INTERVIEW: BLACKBRIAR IN CONVERSATION WITH ZORA COCK AND RENÉ BOXEM
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
No Barriers caught up with Dutch symphonic metal band Blackbriar and spoke to Zora Cock and René Boxem about their amazing and emotionally affective new album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’.
The new album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’ from Blackbriar is an astonishing leap in song writing and musical craft. The band comprising of: Zora Cock (lead singer/lyricist), Bart Hennephof (guitarist), Robin Koezen (guitarist), Siebe Sol Sijpkens (bassist) and René Boxem (drums) have brought together a ten-song cycle of how a relationship, when trust is broken, falls apart.
The lyricism is just amazing with the songs weaving Greek mythology, extended metaphors and imagery of dysfunction and decay with musical instrumentation that perfectly frames the songs and doesn’t miss a beat, as the ethereal voice is floated over the top to maximise the effect. “The inspiration is my life, and sometimes I just get a spark, that brings the song – a spark of inspiration,” said Zora Cock. “It can be frustrating at times. I cannot write for six months – writer’s block – and then other times, like this album, it just all came out the lyrics and the melodies”.
“It was good for me,” said René Boxem. “Because Zora is my inspiration and I get to frame her voice with my music and the instruments from the band. We worked hard at getting that sound right around her voice – because her voice can do crazy things – I wanted it to float over the top of the music”.
Blackbriar’s new album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’ has real depth to it. It is reflected in the fact that the band are writing together. “Yes. We went to a writing camp together. Back to the place where we did a video of our first song ‘Until Eternity’ and stayed for a few days,” stated Zora. “It was great for us to come together and write as a band,” stated René. “We think that the writing process together has made the songs richer. They mean much more to us”.
Blackbriar, after this remarkable album is fully released, will be taking off from October 2025 to perform these new songs on a headline tour across Europe. And, that’s great for Europe, but it would be awesome to see them come to Australia. “We would love to come to Australia,” declared René. “But we are unsure if we are well known enough. It’s a bit of a risk. But we hope in the future, and with this album, that maybe a tour of Australia could happen. We are really looking forward to touring in Europe. Now we just have to make choices about the setlist – which are our favourites? It will be difficult”.
The setlist will take some curating as the ten songs on this new album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’ alone should be heard by fans. There isn’t a weak track on this album. The instruments whip up a musically heavy storm that has a heavenly voice singing through the controlled chaos. It is an album that is just amazing to listen to as it conjures up such vivid sonic and cinematic visions. “Yes,” acknowledged Zora. “The album is darkness and light with a splash of death and despair. It’s about destructive curiosity and were that can lead you. We wanted to make an album that shows us as we are now after ten years together”.
The album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’ does just that. Blackbriar, as a band, have been together for a decade and that maturity and skill in crafting music shines through. It’s heavy but ethereal. Its melodic with dissonance. It’s dark and light. It’s beautifully conceived and written: musically and lyrically. Don’t miss this album – it’s a wonder!
‘A Thousand Little Deaths’ will be released on 22 August 2025 via Nuclear Blast Records.
For those who cannot wait for the album to officially drop, the singles ‘The Fossilized Widow’, ‘Floriography’, ‘I Buried Us’ and ‘Harpy’ are available now on all good streaming services.
