We think the album is very well received. Most of the reviews are very positive and also the reaction of our fans is overwhelming. We even made it in the Dutch album charts, which is no small task for a metal band. The overall marks on "Velua" are higher than "Batavi" so we've proven that we can evolve and renew as a band and as songwriters and still maintain the Heidevolk sound.

We just figured out the sound to go with the stories of "Velua". It relies more on heavy riffing instead of blast beats and tremelo picking, as much as we love that stuff. I don't think we deliberately set out to do something different this time around. It's just how the songs evolved during the writing process. Needless to say we're very pleased with the result.

Lars: I have a few favorites. And also, it changes over time. Right now my favorites are "De Hallen Van Mijn Vaderen" and "Velua" (the title track). Because they sound epic and have some melancholy to them. I also like "Drankgelag" since it's a straight up drinking song. I think that the bands favorites among others are "Urth", "Winter woede" and "een met de storm". In fact, there are so many songs that have their own atmosphere, it is hard to really choose hahaha.

I love this question and I like to reply with a counter question: why not? They're are great songs and although they don't all fit the Heidevolk concept lyrically, the overall vibe and sound does apply to our sound and music. So, why? Because the rock 😉

Before Heidevolk came to be there were a group of friends who wanted to start a metal band and another group who wanted to start a folk choir. The two groups met, drank and merged into what was to become the first incarnation of Heidevolk. We've changed a lot of our lineup since then but we kind of stay true to the roots of the band.

Lars: I think people should write about what they feel is important to them. Some people write about riding Harleys into the sunset. Some write about slaying dragons and saving the princess. We write about the history close to home. I personally don't like it when people from Europe mimic what they see on TV and try to act all America when they're not. There are enough artists singing about the Mississippi already. Sing about the river Rhine if that's what you know.

A lot of metal fans like history and historic fiction and/or fantasy so I think the genre is here to stay.

Maybe something more broader than just legends and stories from Gelderland. There are a lot of stories from other provinces and countries. You know, this is one of the best aspects of our approach: there are so many historic events, myths and legends around the globe. It is an unending storybook that can carry the listener away into realms they didn't know existed.

All of them! We'd like to see the world! So Tokyo, if you're reading this…

We're really stoked about playing Graspop in Belgium since most of us have been visitors there and the last time Heidevolk played there the crowd was huge and really crazy. We'd also like to play some of the legendary festivals like Wacken Open Air. Of course we'd love to play in Scandinavia to see what the Nordic crowds think of our Dutch version of folk metal. But yeah basically anywhere!

Sure, we've only just begun promoting "Velua". We're doing European festivals this summer and we're going on a US / Canada tour in September, which is very exciting. Autumn, Winter we will do some cool headliner shows around Europe.

We hope you enjoy our new album just as much as we enjoyed making it and we hope to see you on tour!