Diamond is made under the earth’s surface under high pressure and with a lot of energy. Probably a recognizable process for the four members of rock/metal band Traversus. The band members embarked on a musical journey a few years ago to find out who they were and what they wanted.
That time and energy can be heard on the EP, released in early September The Only Way Is Through. Their diamond after a long journey.
“We just wanted to be more serious about our music,” says singer Madelief de Groot. The other band members, guitarist Joey Wessels, drummer Liam de Groot and bassist Mika Linde, felt the same way. A name change was also part of that. Insane Deliriumas the band was first called, no longer fit and became Traversus. “It is a contraction of the English word traverse, which means to cross, and versus, as in: to stand opposite something,” she explains.
The search for what the band wants to radiate has been quite successful. “I have the feeling that we were still a bit immature at the time. Then you try to imitate your idols a bit, so it’s not all super original. We have that idea now. We have found more of our own sound,” says the singer. “It has a bit of everything. It can be very rough and very subdued.”
That own sound can be clearly heard on the EP, says Madelief. “It’s a bit between hard rock and metal. Sometimes it’s a little more metal, sometimes it’s a little more hard rock. It also has a progressive edge.” According to the singer, the choruses of the songs are a bit more pop and that makes it digestible for a wider audience.
“The EP is actually the conclusion of the process we have experienced as a band over the past two years,” says Madelief. The musical journey makes Traversus sound like Traversus. “In the end we recorded it all and we are very happy with that. It is really a kind of statement that we want to make as a band: this is it and we are here now.”
The last single, which is also on the EP, is also a statement. “It is an important song for me. There is a lot of emotion in it,” Madelief explains. “Dirty rich stinkers who take everything from us, who think they are very cool and who tell us what to do. Actually, with this song we want to say: fuck that, you don’t have to do that at all. You don’t have to participate in that and you can just be yourself.”