In terms of bizarre musical ideas, indie for metal fans is right up there. But the healing process between the tribes might just have been given a kickstart in Belgium of all places.
“Yeah, indie for metalheads, you heard me right,” laughs Ronker vocalist and guitarist Jasper De Petter. “You could almost say that we’re the Arctic Monkeys trying to play Slayer.”
Let’s back up a minute. Formed during lockdown in 2020 when the members were feeling the frustrations of not being able to tour with their various bands, Ronker were initially nothing more than an outlet to shake off the grim reality of being trapped indoors.
“We all come from a world of post-rock and melancholic indie,” Jasper tells us. “During lockdown, I just couldn’t get my head around the situation, so when we got in a room, we started to play that music, but it came out with so much frustration and anger it was just like…”
Indie fans playing metal? “Exactly.”
Having realised that they were getting more from their new side-project than they were their other bands, Ronker became the members’ number one concern. Superb second album Respect the Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever comes on like Every Time I Die fist-fighting Franz Ferdinand with Idles as the special guest referee. It’s a weird mix, with Jasper happily describing Ronker as “heavy, cathartic music”. He also credits his sobriety as a big reason for his band’s sound.
“I used to write fucked-up,” he shrugs. “But I wrote this last album sober. I learned a lot about songwriting and opening up – it focuses your mind, it made me more pointed, more blunt. Which, I believe, in turn makes it heavier.”
Whatever the genre, making it heavier is always an approach we approve of. Welcome, boys.
Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever is out now via Labelman.
Sounds Like: Idles refereeing a cage-match between Arctic Monkeys and Slayer
For Fans Of: Idles, Refused, The Chariot