www.thedarkesthours.com 1- So, for those who don’t know Balatonizer, let’s begin by talking a little bit about your musical background and the band history? We have born in 1997. In 1998, we released our first demo "Balatonizer" in pure grindecore style. In 2001, we became a brutal trio composed by Mario (voice growl/scream), Marco (guitar/drum-programmer), Rodan (bass) and our Drum-machine that satisfy our concept of "vulgar-death-grind" style. In 2003, we released the EP "Reborn in Ignorance" and in July 2003, the full-length "Occlused in Ottusity" with the American label Devildoll Records/This Dark Reign from long Beach California. Many bands influenced our trip during our long activity; founders like Cannibal Corpse, Decide, Suffocation, Death, Brutal Truth, Pestilence, Napalm Death, Malevolent Creation, Vomitory, etc., and more recent like Nile, Mortician, Dying Fetus, Internal Bleeding, Sinister, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Melt Banana - who played live with us 3 years ago - etc. But it would be reductive to make a so short list for the fact that there are many other bands that meant a lot for us. 2- And I’d like you to describe your band for people that never heard it? Like I usually write in my bio: A continuous rain of idiot rifferama and a devastating drumming in a no breath sequence, all mixed with various samples taken from mafia movies and Italian cult movies of the 70's. The passion for our beloved Sicily perspires from every of our pores. Our style experiments, divides, reassembles and destroys everything, reducing the tracks in pills of devastating violence soaked of Death, Grind, Crust, Black proposed in Balatonizer's key. “We are like a Italian extra strong black coffee that emit rage and power, stuffed in our fundamental ironical veins”. Ha! Ha! Ha! 3- You released your first album, “Occlused in Ottusity” on This Dark Reign Recording in July 2003. Could you tell us more about the recording and the production of this album? Yes. I’m a sound engineer, than we have done recording in my friend’s Claudio Di Prima’s (Thy Majesty) home studio and mastering here in my Inebetit studio. Marco is a professional drawner and he maked all the artwork of the cd. 4- How has been the reaction from fans and medias? As it been as you expected it would be? So cool! In the next weeks we will put all the reviews on line in our new site. 5- What does Balatonizer means to you? Means the mix of 3 brutal people with a silicious beats that shows its primitive attitude through a mix of brutality mid-time and lashes of pure sonorous violence in full grind style. Maniacal and psychotic perseverance in the application brought us, during many years, to create a sub-animal product, where grotesque brutality, millimetric precision and sectioned metric are the things that caracterize our work. 6- Can you talk about the musical concept of “Occlused in Ottusity”? “Occlused in Ottusity” is a concentrate of ignorant sound supported by our maniacal and psychotic perseverance in the application, during many years of music passion, to be able to create a sub-animal product, where grotesque brutality, millimetric precision and sectioned metric are the things that caracterize our work. Everything have to be perfectly mixed to satisfied our concept of ”Vulgar/Death/Grind”. 7-Balatonizer was born in 1997. In 2002, you released the demo “Occlused in Ottusity”, then the EP “Reborn in Ignorance” in 2003 and then your first full-length album under the same name of your demo the same year of your EP. Could you talk about the evolution of Balatonizer from your debut till now? Yes, in 1998 the first demo with drummer and second vox, in the 2002 the second demo had 10 tracks and the drum machine use and only my vox. After that, the EP with 15 tracks, then the full lenght 32 tracks. 8- Could you explain why there are no lyrics, only growls into Balatonizer? Growls and screams. The only semblance of message that we want to transmit is totally expressed in the wonderful comic artwork, drawn by our guitarist/drum-programming Marco. It’s a Neanderthal language addressed to reduce cerebral conscience state of our public that, during the listening of our CD, falls in a cataleptic state and expresses itself using the most primordial itellectual capabilities. It's only in that phase that the most primitive and brutal human expression comes out in its marvellous spontanety. This is what we’d like to transmit to our fans. 32 splinters of rage transmit a strong emotional jolt that evocates different reactions from our listeners that are free to understand the message they like the most. 9- And could you explain why you choose to play only really short songs, the longest during only 1min 29sec? We simply just like it this way. 10- Could you talk about the writing process into Balatonizer? Marco makes the writing of the guitar and the drum machine. Rodan than follows him. I listen to the tracks and after that, we talk about the montage and the metric. 11- Two years have passed since the release of your album. What’s next for you? At the beginning of the next year, a new full length with a new video. 12- What do you prefer between the writing process, the recording of an album in studio and playing live? And why? Like I said before, I’m a sound engineer, so I prefer a little bit more the recording of the album, but live is the best for us... we love the contact with other beasts like us during live situations. 13- And is there a band you would particularly like to tour with? And why? Cannibal Corpse is my favourite band and it would be cool touring with them. 14- How do you perceive the musical scene of today? What would you like to change? Here in Italy the brutal scene is relegated to a sterile underground ambit that gives us only some poor possibilities to promove us. There are many other bands of fine workmanship that works hard to become popular in nations like Germany, Northern Europe and Eastern Europe where this kind of music is more appreciated. In Italy it's very difficult to find the right channels to promote us. For this reason I admire a lot of all Italian brutal bands that still continues to promote their projects without surrendering. They do it only for a pure passion for the brutal style. Here, the environment of our scene has retrograde. Consequently, it is not possible to substein for a bigger contest with more possibilities of use. There are many lives and festivals, but compared to other nations we have a long way to move. However, we have the conviction that the situation will improve! 15- Could you explain how you’re able to express your creativity trough Balatonizer? Is this your only medium or are you touching to some other kinds of arts? Balatonizer express my ironical and brutal attitude with a return to the primordial state that I admire so much. 16- Beside Balatonizer, do you guys are involved in any other projects? Yes other death metal and alternative bands like Hate Blind and Airfish. 17- What is the most important thing for you in life? My family. 18- This is the time to plug your stuff (website, special news, etc...) www.balatonizer.com Well that’s it, guys! Thanks a lot for answering The Darkest Hours questions. Good luck and good continuation! Thanks to you Isabelle and stay metal! www.thedarkesthours.com «back