The basics for the song Heavy Metal Till I'm Dead were written the day after I attended a Rammstein concert. It took a while before I had worked out the basis in such a way that I could send it to Keith, so he could do his thing with it. I remember that day in December '21 when Keith sent the first draft. I was blown away by the catchy vocal line and metal-loving-lyrics!

We kept on finetuning for a while and we both felt we had gold here.

Next up was Joey Concepcion who colored the song with a couple of intense guitar solo's. Again, we were flabbergasted by Joey! What a talent!

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What hit me like a hammer in the lyrics of Heavy Metal Till I'm Dead was the opening sentence 'It's my sole religion'. There's a some history behind this simple sentence. As a kid I struggled with my catholic upbringing; I was never into religion, as religions never bring anything good. Except for Heavy Metal, that's the only religion that I will be faithful to until I die. That is what I get out of the the song Heavy Metal Till I'm Dead. 

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My religious interpretation of the lyrics was translated into the beautiful cover design. This was done by the great Brazilian graphic designer Gustavo Sazes, who has worked with many artists, like Gus G., Arch Enemy, Kamelot, Joey Concepcion and many many more. You can see Gustavo's portfolio here

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Heavy Metal Till I'm Dead was released on May 5, 2023 as the first single of 'Here to Stay'. The song was released on all streaming platforms and also a videoclip was shot. 

This is the first single of the new album, and sets the standard for the sound of the album. 

Keith and Ron shot some mutual footage during their visit to Paris in December 2022. Filming at an ice cold, desolated Pere Lachaisse cemetary was legendary. Other footage was filmed in Las Vegas and Los Angeles (historic locations like the Rainbow Bar & Grill) and in Holland. Editing was done by Keith.

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On the CD version of 'Here to Stay' you will hear an XL version of 'Heavy Metal Till I'm Dead' which has some amazing extra solo-ing by Joey Concepcion, from the point onwards where the single version stops. 

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