Embers haben kürzlich mit "The First Squall Of An Evil Storm" ihr Debüt vorgelegt. Die Metal-Edge hat sich doch erheblich ausgeweitet und die Ungarn klingen heute fast böse. Die Trademarks der supermelodischen, treibenden Leads haben sie sich glücklicherweise bewahrt und die gefallen mir nach wie vor sehr gut. Noch immer gibt es auch zäh schleppende Mid Tempo-Walz-Parts mit geilen Schrei-Vocals. Diese Parts sind die pure Apokalypse und so verdammt intensiv!!

Musicscan: give our readers a short briefing about embers, please. what are you guys doing right at the moment?

Embers: Hi Arne! This is Monyo. Embers’ story began in the year of 1998. I would like to correct your infos about the hometown of Embers, coz I read in your reviews that Embers is from Savar. Yes, I live in Sarvar but Embers are from Szombathely. At first Embers was a project of an old school band called United Side. Only Farki, one of the guitarists was the member of Embers that time. They played new school hardcore in the vein of Integrity or All Out War. The a lot of members had changed, there were a lot of line-up changings. In 2001 our first MCD was released by ourselves with the title „the birds fly again...” Next Year Patrick from austrian label Burning Season Records offered us to re-release this MCD with the same title but with a new lay-out. It happened. Our recent line-up is together from last December, it seems it’s finally solid as hell. Then we joined the BeniiHana Family (www.beniihana-records.com) and our new full-length with title „the first squall of an evil storm” was released on this label this april. So this is our story till now. Right at this moment we are looking for shows and trying to book so many as possible.

Musicscan: do you think people should pay more attention to european bands and not only look for new big american groups? did the situation for easter european bands change within the last few years? what are your experiances?

Embers: I think it’s so close-minded to kowtow to the american bands and not to give any chance the european ones. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t have any problems with american bands, there are many bands from the US we like very much. We just can’t stand this fuckin snob attitude. There are so many bands here in Europe who are as good or even better than a lot of american bands. And You know this fuckin attitude that someone are just interested in where is a band from. It isn’t important what is their message, what kind of music do they play, how do they play their music, the most important thing is where are they from. Of course I should tell if the shoe fits wear it! Mustn’t generalize! Maybe I just tell it because we aren’t from the US or from West-Europe..:))) If I should tell You bands from east-european countries who deserve more attention, I even don’t have to think for long to tell awesome groups. Let me see for example Sunrise or Faust Again from Poland, Abhorrence from Slovakia, Analena from Croatia, Entreat or Curse Of Instinct from Slovenia and a lot of bands also from our country. Bridge To Solace, Hold X True, Velvet Stab, The Idoru, Fallen Into Ashes, Penalty Kick, Blood Is Fire, The Taktika, Social Free Face, Derkovbois, and so on and so on… To answer the second part of your quesiton. No, I don’t think that the situation would had changed considerably in the last years. There were bands who could reach important results, like Dawncore or Newborn. The way of these bands is an example for us and we try to follow them. But I think for an eastern band it’s still harder to reach things than for a western band. I don’t want to whine but it’s obvious. But we still hope it will change in the future.

Musicscan: what makes the difference concerning your band? What does stand out? What is Embers offering the hardcore/metal-scene?

Embers: Hmmm, it sounds so funny offering anything..:)) People who listen to our CD can hear melodic but at the same time aggressive and passionate, dynamic and technical qualitative metal. Shit, it sounds so fuckin silly..:)) Like an agent who try to sell his products..:)) Just listen to our CD and then You can decide whether You like it or not. On the shows… Just come to check us, and You’ll have a share a killing metal porn show.;)))

Musicscan: what do you think of the fact that the only really extreme thing to come out of the underground scene nowadays is the music? there seems to be only small room left for critical ideas or important statements...

Embers: I think, it’s obvious. Music is really suitable for carrying some message. You can combine your message, your say with the style of your music or the way you’re playing your music or the way you’re presenting your music in an excellent way. Music is one of the best tools of expression. You can raise emotions and feelings and ideas with it. It’s so simple. But of course music can also relax us, I can listen to a music not tol isten to its meaning to the message. I’m sure our lives would be fuckin grey without music.

Musicscan: is there something like a certain message you guys try to get out in the scenes? how do you choose the topics you are dealing with?

Embers: I don’t think we are chosing the topics. They just somehow come up. From emotions, from personal experiences, from simply life itself. I think Szilard could tell more because he’s writing almost all of the lyrics of Embers. But in general Embers has to say not letting our lives slip away without doing anything. Don’t sit at home on your ass in front of the TV coz then you won’t experience anything what makes you thinking or what maybe makes you happy coz we have only one life. We don’t want to feel that bad feeling on our death-bed that our lives just were slipping away and we weren’t doing, experiencing anything… On the other hand Embers has another not so serious side..:)) It’s about having fun, being together it just makes us happy. We can’t describe that feeling what overcomes us when we get in the van and leave..:)) To sum up I have to quote those lines what are on our T-shirts: „Look up to the sky and see the flying of the birds. Only one moment but you’ll feel the freedom, the tolerance, the beauty, the happiness. Be able to enjoy the moment and you can be happy anywhere at any time.” This is what Embers’ about.

Musicscan: for embers the lyrics are equally important to the music i guess. for most of those metalcore-bands outthere today they are less important. what's your attitude towards hardcore-bands the put only the music at first place?

Embers: Hmm you know for me hardcore is about both music and message and yes lyrics of Embers have pretty important role. In general I consider „hardcore” every single band who has a „hardcore” message, I don’t care what kind of music they play. The next question may be what is being „hardcore”??:) It’s a topic we can talk about day-long. You know I don’t think that labeling things is a good thing. Everyone has to decide what’s important for her/him but inside of me I won’t label a band „hardcore” if they don’t care about message and lyrics. There are people who label „hardcore” only those bands who play the original old school hardcore. A lot of people labeled Embers a hardcore band and also a lot a people told that we are a metal band. To be honest we don’t care about how people label us. Hardcore or metal I don’t care. I myself consider Embers a hardcore band.

Musicscan: being on tour you have surely seen all the different aspects of todays hardcore-scene. what are the main differences between east europe and the western parts?

Embers: To be honest, we haven’t toured so much in West-Europe. We had one show in Switzerland, one in Germany and more shows in Austria but that’s all. I don’t see so huge differences between scenes maybe I just can mention that one that the guys in western countries have the opportunity to check more bands, bigger bands, so they can choose from more shows and the assortment is bigger so they are more fastidious than the guys in eastern countries. BUT: I don’t want to run the western guys down with it coz I consider this attitute natural what can be noticed already in eastern countries too.

Musicscan: many of todays heavy bands seem to miss originality and passion. your band has a lot of both. is it just a question of the right attitude towards music? what do you miss within the hardcore music today?

Embers: I just can’t understand what is that thing what drives those bands you mentioned. Money or what? Coz it can be really shitty thing to play music becuase of the money or out of sheer habit. But it’s the decision of every band why do they play and what they play for. What do I miss? Respect, enthusiasm, unselfishness, commitment. What I’m fed up: shit-talking, backstabbing, selfishness, laziness, whining. That’s all. If the shoe fits wear it. Haha, I find this expression pretty cool..:))) Maybe I mention it so often coz of this fact.:)) I hope, the old times will return but I don’t want to whine for them.

Musicscan: speaking about your main values for life. what are they?

Embers: It’s a good question and pretty hard to asnwer without saying any commonplaces. I think everyone should decide what kind of values are important for her/him. Or what are values for them at all. To me hardcore means living as correct as possible. But what does it mean for me? I try to have such a relation to the people or to my surroundings, to my environtment I want they to have such a relation to me. But maybe I’m somtimes to naive, I should be disappointed too often. However one disappointment is already to many. Embers have a song called „the values are forever lost”. It’s about this topic. That our values don’t mean anything for a lot of people anymore. Their lives are ruled by another things they consider values. Szilard mention 3 values in that song: purity, moralty, innocent. Forever lost. These ones aren’t values for many people anymore. But You know You have to start the change inside, so we just try to live that way we try to live along these things we consider values.

Musicscan: are there any principles you would never give up to as a band?

Embers: Yes, we won’t give up our independence in writing music and lyrics. Not only in those things, generally we won’t give up our independence.

Musicscan: for how long you can tour on a record? is embers your fulltime job? i can imagine that it's pretty hard for an easter-european band...

Embers: No, of course Embers isn’t a full-time job. It isn’t a job at all..:))) We aren’t such a big band who can live of touring and selling records. We are glad if we can get to zero. But it’s still our life.

Musicscan: there are lots of heavier, metal influenced hardcore-bands around these days. embers is playing some melodic new school style, that only sometimes is real metal. is this what seperates you >from other bands?

Embers: We can say we play melodic death metal with hardcore roots. We try to write unique music and don’t want to be a copy-band and yes we try to do something unique but not being separated at any cost. I think it’s already almost impossible to play such kind of music what’s never been played before. I already checked bands only with 2 members, keyboard and drums and things like these but it isn’t sure that these radical innovations will turn out in a great way. Back to our music, we have many influences what people can feel listening to our music but we still try to add some unique sound what makes this whole thing individual.

Musicscan: your songs combine lots of different elements to create this kind of unique sound. is it an intentionell drive to make the songs as varied musically as possible?

Embers: Haha, yeah it’s one of our guitarist’s sin..:))) Farki tries to make the songs as perfect as he can and sometimes he just combines them too much. It’s my opinion. So you know that situation when we feel a song is ready and he says „don’t you think that we should change this one and that one” so he’s always unsatisfied but I think it’s something natural. But to asnwer your question, no it’s not our goal to vary the songs as much as we can..:)

Musicscan: if you would summarise the message and atmosphere of embers' music in one sentence. what would it be?

Embers: It should be a compound sentece..:)))) Hmm, let me think. Look up tp the sky and see the flying of the birds, the melodic destruction, the way of passionate living and the emotional consciousness.

Musicscan: you surely want to cause feelings and reactions within your listeners? what kind of reactions? is there something you want to leave the people your shows with?

Embers: It doesn’t matter if positive or negative reactions. Just not to let the listeners indifferent. Our main goal is making to think and raising of emotions and feelings.

Musicscan: your biggest wish to happen for bands future?

Embers: I would lie when I would say that we don’t want to be a big, world-wide known band but it isn’t our first goal..:))) If You would ask in one year what’s up with the band, I would be very happy to asnwer You that we’re touring often in Europe and we play on festivals and Embers’ name is well-known. We would like to release so many records as we can, to tour so much as we can and I think that’s all.

Musicscan: something you'd like to add?

Embers: At first I would like to thank You for the opportunity! I heard and noticed that people in Germany like that style of music we play so check one of our song called „with borrowed smile” on the hp of BeniiHana Recs. (www.beniihana-records.com). To be honest we would like to play in Germany as much as we can. So, guys if You want to book us or want to ask anything feel free to contact us on these addresses: embers.monyo@freemail.hu or pathofdarkness@freemail.hu It seems our website will be ready around july on this address: www.embers-metal.com Thanx a lot once again!