OZNOR Interview

Genre: Heavy Metal/Shred

Country: Slovakia

Questions by: Nick Parastatidis

Answers by: Norbert Ozogany (Everything)

Site: Facebook

1) Hello. How are you? How do you deal with the whole corona virus situation?

Hello. Thanks for the question. Fortunately I am fine and everybody around me. At least for now but I strongly hope it stays this way. Here in Slovakia the government was proactive and took protective steps soon enough but let’s see how long the people can cope with the social distancing, etc. and the economic situation this will bring around the world. As for me I can work from home and due to less after work outdoor activities prepare the upcoming OzNor material sooner than planned.

2) Quiet recently you have released your second EP entitled “Shattered Illusions” tell us a few things about it?

The EP “Shattered Illusion” consists of 5 tracks and deals with the states the human mind goes through after facing disappointment. Sometimes life doesn’t go as expected, but you have to move on. Hence the songs “Shattered Illusions”, “Lost dreams”, “Contemplations”, “Silver Lining” and “Piece of Mind” represent the five states you are going through when your “dreams” don’t come true. You have to mourn, reflect on it and finally find a new vision otherwise you go insane.

3) By comparing “Shattered Illusions” and your previous release entitled “Stormbringer” which do you think are the common elements between these 2 releases and which are the new elements that “Shattered Illusions” brings to your sound?

Common elements are for sure the guitars and song arrangements where the solo guitar takes over the role of the singer.

“Stormbringer” did sound more muddy, more with some sort of an old time feeling whereas the focus was on the guitars. On “Shattered Illusions” I included as well different instruments on some songs, like organ in the song “Silver Lining” or piano in the song “Lost Dreams”, but of course the focus is still on the rhythm and solo guitars.

4) Why this time did you choose to release an EP instead of a full length album?

The five songs did fit perfectly into the concept of the five states of mind after disappointment. So instead of forcing there one, two songs in addition I decided to go with an EP.

5) Let’s go a bit back in the beginning of the band. So what made you realize that you wanted to create your own music and what motivated you to do so?

I have been playing the guitar for some years and had ideas but there was no opportunity to give these ideas life until last year. A couple of years ago I bought a drum machine and recorded some demos, really rough, which were liked by a couple of people who listened to it however. So the last year I did decide to invest and buy some studio equipment, bass guitar and so on. Probably it would not be even possible ten years ago to record and produce a full length album in a home studio. In any case I decided in 2019 to put my music out into the world where someone could like it.

6) Every artist has his own inspirations and influences. So, which are yours and why?

I listen to a wide range of music, mostly metal of course, from heavy to black. But sometimes I also listen to folk or classical music as well. If I am to pick some bands that had the most influence on me, it is surely IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, MANOWAR, SLAYER, POKOLGEP (Hungarian heavy metal band), MOBYDICK (Hungarian trash metal band). These are bands I really listen to from childhood and can listen to ever since.

7) Why did you choose to be a solo artist and not create a full member band?

There was always an intention to found a band but I never could find fitting band members and as well due to other activities like work there was not even always the time for rehearsals. Years pass by and I am not getting younger, so the decision has been made to start the one-man project OzNor.

8) You choose to create instrumental compositions instead of making songs. Why is that? Don’t you think that this way might be more difficult to approach a bigger audience?

That’s true. Especially when there are hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of new bands out there. Certainly it would be easier with a pretty girl in front. :-D

However I believe that music without any lyrics and vocals can pass on a message as well. Vocals are in a way just another instrument. And let’s be honest, there are a couple of lyrics out there that do not make much sense anyways. But I am aware of course that most metal fans expect to have vocals and lyrics.

Fortunately for me I am not doing this for a living, but of course, on the other hand, it makes not much sense to invest a lot of time, money and make music for myself so I hope to reach out to people who will like my music and can support by listening to it.

9) Do you plan to add lyrics in the near future?

I think OzNor will remain an instrumental project but who knows, maybe I am going to start a new project in parallel.

I have some other projects on my mind already but of course it also depends on how much time and budget I have available.

10) By the way how would you describe your sound to people that haven’t listened to you yet?

I think the best description would be that OzNor is a mostly heavy metal band, maybe with some progressive elements, where the melodic solo guitar takes over the role of a vocalist. But to be honest I am kind of lost when I have to describe any band exactly. Sometimes there is a thin line between heavy and thrash, thrash and black and so on. I am not a virtuoso running through the guitar neck 100 times in a song, but instead there are melodic solo passages and always a main solo.

11) Thanks for your time answering my questions. I wish you all the best. The epilogue of this interview belongs to you.

Thanks a lot for the opportunity and wish you all the best too. Especially stay healthy in these times. If everything goes well there will be a new OzNor album out in autumn and two singles beforehand.