It started with a riff in Rotterdam. Back in late 2019, Chris posted an online ad looking for musicians to start something new. Nico answered. They met up and started writing immediately, blending their differences into something sharp, aggressive, and fractured—rooted in hardcore and mathcore but open to darker turns.
“Although our musical tastes differed,” Chris recalls, “we also found bands we liked similarly, such as Vein and Korn.” What became Urge (No Way Out?) was first hashed out during their second or third rehearsal.
Then everything shut down. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the project to a halt before it could really take off. They reconnected a year and a half later at a Karnabahar show—Nico’s screamo project—and decided to give the idea another shot.
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This time with Gonçalo on bass and eventually Jurjen on vocals, who was still holding onto lyrics written during the lockdowns. “Right before lockdowns my previous band called its quits. During this time I kept on writing lyrics. Which turned out to be very useful for this project,” Jurjen says.
Provisional now operates as a multinational unit with members from Argentina, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
Based in Rotterdam, they released their debut single Deceive in early 2024 after recording their first EP with Niek van den Driesschen at Far Out Sound Studio.
That release led to their first shows with Curselifter and Spear, and eventually sharing stages with Chicago’s meth. and Dutch peers Serve.
By the end of 2024, they were back in Far Out Sound to record new material. One of those sessions birthed Urge (No Way Out?)—officially released on March 26, 2025. Clocking in at 2:26, the track dives headfirst into themes of mental claustrophobia and psychological cycles:
“Can’t stop, even though it brings me pain / Unconsciously in the same routine / Stuck and there’s no way out / It’s driving me insane”
The track’s core spine —“no way out”—repeats like a wall closing in, both sonically and lyrically. “In particular, the new single Urge is about mental struggle, entrapment, and frustration,” Jurjen explains. “Stuck in a situation or mindset you can’t escape, even though it’s negatively affecting.”
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The writing process remains collaborative and loose. “Being in a band and writing songs is not new for all of us,” Jurjen says. “The writing process still goes as organic as the early days of the project. Chris writes riffs for days anyways.” Nico adds: “It usually started with a riff from Chris and then I went to work on the rhythm section. Nowadays it evolved into us going into the rehearsal room, everyone brings their contribution and we jam together.”
Gonçalo’s connection with Nico predates the band. “We have another project with guitar and drums where we solidified our rhythmic playing together,” he says. “So joining him in the rhythm section of Provisional felt just super natural.”
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What keeps the group grounded is a shared DIY ethic, particularly present in the hardcore scene. “From organizing gigs, making flyers, to having the whole visual process of our records in our own hands,” Jurjen explains. “It’s great that as a band we can develop the lyrics into visual products ourselves. That way I can truly visualize the thoughts behind the song and the aesthetic of the band.”
More tracks are already on the way, with another single planned for May. As for the band’s identity, they’re still shaping it—loudly and on their own terms, pushing forward from where they left off, and from wherever they began.
