Genre: Melodic metal
Interviewed on: 6/22/12
From: Hungary
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1. How did the name Conans First Date come from? Who thought of it? Does it mean anything in particular?
Our name doesn't really bear any specific meaning, it was made up by our former frontman, and after splitting with him, we thought we should keep the name, it's so silly, that it's memorable. Anyway, we are really bad in making up band names, so we were happy that we didn't have to work too much on it.
2. How would you describe your music to the average listener? What’s your take on the metal scene nowadays?
Now that's a difficult one. You know, it's always much harder to categorize the music you play than the music others play. It's because we don't have anything in mind when writing music. We just let it happen and flow naturally. We never wanted to make music based on guidelines and regulations. Since we have our specific musical background, obviously we carry that with us, so we stick to our roots to say the least, but on the other hand, we are open for new influences. Our newest record for example shows a different kind of effort compared to our first two EPs. Some say, we are moving towards a more melodic kind of music, but that's the natural way of things, we always keep surprises in our pockets.
3. What’s your favorite track to perform live and why?
There are a lot of tracks, that we love to play live, but to name a few: Killing Machine, The Werewolf Rising, Dethronement and The Man, The Monster. It's really hard to tell which song will be the concert hit. But these four songs always sound great live, and as far as we have seen, they are the fans' favorites as well.
4. What’s the music scene like there in Hungary
Depends on what genre are you in. I can only tell you about the rock and metal scene, which is going through really hard times. The hardest times since the fall of communism. Before that event, there weren't any underground in Hungary, because everything was controlled by the state, those who would play punk or metal music, could even go to jail for performing or distributing their records. So a lot of bands were banned at that time. But back to the present, it's not extremely hard to get venues to play at, but the expenses are usually on the band, especially when you are a newbie and don't have a name already. If people know your band, regardless of the quality, you'll probably get the gas money and maybe some more. But if you are a newcomer, trying to build the way up, perhaps make a living out of your band, without a several hundred thousand forints in your pockets, you are facing a mission almost impossible. So basically, to have your name recognized, you have to invest a lot.
5. When can people expect from the “Devil Is On The Loose” album? Do you guys have a release date in mind?
Well, as a matter of fact, it did come out in Hungary on the 1st of April, this year. But we are about to announce further releases in other countries. Musically, it offers a more wider range of styles and genres than our previous stuff, but it's pretty dense and straightforward at the same time. As I said, there aren't really any boundaries set for us. But those who knew our older stuff, think we have gone more melodic and song-oriented, which were indeed among our goals. The whole thing is really diverse, but I'd strongly recommend it to those, who are interested in such a band, that dares to do whatever they want, but still manages to stay integrated.
6. What three bands would you love to play a show with?
Soilwork, Devin Townsend or Meshuggah. These are the first three names that come to my mind.
7. What are you guys currently listening to?
It's hard to name bands, but what all of us liked recently was the new Paradise Lost record, Born Of Osiris' latest album is great and I personally listen to a lot of djent stuff, because I sense something new in it, which gives a really cool direction to metal music.
8. What can people expect from your live show?
A lot of feeling and some humor as well, because we can't really take ourselves seriously. We are all idiots, and this reflects from the stage too. Well seriously speaking, we don't have any pyrotechnics or stage scenery, but at least we enjoy what we do, and we make people enjoy what we do.
9. What’s your take on illegal/legal music downloading?
It does mean financial loss for bands like us, but on the other hand, it provides some exposition to us, so it's not a black or white question. We offer our album for free listening through Youtube or Soundcloud, and we haven't yet released our debut album on CD, we have chosen a different format, which is a pendrive, which also functions as a bottle opener, so more useful stuff than a CD. Alas, it doesn't have any big artwork, only a front and a back cover, so one might miss that part, but since we are running on a very tight budget, we have to think things over twice or three times before we'd invest into anything.
10. What’s next for Conans First Date?
Anything that may come. We don't have plans, because reality is so unpredictable, you can't tell what's going to happen next. Basically, we want to start working on a new record, which will definitely be shorter than our latest one, maybe it'll be an EP.
11. Any shoutouts?
Go and join our community on Facebook, Youtube, Soundcloud, and make sure to have us on your mp3 players!
