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Text: Horst
 Hammerhawk – Breaks Loose
A band that was very much around in the Dutch club circuit twenty years ago was Hammerhawk, hailing from the northwest of Holland. The band was founded in 1982 and within a few years time they were commonly known as “the Dutch Motörhead”, thanks to the Lemmy-like vocals from singer/bassplayer Thijs. The EP ‘Breaks Loose’ (1984) was Hammerhawk’s first ever recording that made it to vinyl, after the band put out a bunch of demos in 1982 ad 1983. Musicwise it was all rather simple heavy metal, clearly influenced by what was going on in England during the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal era. This is best illustrated by the original tracks from ‘Breaks Loose’, their first demo recordings from 1982 (of which two tracks made it to this album) and the live track ‘Run For Your Freedom’. My own personal favourite however is the more recent tune ‘Steel’, which was recorded in 1991 for a local sampler album entitled ‘IJmond Pop’, and sounds more like the American speed metal from those days.
Solely for the sake of nostalgia this re-release is quite a success, but when it comes to the music I am not so enthusiastic. All good intentions aside the band never was a real high roller in the heavy metal world, and during all the years of their existence (the band broke up in 2003) they never made it out of the grey sea of mediocrity. However, their club shows are still imprinted in my memory, for that always was great friendly and violent fun.
Tracklist:
1. Discovery (Breaks Loose EP)
2. One By One (Breaks Loose EP)
3. High Score (Breaks Loose EP)
4. Chinatown Braindamage
5. Low Rider (Recording sessions 1982)
6. White Hot Steel (Recording sessions 1982)
7. Run For Your Freedom (Live)
8. Steel (IJmond Pop CD)
What was Hammerhawk all about? Former singer/bassplayer Thijs (also known as Maniac) tells the story…
Almost every metal band is started by guys or girls who are metal fans themselves, and I guess you were no exception to that rule. Who or what made you pick up the instruments yourself and why?
First I was fascinated by my dad playing in a jazz band and then I listened to Deep Purple and I picked up a bass guitar of a friend of mine and I could play ‘Smoke On The Water’. That’s when it all started, at that time I was about 13 years of age.
Your first official EP ‘Breaks Loose’ was released in 1984. How did the Dutch metal scene look like in those days?
It was fantastic, those days will never return I guess. I have never seen such crazy fans in my live. These days people are all playing cool while in the 80s people went mad hearing bands play. Heavy Metal was more alive then it is now.
How did it feel like, holding your first ever record in your hand?
First we looked at some porno with the Hammerhawk manager at the record company, then we got the record in our hands and it was great. After that we went back watching porno again.
What did you expect from it? Did you secretly hoped for worldwide success, or was selling a couple of hundred already satisfactory?
Being a famous and milionair is always a dream for us poor musicians!
Did the release of ‘Breaks Loose’ help you to gain more media attention and gigs?
Yeah it did.
What was the final result of the release? Did it open new doors for the band (like in cool record deals), or did it not make a real difference in the end?
We got a record deal at Overdrive records and recorded the album ‘Welcome Home (we expected you)’. But the record company went broke so we had to do it on our own again.
What happened to the band after when the buzz of this first release was over? Was it like you felt having to starting from scratch again?
No, we always had something going on. Playing gigs, going to the States, touring with The Mentors, writing and recording songs. Just fun.
Your career obviously did not stop after this first release. Can you tell us in a nutshell what happened to the band the years after?
We have a history of 23 years of playing with Hammerhawk and a lot happened in that period. We recorded several cd’s and did do some projects with other bands like The Mentors. We even participated in recording a song with Ome Henk. That was lots of fun.
 What where the absolute highlights in your career?
When Bart fell backward in the drum-kit of Raymond while playing on stage. I killed myself laughing!!
And what were the absolute lows in your career?
When the band split up in 2003. Sad but true!
Do you have any regrets whatsoever, and are there things you would have done differently if you could do it again?
No, not really. Things happen and I have no time to look back.
If there is one piece of fatherly advice you could give to young dudes who think of starting a metal band, what would that be?
Never get married. *cough*. Don’t even have a girlfriend. *cough cough*. And spend all your time playing your music and remove all distractions. And if any of your band-members does not listen to you, KICK ‘M OUT!!! That’s if you wanna be famous.
I am sure you have seen a lot of weird stuff in the years you were in the band. What is your favourite anecdote from those days?
One of the weird things was playing with the disco band Time Bandits, even the audience we were playing for was all disco but weird enough they loved us. After the show we had to sign the boobs and butts of the disco chicks there.
What are the guys from the band doing nowadays? Are you all still active in the music bizz or are some of you living the normal civilian live?
We are all still playing music. Bart and I put together a new band called No Class. More about that later.
Well, this raps it up for now. If you have anything to say or add, the space below is yours…
I hope to see the old Hammerhawk fans soon on No Class gigs. And for now I am gonna have a beer. CHEERS !!!!
http://www.hammerhawk.com
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