For all those who believe that all what is to made has already been made, and every work of art made today is a complete derivative, here is a band that strongly disagrees.
Mezmerized is a Hungarian band who define their genre as ‘Electro-Metal’. We were honored to interview Merzmerized’s vocalist, Anna Király and talk about her band’s music, their upcoming projects and many other things. We also had the pleasure to listen to their new single, ‘Shutdown’ thoroughly and write a review about it.
Click here to jump right into the interview.
Review
As the name of the genre the band describe themselves with suggests, Mezmerized have formed in their music a mixture of Melodic Metal and Electronic music. Of course many artists combined these two sounds already. An example on that would be Klayton’s remarkable work as Celldweller combining Industrial Metal with dubstep, electro-funk and drum and bass, in addition to many bands’ usage of electronic elements in their music. However, Mezmerized seem to be creating a new developed style of this music that appears to be more of a homogeneous mixture between the two factors, with a unique sound and character, rather than co-existing elements of different genres.
And this description is clearly showcased in the band’s 2020 released single, Shutdown.
The single contains exciting heavy and fast riffs, an upbeat electronic background, and of course the electrifying vocals of Anna Király. Anna’s voice gives another dimension to the band’s sound, as it not only has a beautiful tone in it, but also follows the music alternations gracefully. Furthermore, the chorus of the song is excellent.
It is truly amazing for a band this new to have such a unique sound that grows more and more clear with every new song. Some bands have been active for years with many full albums released and haven’t yet achieved an original sound that connects their audience to their music. Mezmerized however have developed a sound of their own that they can carry on with for a whole career.
The song also came out with a music video that translates all the energy found in the song visually.
‘Shutdown’ is an excellent single that we would recommend for all Melodic Metal fans.
Interview
Mirk: Hello Anna. How are you doing today? It’s a pleasure to talk with you.
Anna: It’s my pleasure! I’m very well and excited about this interview!
Mirk: So are we. Your band, Mezmerized, was born last year, 2019. How would you introduce your band to FemMetal readers?
Anna: Mezmerized is an electro-metal band. The idea came because we wanted to create something new, fresh but real heavy and this mix between metal and electronics was something exciting and challenging for both Oliver (guitarist, songwriter) and myself.
Mirk: That’s truly brilliant. When I started FemMetal I didn’t know any bands or even artists from Hungary. Now I know quite a few and two of them have vocalists called ‘Anna’. How would you describe the Hungarian Metal and Rock scenes?
Anna: It is a smaller but a strong community here in Hungary I would say. There are many smaller and a few bigger bands here around and also there is a great audience that loves metal music and goes to concerts, festivals regularly.
Mirk: What got you into Metal in the first place? What bands and artists were your inspiration that made you want to be a vocalist in a Metal band?
Anna: Actually, met metal music in my teens and not much later I started to build my career in Metal. I was about 16 when I decided to try myself out in this scene and although the story might sound strange and unusual, this is how it goes, haha.
It all started back in the day when I heard an Evanescence song at a pop concert played by a Hungarian band. That time I already knew I wanted to sing in a band, but the picture wasn’t clear. From there my interest took a turn and my plans started to change. The story is long and has many turns but I could say Evanescence got me into metal and a pop band got me into wanting to sing in a band. Put it all together and there I stand with my first metal band on stage. Of course, there were many other artists and genres that formed me later but this story was the most significant that started it all.
Mirk: You have released three singles so far. Desire, Satellite, and most recently, Shutdown in 2020. Are you planning on a bigger release soon, like an EP or an album?
Anna: Yes! Our first physical EP “Enter” was released on the 20th of January. It contains the 3 above mentioned songs and 2 bonus versions of our first released track, Desire. “Enter” is available in Mezmerized’s official webshop.
Later this year, our first full-length album will be released, we are already in the working process and will announce the details during the Spring.
Mirk: Wow! That’s wonderful news. For these three singles you have released two music videos and a lyric video. And I think this is an advantage modern tech has given bands. Metallica, for example, didn’t release a music video until their fourth album and 8 years into their formation. In your opinion, how did this growing ability to fuse visuals with music improve the music industry, especially Rock and Metal?
Anna: The business has changed completely throughout the years, that is the reason why, I believe, many bands back in the day didn’t release music videos for years. I would say, in those times they didn’t even need videos that much to build a serious career. Of course, it is a big advantage to have visuals, but also one of the reasons why the industry started to change and why it is completely different now with all the technology and online streaming platforms available. But to not go that far and stay on point, visuals can add a lot to the feel. They always say, today’s people see first and hear later, so you have to catch the eye alongside with the ears. Whether this is bad or wrong, I’m in no position to judge, but if it is all available, it is a great advantage to use in today’s business.
Mirk: You describe your sound as electro-Metal. What influences have lead you into adopting this unique developed modern Metal sound?
Anna: So many influences from many genres. I’d say, from the 80’s – 90’s music till today’s popular sounds and heavy metal music.
Mirk: Some artists are famous because they made one remarkable song that everyone knows them for and maybe is more famous than they are, and other artists are famous for a long career full of great albums. Few are famous through both. But if you had to choose one of these two ways to be globally famous, would you rather have that one legendary song or many good albums?
Anna: I definitely would choose many great albums!
Mirk: If I handed you a magical eraser and a magical pen so you can erase one bad thing that happened in 2019 and write one good thing you would have wanted to happen, how would you use them?
Anna: It is really-really hard to answer, because so many great things have happened to me in 2019, without any memorable bad things. Of course, there are great and sometimes harder periods but this is the reason why life is exciting and challenging, isn’t it? Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I would give the pen back to you and hope we will be able to meet again and maybe I would have another chance to use that pen if I would need it, that time! 🙂
Mirk: I’ll keep it safe till then. Away from music, do you have any hobbies and activities you like to do?
Anna: Yes, Irish dance is a big love of mine, a great hobby I love doing. Other than that, I like walking, watching movies, taking pictures in the Nature.
Mirk: Thank you Anna for this wonderful interview. Good luck for you and Mezmerized in your future plans.
Anna: Thank you very much for this fantastic interview, I enjoyed it a lot and thank you to the readers for checking in and being interested in Mezmerized!
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