A well-known dictionary defines the word pugnacious, primarily, as having a quarrelsome or combative nature. These interpretations could have both positive and negative connotations, as exemplified by some synonyms, including assaultive, belligerent or discordant for the latter and feisty, scrappy and even gladiatorial for the former. The word is a relative of the similarly intended pugilism, which is of course a more genteel term for the sport of boxing.
What one person may see as someone being a pain in the ass, another would interpret as standing up for oneself and one’s beliefs. It is this meaning of the term pugnacity that Belgian metal band Fragmentum has utilized in naming their first album, and its title track.
Formed in 2015 around the potent musicianship and compositional talents of veteran guitarist/vocalist/songwriters Gunnar Nopens and Jan Bruggeman, the pair spent a few years hashing out the tone and tenor of the band’s music, eventually coming up with a potent blend of metal styles that can’t help but meet the approval of those whose tastes may be more melodic to those who like their metal a little more guttural and doom laden.
Along the way, they have incorporated other noted, experienced Belgian musicians into the fold, creating a focused, high energy, musically virtuosic and thematically bombastic quintet that now features Herwig Van Marck on keyboards, bassist Thomas Wallentin, and drummer Frederik De Wilde.
With the work ethic and dedication of an indie band, Bruggeman and Nopens have thrown themselves whole heartedly into every aspect of the band, with Nopens acting as onstage rhythm guitarist, vocalist, occasionally songwriter, programming, website and social media development. Bruggeman handles the guttural vocals, lead guitar, handles the bulk of the songwriting and also helps create the band’s design aesthetic. Pugnacity was released in May, and is the band’s first full-length album, after releasing the critically-acclaimed three-song EP Diverge a couple of years ago.
Both Bruggeman and Nopens believe that most younger metal fans, say those 30 and younger, aren’t as bound by the various sub-genres of previous generations which is why they believe Fragmentum has appeal across that diverse spectrum of metal and metal lovers.
“It’s not so easy to describe our music because we admit there are many influences. We call ourselves melodic doom or melodic death metal, but it’s also a little progressive. And maybe it’s because we are already 40 years old, so we have been listening to metal since we were like 10 or 15 years old, so that’s about 25 yeas of influences and inspirations that we have in our heads. We don’t try to copy anyone, and there are even differences of influences between me and Gunnar, so we always try to make the best of both worlds. We try to create a mix that we like ourselves,” said Bruggeman.
“The older fans I speak to, they like the music that is really fast and really pounding. We do have some of that in our music, but we also have the slower moments too. But it’s okay, we believe we have a good mix and it’s open for many metal fans, and I guess we will see if that’s true once more people see us and hear our music. We have had good reactions at shows, but we also know that we can’t make music for everyone. There will be non-believers too, but we don’t mind, because it’s always been like that. For me I can refer back to hearing Deep Purple and then I got into Paradise Lost; I listened to In Flames from their first days, and Crematory too – and even Therapy, which is more rock.”
Nopens concurred with his friend and bandmate’s assessment.
“We kind of now have what we call a Fragmentum style of music and we have some kind of foundation and basis we will always reproduce. Of course, with having new musicians come into the band, we also have their influences. I think we have managed to create, in some way, our own style. Maybe it’s not fully described yet, but then it’s always hard to talk about your own music. We don’t want to be put in a certain corner or box and be stuck in that kind of music. We are very open to every type of music, especially in metal. We do notice that the older people who are only open to one type of metal music, but of course not all people are that way, and it’s great for us that the younger fans don’t care as much, they just care it it’s good and if it is they like it, and that’s all we care about,” he said.
“For me, I was into bands like Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and of course Metallica and Slayer. I like all kinds of bands and different styles of metal. First with my dad I was listening to more Pink Floyd and classic rock and then I went to a youth centre and heard some of the first Iron Maiden albums and it was like, okay, immediately I am into metal at that was the moment metal music had taken me.”
Bruggeman and Nopens have known each other for more than 20 years, just from being around the Belgian metal scene, and had talked about collaborating for some time. Fragmentum is the result of various previous attempts at forming other bands and working on other projects.
“I was playing in different bands in the late 1990s, more of a Doom metal thing, and Jan was also playing in different bands, and we decided to collaborate. We had a few other projects that we tried, but in the end, we decided to go full on with Fragmentum, and that’s where we are now. We have known each other for writing purposes for about 15 years, but it got more serious a couple of years ago with this band. We feel this is some of the best music we have don’t together,” Nopens said.
“When it comes to the writing, we work very well. It’s mainly Jan who creates the real fundamentals of the song and then he sends the file to me and I do some revisions to it. But sometimes I also have a song, and then Jan takes it and plays around with it and makes it even better. We have our influences and we know what our sound should be and where we want to go. So, one of the other of us starts a song, and the other guy comes along and makes each song more interesting.”
Bruggeman, as the primary vocalist, also handles the lyrical chores, no mean feat for anyone who’s first language is not the one they are writing it. As he was composing songs for the new album, he came upon the word Pugnacity and thought it not only suited one of the songs he was working on, but was a great theme for the whole album, thus he convinced Nopens to entitle their debut album with this clever and impactful word.
“I was writing about the moment when you are in a very strange of awkward situation and you don’t know how to react. It’s a moment in time that is passing very fast and it’s gone in a wink, but you have to decide. I like to describe it as like you have this strange feeling that in the moment, you have to decide quickly and rely on your instincts. It’s what’s going on in everyone’s head in those difficult situations, those conflicts, and it’s mostly unpredictable,” he explained.
“So, I thought I could write 10 songs about those kind of situations in life, and that’s what I tried to do. We are not American or British people, so we sometimes have to look up the meanings of words. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right word for the Flemish words that we have, so you start searching and you look for the synonyms, then you have to find the right word for the right thing you want to say and still have the same meaning. And when you do that on the internet dictionary you may find a word that means what you want, but is not used so much, but is still a very cool word. Pugnacity was like that. It’s a word that is really reflecting what we want to say.
“When he introduced it to me and said he wanted to call the album Pugnacity and also the title song, the first thing I had to do was look it up. And after I looked it up and saw the meaning, when we spoke about it more I was like, yeah, it really fits the music and what we’re trying to say. It’s a cool word and a cool title for the album because of what it is representing. It stands out, so we decided this is what it should be,” added Nopens.
This theme of facing the challenges and obstacles in life with a fierce resolve has truly permeated the album, with it’s raw, edgy, slicing riffs and driving rhythms matched by lyricism that is bold, in your face and dripping with the idea of self empowerment.
“Entangled in Pain is talking about when you’re in a difficult situation and people are betraying you, and you don’t have any faith in anyone or anything anymore. You’re just going downhill, and you don’t know how to get out of the situation, just like in Pugnacity. It’s about having internal and outside forces against you but learning how to get back up and fight bank. It is a darker song, and sometimes you need to explore those darker thoughts and feelings. I am not a dark person, but I do get frustrated and music is a good way to express that kind of thing,” Bruggeman explained.
“If the songs and the lyrics help people get through their own struggles that’s a nice thing, but it’s not the purpose that we write metal for. We think music should be about feelings, and it doesn’t have to be just metal, but of course with metal you can put in some aggression and you see that some people they need to unload and let off energy and when they go to a metal show, they don’t think about anything else in their lives. And it’s cool that people can do that. If our music makes people feel better at the end of a show then that’s a good thing,” Nopens confirmed.
Prior to the release of Pugnacity, Fragmentum crossed the Atlantic for a short tour of the United States, opening for Children of Bodom, a run that gave the band confidence that they could conquer any market, but also generated many new fans as well as positive press. At the end of June Fragmentum opened for Soulfly on some European shows as well as a one off opening for Canadian metal veterans Annihilator.
Touring plans for the fall/winter of 2019/2020 are currently being firmed up. For information on impending tour dates, as well as more information, visit https://www.fragmentum.zone.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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