EMQ’s With WitcheR

EMQ’s With WitcheR

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Hungarian Atmospheric Black Metallers, WitcheR. Huge thanks to Roland for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Greetings to you and the readers! I’m Roland from WitcheR. In the band, I handle the stringed instruments and drums, and I’m also responsible for part of the vocals. The history of WitcheR goes back to 2010, so this year we are celebrating our 15th anniversary. The band consists of Karola and me, and from the very beginning our goal was to create atmospheric music with Summoning-like influences, witchy elements, and a blend of orthodox black metal and classical music. Over the past 15 years, we’ve released four full-length albums and two EPs, with the latest one, titled Öröklét, just coming out this November.

How did you come up with your band name?

We wanted a simple, memorable name that would also be immediately expressive. Around that time, the first The Witcher video game had just been released, which we loved, and we quickly became familiar with Sapkowski’s works as well — they absolutely fascinated us. Since we wanted to avoid any legal issues but really liked the sound of the name, we chose the name WitcheR.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We are from Hungary. Although the Hungarian scene has declined a lot compared to the 90s, there are still many great bands here, including some internationally recognized acts. The underground black metal scene also has a lot of strong bands, so anyone who takes the time to look around will definitely find interesting things in our country.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our new album was released in early November under the title Öröklét, through our own label. It is a perfect continuation of our previous work, featuring four brand-new songs and a Schubert adaptation.

Who have been your greatest influences?

It would be impossible to list them all. Both Karola and I have been huge metal fans since childhood. Our main influences come from black metal bands, especially those from the northern countries, but we also love heavy metal, and Karola has exceptionally strong classical music influences as well. When it comes to WitcheR, most people tend to think of Summoning and early Dimmu Borgir.

What first got you into music?

At first, we both wanted to stand on stage, tour a lot, become well-known, and release albums — but we abandoned most of those goals very quickly. More precisely, only a few of them. We created WitcheR with the intention of creating art, of expressing the moods and emotions within us. That’s still what drives us today: we want to create, preferably something lasting. And if people happen to enjoy it, that’s an enormous bonus for us.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

That’s a very difficult question, because there are an incredible number of bands and musicians we admire. Our biggest dream would be to collaborate with Summoning — that’s a fact — but of course, we know that’s something that will never happen.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

We don’t perform live, so we don’t really aspire to play at festivals. If we were to play, we would choose small to mid-sized underground black metal festivals, because that’s where our audience is, and that’s where we would feel most at home on stage.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Once we received a completely handmade box, crafted so professionally that it looked like a release from a major label. Inside, we found cassette versions of all our albums released up to that point, along with a large insert wishing Karola a happy birthday. This happened around the time of our first album. Since then, we mostly receive letters, and quite a few postcards as well — which we always appreciate, because they show us how much our fans care.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

To say a huge thank you for all the support that has made it possible for us to create higher-quality releases with each album and to become more and more recognized.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Chuck Schuldiner. For me, there’s no question.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I love writing music and lyrics, and I really enjoy recording because we do everything ourselves. I also really enjoy the photo shoots and video shoots, because for us these are very personal as well — we haven’t involved any outside people so far. What I really dislike is being at the mercy of algorithms: when we post something on social media that we’ve put a lot of effort into, it simply doesn’t reach the people we intended. That can be very frustrating.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Perhaps just that streaming platforms could pay artists a little more. Even then, musicians wouldn’t be able to make a living from it, but they would have a better chance of producing higher-quality work.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Only one? You’re asking the impossible. I would say Helloween’s first EP or “Conspiracy” by King Diamond. Since you asked for an album, let’s go with the latter, because it had a huge impact on me as a child.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?

Personally, I prefer CDs and vinyl — that’s what I collect the most — but I don’t mind cassettes either, so I really can’t decide. I don’t usually download music at all, but I do use Spotify in the car.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

WitcheR has never performed live, and before that, there really wasn’t any concert I look back on fondly as an artist.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Since we don’t make a living from this, we still have other things to do. Approaching the question from an artistic perspective, I really enjoy modeling, but I could also see myself doing restoration work.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Only and exclusively close friends.

What’s next for the band?

Our album “Öröklét” has just been released, so we’re doing everything we can to get it out to as many places as possible, which doesn’t leave much time to focus on the future — but there are plans. We still have a small surprise for the album, possibly later this year, and next year we’d like to release a single. In 2027, we hope to release a new album, which has already been written, and we’ll soon start the studio work on it.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? 

Website: https://witcherband.hu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/witcherband
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/witcherbandofficial/
Bandcamp: https://witcherband.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1C9ErpFV88XztoqUPESRRb
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsJ0gvIp7gKv5SljsgJX4g
X: https://twitter.com/witcherband
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@witcherband
Metal Archives: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Witcher/3540322941

There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss! 

It doesn’t matter at all, as long as it’s tasty.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for the interview. Follow us on social media and help spread the name and music of WitcheR. If you’d like to order a CD, T-Shirt, cassette, or vinyl, feel free to contact us or check out our Bandcamp page.

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.