Yannic Ophorst (Rectal Smegma) #Interview

Dutch goregrind four-piece Rectal Smegma have never been shy of a little good-natured provocation. From such crowd pleasers as “Gorenaecologist”, “Menstruation Cocktail” and “Shit Squirting Sandy” to some provocative artwork, sensitive souls may well already be clasping their pearls before they’ve heard a note of the band’s disgusting, grinding music.

But if you’re here, you’re almost certainly an extreme-metal enthusiast. So no doubt you can handle it.

Almost 10 years on from the band’s last full-length record, Rectal Smegma are back and possibly better than ever with To Serve And Protect.

Vocalist (and absolute unit) Yannic Ophorst joins us to discuss the latest record and the evolution of Rectal Smegma.

First off, I’m enjoying To Serve and Protect a lot—it’s fun to terrorize my neighbours with at loud volume.

Haha, that’s exactly what we were aiming for! Glad you’re blasting it at full volume, your neighbors must be very cultured by now.

It’s been a long time since your last album, Gnork. How did the making of the new album compare to your previous experiences?

Yeah, Gnork came out in 2016, so it’s been a while! This time, we took our time to write songs that really clicked for us. We experimented more with grooves and dynamics while still keeping that dirty Goregrind energy. Also, the pandemic threw a wrench in things, but in the end, it gave us more time to fine-tune everything.

Since we met (at Berlin Deathfest 2023) you’ve brought in a new bass player (Alex Wijnhorst). How did he come to join the band and what does he bring with his personality and playing?

Alex joined us at the end of 2023. We’ve known him for a while. He played in my first band Bubonic Plague 23 years ago and when we needed a new bass player, he was the obvious choice. He brings a killer groove, a lot of enthusiasm, and, most importantly, an insane tolerance for our stupid jokes and dark humor. He fit in right away.

With such a big gap since Gnork, how far back did the writing for To Serve and Protect go? Were you already performing some of these tracks live?

Some riffs and ideas go way back, but most of the album was written in the last couple of years. We started testing a few songs live in 2023 to see how they worked in a set ‘’Discodick’’ and “To Serve and Protect” were already getting good reactions before the album even dropped. Last week we did a new set with like 8 or 9 new songs in it from the album.

As always, you have some hilarious track titles (I think “Cough Syrup Suppository” is my personal favorite), but in general the jokes seem a little more subtle than on past albums. Is Rectal Smegma getting sophisticated in its older years?!

Haha! “Sophisticated” and “Rectal Smegma” in the same sentence..that’s a first! We still love ridiculous humor, but yeah, maybe it’s evolved a little. We try to balance dumb, disgusting, and clever in a way that fits the music. We’re also aware of the cancel culture that has nothing else to do but be bitching about everything.

What’s the story behind the great cover art of the album?

We wanted something that fit the album title, something that looked brutal but also had a bit of humor in it. Our artist really nailed it. It’s got that dystopian, over-the-top Gothem/Sin City violence vibe, but still looks fun in a goregrind way. It is a follow-up to the video ‘’To serve and Protect’’ and a combination of the band photo with the children. The villains in the artwork are the mascot suits if you look closely. (bear, goat, bee and monkey).

Fitting in with the police imagery of the album title and art, you also went all Hollywood with your video for the title track. Who came up with that idea, and which one of you most enjoyed crawling around the prison yard with your trousers round your ankles?

The video was an insane day of filming. Haha, thank you. Walter came up with the title of the album about 15 years ago. Then I had a completely different idea to implement. We would sit as S&M slaves/dogs on a leash in front of a bunch of beautiful women. ”To Serve and Protect”.

I took the title off the shelf and dusted it off and ended up writing the entire script. This is something I like to do, be creative…To be honest we all really enjoyed it, we knew it was going to be a nice ending twist. The women also performed very well in their roles.

I’d like to go back to the birth of Rectal Smegma. Yannic, I think you and drummer Walter Gunneweg are the original members. Tell me the story of how Rectal Smegma formed (I think you were Carnal Rancidity before)?

Yeah, Rectal Smegma started in 2003, but before that, we had a band called Carnal Rancidity, which was more death-metal oriented. We wanted something even filthier and grindier, so Rectal Smegma was born. At first, it was just for fun, but then things got out of hand, and here we are 22 years later!

On your 2009 album Keep On Smiling you have a picture of Vanessa Lane and Tory Lane from a porn shoot. Two or three months later, Gnaw Their Tongues released All The Dread Magnificence of Perversity, using part of that image (and making it even more fucked up). I feel like this can’t be a coincidence. Do you know about this album? Maybe you know Mories in person?

Wow, deep cut! Yeah, No we don’t know Mories. We’re not sure if it was intentional, but that’s a crazy connection! Never saw the cover btw, just now haha

I notice that you guys are really good with putting out fun social media posts. Who in the band takes the credit for that task?

That’s a good question! Rectal Smegma’s social media presence is absolutely engaging and fun. A few years ago I started looking into this a little more and with the album on the way this is the best way to connect and spread. Our director Koen also helps us with this.

You also do great photo shoots. I loved you guys as figure skaters. Whose idea was the latest shoot with you dressed in animal suits at a kids’ show?

Haha, that was one of our most ridiculous shoots yet. I’m guilty of this idea too. This started when I became a father 1.5 years ago. I was reminded of my childhood because my mother used to play a lot of ‘Bassie and Adriaan’ and ‘Kinderen voor Kinderen’. That’s when the idea arose to make a depressing kidshow ‘80 video photo. And I would like to improve the ice skating photo a bit. This is getting more and more difficult btw 🙂

I’m sorry I missed you playing in Manchester last year. What shows do you have lined up for 2025, and do you have plans to come back to the UK? I will make sure to catch you next time you’re on the island.

No worries, but yeah, you definitely need to catch us next time! We’re planning some European dates and are working on getting back to the UK in 2025. Keep an eye on our socials. We’ll make sure you get another chance to berzerk! Let Serve and Protect the UK very soon!

Interview by Tom Osman

To Serve And Protect is out now on Rotten Roll Rex. Vinyl copies will be available from Kernkraftritter Records via the band’s own bandcamp page on the 29th of March.

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