Metal Anarchy

Time for the next edition of Metal Anarchy’s “new music showcase,” the feature where I introduce you to artists that readers of this site may find interesting. This time I have a Q&A with Peel.

METAL ANARCHY: Tell me a little about your band:

PEEL: We are quite an unknown band in the music industry even with twenty plus solid years behind us;we’re still going strong – in fact we feel stronger than ever! We are known for our focus on melodies and Pim’s lyrics that celebrate skinned knees, bruised hearts and dislocated souls.

We kicked off our career early this millennium with a self-titled album released on Edel Records/Playground Music with songs such as “Natalie Somewhere”, “Breathe”, “Comes Down…OK” and “Neverending”. These songs got airplay all over the world, and the video for “Natalie Somewhere” made it to second place on MTV’s Top Nordic Charts, as well as the sales charts in Norway.

2008 saw the release of the dark and almost heavy “Die in June EP”, which spawned singles such as “(Falling from)Grace”, “Die in June” and the pop anthem “Second Man on the Moon”.

The following years we released a couple of singles: “Too Deep” which did well on German radio to such a degree that a re-release of “Natalie Somewhere” saw the light of day. These singles were followed up by “Given Time”. In 2108 we released the critically acclaimed and praised concept album “Ghosts and Shadows”, which made “album of the month” in the Netherlands, and included several singles such as “Like Sand” and “(We Are) The Wheel”. “End of summer EP”, was released in 2019. The EP merged the raw “kick you in the face” attitude from grunge rock with sweet and mesmerising electro-pop in true Peel “less-is-bore” spirit. The song “Boy with the Oxygen Mask” found its way to several playlists and a video was released for the song.

The single “Better off Alone” hit the streaming service and online music stores in autumn 2021. We are finally back with two brand new songs: the melancholic big rock anthem “Someday / Someone” and the tractor riff driven “Love Phobia” with mighty sounding guitars, pounding drums and as always a strong melody. Both tracks are already on heavy rotation on lots of playlists, and they are the first tracks released from the upcoming album “Big Sundown”.

Step into the peeluniverse and join the increasingly fanbase of peelgrims

METAL ANARCHY: Who are your main influences?

PEEL: There are so many influences in our music that to mention one or a couple as our main influence is near to impossible. Bands from all the rock history and from all genres have left some mark in our music. Check out our music on Spotify and you’ll hear the diversity in our catalogue.

METAL ANARCHY: What is your latest release and why should readers of this site check it out?

PEEL: “Love Phobia” is our new single and one reason to check it out is the fact that it is a great song, at least we think it is, obviously. It is a riff driven rock anthem with a catchy melody and cool vocal harmonies. It shows Peel when we dig into the “harder” side of our influences.

METAL ANARCHY: What can people expect when they go to your live shows?

PEEL: A band that is putting their heart, soul and skills into playing a varied set of songs stretching from hard, noisy rock to almost pure pop.

METAL ANARCHY: Where do you see your band heading in 5 years?

PEEL: It would be nice if things had evolved and maybe gotten a bit “bigger”. But in essence I hope we do the same: make and record music, perform livE and keep on in our search for new ways to express ourselves. I hope we maintain the hunger and the need to prove our ability to surprise our audience and fans – AND ourselves.