The Netherland's djenting beasts, and our favorites at it, CiLiCe; have finally found a new highly dynamic frontman in Bryan Ramage! After former vocalist Daniël de Jongh split with the band to join fellow dutch metallers TEXTURES. The wait is finally over, as the band released a re-recorded version of the song "Left and Right Hemisphere" (taken from the band's beyond killer 2009 release "Deranged Headtrip") with new singer Bryan Ramage, who gives a crushing good performance handling the song.

The video was shot during the band's "Mini Mammoth UK tour 2010" showcasing the band's solid new line-up live, as well as including a few tripped out "in-house" shots. Gotta love CiLiCe's videos!

I can't wait! for some new material with Bryan, I want to see what he's got in store for CiLiCe in the future. As with a full line up, only the lords of djent know what CiLiCe is capable of causing to this world.

[CiLiCe's "Mental Breakdown" is featured on our digital compilation album "Metality: The Compilation" along with 24 other bands from around the world, available here]

CiLiCe are the progressive metal mammoth from the Netherlands who were recently featured on our digital compilation album. The band truly bring on the Djent! and with their 2009 release "Derranged Headtrip" the guys caught the media's ears and left it ringing in mind numbing brutality.

We got the chance to interview the band's awesome guitarist and song writer Theo Holsheimer, to discuss CiLiCe's sound, how the guys got together, the band's future material, slaughterhouses and Italian women, among many other topics. Theo, also talks about their current frontman situation, and how they have a new guy, and that they are happy to work with him, but did not let the cat out of the bag yet on who it is.

Here's how it went:

Spiritcrusher: Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to take this interview. Since CiLiCe is still a pretty new band, why don't you tell us a little bit more about how you guys met and what the circumstances were like at the time.

Theo: It all started about 4 years ago. Me and Remko, the other guitar player in CILICE, were band members from the dutch gothic metal band Orphanage. We had written a lot of cool music which didn't fit in Orphanage, so when the band split up it was time to move on and start something new.

In Daniel de Jongh we found our lead singer, who was active in the club scene with Smogus, a crossover band. Our drummer Philipp Moser came all the way from Germany to study drums at the Conservatorium Amsterdam. After he graduated at the jazz department it was time for him to rock, to show his brutal side hehe...



Spiritcrusher: CiLiCe generalizes itself as "mad math metal" music. Your music is certainly very creative. What are your influences? Do you all listen to similar bands, or incorporate all your different tastes into the band?

Theo: “It’s pretty hard to describe our music so we described it as “mad math metal”... but I hope a lot of people will find out about us in the future and the name CILICE will stand for itself.” We are pretty open minded and listen to all kinds of music. Miles Davis, Ennio Morricone, Strapping Young Lad and the list goes on and on, it's all awesome.

But you can say our main influence is Meshuggah. We like the rhythmic concept they use but we ain't about copying riffs and song structures. The whole process of writing songs comes very natural to us. It all starts as any other song which is written in the world. It begins with a riff or a good beat and then you start building.



Spiritcrusher: "Deranged Headtrip" was released in 2009 and is considerably successful among critics. What are your plans next? Are you currently working on a second album?

Theo: Yeah, the critics on our album Deranged Headtrip were overwhelming. We didn't have any expectations at all and we are very happy with the fact that people love the album. Our main focus right now is working on the new album, so we are in a writing procces. The new album will sound huge, but different for sure.

Since Daniel left the band for Textures we're gonna work with another vocalist. I can't say that much about it yet, but we are very happy with the new guy we're gonna work with.



Spiritcrusher: "Mental Breakdown" is one of 28 songs on the Metality Compilation album! Have you downloaded and checked out some of the other bands? If so, have you enjoyed any of the other underground bands in particular?

Theo: Sure, it's a good thing the "Metality Compilation" and other compilation initiatives do exist. It's good to discover bands you wouldn't have known otherwise.



Spiritcrusher: How has the metal scene evolved in Holland? We know it has always been active with various metal festivals, such as Pinkpop Festival. Is it a very competitive scene for underground bands there?

Theo: We've got a lot of cool metal/metalcore bands in Holland. There are a lot of venues and festivals, but unfortantly the money is very bad, because the metal/metalcore scene is still considered as underground. It's a competitive scene like everywhere I think, everybody is looking for gigs. Bookers have a lot of choise what bands they would like to play in their venue.



Spiritcrusher: You guys have pretty much toured where most bands of the same experience dream of touring! Which country has been your favorite so far and why?

Theo: That's right, our tour schedules were pretty intense over the past three years. In all countries we toured, about 26 now and still counting, we had great experiences and met wonderful people. Brazil was a fantastic experience. It has a great underground scene, although it's pretty old school and we are not.

But one of my favorite countries to tour is Italy, because of the delicious food, you can't beat their cappuccino's and of course ... the women hehe...



Spiritcrusher: Which band is your dream band to tour with?

Theo: Hard to say, there are so many great bands on this planet. Touring with Pantera would be awesome, but for that we've to get back in time at least 10 years. Touring with Nine inch Nails would be awesome or Meshuggah, they are true pioneers, respect!



Spiritcrusher: Any funny stories while touring you would like to share with us?

Theo: We did this memorable gig at 'The Bringer Death Festival' in Germany. On our way to the gig, we came all the way from Poland, we got a flat tire, so we arrived late. When we finally arrived at the festival we found it surprising that all bands and the organizers were waiting for us.

The organizers didn’t arrange any backline at all and they were relying on us, without? Really strange ‘cause it was quite a big festival in a sports hall with a thousand of people. Even more surprisingly when the program started we found out this festival was all about grindcore! So we were the only band without pig noises and constant blastbeats.

Playing for a grindcore audience that only wants to hear noises from the slaughterhouse, is quite an experience, haha. Speaking of slaughterhouses, after a gig in Belgrado we stayed in a former slaughterhouse, how metal is that hehe...


Spiritcrusher: As a young and rising band, I thought I'd give you a subjective question: what does music mean to you?

Theo: I can't think of a life without music.



Spiritcrusher: Do you have any other passions in life apart from music?

Theo: Hanging out with friends, traveling.



Spiritcrusher: Any advice to give to young bands and musicians who are trying to make it into the rock and metal music business?

Theo: If you are in a band, respect each other and set goals. Be patience and don’t be passive. Sitting on your ass waiting for people who come up to you is a waste of time, because they simply won’t. Get on the road as soon as possible, record an album, let people know about your band. If you are not in a band and have a strong vision what kind of music you wanna play, write songs and look out for people who have the same vision.



Spiritcrusher: Any final words to Metality readers?

Theo: We love to see ya all out there at our concerts, bang your head, go nutz and party with us, hell yeah!’

If you don't know about CILICE, check out our album Deranged Headtrip, there are a shitload of sites where you can download our album, like CDBaby, iTunes etc. etc. Some samples you can find on http://www.myspace.com/cilicemusic. Horns up!

Make sure to check out the band's latest video for the song "Mental Breakdown," which was released exclusively for our compilation album "Metality - The Compilation," (available here).

Metality.net is proud to announce the release of the blog's first digital album "METALITY - The Compilation."

The digital release is a free giveaway, celebrating the blog's 1000th post. The album includes bands from all around the world, and also features the release of an exclusive video by Dutch progressive metal band CiLiCe for the song "Mental Breakdown" that will leave your head buzzing in awe.

The album is available for streaming below and is also available through online record label METALHIT.com, where you can download the songs individually or download all tracks in 2 parts.

The compilation includes bands that have been featured before on the blog, which are personal favorites, as well as new comers that are already favorites as well (pointing at Neosis).

METALITY - The Compilation includes the following track list: (Cover art, and flyers are designed by NEW BREED STUDIO)

1. THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL - Lords of War [U.S.] (Sponsored by BareBones Music)
2. FOMENTO - [Italy] The Die Is Cast
3. NEOSIS - [Switzerland] Unwilling Fate
4. NERVECELL - [U.A.E.] Vicious Circle Of Bloodshed
5. NORTHER - [Finland] Break Myself Away
6. DEMONIC RESURRECTION - The Unrelenting Surge Of Vengeance [India] Winners of "The Global Metal Award" at METAL HAMMER's Golden Gods Award (Sponsored by Vengeance Music) (Visit Candlelight Records and Demonstealer Records on Facebook)
7. DAYLIGHT DIES - A Portrait In White [U.S.] (Visit Candlelight Records on Facebook)
   
8. SCARAB - War To End [Egypt]
   
9. CILICE - Mental Breakdown [Netherlands]
   
10. EMPYREON - Beyond Perception [U.S.]
    
11. MANTRIC - Symptoms [Norway]
    
12. BREEZE Of The Dying - FOA Act II [K.S.A.]
    
13. DREAMSHADE - Our Buried Secrets [Switzerland]
    
14. CHROMIUM - All I Have [South Africa] (Sponsored by: LT MAG and Turning Tricks Entertainment)
15. BENEVOLENT - Haunting Shores [Kuwait] (Sponsored by: Rockability)
16. A THOUSAND REASONS - Strength and Fight [Italy]
    
17. WARTHANE - Lord Oblivion [South Africa] (Sponsored by: LT MAG)
18. VOICE OF THE SOUL - Farewell To Hope [Kuwait] (Sponsored by: Rockability)
19. COAT OF ARMS - Ballad of the Mariner [U.A.E.]
    
20. PAURA - Scars Of Life [Brazil]
    
21. BILOCATE - Inoculate [Jordan] (Sponsored by: JorZine)
    
22. CRESCENT - Jerusalem [Egypt]
    
23. POSTMORTEM - Whispers Of Ages [Lebanon] (Sponsored by: LebMetal)
24. A SHOT OF ADRENALINE - The Human Plague [U.A.E.]
    
25. DEPTH - Memento Mori [Kuwait] (Sponsored by: Rockability)

There is also 3 bonus tracks available on the "download" version of the album, including:

1. KILL THE ROMANCE - Trespasser
2. THE CROW MURDER - Doubt (Sponsored by METALITY UAE)
3. BLACKWELL - Deliverance

Copy the link below, to embedded the player onto your Facebook page:

http://www.mixpod.com/playlist/61738005

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A personal side note:

I really hope you guys enjoy the album and the diverse line up of bands it has to offer. All the bands on the release deserve your full support.

This project has taken about 4 month to finish, initially it was planned out as a 2 month project, but there was a good amount of surprises that kept pushing the release date, which also meant that work on the blog had to be slowed down to make ends meet, but ultimately I'm really proud of the outcome and the support it has received during the making, and really hope everyone will keep supporting the album after they listen in.

It's a free giveaway, all we want in return is for you guys to support these talented bands, visit their sites, check out more of their music, and if you think they kick ass, buy yourself a CD or a t-shirt, tell you're friends about them, post their links to you're Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or other social networking accounts, and make sure to visit Metality because that's where you'll find all their latest updates along with our coverage of all that is Metal from around the world.

A Huge THANK YOU To:

All our promotional partners for their support and for contributing to their respective scenes in the utmost professional matter.

BareBones Music Network
LT Mag
Turning Tricks Management
METALITY UAE
Rockability
JorZine
LebMetal
Vengeance Music
Turning Tricks Entertainment

Spirit Crusher who is officially a part of the Metality Crew, for all his help and support during this project, and for the great writing over the past couple of months. You will certainly be seeing a lot more material from him (and his band).

New Breed Studio for designing the cover art, and flyers for the album. The guys have been more then friendly to work with over the course of this project, and made sure that we get the most satisfying results.

Thank you all for taking the time to visit the blog, and for supporting the album, keep an eye out for the next METALITY release.

iRoar Head [Admin/Founder]

Dutch prog metallers CiLiCe have released a new video for the song "Mental Breakdown" for the blog's upcoming compilation album.

The song comes from the band's excellent 2009 release "Deranged Headtrip" which is available for ordering through the band's official merch store, there is packages including one of two awesome t-shirts, or another that comes with a long sleeved shirt.

The video for Mental Breakdown features some great live performance footage, which was produced by Arnoo Videoproducties.

Make sure to check out CiLiCe on Myspace