Textures

Textures are a Dutch Progressive metalcore band from Etten-Leur, consisting of six musicians, formed in 2001. Textures' lineup revolved around founding members Jochem Jacobs, Stef Broks, Bart Hennephof, and bassist Remko Tielemans who joined in 2007. Since 2010, vocalist Daniël de Jongh and keyboardist Uri Dijk have been with the band. Textures first came to the spotlight with their debut album Polars with Listenable Records which won an Essent Award for "Most Promising Act" in 2004.

Since then, the band released 2 more albums with Listenable Records, 2006's Drawing Circles and 2008's Silhouettes, after signing to Nuclear Blast records. The band released Dualism in 2011 and Phenotype in 2016. When disbanding in 2018, Dutch Math Metal wizards Textures left a significant hole in the global progressive metal community. However, after a break of 6 years, the pioneering Dutch metal six-piece has resurrected and announced their reunion with a new album and a return to the stages in 2024.

Textures has made significant contributions to the music industry since their formation in 2001. One of the band's first achievements came in 2003 when they self-released their genre-defining debut album, Polars. This full-length release quickly caught the attention of Listenable Records (Gojira, Soilwork), leading to its official re-release a year later.

With their do-it-yourself approach, Textures not only produced their albums themselves, always took care of their own artwork, but also built multiple studios over the years to keep track with the band's progress. In 2011, Textures got signed to the roster of Nuclear Blast and released their two latest albums Dualism and Phenotype through the leading metal label.Throughout their career, they have had the honor of sharing the stage with illustrious acts such as Meshuggah, Sepultura, Machine Head and The Dillinger Escape Plan and even saw bands like Gojira, Volbeat, Parkway Drive and Architects support them in their early years of their musical journey.

Additionally, they have toured alongside esteemed acts including Periphery, Amorphis, All That Remains and Arch Enemy, solidifying their influence on the modern metal scene. With their 3rd and 4th albums Silhouettes and Dualism, the combo's innovative and distinct sound came to the forefront when they were recognized as one of the first bands to develop the modern Djent genre.

Their pioneering efforts have influenced other notable bands such as Periphery, Animals as Leaders and Tesseract, carving a path for a new wave of technical and heavy music.

Over the years, Textures has garnered a devoted international fanbase. Especially in India, the band quickly reached great popularity, headlined festivals and performed in front of thousands of music enthusiasts. Yet of course, they also left an impact on the European scene, where they played renowned festivals including Hellfest (France), Lowlands (Netherlands), Graspop (Belgium), Tuska Metal Fest (Finland), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic) and many more.

In 2001, Jochem Jacobs, guitarist Bart Hennephof, drummer Stef Broks, bassist Dennis Aarts and keyboard player Richard Rietdijk formed the band and were joined by vocalist Pieter Verpaalen for their debut album Polars with Listenable Records.

The album was fully self produced, with the mixing and recording done by Jochem Jacobs and Richard Rietdijk and the artwork done by Bart Hennephof.

Textures was named by Stef Broks after a song from the Cynic album Focus as an indicator of the use of many layers of sounds in their songs, the blending of different musical backgrounds and tastes, as well as the varying personalities of the band members.

Vocalist Pieter Verpaalen was replaced by Eric Kalsbeek for their second album Drawing Circles, released on October 17, 2006. The song "Millstone" from the album was also made into a music video. In support of the album, Textures toured with bands such as The Ocean, Gojira and Arch Enemy and culminated in a Europe wide tour with All That Remains and Misery Signals plus nominations in three categories of Holland's Live XS Awards.

2007 saw the introduction of bassist Remko Tielemans, with whom the band recorded their 2008 release, Silhouettes which entered the Dutch charts at position no. 100, the band's first chart showing ever.

The album also featured the hit "Awake", which was made into a music video. The video was shot at the beginning of October in the Belgian Ardennes under supervision of director Rob Hodselmans and producer David Leite with assistance from the Dutch Government.

The vinyl version of Silhouettes was released in November 2008 through Garden of Exile Records. The LP was limited to 500 copies and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. The artwork was printed on extra-thick cardboard gatefold jacket with golden foil print.

The band played their first ever show in India, co-headlining the Deccan Rock Festival in Bangalore on December 5, 2009 along with Amon Amarth. The band returned to India in October 2010, performing in New Delhi at the annual festival of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Rendezvous Festival 2010.

After 6 years, singer/frontman Eric Kalsbeek announced his departure from the band citing the lack of personal time and ability to continue with the band. In March 2010, Daniël de Jongh (formerly of Cilice) joined the band as a replacement. Due to the singer change, the follow-up to their 2008 release Silhouettes was postponed to early 2011.

Soon after Daniel de Jongh was announced as the replacement, keyboard player Richard Rietdijk left the band. He was replaced by Uri Dijk, originally as a live stand-in and finally as a permanent member in September 2010.

On 27 January 2011, the band announced on their official website they entered the studio to begin the recording of their fourth studio album, with the following statement:

"We have started recording our fourth album at Split Second Sound studios in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The album will be produced by Textures' guitar player Jochem Jacobs, who also was responsible for the production of Textures' previous albums."

Guitarist and producer Jacobs described the progress in the album recording as:

"It's all really exciting! This album is really going to express where and what we are these days... and that's a good thing. We've been through a lot lately, especially the last year. Now with some new air and fresh ideas, we finally reached the point that we are actually quite confident in the new material. Sometimes you just have to crawl through the mud first to get to dry grounds. We are in the middle of the preproduction now, getting our asses in gear... to create this baby. It's kinda cool to see this band grow more and more and to continue this musical journey that we've been on for 10 years! Let's make this thing heavy!!!"

In March 2011 the band released their first podcast covering the band's return to the studio for recording their fourth album. The new album was recorded in the Split Second Sound studio in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Jochem Jacobs and Stef Broks stated that the new album was scheduled for a release in Fall 2011 with Nuclear Blast Records. In May 2011 the band confirmed their first European Launch show at the Euroblast Festival in Cologne, Germany in October alongside Chimp Spanner.

On May 11, 2011, guitarist Jochem Jacobs was adjudged the best Dutch guitarist in the Duiveltjes awards (Little devils awards) at the Gala van de Pop Muziek (Gala of Pop Music) 2011 organized by Muziek Centrum Nederland (Music Center Netherlands), beating out Anne Soldaat and Vedran Mircetic.

On July 14, 2011 it was announced that the successor to Silhouettes would be titled Dualism. The artwork and track listing were unveiled on Textures official Facebook page and it was released on September 23 in Europe, South America and Asia, while North America had a September 27 release date through Nuclear Blast records.

The first single from the album "Reaching Home" was released alongside a music video.

In September 2011, Textures embarked on the Frak The Gods Tour, along with Periphery, The Contortionist and The Human Abstract in support of their album Dualism. This was Textures' first tour of the United States and Canada.

In January 2013, Jochem Jacobs announced he was leaving the band, but would remain writing and producing with the band. He was replaced by Joe Tal on March 20.

In February 2016, Textures released their fifth album, Phenotype. It was recorded at the same time as another album, Genotype, which was set to be released in 2017, and both could be considered the parts of a double album due to a similar concept.

Unfortunately, in May 2017, the band also announced they would be splitting up after a farewell tour held in autumn, and the Genotype album would never be released.

The band performed their final shows on December 2, 2017 in Tilburg The Netherlands, and on December 8, 2017 in Pune, India where they had performed in 2013 with a line up of three guitarists.

In 2023 drummer Stef Broks, started another band where he also provides the vocals, Zeitwende.

The Dutch foursome Zeitwende (2023) wears its musicality like a thick '90s coat. This fiercely passionate band delivers dark Rock steeped in a Grunge feel, with Progressive influences. Zeitwende walks a tightrope between two worlds: one where intense riffing rides on a solid, thunderous, and tribal base, and another where melancholy is conjured through lyrical scenes and expansive, atmospheric soundscapes. Inspired by European news and history, the band doesn’t shy away from political themes but instead confronts social issues and historical contexts head-on. Zeitwende goes deep, taking you along for the ride.

Textures

Formation and Polars (2001–2003)

Drawing Circles and Silhouettes (2004–2008)

Lineup changes and Dualism (2009-2011)

Jochem Jacobs's departure, Phenotype and break-up (2012-2017)

Return from Hiatus (2018-Present)

Albums

Members

Former members

Zeitwende

Zeitwende