RSS
Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Sear Bliss (31.10.2007)
HH: Hi Andras (I suppose you are answering the questions, if not: Hi whoever or all of you), how are things going?
Zoltan: Hi! I am Zoltan Pal (trombone player) from Sear Bliss. If you don't mind, I am answering your questions.
Things are just fine, we have a brand new album out, and the reactions are just amazing.
HH: You have just released your sixth Album - The Arcane Odyssey - are you satisfied with it, or, now as it is finished, would you do anything different if you could turn back the wheel of time?
Zoltan: Without doubt, this is the best Sear Bliss album ever. Several months passed since it was completed, and we are still very satisfied with it. We are very proud of the songs, and the sound is brilliant too. I don't think we would change anything. If you ask me some years later, my answer may be different, but now I feel only great satisfaction.
HH: You were quite a long time in the studio recording The Arcane Odyssey, what would you say was the main experience or insight during that process (if there was any)?
Zoltan: This time we used a method different to the previous recording sessions. We worked in three studios: one for the drums, one for the vocals and one for the rest. We had never worked like that before. Working in a studio is always a bit stressful, but as we are getting better and better, it is a sort of fun as well. It is really interesting to see how a new album is put into form.
What really amazed me during this recording session was when we recorded the folk instruments for "Path To The Motherland". These musicians showed such enthusiasm and creativity that the outcome is just outstanding. They used such kind of instruments that were unfamiliar to me (although they were mostly wind instruments), because they were partly constructed by themselves. That was really exciting.
HH: What is the main intension of the Album? How would you describe it?
Zoltan: There is no distinct intention behind the album. We don't want to stand for or against anything. We only play the music we like, and try to do our best.
Well, it's hard to describe your own music, but I read some reviews where they called it epic pagan black metal. I think this category is more or less perfect.
HH: What are the lyrics about? (Unfortunately, I couldn't get hold of them so far, because I've only got the promo-version of the CD)
Zoltan: The lyrics are mostly about spiritual themes, that are far from our everyday lives. Andras writes stream-of-consciousness type of lyrics. You have to read them while listening to the music. They work together. There is no distinct conception behind them, all of them have their own world.
But there are two exceptions on The Arcane Odyssey, the first and the last songs. These two are connected to the cover artwork, the legend of The Road of the Warriors.
HH: Who wrote the lyrics and who composed the music for The Arcane Odyssey?
Zoltan: Our vocalist, Andras wrote all the lyrics for the album. In our opinion it is the best if the person writes the lyrics that will perform them.
The music was composed in a new way for us. We recorded our new riffs, ideas to our computer at home, and sent to each other. So when we first rehearsed the new material, we had complete songs that were put together on the computer. This made our work easier as well, because we live in different parts of Hungary. Certainly, these songs later changed quite a lot, but we had a base to build on.
I have to mention that Andras worked a lot on this album. He not only wrote the lyrics, the keyboard and base parts, but he composed a huge amount of guitar riffs as well.
HH: Can you name the influences which occur on the album?
Zoltan: Anything can inspire us. A film, a book, or any experience in our lives, both good and bad. But if you think about musical influences, I have to say that we don't follow any bands in the scene. I think we have our own style and sound, so we don't need to look other bands for some inspiration.
HH: What's the meaning of the Title "The Arcane Odyssey"?
Zoltan: It means The Secret Journey, and it refers to the cover artwork.
HH: Which is your favourite track on it and why?
Zoltan: Well, that's a difficult question. You know, it is somehow the same as if a mother should choose who her favorite child is. But if I had to, I would choose the first song on the album: "Blood On The Milky Way". It represents clearly what Sear Bliss is about. There are fast and slower riffs, acoustic and atmospheric parts, killer solos and bombastic brass notes. The lyrics is based on the cover artwork. And this was the first song written for this album.
HH: Some words about the cover? (Which is - again - real great artwork!)
Zoltan: Yes, we used a painting again. We don't really like computer graphics, we are a bit old-school in this sense. We worked (just like in case of the last record) with a Hungarian painter, Jozsef Tari, who is a real genius. He painted for Venom (The Wastelands) as well.
The cover depicts a Hungarian legend, the Road of the Warriors. This legend is one of the stories of the origin of the Milky Way. The short version of it can be read in the booklet of the CD, so I wouldn't go into details this time.
HH: In the past, you had a couple of changes in the line-up, lately there weren't that many - do you think, you have, at least approximately, a final line-up now, that you all feel comfortable with?
Zoltan: Yes, there have been many changes in the line-up. You know, 14 years are very long to keep a group of people together. People change, and their attitudes towards different things (among them music as well) change.
The recent line-up of Sear Bliss has been together for 1,5 years now. I can say that this is a fix team, with members who - besides being friends - respect each other both personally and musically.
HH: Your now working with Candlelight Records, are you satisfied with the cooperation?
Zoltan: We are at the beginning of our cooperation, and all I can say is that we are very satisfied with them. Candlelight was the label we needed, they are very professional and enthusiastic for their bands. And certainly, it is great to be at a label that work with e.g. Emperor, 1349, Crowbar, etc. We are very pleased to work with Candlelight.
HH: As far as I know, you didn't have any shows, except in Hungary, for two years. Will you be touring again soon? And will you then expand to other countries (as, so far, you were mainly touring Germany and The Netherlands)? (Author's note: don't you dare not coming to Munich!!!)
Zoltan: We had several gigs outside Hungary in the past few years. We had some shows in the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania. And we did a 10-gig-tour with Skyforger in 2005.
It would be great to be on tour again, we hopefully will take part in one next year. We would like to promote our latest album with as many gigs as possible. And you are right, there are quite many countries we haven't visited before.
As far as Munich is concerned, Sear Bliss have never played there so far. But if we get a chance, we will go.
HH: You founded the band in 1993, how would you describe the development of Sear Bliss?
Zoltan: Well, de development can be heard as you listen to our albums one by one, chronologically. I think we improved on every fields of music, although there were some weaker periods as well. This is hard to avoid if you play music for 14 years. Every band has ups and downs. But now we are definitely on the top, and we are in great power. We cannot be stopped.
HH: Just tell me a few things about the very beginning of Sear Bliss, the ideas and ideals, the time, black metal and the metal scene in Hungary that time....
Zoltan: When Sear Bliss was founded in 1993, the aim of the band was to give it an original touch, something that makes it distinct from the other bands. That time there was nothing like a black metal scene in Hungary. The mighty Tormentor was over at that time and there were no successors. Here came Sear Bliss into the scene. The first demo tape, The Pagan Winter, was a great success, it sold well, and it raised the interest of some labels as well. That time it was still difficult to keep up with the European metal life. Although the situation was much better than in the communist era, it was still hard to get the latest releases.
HH: By the way, Hungary - there aren't many metal bands from your country that are known over here - what's the metal scene like nowadays?
Zoltan: You know, Hungary is quite a small country, so the metal scene is small as well. But I have to tell you, that Hungarians are one of the most enthusiastic nations towards metal. Certainly, there are some very good bands here, but unfortunately it is very hard to break out. The possibilities are much weaker than in the western territories.
As the most famous metal band of Hungary I have to mention Ektomorf, but Julie from To-mera is also Hungarian, just like - as everyone knows - Attila from Mayhem.
HH: In 2003, you cooperated with a theatre and performed a metal opera (it sounds very interesting, I only read about it on your homepage) - will you perform it again or do you plan similar projects in future?
Zoltan: It was definitely a great experience for all of us, both actors and ourselves. We had never done anything like that before, and the actors had never played with metal musicians. We played The Beggars Opera from John Gay. It was a very unique and a bit avantgarde performance. We played our own songs, but some new were also written directly for that project. These songs couldn't be heard anywhere else, they are a bit different from our style. It may sound like a black metal musical. Weird, isn't it?
Unfortunately, this project is over. Since then, the director is working somewhere else, and there is no chance to play it again. We don't plan similar projects, this time our new record is the most important for us.
HH: How, for heaven's sake, did you get the unusual but brilliant idea of including brass elements into black metal?
Zoltan: The main idea behind this was that the members wanted to give a touch of originality to the music of the band and the whole scene as well.
And why the trumpet? There was a guy, Gergely, who lived near the other members, and he was into metal music and played the trumpet. The thing was obvious: they asked him if he would join the band, and he accepted the invitation.
HH: On your website (Author's note: I just love the design) you've got, well, I'll just call it different phases of transformation, of the white witch (some of which occur also on some earlier covers) - what is the meaning about her, what's the symbolism?
Zoltan: The symbolism (the white witch and the bird) of the first four albums and the EP originates from the cover artist Kris Verwimp, whom we worked with that time. Each album cover has a story behind it. These stories are explained by Kris himself on our website. It is very interesting, I recommend it everyone to read it.
HH: In an interview I read, you said that the band name, "Sear Bliss" is taken form a poem of Charles Baudelaire, and you said there, that "it rather expresses some kind of mood than having a certain meaning." What mood does it express?
Zoltan: Yes, the name Sear Bliss was taken from a Baudelaire poem. The reason behind this choice was to avoid a cliched name. The name itself is really hard to explain. It has the sophisticated values of the poem that it was taken from, and it also has the distinct features of our music. It's somehow like a good lyric: it may mean different things to different people. There is no use in sharing our impressions, each person should decide on their own.
HH: Last but not least, the usual unusual question: I'll give you a couple of more or less famous quotations about music in general, and you'll just give a statement, a view on your thoughts.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." (Nietzsche)
Zoltan: Nietzsche is right, just as in many other cases.
HH: "Music has no subject beyond the combinations of notes we hear, for music speaks not only by means of sounds, it speaks nothing but sound." (Eduard Hanslick)
Zoltan: I simply can't interpret these ideas.
HH: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." (Aldous Huxley)
Zoltan: Yeah, silence can also be very expressive, like music is. Those who can understand silence can really understand music.
HH: "I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to." (Elvis Presley)
Zoltan: This sounds like the common place: I don't play rock'n'roll, I live it.
HH: "It seems like people get afraid of a certain music if they can't pigeonhole it to their satisfaction... Good music is good music, and that should be enough for anybody." (Bradley Nowell)
Zoltan: Everyone should decide on their own what they are or aren't for. I agree with these thoughts.
HH: "Musicians are the architects of heaven." (Bobby McFerrin)
Zoltan: I don't believe in heaven. But, don't worry, be crappy.
HH: "There are two means of refuge from the misery of life - music and cats." (Albert Schweitzer)
Zoltan: I would choose music rather than cats. I don't like them. When they are small they are nice, but when they grow up, they turn out to be the most selfish creatures in the world. Just like humans.
HH: "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." (Victor Hugo)
Zoltan: Yes, I think music can express the self better than simple words.
HH: "If we compel the composer to write in terms of what the listener is able to hear, we flirt with the danger of freezing the evolution of musical language, whose progressive development comes about through transgressions of a given era's perceptual habits." (Jean-Jacques Nattiez)
Zoltan: I also don't think that composers or musicians should be influenced by the audience's need both musically and financially. We play the music we want to, and it is great if lots of people like it.
HH: Which of those do you like most?
Zoltan: I like the Victor Hugo quotation the best. It is simple, but sometimes simplicity reveals great truths.
HH: So, anything else you want to tell our readers?
Zoltan: I'd like to recommend everybody to listen to our new record, The Arcane Odyssey. I hope we see you at our shows somewhere soon.
Thanks for the interview, thanks for your support!
Tarnele