Since their hatching from underneath the industrial fumes of Dutch harbour city Rotterdam back in 2015, DOOL has undeniably left their gloomy mark on the European dark rock scene. After having risen from the ashes of both ‘The Devil’s Blood’ and ‘Elle Bandita’, this pack of wildlings has gathered and set their collective goal to achieve creative evolution and spiritual ascension through the unity that was since then called ‘DOOL’. 

‘DOOL’ being derived from the Dutch word for ‘wandering’, the five-piece started soul-searching their way through rhythms and melodies that would soon evolve into their debut album ‘Here Now, There Then’. A first glimpse of what DOOL was becoming was unveiled by the single ‘Oweynagat’ and its eerie and mysterious accompanying video. The full album was released in 2017 on German Prophecy Productions, who were one of many record labels offering the band a record deal immediately after their infamous Roadburn Festival (NL)2016 showcase. 

International press picked up on ‘Here Now, There Then’ massively, and it soon got praise and love all over;

METAL HAMMER (DE) – Album of the Month / #1 Soundcheck / ‘Best Debut Album 2017’ Award
“Breath taking songs with a very characteristic dark rock sound. An absolute candidate for the ‘Best of The Year’ list. A genre-exceeding, fresh breath in the scene.

ROCK HARD MAGAZINE (DE) – #1 Soundcheck / Album of the Month / #13 ‘Best 100 Albums of the new Millennium’
“Wonderful, highly emotional vocals, void of presumption and vanity. A strong contender for the Newcomer of the Year title.

VICE (USA)
(Kim Kelly)
“DOOL usher in a new era with ‘Here Now, There Then’. It exists in the grey area between fantasy and reality. A fairytale on a concrete backdrop. Powerful, warm and melodic.”

AARDSCHOK (NL) – Listed ‘#1 Metal of Honor’
(Robert Haagsma)
“Above all, ‘Here Now, There Then’ is an album with a majestic sound, beautiful songwriting and goosebump-inciting vocals. A very impressive debut.”

DE VOLKSKRANT (NL) 
(Robert van Gijssel)
“Now this is something you don’t see every day in ‘heavy’ music; proper songwriting with choruses so catchy that it’s almost frightening. DOOL singlehandedly revives occult and morbid, yet approachable rock music.

Not long after the release of ‘Here Now, There Then’, DOOL received the Metal Hammer ‘Debut Album Of The Year Award’ and embarked on an ever escalating siege of the European clubs and festivals. Opening for Nergal (Behemoth)’s ‘Me And That Man’ on their first EU tour, they caught the eye of plenty bookers and promotors. Impressed by DOOL’s fierce live presence, they offered headline shows and festivals spots all through out Europe. Two years of extensive touring followed, including highlights such as:

Wacken Open Air (DE), Graspop (BE), Metal Days (SLO), Lowlands (NL), Fortarock (NL), Hellfest (FR), Wave Gotik Treffen (DE), Rock Hard Fest (DE) Stoned From The Underground (DE), Metalitalia Festival (I), North Of The Wall (SCO) and many, many more.

In 2019 DOOL released the ‘Love Like Blood’ EP, including the band’s take on the classic ‘Killing Joke’ song – a crowd favourite during DOOL live shows, which again received many outstanding reviews. 

April 2020 saw the long-anticipated release of their sophomore album ‘Summerland’, recorded by Martin Ehrencrona 

(Tribulation, In Solitude) and mixed by Cult Of Luna’s Magnus Lindberg. 

An album premiere show at Roadburn ’20 along with several planned worldwide tours were put on hold due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, and will be continued from September 2021.

In the meantime, ‘Summerland’ found its way into the German national charts (#9) and got plenty appraisal from the international music press:

METAL HAMMER (UK):
“The sound of a band who have found themselves” 

ROCK HARD (DE): 
“Dool have turned from rough diamond to jewel.” 

ROCK HARD (FR):
“An immense album.”

DEAF FOREVER (DE):
“It seems almost silly to predict a great future for the band -because it’s so obvious.”

METAL.DE (DE):
“Dool have finally become a force to be reckoned with.”

Soundchecks:

Metal Hammer – Poland #1
Rock Hard – Germany #1
Rock Hard – France #1
Sonic Seducer – Germany #1
Metal Hammer – Germany #2
Metal.de – Germany #2
Deaf Forever – Germany #4

YEAR OF ORIGIN: 2015

COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE: THE NETHERLANDS

LINE UP:
RAVEN VAN DORST – VOCALS / GUITAR
MICHA HARING – DRUMS
JB VAN DER WAL – BASS
NICK POLAK – GUITAR
OMAR ISKANDR – GUITAR

Past members:
JOB VAN DE ZANDE – BASS  (2015-2016)
REINIER VERMEULEN – GUITAR (2015-2019)

DISCOGRAPHY:
OWEYNAGAT – SINGLE 2016
HERE NOW, THERE THEN – ALBUM 2017
LOVE LIKE BLOOD – EP 2019
SUMMERLAND – ALBUM 2020

ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE DOOL