Doomed Confessionary: Joey Veerbeek (Goatizm)
Goatizm is a stoner rock solo project by Joey Veerbeek, known for his work with Caedere, Syncardion and Goatmilker.
Hailing from Deest, Netherlands, Goatizm just released debut album »Solace In The Abyss« on May 17th, 2024. This unique blend of stoner rock and metal with a grungy twist will captivate fans of Orange Goblin, Belzebong, and Alice In Chains.
Goatizm’s inception came from Joey’s desire to explore personal lyrics and a new vocal style, departing from his death metal roots. The result is a raw, authentic sound that showcases Joey’s versatility as a musician. Despite his modesty about his singing abilities, Joey’s raspy rock vocals perfectly complement the gritty, powerful music of Goatizm.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Hey, first of all thanks for having me and cool to be heard in Slovenia!!! Yeah i started this a couple of months ago, it’s a one man band/project, i got some Stoner inspired riffs and some lyrics that are emotionally connected, i write death metal and do growling most of the time, i started to sing more and i think it worked out well for this type of music.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Recording the vocals haha, i’m used to do death metal vocals and record everything in one take but I definitely needed more takes on clean vocals haha so the recording process was less fun than recording death metal.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Everything man, most of the lyrics were finished after a shitty time in my life, it was a hard time and 2 years later I decided to write music for it and it all glues together so well!! Also some collaborations on the album makes me very proud, my dad recorded some guitarparts which is very cool, 2 friends from my band Syncardion collaborated, Rob recorded the most beautiful and recognisable solo for »Face In The Crowd« and Raymond who just started mixing and mastering did a phenominal job to make this album sound the way it does now, and for me it sounds perfect!!!
What was your biggest regret?
Marry my ex-wife haha or does is have to be about music?? Then I don’t have regrets, music is my life and I’m proud of everything it brought me till this day!!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Hmmm I have a lot… as a musician every show with my band Caedere is a banger, with Syncardion in Musicon Den Haag.. I hope maybe someday I can do live shows if I can find some members to make Goatizm as a band.
As a fan, every Aeon show was badass, thats my favourite band!! Unfortunately they don’t have a drummer for years now…
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
That there are still a lot of young metal fans while theres a lot of electronical music on that tiktok hype.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Bermuda – »Use Your Burdens«, Four Question Marks – »Aleph«, Alice In Chains – »Dirt«, Metallica – »Load« and a greatest hits CD from Alan Jackson (not heavy though).
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Don’t do it for money, do your own thing and have fun!!!
What are your guilty pleasures?
Country music is pretty much a no go for metalheads…. I listen to The Mavericks and Alan Jackson a lot, Hall & Oates and a lot of 80’s music.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Deest / Netherlands?
It’s not living very much, but in my little town we got a amazing festival Zeeltje Rock and it’s growing bigger every year!! Really amazing!!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’ve got some cool gigs coming with my band Caedere, in August/September we play a full weekend and this year we play at Malta Deathfest!!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Yeah like I said, it would be fun to make a full band out of this project and see what I’m capable of as a live singer, but for now it’s just a studio project and I’m busy writing new songs for my band Caedere, my other solo project Goatmilker and I’m writing some acoustic country songs too.
How can people best support your band?
Like my FB page, give some reviews about my music and hook me up if you need someone to join your project if you need a bass player or singer for album recordings haha that would be fun!!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you so much for listening, I only got amazing response so far so I’m very grateful and who knows what the future brings for Goatizm….
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well