Doomed Confessionary: Erik & Brecht (Dorre)

Belgian psychedelic post-metal band Dorre has been captivating audiences with their unique sound and intense live performances for over 10 years. Blending heavy music with subtle genre influences, Dorre creates an immersive experience.

Their upcoming EP, »Fortress«, set for release on February 22nd, 2025 via Lay Bare Recordings, showcases their most ambitious work yet. Evolving from an instrumental duo to a quintet with vocals, Dorre has maintained their distinctive style and creative growth, combining heavy riffs with a haunting, psychedelic edge.

Dorre consists of Adriaan De Raymaeker (rhythm guitar), Wolf Overloop (drums), Erik Heyns (lead guitar), Jan Greveraars (bass) and Brecht De Rooms (vocals).

Can you say a few words about your band?
Dorre is a psychedelic post-metal five-piece from the city Leuven in Belgium. We blend heavy music with subtle genre influences to craft an atmospheric experience. Since our start in 2008, we’ve always delivered an instrumental mix of stoner rock, post rock, psychedelic rock, and doom metal. Over the last two years, we introduced vocals and incorporated more post-metal elements, along with some jazzy fragments. Given the range of styles and the addition of clean vocals (occasionally harsher), we find it hard to pin down our influences. With the current line-up we could say that we sound somewhat as if ISIS were to be reanimated by The Necromancers.

What was the biggest challenge for the band?
We’ve had some small breaks – life tends to take precedence, as you know. Beyond that, incorporating vocals into a band that had functioned for over 10 years as purely instrumental was a challenge. Initially, I think it’s fair to say everyone had doubts about whether it could work – including our vocalist, Brecht. In the end, though, we’re quite happy with how things have evolved, and the audience’s reactions seem to confirm that they appreciate the new sound. At first, we could only get an indication of this from the feedback at our live shows, but the initial reviews of our upcoming EP, »Fortress« – such as the one by Outlaws Of The Sun – are undeniably affirming this.

What can you be most proud of so far?
While we can’t speak for the entire band, we truly believe our upcoming EP, »Fortress«, is our most complex work to date. We have worked and reworked these songs for quite some time and have probably invested more time in them than in any of our other work so far. We’re thrilled that this work also resonated with Lay Bare Records, who will be releasing it. Beyond that, we’ve had the pleasure of performing at some amazing shows recently, including opening for Villages Of Ioannina City. With the new release and our collaboration with Lay Bare, we’re confident that 2025 will be a remarkable year and one we’ll look back on with pride.

What was your biggest regret?
Brecht: At a certain moment we were invited to play at the Alcatraz festival in Belgium. Given that it’s the second biggest metal festival in Belgium it’s quite a cool fest to play. However, one of our members was not in the country at that time so we couldn’t accept this opportunity. But who knows, we have contacted them again, maybe next year 😉

Erik: Not having learned to play the saxophone.

What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Erik: We did a great 2 week tour through Europe with Danish doomsters Bethmoora joining us on week one. This was for the promotion of our split album with them.
Also many fond memories from the times we went to play some amazing places in the UK and meeting lots of wonderful, weird and welcoming people along the road.

Photo credit: brothersinraw.com

What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Erik: That, despite the neverending, crushing fist of commercialization and mainstream pop industry, the underground community keeps on trying to push boundaries and helps people connect with each other from all over the world, across borders, beliefs and biases. Holding a bond for the people that truly appreciate music made from a genuine drive to expand horizons and feed into the creative mold of shared experiences.

What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Brecht: An album I keep returning to is »Beyond The Reach Of The Sun« by Anciients. It’s in my opinion a masterful fusion of stoner and melodic metal, an incredible balance of heaviness and melody. What stands out to me, as a singer striving to blend multiple vocal techniques, is the atmosphere they create by seamlessly integrating harsh vocals with ethereal cleans. That combination creates a kind of emotional roller-coaster story-telling which I really appreciate in music.

Erik: Really been into Gösta Berlings Saga the last few months. It was recommended to me by my good friend Peter Brems, who’s been a DJ for as long as I can remember. He will also be spinning records again at Down The Hill festival this year.
Some other bands I really dig most of the time and pop up a lot in my playlists are Kaleidobolt, Black Mountain, Motorpsycho and Rose Kemp’s incredible albums »Unholy Majesty« and »Golden Shroud«.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Brecht: don’t try too hard. When making music – whether as an instrumentalist or, even more so, as a singer – you need to focus on telling a story and live in that moment. Pushing yourself too hard often leads to frustration, blocking your creativity and making it harder to convey your message convincingly. I believe Erik and I both read Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being, which delves into this concept – albeit in a rather esoteric manner. The book emphasizes that creativity isn’t about forcing results but about embracing a natural flow, allowing ideas to surface organically and take shape in their own time. Whether the book’s more esoteric view’s are true, nobody knows, but I strongly believe that a relaxed mental state is crucial to create good music that resonates with people.

Erik: Don’t judge your own skills too fast and don’t try to compare yourself too much. It can be daunting to watch the ultra fast technical players on the web, but I would advise anyone to just try to play music you enjoy listening to, and work your way from there.

What are your guilty pleasures?
Erik: I still enjoy playing SNES games from time to time.

Brecht: Rhythm games like RagnaRock or Crypt Of The NecroDancer, music-wise you’ll also often find me secretly listening to pirate metal, power metal or metal blended with electronic music such as Electric Callboy, Igorrr, Beast In Black, Master Boot Record. While I work I quite often listen to synthwave for example.

Can you say something more about current music scene in Leuven / Belgium?
Erik: For most artists, it’s hard to get out there and be seen. There’s a lot of opportunities though, and in Belgium we are spoiled with lots of great big and smaller venues. So overall I wouldn’t complain about the state of the music scenes in Belgium right now, but it’s definitely a lot different from say 10, 15 years ago. I have no idea how I would feel being a young, starting musician in these weird times.

Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We will play in our hometown for our release show this Saturday. In the coming months we’ll play quite some shows all over Belgium but these dates are still being finalized.

What are your plans for the future as a band?
Our plans for the future are ambitious yet focused. After 15 years of creative growth, we feel Dorre is ready to take the next step. With »Fortress«, our most challenging and refined work yet, we aim to reach a wider audience and push ourselves creatively and professionally. We found a style which we can continue to experiment in without losing our identity and that’s what we’ll continue to do.

We’re planning a release tour, starting with shows closer to home in Belgium, the Netherlands, and nearby regions, focusing on weekend dates to maximize turnout while balancing sustainability. Later in the year, we hope to expand further into Germany, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe.

We’re also targeting key festivals like Desertfest, Freak Valley, and Roadburn to showcase »Fortress« on bigger stages. Hopefully we can grow further, experiment further, and take on new opportunities in the years ahead.

How can people best support your band?
Spread the word and come to our shows. And, of course, like all other bands we benefit from merch sales which keeps the costs in check. Share our music with your fellow riff lovers and spliff rollers.

Do you have any message for your listeners?
Dear listeners, both long-time supporters and those new to our music,

Thank you for being part of our journey. If you’re in Belgium, we warmly invite you to our release show on February 22, 2025, at JH Sojo in Leuven. It promises to be a special night as we bring »Fortress« to life on stage, revisit some of our older instrumental tracks now enhanced with vocals, and share the stage with Absinth, a doom/sludge band from Charleroi known for creating massive soundscapes.

For those unable to attend, we hope you like the digital release of our EP »Fortress« which will soon appear on Bandcamp: dorre.bandcamp.com. Hopefully you can immerse yourself in the music and enjoy it as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it. We’re eager to take this record on the road and dream of performing in your country soon. Stay connected with us, and let’s make it happen together!

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube

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