1.Hello Dyonice please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hello, I’m Dyonice, also known as Zwetwezen. I’m half Greek, half Belgian.
I was born and raised in the Flemish (Dutch speaking) side of Belgium.
I work as a graphic designer and a man artist and musician in my free time.
2.When did you first discover Metal music and who were the first artists and bands that you listened to?Who are some current bands and artists that you have been listening to?
Well, I kinda grew up on hard rock and metal music. My dad is a record collector and
listened to all kinds of music. My very first metal bands were Black Sabbath, Judas Priest,
Iron Maiden and many more. Currently I’m listening a lot to Ars Veneficium, Grausamkeit
and much of old school LLN.
3.When did you first become interested in performing and writing music?
Eversince I was a kid, as long as I can remember.
4.What are the instruments that you currenly play?Are their any instruments that you would like to learn to play one day?
Guitar, bass, synths, drums, recorder and flute. But the double bass drumming I can not do
for a long time anymore. Because of several surgeries on my legs, I had to let that go. So
mostly the double bass is made with drummachines. Instruments I like to learn in the future
are violin, cello and saxophone.
5.Are you self taught or did you take lessons when first starting out? Who would you say are your biggest influences and have they remained the same over the years?
Yes, I am self taught. My biggest early influences were Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Slayer, but also some non metal music. Most of them are still influences, but of course over the years many other bands and musicians were added, especially Black Metal bands such as Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Moonblood, Bathory, …
6. Zwetwezen was started back in 1998 what gave you the idea to start this band? How did you choose Zwetwezen as the band name and does it have a special meaning?
I always wanted a band of my own. After several attempts trying to form a band with some friends, I decided to do it all by myself. I figured I can already play all the instruments needed for a Black Metal band, so why not? The name Zwetwezen is Flemish dialect for black creature. At first Zwetwezen was called Black Creature, in 2001 I changed it to Zwetwezen. It doesn’t really have a special meaning.
7.Who would you say have been the bands biggest influences over the years? How would you best describe your musicial project?
I would have to say in the latest years it would be Grausamkeit, Moonblood, all of LLN and some old electronic artists such as Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Klaus Schulze, … and of
Course classical music. I would describe my project as Experimetal Ambient Black Metal.
But I leave everyone free to describe it how they want.
8.I believe you are the sole member of Zwetwezen when you started out did you plan to work as a solo project or would you like to work with more musicians on future recordings?
Yes, I pretty much planned on keeping it a onemansband. Especially since I’ve worked with other musicians in the late 90’s and early 00’s in bands such as Ketter, Hellig and Warbeast. It always has lead to trouble for me. And now after being a onemansband fors o many years, I definitly have no plans to add more musicians in my band.
9.Lord Of MisRule is the latest release that will be released through Blasphemous Creations Of Hell and Plague Demon Rec.When did you first come into contact with these labels?
Well, I’ve been good friends with Chuck of Blasphemous Creations of Hell Records since 2013. He always liked my music, so in 2019 he suggested to release a Zwetwezen album. Of course I agreed and later that year Swords of Evil was released. And you, Patrick, I also know through Chuck. You and Plague Demon Records were introduced to me last year, with the release of the album All Turns to Dust.
10.How long did it take you to write the music for the new release? How long would you say it takes to complete one song?
The writing all together took me about a month. Completing a song depends, some I have finished in a day, others took me about a week. It depends on my own satisfaction of the result.
11.Besides the upcoming Lord Of Mis Rule release are the bands previous releases still availible for the readers to purchase? Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently availible if yes what is availible and where can the readers purchase it?
Well, for the albums Swords of Evil, Wrath of Satan and All Turns to Dust you can go to the website of Blasphemous Creations of Hell Records, where you also can get in touch with Chuck if you want any merchandise. My debut album Absolute Destruction (2014) sadly is not available anymore, the record label that released it stopped in 2017.
12.Besides working with Zwetwezen do you currently work with any other bands or solo projects?
Yes, I have quite quite a few side projects. These are: Ketter (split in 1999), Hellig, Warbeast (stopped in 2018), Verwelkt, Irkalla, Christopher, AngstRit (stopped recently in 2022), Veneficus (stopped in 2019), Neww Definition (electronic new wave project), Dyonice Zacharioudakis (ambient, classical), Nigra Mala and a one time black ambient project Dalkhu (only one demo in 2019). Most of this music can be found on Youtube.
13. Zwetwezen comes out of Belgium's Metal scene what is your opinion of the scene in Belgium over the years?
There are some great bands in the scene. Of course the old famous ones such as Ancient Rites, Lugubrum and Enthroned. But through the years there have been some excellent bands down here. I suggest people to search some Belgian Black Metal on the internet and give it a try.
14.Who are your all-time favorite bands and artists coming out of Belgium?Are their any new bands that you feel the readers should check out soon?
Well, these are not all BM bands, but I would say Ancient Rites, Enthroned, Lugubrum, Aborted, Front 242, The Neon Judgement, Nacht und Nebel, TC Matic, Luc Van Acker and some more. A great BM band that hs been around since 2013, Ars Veneficium sure is worth to check out.
15,When you need to take a break from working on new music or band business what do you like to do in your free time?
Painting, drawing, reading and watch movies. I especially love to read books about Mythology, Demonology and Magick.
16.Thank you Dyonice for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
You’re most welcome, Patrick. To the readers, simply, never give up, always go forward and never let anyone tell you you can’t succeed in your course. Destroy all that tries to stop you. Zwetwezen contact https://www.facebook.com/Zwetwezen Blasphemous Creations Of Hell Rec. https://bchrecords.storenvy.com/ https://blasphemouscreationsofhellrecords1.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/blasphemouscreationsofhellrecords/ https://www.instagram.com/b.c.h.records/ Plague Demon Rec. https://plaguedemonrecords.storenvy.com/ https://plaguedemonrecords.bandcamp.com/music https://www.facebook.com/Plaguedemonrecords.net/ https://www.instagram.com/namtar.axarcuth/?hl=en
