‘Extremes can coexist.’ That’s what the press release for the second EP ‘Navigate’ by Dutch band Traversus says. The band’s history goes back at least as far as 2018. But it wasn’t until September 2023 that the debut EP ‘The Only Way Is Through’ was released. Although elsewhere I read something about early 2023. The follow-up ‘Navigate’ followed two years later. As you can see, there are some unanswered questions.
MHF: Hey, I’m Rainer and I write for Metalheads Forever Magazine. Thank you for letting me do this interview with you. How are you doing?
Traversus: We are doing very well thanks! We have just released our second EP called ‘Navigate’ and we are very happy about the response we have got so far.
MHF: You are a relatively young band and not very well known outside the Netherlands. Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Traversus: We are Traversus. A four-piece metal band from the north of the Netherlands, delivering a tight, heavy sound that moves between hard rock and progressive metal. Influences include Karnivool, Leprous, Gojira, and Muse. On September 12 we have released our new EP Navigate. In the fall of this year we have a small tour through The Netherlands where we will play shows in Amsterdam, Tilburg, The Hague and more.
MHF: In the introductory text, I realised that there are some unanswered questions. Firstly, when was Traversus founded? And how did you come together?
Traversus: The groundwork for Traversus was laid back in 2015. Liam, Madelief and our former bass player Mika Linde formed the band at a music school. They play covers of bands like Biffy Clyro, Muse and Avenged Sevenfold. In December 2018 Joey joined and the band was given the name Insane Delirium. With Insane Delirium we kept on playing covers at small bars and we started writing our own songs in 2019, two which we had released on Spotify. We started to take the band seriously in 2021 and that’s also when we changed our name to Traversus. From that moment on we knew what direction we wanted to go with the band and that resulted in our debut EP ‘The Only Way Is Through’. Fast forward to 2025 we have played more than 60 shows and we are at the highest point of the band so far.
MHF: The first EP ‘The Only Way Is Through’ was released in 2023. In the various texts I have received, there is talk of the beginning of 2023. Elsewhere, September 2023 is mentioned. When exactly was your debut EP released?
‘The Only Way Is Through’ was released on September 2nd, 2023!
MHF: The press release speaks of coexisting extremes in your music. And that you build bridges both musically and lyrically in order to cross borders. How would you describe your sound?
Traversus: Back in 2023 a magazine called us a sort of prog version of Alter Bridge. We partly agree with that but there is more to it in our opinion. We classify ourselves as a heavy metal band with progressive metal influences, but our sound can range from hard rock all the way to progressive metal.
MHF: What themes do you address in the lyrics to your songs?
Traversus: Inspiration for the songs comes from many different places. Our singer is someone who reads the news a lot and nowadays that can be quite heavy. Furthermore she sometimes struggles with mental health problems and tries to incorporate that in the lyrics. These things are also tightly linked. A lot of young people experience mental health problems or emotional stress because of the state the world is in. That’s what we try to convey in our lyrics. On the other hand there’s also this spark of hope and the belief that our world can be a wonderful place, if we all look out for one another.
MHF: Who is responsible for the music and lyrics? How does the songwriting process work – from the initial ideas to the final song?
Traversus: The song ideas usually come from Joey. Sometimes he has a riff, a melody or a complete song. Sometimes Liam will bring a drum groove or Diko will play a bass part which will spark the writing process of a song. It doesn’t matter who comes with the idea but we will always work the ideas out in the rehearsal room together. It’s important for us that everyone can share their opinion about the songs. We try to incorporate ideas from everyone in the band because that’s what makes the Traversus sound.
When it comes to lyrics and vocal melodies it is all Madelief. Madelief is a very passionated and opinionated person and she writes lyrics about subjects which she finds important. A lot of our songs are about mental health, the stated or the world, different new subjects and other subjects like that.
MHF: ‘The Only Way Is Through’ was recorded by Joost van den Broek (Epica, Ayreon, Powerwolf). How did this collaboration come about? Were you able to continue the collaboration for the production of ‘Navigate’?
Traversus: In 2022 we participated in a bandcoach trajectory for Northern Dutch artists called Hit The North. For this trajectory you had to set a goal which you wanted to achieve for the end of the year and then you were paired with a coach to help reach that goal. We were paired with Ivo Severijns, a well known and respected bass player in The Netherlands. Our goal was to record and release a debut EP. Ivo began searching for the right connections in his network and thought Joost was the best option, and we agreed! So we chose to work with Joost for our debut EP.
We liked the collaboration so much that we contacted him again for ‘Navigate’. And he also wanted to work with us again as well. With ‘Navigate’ he very much understood what direction we wanted to go for compared to ‘The Only Way Is Through’ so it was a very smooth collaboration.
MHF: What plans do you have for the future? Are more EPs planned? Or maybe even a full-length album?
Traversus: We have some shows planned for the rest of the year to support the release of ‘Navigate’. We will play in cities like Amsterdam, Tilburg, The Hague and more. All the information about our shows can be found on our website.
Traversus: And we have already started writing new material for what will become the next release. The next release will probably become a full-length album. After releasing two EP’s a full-length album feels like the most logical next step.
MHF: Will you also be presenting your music live outside your home country?
Traversus: We would like to play more in Germany. We already have one festival in Germany for next year and we would like to add more shows and festivals to that!
MHF: Thank you once again for this interview. Is there anything else you would like to say to the fans at the end?
Traversus: Thanks a lot for the great questions and a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this interview and get to know us a bit better!
Traversus are:
Joey Wessels – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Diko Eleveld – Bass
Madelief de Groot – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Liam de Groot – Drums
Diskography:
The Only Way Is Through – EP 2023
Navigate – EP 2025
Social Media:
Homepage – https://traversus-band.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/traversusband
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Traversusband
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@traversusband
