Harry Kappen - “Break These Chains” ~ Breaking News and Shattering Expectations!

After urging us to pause and reflect with last year’s “Where the volcano is awake”, Harry Kappen returns, not quieter, but bolder, sharper, and more sonically unrelenting. If that 2024 single felt like a scenic detour through the mind’s backroads, “Break These Chains”, the second single off “Four”, his upcoming album, is a full-throttle drive into the heart of the storm, headlights on and soul exposed. This is Kappen in protest-rock mode, still the musical storyteller we admired, but now wielding his guitar like a scalpel, cutting straight into the fractures of a disoriented world. Where once he asked us to cool down , now he dares us to wake up! And the result is a fiercely intelligent, emotionally charged song that doesn’t just resonate, it demands to be felt!

Harry Kappen playing his piano

It’s clear that the Dutch multi-instrumentalist Harry Kappen isn’t here to passively observe the chaos of the modern world, he’s here to confront it, guitar in hand and heart on sleeve. The song opens with a stomping groove; reverberating drums, grunge-soaked electric guitars, and a subtle shimmer of keys. Then come the vocals-grizzled, weather-worn, and unmistakably sincere as Kappen sings -

“I hear disturbing sounds from rude spitting mouths / we do have freedom of speech, but we don't need a misleading preach...” 

The lyricism is surgical in its clarity, slicing through post-truth rhetoric with lines that refuse to sugarcoat. But the song isn’t just an angry barrage. There’s restraint too, a haunting, synth-laden refrain that breathes between the tension - “Where are the angels?” It's the kind of line that lands like a gut punch, both vulnerable and accusatory. And just when you expect a brooding ballad to unfold, Kappen flips the script. The chorus bursts open with a rallying cry -

“Let’s break these chains, save us from more pain / the truth will survive, come on…”

A sudden groove shift that transforms the track from lament to liberation. A blistering guitar solo surges in late in the track, adding a final flourish of grit and urgency before the song fades out on repeat choruses and roaring guitar lines. It's Springsteen meets Bowie with a contemporary edge, a protest song that doesn't just seethe, but uplifts.

Harry Kappen playing double bass

Drawing influence from legends like Paul McCartney, Prince, David Bowie, and Radiohead, Harry melds genres with the ease of someone more interested in emotional resonance than labels. What unites his songs, though, is intention. Each track feels purposeful-crafted, not constructed. You get the sense Kappen is less concerned with chart positions than with capturing truth, no matter how uncomfortable. As a music therapist who works with young people in crisis, it’s no wonder his songs often sound like they’ve come from a place of healing. Or perhaps more accurately, the need for healing. “Opinion makes the reason undone...”, he sings in verse two of “Break These Chains”, a simple line that sums up the modern crisis of epistemology better than most think pieces. And yet, for all its gravity, it isn’t a depressing listen. There’s warmth throughout, a kind of optimism by resistance. You can feel it in the soulful chord progressions, the unpolished (and therefore authentic) production, and the earnestness of Kappen’s voice, which feels less like a performance and more like a conversation.

Harry Kappen

So if you’ve ever longed for music that still has a backbone, music that thinks, feels, and refuses to stay silent, “Break These Chains” is calling. Harry Kappen isn’t just making songs, he’s making statements. Plug in, press play, and let yourself be moved by an artist unafraid to challenge, to comfort, and most importantly, to care. Share widely and join the growing chorus breaking chains one verse at a time. Play it loud from below!

#HarryKappen #BreakTheseChains #PopRock #ArtRock #IndieRock #Music #Netherlands #Amsterdam

Listen to "Break These Chains" on #Spotify below -

You can check out and follow Harry Kappen’s musical journey on his website here: https://www.harrykappen.com