INTRODUCING: Faminehill
There’s often a kind of obsession within a music scene as diverse as the umbrella term we call metal, to categorise and sub-categorise bands down to the very minutiae their sound. Countering that cold way of thinking is FAMINEHILL. Heralding from Hungary, the five piece push their music on the merit of it’s feel, on it’s emotions and the heart of what it means to be people with something to say. Guitarist Tamas Stefan spoke with us a little about the band’s motives, and the refreshing way they approach making a name for themselves authentically.
While there’s a distinct sound that FAMINEHILL create, they’re the first to bring it back to the the root of the people behind that sound. ”We are just ordinary guys, playing kind of aggressive music. I’d say we play post-metalcore, but I’m losing it with genres nowadays honestly! We just like playing heavy music with softer melodic elements, this is our best way to tell what we want to, this is what comes naturally for us.” It’s refreshing with a band like FAMINEHILL to not really desire to fit into a genre, and not be concerned by the boxing in of bands into one sound or another. Music goes beyond that, and it shows in the nature of FAMINEHILL’s writing.
The same easy flow that runs in the heart of the band appears to have been there from FAMINEHILL’s inception. ”Four of us were living in the same area, we all had bands since we were kids, and basically music brought us together” Tamas explains ,”If you are living in a small city and you listen to metal music you get to know everyone who does too. The band was started by our drummer Zsolt Baranyi and bassist Adam Sarog. In 2014, they needed guitarists, so Gergely [Kovacs] joined, he grew up being friends with Adam, and I joined too, I got to know them because we were sharing the same rehearsal room that time. Our vocalist Milan [Rockov] joined a few years later, replacing Levente Spicze who is in HARMED right now.
In terms of sound, you can be sure to be overcome with the melodic elements that interspersed between incredibly groove-laden, tension ridden tones. Vocals that push through from deep and menacing to pure and hopeful, the motions of FAMINEHILL’s music set them apart.”Musically, we get inspired by any kind of artists and genres,” says Tamas, ”Obviously, we all grew up listening to heavy bands like SLIPKNOT but nowadays we find art in the weirdest stuff too and get inspired by even pop music. Lyrically, we write things out and tell stories that we are otherwise not comfortable telling.”
FAMINEHILL’s latest record Ascend, released on April 5th, is even more of a passion project than any of their previous work. ”This time, we didn’t go to the studio, I recorded everything for ourselves. It was quite a challenge,” he asserts, ”It took a lot of time, but it turned out great. I wanted to track everything as good as possible, so I figured that doing it myself, taking as much time as it needs could be better.”
The name itself has a collective, overarching meaning. ”For all of us, being a band, making this album and writing out everything is really really helpful in life, so the album title Ascend refers to overcome different feelings which makes our everyday life harder.” It’s a kind of purity, to write with the purpose of catharsis, and to combine your demons and trials to create something positive. The motions of that coming together start to run like a well oiled machine, grinding down ideas until something worthwhile comes out the other side. Tamas runs us through a little of their process. ”Our writing process is pretty much the same as it always was. I’m always writing, messing around with ideas and riffs, so I start the songs every time. If I have at least a half song instrumental, I show it to everyone and they jump on board, helping me finish it and throwing in new ideas. After we have a finished instrumental song, Milan starts writing his parts, and after that, most of the time the clean vocals are the last thing. That is how we usually write.”
Essentially, through it all, FAMINEHILL is a band that holds close the meaning of being in a band; to be true to themselves through their music. ”The fact that we can truly be ourselves, playing music and telling anything we want to. This means the most for us.”
To not only be able to master your emotions into music, but share that sound with the world is no small experience as well. ”It’s an amazing experience to visit places we’ve never been before, and even playing our songs to people there. That’s what we’re looking forward to the most,” Tamas explains. ”When I notice that someone really knows the songs, and the lyrics, and seem like having a good time, then I’m happy. Even if it’s only one person, I’m still happy and It’s totally worth it. This year we want to play as many shows as we can. For next year, I can’t tell you anything yet but I never stop writing, so who knows!”
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