NOMAD

“Oxygen being both a source of life, but also of destruction and decay, really suits the overall themes of the album.”

“We’re drawn to tension, but those moments become much more powerful when they’re contrasted with structure, intention, and release.”

“What matters most is that every song feels honest and serves its own purpose.”

“The emotional impact is definitely what drives the writing process.”

“We don’t necessarily approach songwriting like traditional storytelling, but we care deeply about how the bigger picture unfolds.”

“For us, the voice is another instrument – but one that carries a unique emotional weight.”

“People want to be touched by music. Heavy moments become stronger when they’re given space to breathe.”

“’OXYGEN’ lives in the tension between confronting reality and escaping from it.”

“We wanted the record to work as a complete experience from beginning to end.”

“We are very happy that we gave shape to our own sound before taking it further.”

“The next step is about growing without losing the identity we’ve worked hard to build.”

picture credits:
pics of Arne & Bjorn by Michel De Pourcq
pic of Laurens by Bart Brys

Darkness, emotion, atmosphere and crushing intensity collide on ‘Oxygen‘, the powerful debut statement from Belgian metalcore newcomers Nomad.
Blending cinematic textures with suffocating heaviness, the band explores themes of chaos, duality, existential struggle and emotional release without ever losing sight of raw impact.
In this in-depth conversation for Radio Highway Pirates, Bjorn Holvoet (guitar), Laurens Goeminne (guitar) and Arne Vandoorne (bass) talk to Fok ’bs’ about the creation of ‘Oxygen‘, the balance between aggression and atmosphere, the realities of building an independent band, and why emotional honesty matters more than fitting into genre expectations.
‘Oxygen‘ revolves around the tension between suffocation and release.
Was that concept something you started with, or did it emerge naturally from the music?
Laurens: “The concept emerged naturally, from our themes of duality, chaos and powerlessness, inspired also in part by ‘Breath’ as one of the first songs we came up with for this album. Oxygen spoke to us because in many ways it matches those dualities addressed on the album. Oxygen being both a source of life, but also of destruction and decay (fire, oxidation, etc), really suits the overall themes and topics well. The cover art also plays with these feelings of drowning and suffocation, the same way our music intends to put the listener into a figurative chokehold.”
Your sound feels both crushing and cinematic.
When writing songs, do you think more in terms of emotional impact or visual atmosphere?
Arne: “To be honest, we don’t consciously think in terms of visual atmosphere when we’re writing. For us, it always starts with the feeling of a song and the emotional weight it carries. The emotional impact is definitely what drives the writing process. We want a riff, a melody, or a certain passage to feel something, whether that’s tension, aggression, sadness, release, or even hope. That being said, we do believe heavy moments become stronger when they’re given space to breathe. That breathing room often creates an atmosphere on its own.”
There’s a sense that your music doesn’t just express chaos, but organizes it.
How deliberate is that balance between control and collapse?
Arne: “We try to combine our different styles and that might seem chaotic or pull in different directions. The challenge for us is taking those elements and making them come together as one coherent whole. So yes, that balance between control and collapse is definitely something we try to create. We’re drawn to tension but those moments become much more powerful when they’re contrasted with structure, intention, and release. While there may be chaos in the sound, the goal is always to give it meaning, direction, and emotion.”
The album feels like a continuous journey rather than a collection of tracks.
Do you approach songwriting more like storytelling than composition?
Arne: “The concept didn’t exist as a fixed idea from the very beginning. It’s something that gradually took shape throughout the writing process. As we kept creating, certain themes, moods, and contrasts kept returning, and that helped define the duality at the core of ‘Oxygen’. Certain songs were written during the same period, both musically and lyrically. In those moments, you’re naturally in a certain mindset as a band, so some tracks end up sharing a similar atmosphere or emotional tone. That happens very organically for us. At the same time, songs written in the same period can also sound completely different. That contrast is important, because it helps create the dynamics within our sound and keeps the journey interesting. It was important to us that the record worked as a complete experience and carried a certain emotional flow from beginning to end. We spent a lot of time finding the right order so that the songs would strengthen each other, create tension, offer release, and keep moving naturally. So while we don’t necessarily approach songwriting like traditional storytelling from the start, we do care deeply about how the bigger picture unfolds. In the end, the album became less about collecting individual songs and more about telling one coherent story.”
Your vocalist doesn’t ‘sing‘ in a traditional sense, but commands and pulls the listener in.
How conscious is that role as a kind of narrative force within the band?
Arne: “For us, the voice is another instrument, but one that carries a unique emotional weight and helps guide the listener through the songs. So in that sense, the vocal role is very conscious. It’s not always about melody or technical performance, but about presence, intensity, and delivering the right emotion at the right moment.”
Bands often struggle to balance heaviness with atmosphere.
For you, is atmosphere a contrast to aggression, or part of the same emotional language?
Laurens: “We definitely treat it as a contrast in terms of the music and writing, by using softer parts to make the more aggressive parts hit even harder, or by bringing a moment of quiet relief after a barrage of heaviness and emotion. It is however not always deliberate, as sometimes just like with the emotions behind the lyrics, there will naturally be contrast – as we move through the different stages of anger, grief and acceptance.”
Tracks like ‘Opio‘ move between fragility and sheer weight.
Do those dynamics reflect internal conflict, or are they purely musical decisions?
Laurens: “While we do see the practical use of it musically as mentioned earlier, it definitely also reflects internal conflict, the different phases of our lives and the challenges and struggles that we encounter along the way.”
You’re drawing comparisons to bands like Deftones or Avenged Sevenfold.
Do you feel those influences, or are they more a reflection of how listeners try to categorize your sound?
Laurens: “We are really curious how we are being categorized by listeners, because those bands are merely some of our own common influences. They are our best way of describing our sound, because due to our very broad and different influences, we’re not sure what box we fit in best.”
As an independent band, you released ‘Oxygen‘ without the backing of a label.
Did that freedom allow you to take more risks, or did it come with its own pressures?
Laurens: “It sure did. It allowed us to do our recording and production exactly the way we wanted it without external pressures. Of course that does make it harder to be seen, so we did face more difficulties trying to get noticed, but as a starting band, we’re very happy that we gave shape to our own sound before we take it further.”
The album explores themes like existential crisis and meaning.
Do you see your music as confronting reality, or offering a form of escape?
Arne: “Honestly, it’s both. Life naturally brings questions about meaning, identity, purpose, and the things we struggle to understand. That search for answers never really disappears, and we think a lot of listeners will recognize themselves in that. That duality is very much at the heart of ‘Oxygen’. It’s about control, but also about release. It’s about confronting what’s inside you, while also finding moments to breathe, let go, and move forward. So rather than choosing between reality or escape, the album lives in the tension between both.”
Kortrijk isn’t exactly known as a global metal hotspot – how has your local scene shaped your identity as a band?
Laurens: “It has offered us a healthy mix of perseverance and inspiration. Perseverance because the local scene is quite limited, so we’ve had to really push forward to get our first few shows going as a new band from such a small and little-known region. There is however also plenty of inspiration here to keep us going, from now-inactive metalcore band ‘My Aim’ setting an example for us in our own teenage years, to Amenra showing us that people from Kortrijk can definitely bring heavy music to all corners of the world, we’re ready to show what we’re made of!”
With such an intense and layered sound, how do you translate that experience into a live setting without losing its depth?
Bjorn: “Although the record contains a few extra layers here and there to add ambience and impact, live we stick to the original parts and leave those extras out to not overcomplicate things or overcrowd the mix. Because there’s six of us, a lot of the layering is embedded into our music anyway. I also believe we do a good job at giving each other space and focus on what the song needs. That helps translate it more clearly and coherently to a live setting as well.”
If ‘Oxygen‘ is your opening statement, what does the next step look like – expanding the cinematic scope even further, or stripping things down to something even more raw?
Arne: “Honestly, it will probably be both, and everything in between. With ‘Oxygen’, one of the most important goals for us was to really find and define our own sound. Now that we’ve established that foundation, the next step is less about choosing one direction and more about exploring all the possibilities within that sound. We don’t want to limit ourselves by staying in one lane. What matters most is that every song feels honest and serves its own purpose. We’re approaching new material in the same spirit as ‘Oxygen’: following instinct, chasing emotion, and staying open to new vibes, new dynamics, and new boundaries within our music. If anything, the next step is about growing without losing the identity we’ve worked hard to build.”
With ‘Oxygen‘, Nomad prove that modern metalcore can still feel dangerous, emotional and genuinely immersive.
By combining crushing heaviness with atmosphere, cinematic depth and emotional honesty, the Belgian band have created an album that refuses to stay inside predictable boundaries.
If this is only the beginning of their journey, Nomad are already breathing with the intensity and confidence of a band ready to leave a serious mark on the underground scene.
by Fok ‘bs‘