Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Sear
Bliss, and how long the band has been together.
I'm Andras and I play the bass and do the vocals in Sear Bliss. I formed the band in 1993 so next year will be the 10th anniversary of Sear Bliss.
What is the music scene like in Hungary and are there a lot of places for metal bands to play? Is it difficult to get gigs outside of Hungary?
Hungary is quite a small country so the scene is small too but there
are some very promising and unique bands in every genre of metal over here. Yes, there are a couple of good clubs where the metal bands can play. Since people are really enthusiastic at the gigs in Hungary, it's always good to
play over here. Fortunately for Sear Bliss it's not difficult to get
gigs
outside of Hungary. We toured Europe with Marduk in 1997 and it was a
good
start. Since then we have many contacts so we play in Holland, Germany,
Belgium, etc. each year. Now we are planning an European tour in
October."
What is the story behind the title Grand Destiny?
Is it a concept album and where did you get the ideas
for the lyrics?
Grand Destiny is deeply connected to old Hungarian mythology. Before
Hungary became a state or country, the Huns were fiery people who came
from
the east. One of the founding fathers said to his son to go west and
find
the Grand Destiny for his tribe and people. You can see the struggle of
this
journey, filled with battles in our songs. Since not many people are
familiar with this part of Hungarian history, we purposely didn't go
into
details or made the album nationalistic. Right now, Sear Bliss is
"going
west" and finding more people for our music is our grand destiny.
You are one of the few metal bands who have a brass
section. What gave you the idea to use a brass
section, and do they play the live shows with you?
Yes, we use those instruments on stage too. They play an important role
in
our music since the very beginning of the band. They give a fresh
flavour to
this type of music. When I formed the band I wanted to try some unusual
things. That's how I got the idea to use trumpets and trombones in our
music. It fitted well into our songs so we decided to continue this. On
the
other hand I think that brass instruments have a very powerful sound. That's why we included them. We wanted to keep the power of metal
music
but try unusual and original things at the same time. On our next album
you
will hear tubas too. It's very powerful.
With Grand Destiny being recorded over a year ago,
how close are you to releasing new material?
It's very close now. We recorded the new album during March and April
and
mixed it in May. Right now we finished working on the layout. So
everything
is ready for manufacturing. The album is entitled "Forsaken Symphony"
and
Red Stream will release it in September. This time the music is a lot
more
mystical and darker than ever before. We really got the right feeling
this
time. Also it's quite a long album (63 minutes)."
Have you ever played here in the States or plan to
do so in the future?
Unfortunately we have never played in the States so far but we would
love
it very much! It's still a dream for us but we hope it will come true
soon.
Describe a live Sear Bliss show for those who have
yet to see you play.
A live performance of Sear Bliss is closely connected to the mood of
our
albums. We try to express our feelings as much as we can. Usually we
use
some special effects too to get the right atmosphere. For us it's very
important to play live. We can show the real power of our music that
way. We
love playing live and we try to do our best on stage. I hope we can see
you
guys soon over there.
Outside of Sear Bliss, do any of the members have
day jobs or participate in other bands?
Yes, we got our jobs and some of us are studying but Sear Bliss plays
the
biggest role in the life of each member of the band. We have to work to
be
able to achieve our aims with Sear Bliss. I'm the only one in the band
who
participates in other projects. I have two other bands besides Sear
Bliss. I
do both together with our former synth player Winter. Forest Silence
plays
old school black metal with some terrific and infernal keyboard
melodies.
Wind is a more majestic and mystical music with really strange moods in
our
songs. We would like to find a label for these bands soon."
What do you think of Without Face and Evensong?
Are there any other Hungarian metal bands you can
recommend?
Actually I don't know Without Face's and Evensong's music too much but
they
are really professional that's for sure. Our trombone player plays in a
couple of songs on the brand new album of Without Face. Other bands I
could
recommend are Witchcraft, Gholgoth and Tormentor. I hope you will hear
from
them.
What exactly is a Sear Bliss and why did you end up
using the name?
Actually I found this phrase 'Sear Bliss' in one of the poems of
Charles
Baudleaire. Since I'm a fan of his abstract poetry and this form of art
in
general, I thought it would fit to our music well. Also I was sick of
the so
many average band names at that time, so I decided to give a unique name to
my band. That's how I found the name Sear Bliss. It doesn't have a
certain
meaning. It is rather an expression of a mood in which I was at the
time
when I found this name.
All in all, what do you think makes Sear Bliss
stand apart from other metal bands?
Well, this is up to the listeners to decide it, I think. We play what
we
like and we are what we are. The music we play reflects our moods and
everything we feel. We put everything into our songs. The chemistry
among
the bandmembers is very good but we are quite different personalities
and it
is what gives the variety of our music. Also the use of brass
instruments is
surely outside the norm in black metal.
What are the future plans for Sear Bliss?
First of all, we are very excited to see the new album 'Forsaken
Symphony'
out. Then we want to tour. It's very important. Meanwhile we have
started
working on new songs for our fifth album. We have already written 3 new
songs. Also we have plans to re-arrange some old Sear Bliss songs from
our
first and second albums with more classical touch and to release it
later.
Do you have any messages for people here in the
States who might be interested in checking out your
music?
Hail to those interested in Sear Bliss in the States! We appreciate
you a
lot! I hope you will like "Forsaken Symphony". Check out
www.searbliss.hu
for up to date info. Thanks for your support!
One of the blackened gems coming out from Red Stream Records is Grand Destiny by Sear Bliss of Hungary. Dark, extreme metal may be heard from this unique bandand there is even a mighty horn section involved! Curious? Read on...
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