NEMESISPlease introduce us your band,
when did you form NEMESIS and did any of you play in bands before
NEMESIS?
Nemesis is
a Hungarian progressive-metal band that formed in 1997. The
current line-up is: Zoltan Kiss (vocals), Csaba Berczelly (bass),
Gyargy Nagy (keyboard), Laszla Nagy (drums)(they aren't
brothers..:-)), and me, Zoltan Fabian (guitars). Csaba Berczelly
played for several years with Gyargy Nagy and me in a band called
Jericho and later in a group called Wellington. Vocalist Zoltan
Kiss worked with Belfegor and later Classica. Laszla Nagy is a
truly versatile drummer who's at home in all musical fields. He's
played in many types of bands from traditional-rock to folk-rock,
and everything in between.
You're one
of the first bands to break out of the Hungarian scene, please
tell us how you managed to get a contract with American label
SENSORY RECORDS?
Our
previous two Hungarian albums are available in many countries
outside Hungary through Periferic Records. We had a change in our
formation at the turn of the millennium, and in April 2001 the
new line-up moved into a
studio to re-record English versions of our two previously
released Hungarian albums. Australian Peter Linka translated the
Hungarian lyrics into English and worked closely with us on the
English recordings. Since the
band's line-up had radically changed with the new formation, both
the vocals and the music were re-recorded and re-mixed for the
English versions. We wanted to get our English recordings known
and recognized outside Hungary, so we produced a Promotional CD
titled "For Promotional Use Only", which we sent to
over 80 record companies and music magazines world-wide. The
Promotional CD lead to a contract with the U.S. based The Laser's
Edge label, which owns Sensory Records. Our first English album
"Eden?" was released on September 3, 2002 in over 16
countries worldwide. Our second English album
"Psychogeist" is due for release in March 2003. Another
result of the Promotional CD was that one of the tracks,
"Eye of the Snake", was included as the 13th track on a
CD of unsigned metal bands in 'Rock Hard', Germany's biggest
selling metal magazine. Based on that track, readers of Rock Hard
chose Nemesis as the best unsigned band of 2001 from among about
26 bands in all. This recognition came with a prize of free
studio time in the Woodhouse studios in Hagen, Germany. We
recorded two covers there: Queensryche's "Mission" and
Rainbow's "Gates of Babylon". They were produced
by Siggi Bemm, a big name in the international metal world. The
mood during the recordings was easy going and everyone involved
became good friends. In the future, Siggi and the Woodhouse crew
are going to help promote Nemesis in Germany.
You
released 2 albums in the Hungarian language, please tell us more
about those records?
We
released our first album called "Nemesis" in 1998. Our
2nd album, "Abraxas", came out in 1999. Since our
line-up radically changed with the new formation, we re-recorded
and re-mixed both the vocals and the music for
the English versions. The music is basically the same, with only
slight modifications, but it's improved somewhat, because the new
members are better musicians than the old ones were.
Were you
popular in Hungary?
After we
formed, we played lots of gigs here in Hungary and we soon became
a local headliner prog-metal band. We're fairly popular in our
genre in Hungary, I think.
I heard
you split up for a short period...
Yes.
Because of differences of opinion in personal and musical views,
our original line-up split by mutual agreement on December 16,
2000. But Nemesis was reborn with 3 new members on the 27th of
February, 2001. The former members were: Akos Thorday (vocal), Gyargy
Pethe (bass) and Mihaly Szerecsen (drums).
When you
got back together you decided to choose for the English language,
so you were certain to get more attention when you changed the
language lyrics?
The
Hungarian language is too exotic for rock music, and if people
don't understand the words, then it just sounds like a flock of
geese singing: "Ga, ga ga!"! In my opinion, English is
the language of rock music. I'm
certain that we'll get more international attention with the
English lyrics. But we only play in Hungarian to our audience in
Hungary, because that's what they're used to and that's what they
expect from us!
Please tell us all about your new album 'Eden'...
It's our
first English album. It was released in the U.S. on the 3rd of
September, 2001 by Sensory. "Eden?" is a melodic metal
album with many progressive elements. If you like Queensryche and
Dream Theatre, then you'll
love it (we hope). The title, "Eden?", is actually a
question: Is the world we are living in now really
"Eden"? Is it really a Garden of Eden? I don't truly
think this world will get much better, but if people were to
change, and use their minds a little more, then it just might.
But I think that's only a drama!
I believe
it will be followed up pretty soon with another new album called
'Psychogeist', please tell us more about that upcoming release?
When can we expect it?
"Psychogeistâ"
will also be released through Sensory, and it will have a similar
sound to 'Eden', because we recorded both albums at the same
time. The 'Psychogeista' album contains a series of six related
tracks, comprising a story, a kind of psycho-thriller. The other
songs on the album all stand alone. It's a better album than
"Eden?" in my opinion, but the audience will ultimately
decide that. "Psychogeist" will be released in April.
How's the
Hungarian scene, are there many Prog and Melodic Hardrock/Metal
bands?
There are
so many good new bands here now, but most of them only play in
Hungary and don't try themselves out in other countries. There
are some exceptions like Stonehenge and After Crying (even though
they're a progressive rock band), and there's also Without Face
and Sear Bliss. But I think things will change soon, and you'll
be hearing of many more Hungarian bands in the future.
You're
playing progressive/power metal with a lot of excellent melodies,
who influenced you?
We've got
lots of favorite groups: from classic rock, and virtually all
other music styles. Nearly everyone in the band likes something
different. Since the music we play is melodic, combined with
progressive elements, our
main influences are from this area. For instance: Rush,
Queensryche, The Flower Kings, Dream Theater and Yes. But we also
love music from other bands ike Toto and Queen, for example.
Naturally we also listen to today's modern music, but our main
musical influences and inspirations are from the past. The bands
that laid the foundations of this style of music progressed
beyond simple rock and metal cliche's, or complemented them with
exotic musical motifs. We too strive to complement basic musical
structures with elements that create a special, specifically 'Nemesis'
feeling. This doesn't just relate to the music, but the lyrics as
well. There definitely needs to be harmony between the music and
the lyrics. Apart from that, the music can take a back to seat to
a band's technical capabilities. There are complicated musical
forms on this album, but we only employ them when the
mood of the specific song requires.
What are the plans for the next coming months? (any touring plans
or future studio plans?)
We've
already recorded the third Nemesis album which was released in
Hungarian, in Hungary only, in December last year. But we'll make
an English version a little later on so that you guys can listen
to it too (and
understand it, ha-ha). It's a concept album titled 'Terra
Incognitaâ'. It has a slightly different sound though, but I
feel that it's a positive improvement over our fist two albums.
According to our plans, in November we hope to travel to Atlanta
and play at the Progpower festival. I think 2003 will be a year
of gigs in the band's life. We've spent a lot of time working in
studios till now, so it's time to play the songs of Nemesis,
inside and outside of Hungary, if that's at all possible!
Finally,
do you have anything to add to our readers?
Thanks to
everyone for their interest in the band. If we ever make it out
your way for a concert, we promise that we won't let you down.
Anyone who wants to find out more about Nemesis should check out
our website at
www.musicofnemesis.com And thanks for the interview.
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