I N T E R V I E W

Interview Chen Balbus (face to face)

Hello Chen, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, we are the french webzine AuxPortesDuMetal and we will publish this interview in French and in English.

Ok, good!

In June 2012 your guitar player Matti Svatizky left the band, can you tell us why? Was it a surprise for you all?

Matti was a bit tired of the music business, of touring, of albums, he wanted to have a family life. It was not really a surprise. It is something that was developing for some years, he was just getting more tired of it.

So this is where you came in, so tell us how did this happen?

It's an interesting story. Kobi knew my older brother, they were childhood friends. Back then Kobi and my brother had this band named Resurrection, and my brother tried to sing but it didn't really work out so he gave up but they stayed friends and Kobi knew me even before I was born, so it's funny. A few years later I learned guitar and music, and I was and have always been a fan of Orphaned Land. I ended up being a replacement guitar player for Yossi or Matti for a number of shows around the globe. So naturally when Matti left I filled in for him.

Did it change your way of working and composing music?

Not really. There is not one single person that writes everything. Each one of us is bringing his own feeling into the music. So I did participate in the composing of the latest album "All is One". What happened is that Yossi was doing his tour, so Kobi, Uri, Matan and myself sat down and composed the album. We built it in my studio and arranged it there, worked on the arrangements and the preproduction, and then later went in the studio to record it.

The band was created in 1991, your career spans over twenty-two years now, that's impressive. How do you consider it now?

Yes it's more than my age [laughs], I'm only twenty-one. The band I play with is older than me.

What can you tell us about "All is One" your latest album?

It's not really a concept album like "Mabool" or "Warrior", but it flows around the same theme. The title is "All Is One", which is the message we always try to pass on. It doesn't matter what religion we believe in, we are all people and we shouldn't hate each other. As I said it's a team work for the composing, and Kobi writes the lyrics. In fact he writes it along with friends. Also he gets some help from others as we sing sometimes in Arabic or in Latin.

You have been touring Europe for some time, how is this going so far?

So far, it's been amazing. The reviews and reports are great. Fans have accepted the album, each time we came to a show, the crowd did know the words, it's great. It's hard to remember precisely after 33 dates but we had great shows in Germany, or in Istambul for example.

The schedule is extremely packed. Is this for cost reasons?

Not only. We thought that this album was very strong and carried a strong message so we wanted to take it to the limit and do as many shows as we could. And after two months, I think we are approaching the limit, yes.

Do you have a little to visit some of the cities?

Sometimes we have some days off or travelling days so we do a little bit. Recently we had a day off in Rome and I have to say it was the most beautiful city I've ever been to.

Do you manage to compose new music while on the road, like this?

Actually yes. It's not easy because the bus is constantly moving but for example today it was easy and we did manage to write music.

Do you have plans to go to the U.S.?

I have never been to the U.S. with the band but we have plans for next year.

Is there a good atmosphere with the opening bands? 

Yes I love each and every single one of them. They are amazing bands and maybe one day we will be their support band.

We read that Devy, from The Mars Chronicles, will sing with Kobi.

We thought it would be good and we asked him and he said it would be a pleasure. He is a wonderful guitarist and vocalist, one of the best I've heard, so I'm glad he will sing with us soon.

Is it more complicated to be an Israelian metal band than a metal band?

Not really. The only problem is that we have a lot of Arab fans in Arab countries that we cannot play for. We cannot enter Arab countries with an Israeli passport. That's the only unfortunate thing. For the rest, it's as difficult as in any other country.

Is metal getting big in Israel?

Yes since the 90s, there has been a fairly big metal scene. Lots of new bands start, they tour in Israel then try to get to Europe.

Any good bands that you would recommend, that we might not know about?

There is Hammercult, they are good friends and are getting really popular these days.

Isn't it difficult to carry your message of peace sometimes?

No, because it's such a strong and meaningful message, and we believe in it so much. There will always be bad critics, but we believe our music can change people, even a little bit.

It's incredible to see music sometimes make more changes than the politicians?

It's amazing and sad, and that's why we continue to do what we do.

Your music is devoted to biblical and religious themes, could this ever change?

I don't think so. Since the lyrical content is about our reality, we don't feel we should talk about anything else, like our girlfriends, or anything personal. This is the most important thing that needs to be changed.

How do you feel about the problems in Syria, or Egypt, or Tunisia?

It's very sad and unfortunate to see the problems of our friends in the Arab countries.

Isn't it difficult to focus on music in such a hostile environment?

It's not really the motivation you really want but again this is our reality. We don't suffer like our friends in Arab countries do, but for them it's sometimes really hard to be a metalhead, you know. By law they cannot listen to metal, they cannot dress that way, or cannot have long hair, it's terrible.

In 2012 Yossi started his own project and released his album "Melting Clocks", are there any other projects coming soon?

No, besides Yossi, I don't think we have other projects. We stay devoted to the band.

What's next for you guys?

We will keep touring until the next album, I think, and keep promoting this album. When we finish this tour, we have a show in Israel, then we go to Costa Rica for a festival, then maybe some dates in South America. Also next year will be our first time in Australia.

Thanks a lot and have a great concert tonight.

Thank you Didier it was a pleasure.

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