The name Pyrolysis was born in 2012, when Laurens and Stan, decided to begin a metal band, together with Sven Schipper, their guitar player at that time. The band’s name still stems from this time of electrical guitars, drum kit and keyboard. “Pyrolysis” is a chemical reaction where warmth and energy are created through decomposition. While this complicated band name often gets associated with metal music, the warmth and energy are still represented in the band’s music.
Shortly after, Stan’s classmate and friend Tim gets asked to play bass guitar in the band. Slowly the group realises that their destiny does not lie in metal music, and they ease into making folk punk. The EP “Remedy for the Night” is released in 2013, and the band reaches the finals of the “Parel van de Betuwe” band battle. Starting 2014, they come into contact with Rikke, who reinforces the group with her violin. In the following months, the band increasingly leaves out the electronics and acoustic songs are rehearsed. During the summer of 2014, the band visits Keltfest, where they play several unannounced sets in the grassy field.
This then catches the attention of the founders of CeltCast, a radio station focused on Celtic folk music, which holds respectable authority within the Dutch folk scene. With their help, the Pyrolysis name is spread throughout the folk scene, and the next year they exchange the field for several stages throughout the scene.
In the following time, Pyrolysis plays both electric and acoustic sets when the first full-length album “On Mountains High I Stand” is released in 2015. The band soon finds out that playing both electric and acoustic sets diminishes the quality of the music. They decide to continue as a four-man band focused on acoustic folk halfway through 2015. The quality of songs and performances increases greatly, leading Pyrolysis to perform on Castlefest, the Netherlands’ largest fantasy-folk festival, in 2016.
In Februari 2017, Pyrolysis signs with Kathy Keller of the My Music Matters Management Triad as their manager. Through her, they join the Friendly Folk Records label, which was then a child label of Indieplant, to release their second album, “Edges of the Day”. By the end of 2017, Pyrolysis parts with the label to follow their own path.
During the vivid festival season of 2018, the band is occasionally reinforced by bass player Joshua Kuipers. Following this great success, he joins the core band during their hiatus in autumn. During the winter of 2018 to 2019, Pyrolysis records their third album, “Daylight Is Fading”, at Fieke van den Hurk’s Dearworld Studios. In the summer of 2019, Pyrolysis tours through the Netherlands and parts of Germany to announce their new album.
With a clear sound and vision, the band is more alive than ever. In 2020, the band productively uses the painstaking lack of festivals to record and publish their EP “Alotslse”. In 2022, they followed up releasing yet another EP titled “The Whaler’s Lantern”, featuring even more brand new songs.
The summer following the release of their latest EP in 2022 has been eventful as well; touring through Europe in countries like the UK, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, and Belgium, the band is expanding its operations, recently partnering with Redbird Bookings to play for even more audiences across even more countries!
They made use of this momentum in 2024 to write their new album titled “A Different Dream”. With it, they draw inspiration from their roots, experimenting more with electrical sounds and extra percussion. All of this is paired with the same uplifting melodies and fiery energy their listeners have grown to know and love. With their new album, Pyrolysis pull themselves up to the next level, and prepare for a whole range of new adventures!