LET IT BURN records

INTERVIEWS OF "BRIDGE TO SOLACE"

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Silent Stagnation (Germany) | 2005-01-03

Hello Dudes, I'm lb from silentstagnation.com it's really nice that you took the time to answer my questions. Could you please tell us who answered these questions just to cure our curiosity.

Hey there Lb, this is Zoli answering, as usual, haha. The other dudes are a. Lame b. Have no internet access, but want to answer. Anyhow, if I’d just wait for them, this just might take forever to get back haha. I just wanted to clear this to avoid the accusation of dictatorship...

How do you see the Hardcore Community in Eastern Europe compared to the one in Western Europe (especially Germany, Belgium, Netherlands). I have the impression that the easter european kids less fashion-focused than many (but definitely not all) people at hardcore shows in Germany for example.

I definitely like the Eastern community a lot more, as people there seems to care more about the music and the message and less about anything else. Last weekend we played some Polish shows, and the crowd turnouts were more than amazing, and people were just so supportive and friendly. And that is crucial to put on a good show. We do our best all the time, but whenever you rock your heart out and don’t see any kind of response, that can pretty much let you down. I love playing Poland or Czech Republic or Slovakia, those places rock so much.

I just recently listened to your new song "believe" from the upcoming MCD "kingdom of the dead". by the way it's a really cool song and i'm really looking forward to the new CD. tell us, about what kind of ... beliefs ... is the song talking?

The song talks about my convictions and beliefs, being a member of the hardcore punk community. It’s a homage to what this community gave me and how it shaped my inner self during the past decade. I’m glad to be here, even if all the negative aspects of the scene might let some down, I got so much through hardcore punk and I’m happy about it. I’m happy that I differ from other people I’m surrounded with sometimes. Taking the shorter way might be easier and you could be more content in life, well I just did not chose that one, but this way I could learn a lot, educate myself a lot and I feel I care about things, while random people don’t. This of course means more struggle, but in my opinion struggle really defines your personality and the way you embrace your suffering helps you to shape your identity and changes you to a tougher person. Saying tough I don’t mean being a meathead but being self-confident and decisive.

The introduction of this song is really atmospheric. where is that intro from?

It is written by ourselves. Adam wanted some atmospheric orchestral kinda thing with female vocals. We did it all by ourselves, while the singer is Adam’s old friend. She did a wonderful job.

During the last 12 months, since the release of "... of bitterness and hope" you played loads of shows all over Europe. I have seen you in Krakow and in Munich recently. Do you think there are differences between the crowds in different countries? Which one was the best and which one the worst show you played in the last year? were there any really funny and cool things happening?

Within the past 12 months by far we have played around 60 shows everywhere, and I totally love it this way. I have already addressed the differences between the countries in one of my answers above. The best shows we have played were Krakow, the Fluff Fest, Bolzano and Munich was really cool a couple weeks ago as well as our show in Budapest with Darkest Hour this past March. We also played some big fests, with bands like Cradle Of Filth and Children Of Bodom. Those probably belong to the funnier things, playing these huge stages, huge venues. The one particular bad show was the Good Life fest for us. The crowd there was just so damn weird. But we always have a lot of fun anyway.

For some time there were rumours about Zoli quitting the band. Obviously the rumours weren't true, but do you know what led people to that impression?

On the tour we did with Walls Of Jericho, I could not go, due to some home troubles that totally grew upon me. I just had to deal with those problems and get my life working again. I always try to give 110% onstage, and I’m a really emotional person, so basically I’m more sensitive to the things happening around and with me. I really needed a break, as all these problems with my private life were growing upon me so hard, that it nearly totally ruined my mental health, but on the other hand I did not want the band slow down and cancel. So we decided we should find someone to replace me for these couple shows. A friend of ours, Spencer was studying in Budapest. He’s originally from San Francisco and plays bass and sings for this cool emo band called The Shivering, they remind me a lot on Rites Of Spring. However, Spencer is one crazy motherfucker and he was into it, and saved our asses.

I really like the layout of "... of bitterness and hope". Did the guy from digitsdestroy also do the layout for your new MCD? I read that he's a friend of yours. Could you tell us something about how you got to know him and his talent... In which way are you involved in the design process? Do you have certain ideas and images or does he have complete freedom?

He has this really cool band called Velvet Stab. They recently signed to Beniihana Records. So I saw their CD cover and one website he did, and I was totally amazed by his work. We had a friend who was supposed to do the layout for our full-length, but the files he burned on the CD were not good and he left Hungary to go back and live in NYC, and we could not find a fast solution to redo the artwork and change the files with him, so I asked Zoli to do it. I gave him the lyrics and told him he has about 2 or 3 days for this. And he did it, and we were speechless. He also did the new MCD’s artwork, and we love that one as well. Make sure you go and check out his work at www.digitsdestroy.com and his band at www.velvetstab.com.

Reading the lyrics of "in the shadow of death", i was asking myself if you wrote the song based on an actual event of death in your surrounding or was it some kind of desperate feeling that made you write these words?

It was not based on any actual events, but death in general. Death is my ultimate fear and the ultimate fear of mankind. Whenever I think of death, it is something that totally shocks me and is terrifying. No matter how strong you are in life, no matter how happy you are, death awaits you in the end, and you can NEVER conquer death. I was around 14 when I first discovered how I could not face death and face my fears. It was an ever growing issue within myself, and I decided I should write about it, and let my thoughts out. Let my anger, my fear out through this song. Death is terrifying, since you never know when you have to face it, and you can never know if you have lived enough. This is a song that deals with my fear of death and other people’s fear, and how those people hide that fear, and how those people escape into illusions, and totally forget that life is not the valley of death, as they have been told so often. It hurts to see when people waste their lives, and surrender to dogmas and obey higher powers who’s existence is more than questionable.

From these words i'm guessing you don't believe in any kind of higher power or in fate, do you?

I somehow believe in fate. And on one extent, I’m a spiritual person. I believe in good and evil, and I believe that life (or fate) will either punish or glorify you for what you do in life. I think that there is always a cause and effect coherence in whatever you do in life, and whatever happens to you after that. I believe in suffering as much as I do in happiness. I find it just as useful to cry as to smile. Everything has it’s place in everyone’s life. As I mentioned it earlier, it’s really important to struggle and fight your little wars in life to be happy, to be stronger and more self-confident. As for the higher power part of your question, I don’t believe in higher power, as I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, and my eyes are the only things that won’t cheat me. For me, the question is not wether we believe in higher power or not, but if we should just worship something that might not be there where we feel it to be. It might not exist. I believe in myself, I believe in my creativity, in my loved ones. I believe in my own wars, my own pain and my own joy. Those are things that shape you and not something you cannot be sure about.

How do you write songs. Do you have the music ready at first and write the lyrics later or does it all happen at once or vice versa?

It happens randomly. Sometimes I’m late, sometimes I have the lyrics done before any new songs pop up in Adam’s mind. Sometimes I have lyrics and I do feel they don’t match the atmosphere of certain song, and therefore I might just listen to the music, and get the feeling of it, and look for soemthing to write about. As for the technical way of writing the songs, Adam’s doing it at home, than he shows the song to the other three guys, who add their little extras and learn their parts. After all this is done, it’s my turn to work on how to get the lyrics to the songs. I like to be lazy with this and pretty often I’m still doing changes when we’re already in the studio.

I read in another interview on your website, that some of you work in fulltime jobs. is it hard to find a balance between playing so many shows, some kind of personal life and the day to day work? I also read that you are involved in several other activities. Zoli you're also known for doing Antitouristguide Booking. Don't you ever need some rest? Or do you prefer living on the fast lane ? :)

I think it’s pretty hard to find that balance. Right now, Tom, Adam and me are without jobs, and it totally sucks. I’m pretty much broke. It seems we won’t be doing much for the rest of this year, due to work issues of our other two members. As for myself, hell yeah, I need rest. That is why I made Antitouristguide slow down, and focus only on booking local shows, which alone is a lot to do, as we are striving to be really professionals, and I can be proud saying, that show by show, we do a better job with promoting shows here. I somehow prefer living on the fast lane, but I’m not as stubborn and maniac as I used to be a couple years ago. I always felt I’m missing something if I don’t hang out at a show or so, but since then I don’t care that much. My life and health are a lot more important to me than to knock myself out while I might be doing nothing else, but hunting for stupid status positions. It was not easy to acknowledge that, but it definitely helped me for good.

My second question concerning ordinary jobs is what you think about the often called "work slavery" of 9-5 jobs. Isn't there some discrepancy between some kind of socialist or leftist ideal of freedom and how work is supposed to be and the problem of needing money in order to live, to eat and to do all the activities concerning hardcore, too?

Of course there is a contradiction, and I wish there would not be, but all of us have to sacrifice in order to make our life’s exciting. Earlier I tried to keep myself away from the regular 9 to 5 slavery, but well, it is crucial nowadays to get by. I really really hope the band will go so well, that it might actually pay some of our bills. We just sacrifice so much, and we cannot do it forever.

What do you think about that Hungary became a part of the European Union? Did you have any troubles at the borders before this happened?

We had quite some troubles before, being in Newborn, now it’s a lot easier. I am not fully into the idea of the European Union, it definitely has its pros and contras. It is weird how Europe is divided and how some people decide about splitting Europe up. People from outside the EU are considered to be scum, and us, citizens of the new EU countries will be considered like that as well.

In which way does this affect your personal lifes and that of the people living in your country? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Being part of the EU since May, I can’t say much yet. If I would want to be funny, all I can say is that I’m glad the alcohol prices got way lower than before hahaha. I’m sure Hungary’s economics will have a really hard time, since this country used to be so disorganized concerning everything. I still feel it’s weird that someone from Brussels is going to tell people in Hungary what to do.

Does "Bridge To Solace" as a band embrace a certain lifestyle like vegetarism / veganism or some other from of political ideas?

We embrace being humans. As a band we don’t embrace anything. We are 5 individuals, with same goals, but might look at those goals from a different aspect. I’m the only vegetarian in the band, sometimes I cheat tho and eat fish. Some of us are politically aware, but as a band, we try to keep ourselves away from those labels. We are not here to preach. We are here to tell stories and help people get by. I realized, that so many political bands forget that hardcore is also about fun. I’m not here to tell people how much they suck, just like most of those bands do, but I’m here to make people smile and think in a positive way. If I would just rant all the time explaining world problems to people, they would just freak out. I’m positive you can reach people from a different perspective, and that is what we are trying to do. We are not only here to rock out, but to spark interest in people, however, people are different, and you just cannot talk to them like they are wrong and apathic, even if they are. You should find a perfect means to make people smile and think at the same time. I really hope we succeed in that.

Now some time for self-advertising. What can we expect from the "kingdom of the dead" - MCD and from Bridge to Solace in the next months? Are there any tours planned?

We have no tours planned for this year. We will play some Hungarian shows outside of Budapest, as we did not concentrate on that part. Next year we will surely do some tours as there are still places we haven’t been to, and we would definitely want to see the world, be on the road, and meet all our great friends around the continent. Also, we’ve never been good in the webworld thing, so I’m proud to announce, that we have a website: www.bridgetosolace.com. We can also be found at myspace.com as well as on hxcmp3.com (www.hxcmp3.com/bands/2715), where everyone can listen to our new mp3, Believe.

By the way, Zoli, what's up with Antitouristguide Booking? The news on the website aren't that new anymore :)

As I mentioned before, we are slowing down, concentrating on local shows. The next band I’m gonna book is Fordirelifesake from Detroit. They are a really good band and really good people. Everyone should check their stuff out at www.fordirelifesake.com. As for the website, the www.antitouristguide-booking.com site is under heavy construction (actually, I’m simultaneously doing this interview and talk to my friend Zoli from DigitsDestroy about the new design and getting it working asap), and hopefully hits the webspace in the first couple days of October.

Well, do you want to tell us any further stories, comments or something ididn't ask for?

I’d like to say thanks for taking your time and getting us these questions. I really really enjoyed answering. Also, everyone should go and check out our friend, Greg Bennick’s site at www.wordsasweapons.com and www.flightfromdeath.com. As probably everybody knows, he did spoken words for the “...Of Bitterness And Hope” full-length, and he is a good friend of ours. We can never be grateful enough, so if I have the chance, I wanna do a little bit of advertising to his projects. He is into a lot interesting stuff, so make sure you check those pages out. So thanks again for the interview, and hope to see you soon.

Then i'm done. Thanks for answering my questions and I'm looking forward to seeing you rock on stage...

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
As Ice (Holland) | 2004-11-25

Bridge To Solace (ex-Newborn) was founded back in 2000, where the string and rhythm section got together to play what they like the most: fast hardcore punk music with as many melodic guitars as possible. All the members have been busy in the past years of the Budapest hardcore punk scene with both disbanded and still-existing groups. This interview is a bit late, since we just recently got the answers to our questions, but still we thought it might be a cool thing to introduce this band to everybody out there. The interview was send right after these guys toured Europe with The Red Chord, and please watch out for them cause there's a split with Amendment18 coming up!

Ok guys, before we start the "official interview", you just finished touring, tell me what was up?! Since I never got to see you guys on this tour. And please feel free to drop a few funny anecdotes!

Hey, the tour was pretty rad. We loved it, it is always great to experience a new start and see how people react to us. All we can say is that the response for us was way beyond all our expectations. There were a lot of funny stories actually, cannot really come up with one certain right now, maybe we should do a tour diary as soon as our webpage will work.

I must admit I had never heard of you guys before, well Newborn rang a bell, but that's about it. Tell me what happend after Newborn quit, and how you guys got together, since there was a bit of a problem finding the right singer if I got my info right...

This band existed from early 2000 as far as I can remember, and they used the same rehearsal space as us in Newborn. Adam played everything, they tested a lot of drummers, - as Tom also played guitars at some point -, some singers, but the band somehow did not get together. Newborn broke up, and Adam asked what if I join. I was like, okay, let’s do it. They gave me a rehearsal tape of 6 songs, and the more I listened, the more I got into it, the rest is pretty much known...

Before all the songs there are a few spoken words, how did you guys end up with Greg Bennick (Trial) to do those spoken words before each song and what's exactly up with those "intro's"?

I did a show for Trial in November ’99, that’s how I got to know him. We changed contacts, and stayed in constant touch since then. So he knew about Newborn, Bridge To Solace, I knew about all his projects, including www.wordsasweapons.com, the World Leaders Project, the Flight From Death movie (www.flightfromdeath.com), and I also knew he had been doing juggling/spoken word shows since forever, so we thought we should ask him to contribute to our record. We have sent him the songs and lyrics, so he came up with his own pieces. We are really happy it turned out this way, since we feel what he did, fits perfectly for the record, and we are eternally grateful, that he had the time and will to work with us.

You guys are from Budapest, alot of the lyrics deal with political stuff. Is this a logical combination for a band from that area?

I don’t think so. Logical combination is that we are a hardcore band, and we feel as a hardcore band we should talk about things that are bugging us. People have nearly the same problems in every big city of the world from Paris through London to let’s say New York.

What are the upcoming plans for you guys? The new album is just out, the tour just ended, what's in store for us in the near future?

We plan to do more touring next year, a split is confirmed with A 18 on Let It Burn Records and hopefully we’ll be able to bring out another full-length record. A song from us will appear on New Age Records’ “Louder than words” compilation CD. Hopefully the vinyl version of “Of Bitterness and Hope” will see the light soon, as well as a Japanese release of it.

There are still people wondering what happened to Newborn..

People wondering what happend to Newborn Ahm. Necessary bad. Not the people, but to talk about it. I mean, we are open to talk about everything, sometimes I just feel it is a bit of a disrespect towards the other three members who were not members of Newborn. Anyway, on the other hand I feel good that people ask about Newborn, since that means people actually cared about that band, so I am not complaining.

What do you think about the internet teaming up with hardcore?

Not bad. Of course it does not always help small labels, but I think if people have the chance to download songs/records, they have the possibility to know good bands, and then go and support those bands, buying their record, and going to their shows.

OK that's about it guys, any last words or thank you's for our readers?

Thank you!

Interview by: LaRazza

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Torzo (Hungary) | 2004-11-22

Hamarosan kijön egy új Bride To Solace anyag, de az elsõ, 2003-ban megjelent ...Of Bitterness And Hope címre hallgató nagylemez is ugyanúgy aktuális még, pláne itthon, ahol a terjesztés igencsak akadozik. De van remény! Tudtuk meg ezt (és még mást is) Jakab Zolitól, aki a banda énekese.

Letörtél valamennyire, amikor vége lett a Newborn-nak?

Természetesen, hiszen a Newborn tagjaként nagyon sok olyan dolgot élhettem meg, amirõl álmodni sem mertem volna korábban és úgy gondolom, hogy az igazi nagy áttörés küszöbén történt meg a zenekar feloszlatása. Azonban, ha megnézzük azt a két zenei világot, amit a két utódzenekar, azaz a The Idoru és mi a Bridge To Solace-el képviselünk, be kell látnunk, hogy a döntés jó volt és elindult két zenekar, akik valamilyen szinten továbbvitték a Newborn szellemiségét, anélkül, hogy az igazán izzadtságszagúnak tûnt volna.

Mikor indult a Bridge To Solace? Te is alapító tag vagy?

A Bridge To Solace még Joy’s Pride néven indult nagyjából 2000. elején, sõt, beszállásom után 2002. novemberében még ezen a néven adtuk elsõ koncertünket, de mivel nem mindenki volt 100%-ig a név mögött, így úgy döntöttünk, hogy új név után nézünk. Több nap szenvedés és fuldoklásban végzõdött röhögés után végül Kutiból kijött a Bridge To Solace név, ami mindannyiunknak tetszett.

Hogyan aposztrofálnád a BtS zenéjét?

Egészséges keveréke a hardcore dühének, a punkrock lendületének és a metal dallamosságának.

Mennyire segített benneteket az elindulásban, hogy már ismert nevek voltatok a színtéren?

Szerencsére könnyebb volt a dolgunk, hiszen a Newborn feloszlása után mind az öt tag bejelentette, hogy tovább folytatjuk a zenélést. A Bridge To Solace ráadásul a Newborn búcsúbuli után kerek egy hónappal már játszott is. Külföldön is könnyebb dolgunk volt, hiszen a Newborn azért kapott több ajánlatot is, így a kiadók fél szemmel figyelték az új zenekarokat is, és mikor Ádám kisegített a müncheni Paint The Town Red tagjaként a Converge-el közös Európa turnéjukon, a gitáros Chris (övé a Let It Burn) az elsõ koncertünk videofelvétele alapján egybõl tett egy ajánlatot. Érdekesség még, hogy a Paint The Town Red énekese egyben a Join The Team Player Records fõnöke, ahol pedig a Newborn elsõ lemeze jött volna ki. Miután egy-két szám felkerült az internetre, egyre inkább futottak be ajánlatok.

A kiadóval elégedettek vagytok? Milyen a visszhangja az elsõ albumnak?

Az elsõ album visszhangja kifejezetten jó volt, hiszen a Let It Burn promócióját egy, a hardcore színtéren belül ismert promós cég intézte, akik szinte minden komoly helyre eljuttatták az anyagot és nagyon kedvezõ kritikákat kaptunk az olyan nagyobb német lapokban, mint a Visions vagy a Rock Hard. Az eladott példányszám valahol 2000 körül tart jelenleg, tehát nem panaszkodhatunk. A kiadóval bizonyos mértékig elégedettek vagyunk, de szeretnénk tovább lépni.

Nagyobb kiadók megkeresésében nem gondolkoztok?

Ahogy elõbb említettem szeretnénk tovább lépni, de errõl egyelõre bõvebbet nem szeretnék mondani, mivel nem lenne fair. Annyit elárulhatok, hogy két komolyabb európai hardcore punk kiadó is érdeklõdik irántunk, remélhetõleg õszre nagyjából tudni fogjuk, hogy hol fogunk dolgozni.

Mikorra várható a következõ anyag tõletek?

Jelenleg is folynak az új EP, a 4 számos Kingdom Of The Dead felvételei, aminek a hivatalos megjelenési dátuma szeptember 27.

És nagylemez?

Mivel nagyon lassan írunk számokat, ezért nem hiszem, hogy 2005 nyaránál elõbb lenne bármilyen új anyag tõlünk. Az elsõ lemezzel volt két turné, egy háromhetes körút a Paint The Town Red és a holland Razor Crusade társaságában, valamint egy rövidebb, 10 napos turné a Walls Of Jericho-val, így úgy gondoljuk, hogy bõven van még hely, ahol nem ismerik a lemezt. Amint kijön az EP, szeretnénk a lehetõ legtöbbet játszani és bízunk benne, hogy bekerülünk valamilyen nagyobb zenekar elé, mivel úgy néz ki, hogy a jövoben az Avocado Booking irodához fogunk tartozni. Õk szervezték többek között a Darkest Hour összes turnéját, valamint a legutóbbi két Converge turnét, õk hozták át Európába elõször a Boysetsfire-t, tehát jó helyre kerültünk.

Zeneileg lesz változás az elõzõ anyaghoz képest? Gondolom szövegileg nem nagyon…

Szövegileg természetesen marad a megszokott vonal, bár most sokkal inkább személyesek a témák. Zeneileg talán metalosabb az új anyag, de ezt igazából mindenki döntse el maga. Én úgy érzem, hogy az új EP egy hatalmas lépés lesz nekünk elõre.

Fontosnak tartod, hogy minden dalnak legyen komoly üzenete, vagy másról is tudnál írni, csak nem akarsz?

Természetesen tudnék másról is írni, de úgy gondolom, hogy ha az embernek adódik lehetõsége, hogy fent álljon a színpadon, akkor próbálja meg a lehetõ legtöbbet megtenni, hogy valamit átadjon azoknak, akik idõt, energiát és nem utolsósorban pénzt sem sajnálva elmennek és tiszteletüket teszik az adott zenekar fellépésén.

A zenétõl, vagy a szövegtõl lesz hardcore egy zenekar?

A vélemény ezzel kapcsolatban mindenhol megoszlik, még a hardcore színtéren belül is. Sokan azt mondják, hogy az igazi hardcore nem más, mint az a zenei vonal, amelyeket a nyolcvanas évek Amerikájában olyan zenekarok fémjeleztek, mint a Minor Threat, a korai Cro-Mags, a Youth Of Today, az Agnostic Front és társaik. Ez részben tán igaz is, azonban úgy látom, hogy inkább a mondanivaló az, ami miatt beszélhetünk hardcore színtérrõl. A zenei határok 2004-re abszolút elmosódtak, így felesleges belemenni ilyen vitákba szerintem, hogy definiáljuk a hardcore szó mai jelentését.

Magyarországon van igazán HC színtér? Vagy az itteni bandák csak itt élnek, de kintre alkotnak? Hol vagytok sikeresebbek?

Van természetesen. Sok zenekar van, akik megteszik a legtöbbet a maguk módján, és próbálnak egyrõl a kettõre jutni. A zenekarok nagy része itt is alkot, de rajtunk kívül szerencsére többen is kijutnak külföldre. A mi esetünkben abszolút igaz, hogy mi külföldön népszerûbbek vagyunk, mint itthon, ennek egyik oka mondjuk az itthoni terjesztés hiánya, amit igyekszünk a jövõben orvosolni.

Több nem HC-s arctól hallottam már, hogy azért nem jár el HC bulikra, mert ez egy igen zárt közösség, ahová elég nehéz bekerülni. Sokan úgy érezték, hogy kinézik õket a koncertekrõl, arról meg ne is beszéljünk, hogy „szájbarágós papolásnak” is nevezik az ilyen rendezvényeket. Pedig a zenével nem lenne feltétlen bajuk. Miért alakulhatott ki ez az ellenségeskedés?

Ezt meg tudom érteni. Régebben sokkal zártabb volt, ma már talán nem ennyire sznob ez a közösség. Amit fontosnak tartok elmondani, hogy ez a színtér évek óta folyamatosan fejlõdik lépésrõl-lépésre. Mi sohasem kaptunk külsõ segítséget, ellenben sokaknak egyszerû volt lekezelõen lefikázni azt, amit mi felépítettünk. Nyugodt szívvel és minden nagyképûség nélkül kijelenthetem, hogy egyetlen más underground színtér sincs annyira jól szervezett és mûködõképes hazánkban, mint a hardcore színtér, arról már nem is beszélve, hogy a Bridge To Solace, vagy korábban a Newborn és a Dawncore elég komoly sikereket aratott a maguk szintjén külföldön, amit más zenekar nem nagyon ért el ezidáig. Az ellenségeskedés egy része irigységbõl alakulhatott ki, másrészt meg azért, mert lenézték és semmibe vették ezt a mozgalmat az átlagos keményzenei rajongók.

Köztudott, hogy koncerteket is szervezel. Nem keserítettek még el a hazai viszonyok?

Dehogynem, nem túl könnyû itthon bármilyen szokatlant csinálni, de ha az embernek szívügye valami, akkor mindent belead és sokszor talán nem képes racionális döntéseket hozni.

Egyébként mostanában mintha érzõdne valami javulás ilyen téren, nem?

Egyértelmûen javultak a viszonyok. Napjainkban egyre több metal kiadó szerzõdtet hardcore gyökerekkel rendelkezõ bandákat, mint a Killswitch Engage, a Hatebreed, az Unearth, vagy akár a svájci Cataract, akik nagyon közeli barátaink és nemrégiben a Metal Blade-hez kerültek. Ennek hatására sok fiatal kerül kapcsolatba a mi színterünkkel is, ennek köszönhetõen az elmúlt két évben egy lassú növekedés kezdõdött el a koncertlátogatók számában.

Kizárólag a HC közönségnek szerveztek bulikat, vagy nyitottak vagytok más mûfajra is?

Más mûfajra is nyitottak vagyunk. Bármi amit szeretünk jöhet. Csináltunk barátaimmal már High On Fire és Mastodon bulit is, amelyiket nem nagyon nevezhetnénk hardcore-nak, emellett a bulijaimon nem egyszer játszottak más stílusú bandák, elég csak a Wall Of Sleep, a Stereochrist, az IHM vagy a Casketgarden nevét említenem.

Visszatérve még a Bride To Solace-re. Mi a nyári menetrendetek?

Most jöttünk haza egy hosszú hétvégés miniturnéról, ahol játszottunk egy cseh és egy belga fesztiválon, valamint volt egy grazi klubkoncertünk is. Jövõ héten nyomjuk a Szigeten, 5-én a Hammer színpadon délután öttõl, 25-én egy 10 napos Európa-turnéra megyünk a bécsi Nothing Gold Can Stay társaságában, akiknél a gitárosunk, Fellegi Ádám dobol. A turné keretein belül játszunk a legendás Ieper festen belgiumban (www.ieperfest.com). Itthon õsszel leszünk a Wigwamban a Wall Of Sleep-el, majd októberben a Kultiplexben. Jelenleg is tárgyalások folynak egy nagyobb turnéról, azonban ezzel kapcsolatban nem szeretnék semmit sem elkiabálni. Ha minden úgy jön össze, ahogy megálmodtam, akkor azt hiszem elmondhatom nyugodtan, hogy 2004 a BTS igazi nagy éve és egyben belépõ egy másik szintre és végre olyan szinten zenélhetünk, ahogy egy zenész azt mindig is megálmodja. Ezek mellett a nyári menetrendhez tartozik, hogy a honlapunk a jelenlegi címérõl (www.holosonicmusic.com/bridgetosolace) átkerül a www.bridgetosolace.com domainre, ezer köszönet Felföldi Petinek a honlapért. Nektek pedig köszönjük a kérdéseket!

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Frantic Sound (Sweden) | 2004-09-17

Hey, how are you ?

Doing cool. Chillin'. As always. Haha.

Cool... Could you state your name, and your position in the band ?

My name is Zoli and I sing for Bridge To Solace.

Ok, how long has the band been together, and why did you started it ?

The band has been together since early 2000. Krisz and Laci have been in a band called Many Others, but they broke up. They were good friends with Tom who played for this really cool punk rock band called Hatso Szandek. They asked Adam, who was the drummer of Newborn if he wants to join and Adam said yes. Adam has a lot of skills on different instruments, but Newborn's music was always coming from one guy, so Adam had no chance to let his musical ideas heard in Newborn. The original idea was Adam singing and Tom playing guitars. The band was actually called Joy's Pride (we played our first show under that name) back then. They tested some drummers and then some vocalists and finally they figured Tom should be the best for the drummer's position, while Adam wanted to play guitars. When Newborn broke up, they asked me if I would be interested in singing for them. And since I knew those guys since quite some years I gladly said yes. I joined the band in September 2002 and we immediately started to work on our first full-length [Of Bitterness and Hope], and started playing shows. As I mentioned, we had a different name, but not all of us were fully behind it, so early 2003 we decided to look for a new name, the rest is pretty much known. We played our 2nd show in February 2003, and that was the first one under the name Bridge To Solace.

Okay, anything you want to tell people with your name ?

Well, Tom figured it. Basically it's about how much we care for the hardcore community and how it is our shelter in this world.

What do you think of the hardcore community today ? Anything you feel shouldn’t be there ?

The hardcore community today leaves me pretty much with ambiguous feelings. On one hand it now gives more chance to bands getting heard, while on the other hand it is full of business interests and competitions. Also, some things are sometimes taken too serious by hardcore kids and forget about all the fun and excitement hardcore can offer.

Also there is the phenomenon within hardcore that is being called 'fashioncore' you know, the tight pants, etc. and some people don't like that, personally I don't care, it's just clothes, etc. What do you thing about it ?

It's totally ridiculous. I have a funtime watching all these morons. A couple years ago, when everyone was into Morning Again, all these people looked totally different, but whatever, I could not care less. Let them think that they are cool, but all of us know that the way you look like means shit.

Okay, I haven't been into the scene that long, but I have discovered, that within hardcore there's so many styles and beliefs. What would be your belief ?

My belief is being true to myself and my friends and always do the right thing, always listen to my heart. For me it's important to try to give something to people who care about Bridge To Solace. I am not here to preach, but to tell stories and share thoughts with other people who might think the same way as I do.

Bridge To Solace is a political band in my opinion, do you also consider yourself being that, and if yes, do you feel that hardcore have lost it’s political sense in general ?

We are a hardcore band. Everything else are just labels. We are a hardcore band who's talking about a lot of political things, because we felt we should do so. Due to the business and competition in the community, it's sure that some bands are pulling this whole thing to another way than being political, but also, some people seem to be so know-it-all and stubborn about political issues and forget about the fact that meanwhile hardcore is something serious, it should be fun as well. Whenever you wanna tell other people how to behave, what to eat, what music to listen to, you're fucked up, you know. And that's something I discover in all those political punks and hardcore kids.

Ok, which bands do you feel contribute most to hardcore today from your point of view ?

To be honest, I haven't seen that many really good bands lately, who might be a perfect mixture of thought-provoking lyrics, insane live act and mindblowing music. I would say Bane is definitely one of the bands I really like as they have a lot of good things to say, but my number one favorite of the 21st century is definitely Strike Anywhere.I also love bands like Darkest Hour, who are sweet people and even if they get bigger and bigger year by year, they are still the coolest people with a real cool punk attitude.

Darkest Hour is awesome, do you know Majority Rule ?

Hell fucking yeah, I love them as well. Haha, look how stupid I am. I even booked their last European tour. They are also really good and nice and really smart guys who care about a lot of politics.

Awesome you did that ! They always (have seen them twice) put a good show on, and you can really feel their passion !

Yeah, and totally cool people, the friendliest guys ever. We played a lot shows with them when I was still in Newborn, and we had such an awesome time. Once I got pretty shitfaced with Pat, their drummer haha.

Haha, cool ! So do you do a lot of bookings ?

Not anymore. I kinda stopped as I had a lot going on last year and wanted to concentrate more on my own band and my private life.

Yeah, of course. What have Bridge To Solace been up to lately ?

We are writing new songs. We were supposed to put out a split with A 18. But their singer, Isaac left the band, so we postponed the split to a later period. But we have three new songs done, and we wanna record them. So it's going to be an EP with those 3 songs. There might actually be some more songs on it. It will come out in a digipak format and we wanna put a multimedia part on it, since we have a really good live footage of one of the BTS shows we played in Poland a couple of months ago. Oh yeah, we love Poland!

Haven't been in Poland, but that might happen one day I'm sure... Will the EP also be released on Let It Burn Records ?

Sure, we still love Chris [Let It Burn boss], even if he's German haha.

Hehe... how is Let It Burn ? How did you end up with them ?

Adam played drums for Paint The Town Red on their tour with Converge and Chris is the guitarist in that band. We knew Chris from Newborn times and we knew he is a cool dude. Adam played him the first BTS show on a videotape, and Chris said he liked it a lot, and wanted to sign us. So that is how we ended up there. That label is expanding a lot, he has a lot of good bands, and he’s going to put out Scars Of Tomorrow soon, or The Crimson Divine from Germany, with some Man Vs. Humanity dudes, also Dark Day Dungeon are really amazing and good friends of ours.

Thought Scars Of Tomorrow were on Victory, or is it just in Europe ?

This is their record out prior to their signing to Victory. It came out on Thorp, Chris licensed it from them.

Ahh okay... so I'm actually listen to "Of Bitterness and Hope" right now, and there is a few thing I would like to know about it, so I just start off. Why all these spoken word parts ?

If you listen to the music, the songs are pretty similar to each other and we kinda thought of adding some extras. We first thought about looking for something from let's say Noam Chomsky and then we figured out that we shoud rather go for something more unique. And then I got in touch with my friend Greg Bennick, who used to sing for the best hardcore band EVER called Trial and asked him if he wants to contribute, as he was doing spoken word shows and lot of political activities in the last couple years. He was really glad doing it, and we all love what he did, I would totally feel the record being empty without his spoken pieces.

Yeah, they are definitely adding something good to the record, and I really enjoy them very much. But I would have to say, that your songs may sounds smimilar, but not that much again, I think you managed to give every song it's own identity.

Well, yeah, pretty much all our songs have their unique feel, but if you listen to them, they are all fastpaced, with tons of melodies, and we kinda felt we wanted to raise the intensity level with these spoken breaks.

Yeah, and as I kinda said before they're working out very good. So another thing about the record, must be the last song "Hail To Gothenburg", why a tribute to the Swedish metal ?

Because we love the melodic Swedish Death Metal. At The Gates, Dismember, Entombed, we love these bands a lot, and when we finished that song it did not fit the rest, but we loved it, so we wanted to record it as well and have it as a special bonus...

Cool, it sounds good, so nothing negative in it !

Sure not!

Any specific reason why you don't play metalcore influenced by swedish metal ?

We play hardcore influenced by swedish metal haha. But still, we don't sound like At The Gates or any other metalcore band...

Definitely not.. Did your sound just came together, or did you have some clear visions about how you wanted your music to be ?

Well, you should rather address this question to Adam, but he is not here, so. He had these ideas long before and we always knew that we wanted to mix the melodies of metal with the energy and fast pace of hardcore, so basically we had concrete ideas about how we wanna do the band's music.

So, could you somehow say that Bridge To Solace is his own development of the Newborn sound ?

I don't think it's development, since Newborn was way more technical, but I would say BTS is the essence Adam and me loved in Newborn.

Ok, it's been awhile ago since "Of Bitterness and Hope" was released, how do you feel people have reacted on it ?

We think reactions have been more than amazing. Both the kids and the press loved it, so we cannot complain. Of course we got all these Newborn comparisons that we just could not avoid of course. Some people say they liked Newborn more, some say they like BTS more, but still, it's our baby and we love it and that is the most important thing.

Yeah.... How about your new material, what will it sound like ?

That's a natural development from the first BTS record.

Okay, do you have an idea about when the EP will be released ?

Hopefully it comes out july 15th.

Sweet... Ok, I have a few things left that I want to ask about. How is the scene in Hungary ? Don't know much band from your country, just heard about a band called Ember, and that's that, at least that's what comes to my mind...

The scene is getting a lot better, we have tons of really good bands who are worth checking out. Embers are really good, their new CD is amazing. There's Velvet Stab (www.velvetstab.com), who just signed to Beniihana Records, they sound like a mixture of Poison The Well or Deftones. Hold X True (www.holdxtrue.cjb.net) plays youth crew hardcore, they have a record label in the US. Fallenintoashes (www.fallenintoashes.com) are really good too. There's a new band called Blood Is Fire (www.bloodisfire.com), they sound like a moshing metal band with both screamed and Boysetsfire-like sung vocals. So things are good here, finally.The other Newborn guys are doing an amazing band called The Idoru (www.theidoru.com).

Cool, I will definitley check them out !

You really should, they are all really good.

I will. So do you have any plans about visiting Denmark in the near future ? You were forced to cancel your show at last years Fredericia HC festival...

Yeah, we had to cancel a lot of our summer shows due to a serious strain injury of our drummer, Tom. We are planning to hit the Scandinavian part of Europe with Sterochrist (www.stereochrist.com), Hungarian stoner metal extravaganza and all-around good dudes, who are on the Malevolent Creation guitarplayer's label.

Ok, I will look forward to that ! What else do you think Bridge To Solace will be up to in the forthcoming months ?

Hopefully tons of shows. We will play with Cradle Of Filth, Testament in june. We do some Hungarian fests, we play Ieper, Good Life, Fluff fests, do a short tour with The Idoru, another short one with Nothing Gold Can Stay. So we have a lot of plans for this year.

Cool, This is maybe not that important, but what is your view on the whole internet-thing ?

Message boards can suck sometimes haha. Otherwise it can be fun, if you can control your internet connection, and don't let your internet connection control you hahahah.

Yeah I see what you mean...What do you think about that Hungary has become a part of the EU ?

I'm split with this. On one hand it's okay, on the other hand it's bullshit how they wanna build up the United States of Europe, and close out other countries. Also, I don't think if those politicians, who live in economically more developed countries than Hungary can make realistic judgements on other countries internal affairs.

When you say that it's good on one hand, do you then mean that you think is good that the east countries is getting more involved with the west countries... Because then you will maybe got a lot more to say, and people will listen to you...

Exactly. There are no borders, no customs where we might get fucked you know.

But in general you don't like the whole idea about EU ?

Not really.

A lot of people don't do, but it's up to each country to vote wheather they want to be a part of the EU or not... Were you voting about it, in Hungary ?

Yeah, but I did not vote.

Okay, enough about the EU... Anything else you are not satisfied with in the world today ?

Quite a lot, that makes me pissed off about the world. But I guess it's nothing new. We all know this world is not going into a good direction and now all is left for us to fight each other down here to survive, while all the others up there still live in their welfare world.

Survival of the fittest ? But I do see what you mean, this world can be pretty insane, and there happens so many awful things...

Right. But your statement of survival of the fittest totally fits the world.

Yeah, unfornately. Do you believe in war ? Do you think war will ever lead to something good ?

No. Not at all. I am not a pacifist though, but war would not lead to anywhere, but some think it's necessary.

Yeah, I remember reading somewhere, that people in the 19th century thought the 20th century would be the most peaceful century ever, unfornately it end up being one of the most bloody century ever !

Exactly. And I'm curious about the 21st as well, even if I will never know that haha.

Neither will I, and when you think about the direction the world takes today as you mentioned, you could ask yourself if you even want to find out...

I don't want to find it out actually, I just wanna make the todays as beautiful as possible...

Yeah, living each day like it was your last...

Exactly. That's the best you can do in life.

Okay, so enough about the bad things in world today. What would you like to do when your are not in a band anymore ?

Do something hardcore related or music in general. Do a label, do bookings, things like that.

Yeah. If you should name 3 things that you like best being in a band, what would it be, besides touring ?

Write lyrics, communicate, having fun.

How do you write your lyrics ? Any special things you do to get inspiration ?

Anything can be an inspiration. Seriously anything. Personal issues, or anything on a large scale. Once something moves my mind, I need to write it down asap. Sometimes I write like 3-4 in one day, sometimes I don't write anything for months. It's important to have real inspiration, not like "hey, I have to write something now".

Yeah of course, if you just write because you need to write, being under pressure and such, then the lyrics would maybe end up not being completely honest...

It's not really the question of honesty, but a debate in between quality and quantity.

True... Anything you would like to tell people outthere ? Maybe you have something on your heart you want people to hear, apart from your lyrics ?

Nothing that special. I just wanna encourage people to live their lives to the fullest and never give in.

Okay, so I guess we are finish, any last words ?

Well, thanks a lot for your time and hope to meet you and tons of other new people on the road and share something together. The hardcore community apart from its little faults is still a better place than the rest of this world and we still can make a change.

Thanks to you too for taking the time to do this interview, hopefully we'll meet... take care, and good luck with the band !

Thanks a lot!

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Torzo Online (Hungary) | 2004-07-31

Letörtél valamennyire, amikor vége lett a Newborn-nak?

Hogyan aposztrofálnád a BtS zenéjét?

Egészséges keveréke a hardcore dühének, a punkrock lendületének és a metal dallamosságának.

Mennyire segített benneteket az elindulásban, hogy már ismert nevek voltatok a színtéren?

A kiadóval elégedettek vagytok? Milyen a visszhangja az elsõ albumnak?

Nagyobb kiadók megkeresésében nem gondolkoztok?

Mikorra várható a következõ anyag tõletek?

Jelenleg is folynak az új EP, a 4 számos Kingdom Of The Dead felvételei, aminek a hivatalos megjelenési dátuma szeptember 27.

És nagylemez?

Zeneileg lesz változás az elõzõ anyaghoz képest? Gondolom szövegileg nem nagyon…

Fontosnak tartod, hogy minden dalnak legyen komoly üzenete, vagy másról is tudnál írni, csak nem akarsz?

A zenétõl, vagy a szövegtõl lesz hardcore egy zenekar?

Magyarországon van igazán HC színtér? Vagy az itteni bandák csak itt élnek, de kintre alkotnak? Hol vagytok sikeresebbek?

Dehogynem, nem túl könnyû itthon bármilyen szokatlant csinálni, de ha az embernek szívügye valami, akkor mindent belead és sokszor talán nem képes racionális döntéseket hozni.

Egyébként mostanában mintha érzõdne valami javulás ilyen téren, nem?

Kizárólag a HC közönségnek szerveztek bulikat, vagy nyitottak vagytok más mûfajra is?

Visszatérve még a Bride To Solace-re. Mi a nyári menetrendetek?

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Fastclick / Vegan Hardcore (Germany) | 2004-02-23

Please introduce yourself...

Hey there, I’m Zoli, the singer for Bridge To Solace answering your questions.

Tell us some interesting facts about the other band members...

As everybody knows Adam and me have been playing in Newborn before. Tom, our drummer used to play for a really cultic punk rock band in Hungary, they had their farewell show this past January, and people were going freaking crazy for them. Laci and Krisz used to play in a melodic hardcore band called Many Others. What makes Bridge To Solace special for us, is that we all know each other for a long time, what made it easier to co-work and co-exist with each other. We are all really good friends, with roots in the hardcore punk scene, with mutual interests, and the band not only means hanging out on rehearsals, but we often hang out not only during band related events. Adam is one of my best friends since 7-8 years, we just like to work together, since whatever we do, people do talk about us.

BRIDGE TO SOLACE is quite similar (musically and lyrically) to your former band NEWBORN. Do you agree actually or/and are you tired of listening to these comparsions over and over again ?

On one hand, we know we need to deal with the Newborn comparisons, mainly because my voice puts its mark to Bridge To Solace just as well it did it for Newborn. The music is sorta the same, even if BTS is more straightforward I’d say. On the other hand, we feel that the constant Newborn related issues people bring up concerning this band are unfair to the other three members, who had nothing to do with our past with Adam. Bridge To Solace is a brand new band, not even an official ex-Newborn thing.

As I didn`t know BRIDGE TO SOLACE before this release: Did BRIDGE TO SOLACE play that style before you and Adam left NEWBORN and participated in BRIDGE TO SOLACE ?

Yes, as Adam was a member and songwriter of the band right from the start. He wanted to have some of his ideas for Newborn, which were not accepted by some of the members, therefore Adam thought he would not want to have these musical ideas lost.

Why did NEWBORN call it quits anyway ?

Me and the rest of the four people had a different idea of how we see the band’s future, and we could not work together in a healthy environment, as they wanted to go and play a more popular style of music. This led to the break up.

What are the other guys involved into NEWBORN do nowadays? Do you still have contact to your former band mates ??

They are doing a band called The Idoru. They have still some elements what sound like Newborn, but there are a lot more rock/pop tunes. We talk regularly, we are still good friends, and I will book their European tour.

Lyrics are very important to you, I guess... what are topics that you cover on your CD and do you think that you can reach people at all ?

Of course lyrics are important, since whenever you wanna call your band a hardcore band, it necessarily should mean – at least it does for me – that you have to cover socially and/or politically aware message. You have the chance to be on stage, and sell records. Once people respect you for consuming your “product” you have to be responsible for those people and have a mutual respect by trying to give something back for supporting you and your band. I pretty much think our lyrics are good stories of our lives, of how we see things on a daily basis, and they can help a lot of people to cope with their everyday struggles, they can help people to embrace their sufferings, just like we do, and move on. I still have a lot of positive feedback from Newborn lyrics, and I am pretty much convinced everyone who’s taking the time to read the words I have written for BTS will find something useful. Also, I think it should be crucial, that we are not preaching, but telling stories. We are 5 young kids with all our pain and joy, with all our love and hate, and we open our hearts out to people, but would like to be far from telling anyone what to do.

What`s the reason behind all these spoken words parts which are done by Greg Bennick from TRIAL ? Who came up with the idea ? How did you meet each other? ...

I have met Greg on the ’99 Trial European tour, where I did a show for them in Budapest. That show was out of this world, the sincerity, energy and passion I felt that night defines the word hardcore for me. We had a fun time together, went out for a walk, than after the show we had a long chat in the Trial van about different issues, and changed contacts. We had been emailing and mailing constantly, we mutually knew about each other’s projects. When we were done with recordings, Tom and me thought of using some intros. Tom first thought of checking some Noam Chomsky spoken words. I went home that night and figured we should do something more unique, and then Greg came to my mind. I emailed him, and he got back immediately that he is into the project. So I emailed him the lyrics and mp3’s, than we had a long online talk for about 2-3 hours about my motivations of writing the lyrics. Greg then started to work on his pieces, and recorded them. We are all glad how the whole project worked out, since we truly believe that with this we could do something extra for people. Most of the responses to this spoken word pieces are really good, but some people said it is kinda breaking the intensity of the record, which actually is an opinion I absolutely not share, since we are all 100% happy with the way it is. Please make sure to check out Greg’s website, www.wordsasweapons.com where you will find tons of interesting socially and politically aware writings. Greg also co-produced a movie entitled Flight From Death, which had a stunning response by far. The movie’s website is www.flightfromdeath.com.

You just did a tour with German band PAINT THE TOWN RED and Dutch RAZOR CRUSADE... were you satisfied with the tour ? Which were the best gigs,... Tell us some impressions, please...

We were pretty satisfied. We knew the PTTR people before, and we were glad to meet the dudes in Razor Crusade, who became really good friends of ours, and we thought of doing a tour together this year as well, but that’s only a plan. The best gigs were Budapest of course, Trier and Luzern for me. We also had fun in the UK, usually I’m sick as fuck there all the time, but we played two shows with Undying this time, who were amazing. The tour was a good example to show people that European hardcore has some quality bands to offer, and I just can wish people will focus more on us, Europeans, and refuse to buy all the shit that is coming from the United States.

Coming from Hungary, is it an advantage or disadvantage to get a hear ??? I mean, are you still feel considered as being outsiders or being "exotic" in todays Hardcore ? Is there a difference in responses in eastern parts of Europe to the western parts to the US, e.g. ?

Before, it definitely used to be a disadvantage, like for instance when Newborn and Dawncore got on their first European tour. Than both bands had the chance to make good records and be on good tours, and people could see that good music not only comes from places that are considered the centers of the hardcore punk scene. Now it is a lot easier for us to tour, release records. I still think, and I have talked about this in an other interview recently, that the Eastern part, especially Prague and Budapest in my opinion has an amazing response to the bands they really like, and that atmosphere can never be beaten by anything else. I was at this big show in Prague, with Walls Of Jericho, Endstand, Undying and Manifesto Jukebox, and that show was one of the most dearing memories for me I experienced through hardcore.

You show a lot of activity in todays Hardcore scene (being in a band, doing a lot of promotion stuff like tours for other bands...) What do you think of Hardcore in the year 2003? Is it still the same as you started getting into Hardcore ?

It is a lot different. It’s more business. There are more people to come here and get a quick buck. Hardcore slowly stops being human, and I hate it that way. There are still great people I get to know, but less and less inspiring bands, and less and less bands and people involved who are politically or socially aware. I hate to see hardcore as a fucking fashion show, with all the people showing off, and riding a new trend every 2nd year or getting the fuck out after talking shit for a year or two, you know. Like Budapest is freaking crazy. People do not really like me or Adam, we are sorta the public enemies sometimes, because people envy what we have done. People lack so much honesty nowadays, and don’t have the fucking guts to stand up to you and tell you to fuck off, and whenever you confront them, they just fucking lie. I was and still am a really outspoken person, and people definitely listen to what I do have to say at shows or msg boards, but I hate to see the lacking honesty.

Your last song called "Hail To Gothenburg" is a tribute to the Swedish scene, I guess. Which bands do you mean explicitily ?

At The Gates, Entombed, Gates Of Ishtar, Dismember, etc...

Name some other influences besides the Swedish bands...

There are tons, as we all listen to a huge variety of bands. Like Shai Hulud, Strike Anywhere, Iron Maiden, Helloween, all these are influences/inspirations.

What are reactions on your CD "Of Bitterness And Hope" so far? Are reviews/critics important to you at all? how do you react on negative ones (if there are any... haha)? can you extract something from those kind of reviews for the band at all?

The reactions have by far been amazing, maybe Simone from On Fire was really nice to us and never showed the bad ones hahaha. To be honest, whatever we read may sound flattering to us, or we’d be pissed, it still won’t change the fact, that we do this shit because we love doing this shit, and we won’t change. BTS does not have the best musicians ever, we are just five kids rocking the shit out of our hearts. Of course whenever someone has open criticism, we will take the time and think about that.

Ok, finally that`s it from me... feel free to say whatever you like, that`s on your mind, that has to be mentioned before we close this short interview ...

Thanks very much for taking your time to get us these questions, and sorry for being so lame and late with the answering. I hope you will like what we had to say, and wish you good luck with your webzine in the future. Thanks to everyone who’s reading this, and if there’s anyone who has something to say, we can be reached at bridgetosolace@hotmail.com.

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Music Scan (Germany) | 2004-02-23

hello guys at bridge to solace, this is arne from berlin, germany mailing. i collected a couple of questions concerning your band and opinions that you hopefully will answer as soon as possible. thanks in advance. it will be used for my very own online-zine www.music-scan.de - you are welcome to visit this site of course. okay, here we go: give our readers a short briefing about bridge to solace, please. what are you guys doing right at the moment?

Hey Arne, at the moment, we are basically chillin out, and writing new material, which we are going to record late March. These 4 songs will appear on a split CD with A.18 and a compilation entitled “Louder Than Words” on New Age Records. We have some shows coming up here and there, mostly Hungary, but from May on, we would like to focus on playing as much as possible.

i saw newborn playing live here in berlin two times. at this show with catharsis your singer said something like people should pay more attention to european bands and not only look for new american bands. did the situation for european bands change within the last few years?

I don’t really think it changed that much since I made that announcement back then. Even if we were able to be on a tour with our friends from Paint The Town Red and Razor Crusade, we not always had big crowds, and people still do focus a lot on bigger bands from overseas, and a European band is not always that attention-drawing to kids.

when bridge to solace came up i think you had a pretty warm welcome from everywhere, right? what makes the difference concerning your band?

We had pretty much a nice welcome, it is of course easier because of the Newborn background. I cannot really say why would we be that different from other bands, all we do is rock our hearts out all the time, so that might be something extra for people who come and see us. Sincerity and passion cannot be bought and sold, and people I guess know what’s behind us, and that we’re not there to ride another trend, but do what we love.

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...

Honestly, I don’t think that there’s a small room for ideas and statements. It is not going on like “we have all these bands playing extreme stuff, there’s no place left for anything else”. I am convinced people find it pretty easy to let their anger and frustration out through music, that’s by far the best way to create an outlet of your rage. On the other hand, it’s important to address some thought-inspiring issues within your songs, once you play in a band, and that’s what is lacking in some of the bands nowadays.

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?

There’s no certain message except for encouraging people to try to live their lives. We are here to tell stories and not preach. The topics we deal with are really easy to be chosen, since these topics are no else but our own lives, and the way we see things. Whatever that hurts or makes us happy is a good topic to write a song of.

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

You know what? I don’t care about those bands. If you waste your time caring what others do or not do, you lose focus on your own things. Let them do whatever they want, and people will just decide what they exactly need.

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?

The gaps are not as big as they used to be like 5 years ago. While more and more Eastern bands have the chance to go and tour whole Europe, more and more bands do play our area. A couple years back there has been a tendency, that whoever came from the United States/Western Europe, kids eat that shit without questioning, just because they were hungry for bands, who could appear as pioneers of the hardcore scene. Now people are more aware, and people just don’t buy off every single shitty band just because they are from the States. Still I think, the enthusiasm towards bands they really like is a lot bigger over here than in Western Europe, what makes the shows here really amazing.

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?

It definitely feels flattering that you think we do have a fair amount of passion and originality. What we try to accomplish with our band is nothing more but playing music and writing words we do feel is important for ourselves. There are so many bands out there riding another trend, like a couple years back, everyone was so much into this San Diego style, etc. We are hardcore kids, who love the scene we are the part of, and we love to play fast, straightforward music, with socially aware lyrics. That’s all we can do, and we would not really fit into anything else as a whole. Of course we all would love to do different stuff, and surely will have some projects going on in the near future, but our main focus is taking Bridge To Solace beyond all boundaries.

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

I just try to stay human. Human means that I have my own faults and I have to live with those, always trying to be better, human means I try to be good to my fellow mates around, and taking a stand for what I believe, regardless who stands on the other side. I just wanna wake up every day without spitting in my face in the mirror.

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

Noone ever should tell us what to do. We are open for anything as long as those musical and lyrical ideas come from the 5 members of the band.

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

Well, you can tour as long as you want to, but as of now, we need a lot of fresh air, as all these songs we have are old. We have nearly completed two songs, I have completed 1 lyrics, and they all turned out to be amazing, and we are excited to play these live and record them. Of course the band is really far from being a fulltime job. Right now I am the only one who is unemployed from the band, even Adam have found a job after like 2 years. We are basically covered in debts currently we hardly know how we’ll be out of. We really wanna go on tour and play, as that is basically the most we can wish from life. Travel, have fun, play, party.

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

I think Bridge To Solace is there for everyone. While those bands who are just hardcore or just metalcore, can only offer a certain musical style, and there are naturally people, who cannot identify themselves with those. Bridge To Solace is here for everyone, who’s into fast singalong parts, or heavier mosh, or twin metal guitars.

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?

Yes. As I stated above in my last answer, we wanna have our band reachable for people with different musical tastes, and I am concerned everyone can find a little this and that according to her/his own musical taste.

if you would summarise the message and atmosphere of bridge to solace's music in one sentence. what would it be?

These are the songs of our hearts.

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?

We want people to have fun, and think. We want people to smile at our shows, and go home refreshed, thinking about the things we said, encouraged by the energy we would like to bring through from stage.

your biggest wish to happen for bands future?

Write good songs, make good records and tour our asses off.

something you'd like to add?

Thank you so much Arne for interview, I really enjoyed doing it.#

that's it. thank you so much. take care, arne ;-)

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Waste of Mind Zine (Germany) | 2004-01-30

First of all: Congratulations for your great debut! I was really amazed when I heard it first and I think it's one of the best HC-records this year; especially the combination of power and melody, the voise and the melodic guitar-play is extraordinary great! How satisfied are you with the record - is it exactly the record you wanted to make?

Thanks a lot for your nice words, we are really really happy with the record, and this is probably more than we ever thought of it. The end result turned out to be really amazing.

What were actually the reasons for the Newborn-split? And how much time did it take you to form Bridge To Solace?

We, as a band that consisted those 5 people, could not work together anymore in a healthy environment. We decided its better to stop and go separate, than trying to fill anyone. Bridge To Solace, under the name Joy’s Pride existed since early 2000, so I had basically nothing else to do, but to join a band which has 6 songs done.

Are all of the BTS-songs completely new, or have some of them - or at least some elements - been already written when Newborn still existed?

None of the music has to do with Newborn. The song “In the Shadow of Death” contains lyrics I have originally written for Newborn, and we actually played that song a couple times. Besides this, the lyrics for “Will You Rewrite History With Me?” were also written in Newborn times, the rest is pretty new.

Is it a different feeling to play in your new band than it was with Newborn? (What I mean: Is the relationship between the members a different - maybe better - one?)

Well, Newborn contained 5 huge, and I mean HUGE egos. So whenever you put two of these in a room, they will naturally fight each other, guess how 5 of us acted sometimes in the van? There were a lot of natural confrontations, but we are still friends. Bridge To Solace contains people, who know each other for pretty much a long time, and Adam and me are the biggest egos here, but we got to learn each other well, plus the other dudes are sweet and chilled out, so we have a good time.

Why did you come up with the band name "Bridge To Solace"?

You should actually ask Tom, why he figured this one. This basically means how hardcore/punk is our shelter from the outside world, and how much we love making music, and with the help of things we do, we can escape, and build a strong world inside our hearts.

While too many hardcore bands nowadays play this brutal, pessimististic and dark metal-core, you still have managed to keep a lot of positive energy and optimism in your music. Is it important for you to distinguish your band from others in this aspect?

Well, we don’t really wanna distinguish ourselves from others, cause this is why music is such a beautiful tool in our hand, that we can fight with different “weapons” in our hands. We might be a band, that reflects positive emotions, positive message, but we don’t differ from any other band, who froms a more negative outlook on things. What’s really important, is the final goal. And I think that’s something what both a band with a darker atmosphere and us want to achieve.

Newborn already had these classical Power-Metal-influences in their music, but I would say Bridge To Solace have even more of them. Do you still listen to a lot of Heavy-Metal-records, or where do these influences come from?

Adam is the songwriter, while he was not in Newborn, this is the reason for the higher amount of metal in Bridge To Solace. We both love metal, I just guess I have a better taste haha. He really digs bands like Avantasia, Blind Guardian, Helloween, I’d rather go for some Kreator or Death Angel haha.

Another point that makes your record quite different are the spoken-word-passages, that sometimes remind me of verses by EA Poe - even though they are not that dark and gloomy. How did you get the idea for these words?

We thought somehow we should have some break in between our songs, and we figured we should use something meaningful. First Tom thought of using maybe Noam Chomsky words, but then I thought we should have something special, so I asked my friend Greg, who I knew since november ’99, when I did a show for Trial, if he is interested in working with us. He was totally into the idea, so after I have sent him the lyrics and mp3’s, he started to work on the writings of the spoken pieces. Greg did a wonderful job, and everything what he did totally fits to the concept of our album. Please make sure to visit his site www.wordsasweapons.com, since its really thought inspring, there you can read about all different kinds of projects he is involved in.

You just finished your first european tour - was that a good experience? Did people know about you already?

It was really good, we had a fun time with those crazy German and Dutch dudes. Actually quite a lot of people knew about us, had the record, so all in all, the responses have been really amazing. We of course, had some hard times on the tour, but that’s something what happens all the time, but we are really happy how the tour went.

Can you tell us something about the state of the Hungarian hardcore-scene at the moment?

It’s pretty good actually, more and more good bands come up, more and more kids go to shows, so I’m actually excited to be a part of this. You definitely should check some of the bands down, like The Idoru (www.theidoru.com), which is the remaining part of Newborn, or Fallen Into Ashes (www.fallenintoashes.com), Velvet Stab (www.velvetstab.com), or Hold x True(http://holdxtrue.hardcore.hu), who are all good friends of ours.

How did you get in contact with Let It Burn Records? Are you satisfied with their work? Who relases the record in other countries than Germany? And do you have already a label for the United States?

Adam and I knew Chris back from Newborn times, when we met him at a festival in Italy, he was driving Children Of Fall. We had a pretty good contact, met quite often, we played like 3-4 times in Munich, and Paint The Town Red played like 3 times in Budapest, I did all those shows for them. Then Adam got asked to fill in on drums for PTTR on their tour with Converge, and he showed the video of our first show. Christoph liked it, and offered us a deal, and we accepted it. We are pretty happy with his work, he did quite an amazing job for us, he took care of the European release, and currently there are talks about a South American, and a Japanese press, and hopefully we can have the vinyl out, too. We wish we could have someone release us in the States, but as of now, we did not really take time yet to check anyone out.

What are your plans for the near future?

We will record a song for the “Louder Than Words” compilation CD, which is coming out on the restarting New Age Records (www.newagerecords.com), and will have bands like Plan Of Attack, A18, The Last Chance, Just Went Black among others, plus we will record 3-4 songs for a split CD with A.18 to come out on Let It Burn this year. We wanna tour as much as possible in this upcoming year, the exact touring plans will be announced really soon.

Any last words?

Thanks a lot for the interview!

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Mainstage (Germany) | 2004-01-26

Tell me something of Bridge to Solace, when have you found and what happened until now, an what´s the meaning of your bandname

BTS was founded back in 2001, but we couldn’t really activate ourselves until fall 2003, because of constant member problems: we actually couldn’t find a proper drummer and/or a singer. So me (Tom) and Adam decided to put an end to this bullshit, I quit playing guitar and sat behind the drums, while Adam took the guitar job instead of singing. With Newborn splitting up on summer 02, Zoli became jobless and we all agreed that he would be a good choice for a singer both lyrically and as a person, even though we did not want to be labeled as a “post-Newborn” band, you know what I’m saying. So the pieces fit in summer/fall 2002 and by march 2003, we finish recording “Of Bitterness and Hope”.

Where do you think is the difference to Newborn and why do you split up/ changed the name?

As far as the difference between Newborn and BTS, there are firstly obvious similarities: the singer¡¦s voice utterly puts its mark on a band¡¦s sound and musical character ¡V so having the same singer as Newborn makes our sound resemble to Newborn¡¦s, that¡¦s for sure. Still the songwriting and the members¡¦ musical background and influences differ from those in Newborn: we definitely have a way more Scandinavian metal-influenced edge mixed up with a punkish backbeat. So BTS is not Newborn with a new name, but a new band with a new name, allright? ƒº

Tell me something about the making off of “of bitterness and hope”!

“Off Bitterness and Hope” took us about a week to record at the Parkplatz Studio in Budapest, a place owned and run by our buddies from Superbutt. There’s nothing exceptionally interesting to tell about the recording process: we had a great time and are satisfied by the result – especially considering our constant alcohol level during the recording. No, serious: I think those guys in Parplatz did a great job and we were really stunned by the final product. The mixing and mastering took us a while because of some schedule problems but at the end of the day we all were more than happy with the whole thing. Greg Bennick (the singer of Trial) sent us his spoken word recordings that he actually wrote for “Of Bitterness and Hope”, so the record is a mixture of whet we did musically and Greg’s precious addition to Zoli’s lyrics. The songs are basically all constructed on Adams’ riffs and musical conceptions – he finds out the harmonies and the construction of the songs, brings the shit down to the practice room where to songs are finally elaborated, where most of the ideas pop out of the heads, of course. Like fuckin Zoli wrote some of the lyrics in the studio at the last moment.

Meanings of your lyrics and your music?

„Of Bitterness and Hope“ is not exactly a conceptual album, but there is definitely a link between the eight songs composing it. The lyrics are pretty much Zoli’s testimonial of where he stands as far as the world or his surroundings are concerned. It’s the way he looks at things – with bitterness, but always carrying an ounce of definite hope. Sounds scary, huh?

You are from Budapest, how much had influenced this city and your home country you and your music?

As probably any city you live in, Budapest has - in some way – influenced the way we look at music, the stuff we listen to and the way we play. There is tons of shit to talk about concerning this city or this country and we sure have this love/hate relationship with it. You give me a plane ticket anytime to anywhere, I’d probably leave right away, but would soon miss tons of stuff that are specific to Budapest, the people, the nightlife, all that shit. Usually foreigners adore Budapest, so there is certainly a charm to it that my daily routine prevents me from seeing. Music is definitely a way to escape for us.

How would you describe your style of music

I don’t know, how would you? I’m kinda tired of categorizations and couldn’t care less about what “style” our music is. It’s probably hardcore-punk with metal influences but you know, maybe tomorrow we’ll do a Carribean salsa song with an undeniable bluegrass touch in it, who knows.

What do you think about hardcore and straight edge?

I don’t know. Our lives are influenced by hardcore and it’s obviously means more to us than just music and jumpin’ around. The temptation is always there, to let myself slip into this huge monologue about how hardcore is the essence of humanity and that it’s gonna change the world, but come on, we all know it’s bullshit. Hardcore and punk can make our lives better as long as we look at it in a sober, yet perfectionist way – without being demagogue and know-it-all about our scene. It’s really important to keep this music and community open-minded and ready to change, as soon as it becomes boring and not interesting anymore. This is music and this is community (whether it’s a good or bad one – it still is) and it’s gotta evolve with time and let new stuff in. There are bands I don’t like, whose music does not exactly fit my taste and that are oh-so-trendy in hardcore nowadays and other bands that are not and still are great. This “hardcore” label just makes me more and more stick to my stomach, to be honest with you. As far as the 2nd part of your question is concerned, none of us is straight-edge so we can’t really talk about that thing. Personnally, I think straight-edge is a good thing and being straight-edge not only demands strenght and commitment, but also patience towards those of your friends and fellow scene-members who are not. And all my respect goes to the straight-endge guys and gals who realize that. On the other hand, I’d for sure hate to be approached in an either arrogant or know-it-all way by someone who doesn’t drink or smoke, cause I’d hate to be told what to do and how to do it. But I think I’m being an asshole on thet one: no straight-edge kid ever acted in a bad way with me or anyone of us. Oh yeah, by the way: what’s the problem with promiscuous sex?

How would you describe the hungarian hardcorescene? Is there a scene? Is it big? Where do you think is your place there? And what do you think about the european and the german hardcorescene?

The scene in Hungary is pretty small but kinda active and you can measure this activity by asking bands from across our borders if they like playing here. They more that probably will answer that they fuckin LOVE playing in Budapest, cause Hungarians like to party and when on tour, you like places where the party’s at, right? As far as BTS, we are pretty new, our record isn’t even distributed in Hungary yet, so we hadn’t have an enormous following so far – kids just start knowing us. But of course Newborn was so big and had such a cult here, that the effects of this popularity obviously fall back on us. It’s a good and bad thing at the same time, but it’s like that, and we have to deal with it.

What did you before you found bos

I guess I don’t need to tell you what Adam and Zoli were doing before: Newborn was, in my opinion, one of (if not THE) greatest European hardcore band of their time and I was such a big fan. For me, it’s a real honor to be in the same band with those two motherfuckers. Laci and Krisz were in a band called Many Others, but they broke up quite a while before BTS was formed. They actually founded BTS under the name Joy’s Pride, asked me if I wanted to play the guitar for them. Then Adam was asked to sing and... yaeh, check out the first question. Oh yeah: before BTS I played drums in Hatso Szandek, this popular Budapest punk band. It was great, actually.

Next plans?

We gonna record and tour, of course – I can only give you this boring rock band answer. We gonna do four songs for a split with Amendment 18 and a song for a New Age Records compilation. We wanna go touring in May – probably Germany, Austria, France and Spain, but nothing’s settled yet. I wanna get big and have a model for a wife. Zoli wants to lose weight. Adam wants to get a job.

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
My Own Way Magazine | 2004-01-21

OK guys, before we start the "official interview", you just finished touring, tell me what was up?! Since I never got to see you guys on this tour. And please feel free to drop a few funny anecdotes!

Before all the songs there are a few spoken words, how did you guys end up with Greg Bennick (Trial) to do those spoken words before each song and what's exactly up with those "intro's"?

You guys are from Budapest, alot of the lyrics deal with political stuff. Is this a logical combination for a band from that area?

What are the upcoming plans for you guys? The new album is just out, the tour just ended, what's in store for us in the near future?

Since you kids are a band with an honest opinion, I'll give you 4 statements, and please feel free to add a little comment on each on.

- Hardcore as it is today Okay! - Bush An ignorant farmer from Texas! People wondering what happend to Newborn Ahm. Necessary bad. Not the people, but to talk about it. I mean, we are open to talk about everything, sometimes I just feel it is a bit of a disrespect towards the other three members who were not members of Newborn. Anyway, on the other hand I feel good that people ask about Newborn, since that means people actually cared about that band, so I am not complaining. - The internet teaming up with hardcore Not bad. Of course it does not always help small labels, but I think if people have the chance to download songs/records, they have the possibility to know good bands, and then go and support those bands, buying their record, and going to their shows.

OK that's about it guys, any last words or thank you's for our readers?

Thank you!

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Roarzine | 2003-11-24

Hey Zoli! How are you doing?

Doing fine, we got home from tour today, so we’re all a bit tired.

You just returned from a European tour with Paint The Town Red. How’s the tour been for you?

Yeah it was pretty good! We played a lot of cool places. A few hard times, with not many people showing up, but all in all it was cool. It was a great experience, with all these other bands. We’ve met the guys from Paint The Town Red before but the Razor Crusade kids were totally new. They were sweet guys. The reactions from the crow were pretty good. I think people liked us just like the other two bands.

The album has been out for quite a while now. How did people react to it?

Pretty good as well. All I can say is that the reactions are really good. From kids we talk to at shows or when we check a review in a magazine or online. It’s really good.

The record sounds extremely energetic. Was there a lot of energy during the recording of it?

Yeah I think so. We spent a lot of time in the studio and just wanted to do our best. And sometimes we got pissed off at each other and that actually did a lot of good on the record! *laughs* Sometimes they would just piss me off when I was doing the vocals, and that definitely made things go easier. It was kind of scary to do this record, to be honest. With Newborn we had all these fans already and now we’re just starting something completely new and it’s just frightening, what to expect from the people who knew me and Adam from Newborn. But fortunately, I’m really surprised that people like it a lot, and I’m glad for it. Most of the people who liked Newborn like this band as well. Ofcourse it’s a bit similar to Newborn, I would say. But this is the music we like to do actually.

You also had Greg from Trial guest on the record with spoken words. How did you come up with that idea?

We listened to the record a couple of times and we were just like scared, going “oh, the songs are a bit tedious now”. We just went like “let’s do something crazy and different!”. And not just an intro from some b-movie that scares or amuses people, but something that makes people think. And our drummer just went like “I’ll listen to some CDs and find something good” to which I said “yeah, fuck it”. But I knew Greg, and I thought we should ask him. I e-mailed him and was really cool with it. I sent him the lyrics and mp3’s, and he really got into that. I know some people don’t like it and go like “Ohhh please, that guy is boring, just go and play already!”. But I don’t care, you know? I think it fits the music and nothing is over 2 minutes. Personally I think it’s totally cool. I see Greg as sort of a sixth member you know? I just think it’s good and it doesn’t make the album any less heavier. If people think it’s either boring or annoying, then they should just check us out live, because obviously, we don’t have Greg with us live.

With those spoken word parts, the record almost seems to have a theme. Is this anywhere near the truth?

Yeah, kind of. It’s not really meant to be a concept album. But all the lyrics come from the same roots. It’s an outlook on the world, stuff like that. Everything in the lyrics deals with bitterness and hope, so in that way, yeah it’s sort of has a theme. And that’s why we called the record that way. All the lyrics are bitter but in a way they’re also positive. A lot of bands today have those negative lyrics, which I think, makes no sense at all. I think like “You’re a man, then say something positive” even if you’re somehow bitter at that time.

The album does seem a bit short for a full length. Was there any material that didn’t make the cut?

No this is all we have right now *laughs* It’s just funny…this is our full length. With Newborn we never intended to make a full length, but with Bridge To Solace we did it and it’s just over 30 minutes so I can be considered a full length, including the bonus track and Greg’s stuff.

What about the songwriting as a whole? How does this work in Bridge To Solace?

It’s Adam and me mostly. Adam comes up with the riffs. He shows the others how to play it, our drummer comes up with his own thing and I do the lyrics.

Okay, so what about the band name? What is the true meaning behind it?

We were called Joy’s Pride before but Adam didn’t like it. We came up with this. It’s something like in hardcore…solitude, like you have a place to hide from the world, a shelter. And the bridge is just like…the way you go there.

By what bands is the band mostly influenced?

Ummm…everything’s that’s good and that we like. You heard the album, and it’s basically heavy metal, Swedish death metal, fast hardcore like Shai Hulud or Stretch Arm Strong, or some cool punk band. Lyrically, I don’t know…that’s just my own thing…hopefully *laughs*

Some personal questions then. Hardcore and metal kids seems to get younger every year. What are your thoughts on this?

It’s just weird you know? I’m still 23 and I’m considered young. But I’ve been in the hardcore scene for 10 years now, which kind of makes me old, hehe. We actually toured in Switzerland and the promoters were like 15 to 19 years old! And they were super! They did an amazing job and those shows were probably the best organized shows I’ve ever seen. In my opinion it’s all good that there are all these young people. Ofcourse you’ve got all those mallrats invading the hardcore scene, which isn’t really good. They see stuff on MTV that’s considered hardcore, yet they don’t even know the slightest thing about it.

What bands to you listen to yourself nowadays?

Uhh.. lemme see.. nowadays I listen to some good Hungarian stuff. I won’t say the band name of one of these band’s because you’ll have a really hard time writing it down *laughs* but it’s translated into Godforsaken Place. They’re amazing. I’ve been listening to the new Undying record a lot. Basically a lot of different stuff. I love the new Poison The Well, but I also like a lot of metal, mostly the Swedish stuff like At The Gates or Dismember. That bonus track “Hail To Gothenburg” on our record was just an homage to that scene. Just having fun. We never play it live though.

Last album you bought?

Last album I bought…uhhhmm…..the new Black Cross album, I think.

That’s all I’ve got for you. Thanks for the interview ofcourse. Is there anything that you’d like to say to our readers?

Thanks a lot for reading? *laughs* And I want to say thanks to you for doing this interview. Hope to see you soon somewhere in Holland!

BACK TO TOP

BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Sellfish Empire | 2003-11-05

Zoli, ihr seid momentan mit PAINT THE TOWN RED und RAZOR CRUSADE unterwegs. Kommt ihr gut miteinander klar?

Ja, wir haben eine prima Zeit und in beiden Bands spielen sehr nette Leute. Auch die Publikumsreaktionen auf uns und die anderen sind super. Insgesamt sind wir absolut zufrieden: für eine kleine Band wie uns, die noch vieles vor hat, ist das definitiv ein guter Anfang.

Was war eigentlich mit euerer Vorgängerband NEWBORN los?

Irgendwie stimmte die Chemie einfach nicht mehr, in dem alten Line-Up waren wir sozusagen ausgebrannt. Es bildeten sich zwei Parteien, die aufgrund ihrer Ansichten zur Zukunft der Band einfach nicht mehr zusammenarbeiten konnten. Darum entschlossen wir uns, die Band aufzulösen und getrennte Wege zu gehen. Und es scheint, als ob wir alle mit der Lösung glücklich wären.

Denkst du, dass eure Heimat Ungarn eher ein Vorteil oder ein Nachteil für den Stellenwert von BRIGE TO SOLACE in der Hardcoreszene ist?

Keines von beiden. Als wir vor ein paar Jahren mit NEWBORN angefangen haben, war es sicherlich eher hinderlich. Ungarn war schließlich weit abgelegen von den Orten, an denen punk- oder hardcoremäßig etwas passierte. Es war ziemlich schwer, eine Tour buchen zu können. Aber NEWBORN wuchs langsam und immer mehr Leute mochten uns, so dass wir mit BRIDGE TO SOLACE solche Startschwierigkeiten nicht mehr haben - die Leute waren richtig hungrig auf die neuen Sachen. Auch wenn diese Tour ein Neubeginn und wie jeder Anfang schwer ist, würde ich doch sagen, dass wir es durch Adam und meine Zeit in NEWBORN um einiges leichter haben. Obwohl man natürlich bedenken muss, dass wir drei Leute in der Band hat, die noch nie getourt sind und unser zweiter Gitarrist wegen einer Operation zurück nach Budapest fliegen musste.

Wie ist es denn mit der "Szene" in euerer Heimatstadt bestellt?

Eigentlich sehr gut. Es gibt eine Menge Leute, die sich für diese Form Musik interessieren und wenn wir Konzerte mit bekannteren Bands veranstalten, kommen meist ziemlich viele Besucher. Außerdem gibt es ein paar sehr gute Formationen, wie zum Beispiel THE IDORU, die auch aus ehemaligen NEWBORN-Mitgliedern bestehen. Oder FALLENINTOASHES, VELVET STAB und HOLD X TRUE, eine old school straight edge Band, die in den Staaten über "ThirdXParty Records" veröffentlicht. Also: es gibt hier jede Menge fähige Leute, die die Sache am Leben halten..

Wie kam es zu den genialen Spoken Word-Parts zwischen den einzelnen Stücken?

Wir wollten unbedingt noch das gewisse Extra zu unseren Songs haben. Und anstelle zum millionsten Mal uralte Samples irgendwelcher Kultfilme oder berühmter Persönlichkeiten auszugraben, haben wir Greg von TRIAL gebeten, das für uns zu übernehmen. Er ist ein guter Freund von mir seit wir 1999 in Budapest eine Show mit TRIAL gebucht hatten. Ich wusste, dass ihm NEWBORN gefällt und hoffte, das trifft auch für BRIDGE TO SOLACE zu. Ich habe ihm unsere MP3s und die Lyrics geschickt und sagte ihm, er könne damit tun, was immer er will. Also hat er im April in Kanada selbst Sachen aufgenommen, die wir dann in die Songs integriert haben. Wir lieben, was er da gemacht hat und werden ihm auf ewig dankbar sein. Schaut euch unbedingt seine Seite www.wordsasweapons.com an. Dort findet man jede Menge lesenswerte Texte und auch ein bisschen Punkrock...

Was hat es den mit dem Hidden Track "Hail To Gothenburg" auf sich? Seid ihr Fans dieses typisch schwedischen Deathmetal-Stils?

Ja, besonders Adam und ich lieben Bands wie AT THE GATES, GATES OF ISHTAR und ENTOMBED. Adam hat den Song geschrieben, aber er passte nicht so wirklich zum Rest des Albums, also haben wir ihn als Bonustrack verwendet. Es gibt auch noch eine witzige andere Version davon mit neuen Vocals. Sobald unsere Website endlich steht, werde wir sie da zum Download bereitstellen.

Das Thema Politik spielt in eueren Texten eine wichtige Rolle. Seid ihr selbst in Parteien oder Organisationen aktiv?

Nicht direkt. Ich bin ein Teil der lokalen "Food Not Bombs" Gruppe, wir versuchen so oft wie möglich unseren Arsch hochzukriegen, um an mittellose Leute kostenlos Essen zu verteilen. Politik ist für uns persönlich wichtig, weil wir alle interessierte Individuen sind und durch die Musik können wir unsere Gedanken optimal artikulieren. Genau deswegen spielen wir in einer Hardcore Band: um unseren Emotionen freien Lauf zu lassen und unsere Gedanken mit ähnlich eingestellten Menschen auszutauschen.

Was ist deiner Meinung nach die beste Situation, um "Of Bitterness and Hope" aufzulegen?

Nachdem ich die Scheibe für so etwas wie "mein Baby" halte, ist für mich jede Zeit und jeder Ort gut dafür. Intention von Texten und Musik ist es, die Menschen zum Denken zu bringen, ihre Wut ausleben zu können und auch ein Fünkchen Hoffnung zu entfachen. Also: wann immer du mit deiner Situation unzufrieden oder traurig bist, dieses Album ist da, um dir beizustehen...

BACK TO TOP