deathcore intensity with black metal drama and it works so well. More of a constant in my rotation is the mighty Cathedral.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Go play in a band.
What are your guilty pleasures?
B horror movies, shitty reality shows, mild psychedelics and salty snacks. Or a combination of that.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Mechelen / Belgium?
We are from a small town in Belgium, in the Dutch speaking part. I feel like the music scene here has always depended a bit on a network of people willing to set up shows, play in bands, have a drink together and come up with crazy musical plans. Sometimes, that network is a bit stronger and sometimes a bit weaker. I think now in our hometown Mechelen the musical network is extremely strong. The amount of bands based in this town is crazy: Psychonaut, Marche Funebre, Pothamus, Drawn into Descent… This leads to people getting inspired and to collaborate to make even more music. As Belgium is such a small country, we are also close to Antwerp, Brussels, Gent and other larger Belgian cities, so connecting with these local scenes happens easily. We played for example on the release show of Your Highness’ previous album in Antwerp as one of our first shows, which was another great experience! We wouldn’t be where we are now without opportunities like this.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We have a few shows lined up for the rest of 2024. We will play our first gig in the French speaking part of Belgium together with Cairo Jag from the US. After that we’ll cross borders again and play in the Den Haag, the Netherlands. This is with Ditch, a Dutch band we had the pleasure to play with on a mini tour together with the Hemplifier guys. They were also playing Reeferfest in Malta. By now, it’s almost like meeting family again to play a show together.
We are also in talks for our first shows of 2025.
Photo credit: Kurt Blommé Photography
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We will continue to play live but are at the same time working on new songs. We have a handful of them in a close to finished state and probably we’ll write a few more.The aim is to release a full length album once these songs are done, but any playing opportunity that sounds fun and is doable from a practical perspective is interesting to us. Bigger shows are cool and all, but sometimes the most fun can be had in a dive bar full of people that are in for a groove and a dance. Still, I hope that a new album release brings in great opportunities like we’ve gotten after our first release, and maybe even more unexpected ones!
How can people best support your band?
Come to the shows. We all have day jobs, so we’re not in it to make a living, but venues are. If people don’t show up, venues are less interested in bands circulating in that same scene. Although getting some more band money by buying merch or albums is very welcome and absolutely encouraged, in Witch Piss we are all about playing live and we’d like to keep doing that.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Yes, a big thank you! We are humbled by the response to everything we did until now.
We will do our best to deliver more riffs, groove and live shenanigans, so whenever given the chance, come hang with us and let’s have a drink together!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well