Doomed Confessionary: Christiaan Oldenburger & Alexander van Leeuwen (Sad Whisperings)

Photo by Eddy Taatgen

Founded in the early 90’s, Sad Whisperings is an atmospheric doom/death metal band from Groningen, Netherlands.

Their first demo landed them a record deal with Foundation 2000, resulting in the full-length album »Sensitive To Autumn« in 1993. After the recording of promo’s in 1995 and 1998, the band went on hiatus.

The interesst from VIC Records in re-issueing »Sensitive To Autumn« in 2022 led to the reformation of the band. In addition, Sad Whisperings performed for the first time in almost 20 years at Dutch Doom Days in Rotterdam in 2023. In the same year »Return To Autumn« was released by VIC Records, comprising their ’95 and ’98 promo recordings. They also got a chapter in the book »Streams Of Ancient Wisdom« written by Rocktribune journalist Steve Willems.

Sad Whisperings are Alexander van Leeuwen (guitar, vocals), Aad van Straalen (bass), Christiaan Oldenburger (drums), Jurgen Oldenburger (guitar) and Premnath Gonesh (keyboards).

Can you please say a few words about your band?
Christiaan: Hi Bojan. First of all, thank you so much for the interview and the support. My name is Christiaan Oldenburger and I am the drummer for Sad Whisperings. I take a seat in the confessional of Doomed Nation Zine on behalf of the band.
The band was formed in the 90s under the name Desecrate. After a shift from pure death metal to a more atmospheric doom/death sound, the name was changed to the more fitting Sad Whisperings. The first demo resulted in a record deal for the album »Sensitive To Autumn« which was released in 1993. After the recording of demo’s in 1995 and 1998, the band went on hiatus. The interest from VIC Records in 2022 in re-issuing »Sensitive To Autumn« led to the reformation of the band. After that, VIC Records also released the demo compilation album »Return To Autumn« and live shows were played for the first time in over 20 years. Currently we are in the finishing phase of mixing and mastering a new record which was recorded at the Soundlodge Recording Facilities at the end of last year.
Alexander (vocals and guitar) is co-founder of the band and the only one of the original line-up still present. My brother Jurgen (guitar and background vocals) and Aad (bass) have been making music together with Alex for some time, including with Sad Whisperings. Premnath (keyboards) and I have been part of the band since the end of 2023.

What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Christiaan: Maybe I’ll have to ask Alex about that, but I think the biggest challenge for the band was finding a record company to release the follow-up to their debut. Which they ultimately failed to do, unfortunately.

Alexander: At that time we didn’t do a second album with Foundation 2000 because they wanted us to be more like a Paradise Lost copy. We were satisfied with the demo for the second album and didn’t feel like to change our style!

What can you be most proud of so far?
Christiaan: As I said, I have only been part of the band for a short time. However, in my opinion, there is enough for me to be proud of so far. First of all, the friendship within the band which greatly benefits the writing process and playing pleasure. And the writing process itself is also something I am very satisfied with. It was an organic process in which each individual member could make their own mark. We challenged ourselves and brought out the best possible in each other. And I have to say that I am very proud of the final result. In terms of songwriting, production (my drumsound is out of this world, thanks Jorg) and also my own playing. I am always very critical of my own parts and I really see and hear what could have been better technically but to me the feeling is just right. That is the most important thing for me.

What was your biggest regret?
Christiaan: I have no regrets in relation to the band but for me personally: giving up drumming and not playing in a band for over 10 years. On the other hand, I’m not someone who always looks back at what could have been. I’d much rather be in the now. But also looking ahead, making plans and seeing where new opportunities lie.

What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Christiaan: Of course I wasn’t in the band at the time but Alexander keeps bragging about the show they did in Tilburg in 1994 with My Dying Bride and Anathema 😉 So I guess that’s the one. We haven’t done that many shows since the reformation but the show at the beginning of this year in Vera Groningen with Deadhead was a great one. Groningen used to be the rock and metal capital of the North of the Netherlands, but has been losing out to other cities for years. An initiative for a metal festival by two enthusiastic metalheads to put Groningen back on the map turned out to be very successful. The venue was sold out and it became clear that metal is still very much alive in the city of Groningen. Hell yeah!

Alexander: We also did Dutch Doom Days at Baroeg, Rotterdam with Mourning Beloveth and Dodenkrocht and Bibelot Dordrecht along with Necrotesque and Sepiroth.

What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Christiaan: I haven’t been active in bands for almost 20 years and what struck me and was also disappointing is the fact that nowadays some venues expect you to travel halfway across the country to play for half an hour for a few free drinks at the bar. Look, we know very well that this hobby is not going to make us any money but it should at least be cost-covering. In addition, I am surprised by the amount of bands that are there nowadays. In the past, there were a handful of metal bands in the Netherlands, but nowadays they are popping up like mushrooms (said the old man) 🙂 That is not necessarily a bad development, it shows that the scene is alive and that the next generation has stepped up.

What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Christiaan: I absolutely love the new Warbringer album »Wrath And Ruin«. It’s been playing here a lot lately. This also applies to the new Cryptosis album »Celestial Death«. In my opinion, both bands are among the best of the current generation of metal bands. But in general I tend to lean more towards the classic oldschool death and thrash metal bands. I am a huge fan of bands like Dismember, At the Gates, Bolt Thrower, Soilwork, Dark Angel and Holy Terror and play a number of their records on a regular basis.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Christiaan: I once saw an interview with Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) where he advised drummers to think more like a guitarist rather than a drummer when playing with other musicians. That turned out to be a huge game changer for me. Another thing I learned early on: making music is not a competition. There will always be better, faster, more skilled musicians than you. Who cares?
Practice, practice, practice!. It sounds very obvious but I used to not really care about rudiments but I have personally experienced how much it has helped my playing since I started investing more time and energy in them.

What are your guilty pleasures?
Christiaan: Singing along way too loud to my favorite songs in the car. In the car I’m a cross between Geoff Tate, Michael Kiske and Bruce Dickinson but once out of the car I turn out to be Milli Vanilli. A very strange phenomenon. And another is overeating when I eat Italian. I simply can’t resist it man, it’s divine.

Can you say something more about the current music scene in Groningen?
Christiaan: I don’t follow the developments in the scene that closely anymore, but there are a few bands in the North of the country that caught my attention. Our friends from Oltas are making a name for themselves with their death and stoner metal influenced doom metal. Another band that is doing quite well is the old school death metal band Death Moth. The band is heavily influenced by bands like Bolt Thrower and Obituary. Then there’s Suffering Quota, a great grindcore band with a blend of death metal, crust and hardcore. You really have to check out their latest album »Collide«, It blew me away. Next up is Lies! They play an energetic mix of straight-forward hardcore, heavy breakdowns and thrash metal. They are very successful and just returned from a tour with Madball. I will finish with two relatively new bands that are making themselves known in the scene: Inner Cabala, a prog/post-metal band and Radio Cyanide, an alternative/hardcore punk band Influenced by Dead Kennedys. In my opinion, both bands have a lot of potential.

Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Christiaan: We are currently fully focused on finishing the mixing and mastering of the new album and finding a suitable record company. We are working on a few shows for the fall but I can’t confirm them at this time.

What are your plans for the future as a band?
Christiaan: For the near future: finding a suitable record company and the release of the album. Ideally followed by a short promotional tour. Next year we would like to do some cool shows and play at one or more larger outdoor festivals. And there is already enough inspiration and drive for writing new music. Bring it on.

How can people best support your band?
Christiaan: People can support us by buying our merch and music, coming to our shows and by following us on social media.

Alexander: We are planning to release a single along with a second videoclip medio september! To fill the space before the new album will be released. The videoclip for »The Land Of Silence« was released a month ago and we are lucky to have already 1,4k views.

Do you have any message for your listeners?
Christiaan: I want to thank everyone who supports or has supported the band in any way. I hope our new record will appeal to our old fans but also be noticed by a wider audience. We hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows. Cheers!

Links:
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Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well