Hail You, István! Let’s begin the interview with a boring thing: tell us every facts about the history of Antichrist from the beginning to the disbanding!

The story of the band began at the summer of 1987, or maybe a bit earlier… We get known László Landy at this time closer, earlier we just knew him from the highschool. We traded with him a lot of cassettes, and once we told him, that we want to make a band, and he said, he want to join us as drumer. We took our name from a somg of Slayer or Destruction, but from which one? I don’t remember. We found this name very shocking and we liked these bands very much. But sorry, I don’t really remember, which song it was taken from… In 1987 we began the rehearsalas with 100% faith, but with minimal musical knowledge. Our first gig was on 31th December 1987 in a garage. There were just our frineds and we played in this show with an other band from our city. We worked those times only with Hungarian texts. We didn’t have correct instruments, and our first songs are also lost in time. We had a lot of rehearsals, we composed new songs, we re-composed our older ones, we deleted the Hungarian topics, we used later just English written texts. As you see, we don’t have too much interesting facts in our history. Just few days before the beginning of military service for some bandmembers we recorded or classic demo-material and we splited up.

You and Gábor Dalmadi (ex-vocalist) were brothers. Am I right? In the other classic and wellknown Hungarian band Barbed Wire from Budapest there were three brothers in the same band. Was it problematic for you ever? Were there some little family-conflicts from this? Haha! What was the opinion of your parents about your musical activity?

Because of the music we didn’t have any problems, but of course we had some discusses, like in other families. It’s normally, I think… To be honest we have good contacts also now with four mambers of five. We meet eachother very often. We all are vey good friends. About our parents… They said always, that we don’t need to spend so much energy into the music…

The average of the ages in Antichrist was between 15 and 17, but you played vey true and resolute kind of the Black / Thrash Metal music. Where you have got the inspirations from?

I think, it was no question, what kind of music we will play, becuase all of us liked the same kind of music. Of course we tried to play that music, which we liked.

Did you ever use English language in the texts? Where you got this idea? I guess, your english was very-very primitive… Like my english, haha! Don’t you think, that texts  written in Hungarian would have been better? For example also Angel Reaper, Fantom and Detonátor used very good Hungraian topics.

I don’t thinks so. In the very early perion we also used Hungarian texts, but after that we have choosen an other way. 99% of the texts were written by my brother, but he did it in Hungraian, and after that we all together translated them in to English. But we were sometimes unsuccessfull with the translations. Haha!

The most important recording of the band was „Dark age…”. Did you ever made some recordings before that demo? On the re-released version of „Dark age…” there is a bonus-song, taken from a recording from the year 1988. Was it a demo? Or?

We didn’t have any serious demos before „Dark age…”, we just recorded some songs in rehearsals etc. It’s funny, but we can say a big „Thank you!” for our „Dark age..” demo for the army, becuase we had to work fast, becuase my brother and one of the guitarists had to begin three days after the recordning in miritary sevice.

„Dark age…” demo was a seven-songs-recordning. Which ones are very good also now in your view? Tell us everithing about them. I like „Atomic winter” mostly. Tell me some things about it, too!

My favorite is „Antichrist”, but I listen to every songs very often. I can’t find any big differences between our old songs…

The song called „Minaret” is very interesting. Does it have any kind of story? In the European Black Metal you can’t find too much oriental melodies…

As far as I remember, it doesn’t have any interesting story behind itself. It was born from an improvisation…

What kind of songs did you have before the demo? Allmost the same, like on „Dark age…”? Or did you have also other songs, which you didn’t recorded for the demo?

We just have those, which you can also find on the demo. But we had also some others more… But in very bad sound-quality…

In 2003 was out the re-releasing version of your classic „Dark age… in the very beginning” demo from 1989. What did you think at first, as you heard about the plans of the label? How was your first reaction?

I was fucking happy, and I never thought, that this demo was for somebody so important, that he is interested in and he is able to make investition in it… But the whole band was happy about the idea. But I think, you also know it, becasue we, the band prepared everything so fast for this re-releasing…

Your drummer, László Landy made a little bit of remixing for the old demo-songs, becuase he have a little studio at home. Can you tell us something about? He didn’t make any big-big wonders, but as far as I hear, there are less noise, than on my old tape. How mutch do you like the remixed versions?

My original cassette was „borrowed”, and to be honest I don’t have any cassette-player, I can’t make that comparation. But as far as I remember, the sound is a bit cleaner, but in this clean sound you can hear also the mistaken parts better, haha! I guess, that’s the highest sound quality, which can be made for this old recording.

Are you satisfied by the re-released version of the demo?

I’m totally satisfied by the re-released stuff. I don’t know, how much examples were sold, but it was good for me to see, that our CD is also avaiable on Internet, sometimes for the same prices, like the CD of the biggest underground bands.

Did you have any concerts with Antichrist band? Also outside of your town?

We didit have too much possibilies. Those old times a band in Hungay had totally other kind of possibilies… We just have one show outside of Veszprém.

With which bands did you make common shows?

We didn’t have too much concerts. I can’t give you any band-names. We just played with friendly bands from our city, but they didn’t became famous, so their names aren’t worthy, to remember.

Many bands have big problems, becuase they don’t have rehearsal-room. Did you have good place for rehearsals?

First time we made rehearsals at the house of Landy László, but we got a denunciation from the neighbors in case of breach of peace. After that we made the rehearsals in the cave of József (one of our guitarists). Here we didn’t have any problems.

Did you have ever an interview in a fanzine?

No, we didn’t. This one will be the first one ever, if I will be ready with it! Haha!

Did you get some invitations from the side of the media? For example from Garázs (legendary Hungraian rock-radio-show in the communist times) or the Hungarian Metal Hammer?

Our demo was reviewd just in the Hungarian Metal Hammer, but first one year after its release date… That time the band existed no more… I guess, some examples were sold also abroad, because we got some letters from foreign countries… But after our disbanding it wasn’t interesting anymore…

I don’t remember anymore, but did you send the old demo-tape to the Hungarian Metal Hammer for a review? What kind of reactions did you get from Metal Hammer Magazine? Who reviewed it? Your opinion?

The review was written by László Lénárd, but we would have been more happy, if they put the review in to the magazine not after a year delay. Maybe our career would have been a bit other… As the review was out, we were allready disbanded. We got from him a little bit of flak, but also a little compliment. I guess, now we would get vey bad and negative critic. Today the magazines expect the same sound and musical level also from newcomer bands, like from those bands, who have a lot of albums.

Your opinion about the review about the re-releasied version of the demo?

They didn’t dare to write worse things about it. But I think, they also didn’t write any good things about…

I think, you had a little crew in your city Veszprém. Friends, other metal-heads etc etc. How much visitors did you have at the shows?

We didn’t have any real fans or a crew, becuase we didn’t have too much live shows, and the band existed also not so long. Our city, Veszprém isn’t a big Rock/Metal-center, and it wasn’t ever. In Veszprém there isn’t any real Rock-club also now, where also Metal bands could play live gigs.

The graphic on the cover desing of the re-released demo is a new composition. But as far as I heard, it’s almost the same, like the old cover back from 1989. Am I right here?

No, you aren’t. I just made a little doing-up. I tried to save the feeling of the old desing. I hope, I was succesfull. On the front-side there aren’t too much changes, I just picked off the text „demo 89” and I put the logo and demo-title on. And all of these was turned out to negative.

I like very much the cover of the CD-R, for example the inner side of the booklet with old logo and lot of pictures… Who was responsible for the visula side of the band?

The logo and the devil-painting were made by my brother. He draws a lot, and now he also makes tattoos.

According to the other old Black / Thrash Metal bands Antichrist band has much more pictures about the good old days. We can see in the booklet of the re-released CD a lot of them. Those old picures have very good spirit…

Those old pix were made by László Landy. He likes to make photos very much. But the fathers of some friends helped us also a lot.

Do you have any personal docomentation about music / pictures / posters/ etc. of Antichrist? Do you have a lot of old relics? Did you have any video-recording?

I have a lot of digitalized pictures on my PC. And I have also some rehearsal-recorings on tapes from the beginning, but unfortunately I lost also some tapes… We didn’t have ever a video-recording, but those time the video-recorders and cameras were also very rare. Also profesional sound-recordings were too expensive for us. But László Landy has a special Antichrist-diary, where all the important things about our rehearsals are written.

Who was the boss inside of the band?

There wasn’t any kind of boss…

How much difference is between your instrumental knowledge now and then. How was the old musical level of Antichrist in your view?

If I say, that the diference is like heaven and hell, than it means not too much, but it’s 100% true. Today I’m not so vehement, like before, so I like also the not compicated riffs and tempos, and I playing much more better on my instrument. Our old musical knowledge was for me never a big problem, but I guess, if we would have worked in a good studio, the demo would have been much more better. Antichrist band doesn’t need to feel cheap now, if we look at the quality of the other Hungarian bands 15 years before… But today that kind of recording wouldn’t be valuable…

Your opinion about the famous Tormentor and their international status? They began their musical career aproximative at the same time, like you…

I think, they were a bit higher category, like us. They were also in Hungary very populair, and they played a lot in live. I guess, they also played abroad… They were much more famous, and of course Csihar Attila’s present activities are also important. He makes the name of Tormentor also now alive. I like Tormentor very much, they were one of my favorites.

After disbanding of Antichrist you didn’t stop playing music, now you play in Sutcliffe band. I have one demo of yours: „Antropomorphia”. Tell something about this band for the readers! How much stuffs do you have? Your sucesses?

Sutcliffe is the band of my bandmember Tommy, he is the only one founder in the band now. I just playing there in Sutcliffe since their second material, as the member called „Só” (played in Mirror band from the same city) went to Canada, and the ex-basser changed to drums, and they needed a new bass-guitarist. Now we twice try to keep the band alive, but without too much sucesses. Haha! We had a lot of members-changes in the band, and it is very bad thing for our effectivity… We made until now three materials, but on every demos the line up was allways different. I hope, we can do our next recording very soon, but we have to find new members. We didn’t have too much live-shows, becuase of the many member-changes, but we played a lot also in other cities. Our website is: www.sutcliffe.hu , you can also download all of our materials…

Your ex-drummer, László Landy, played in an alternative / progressive powerfull metal band Sunseth Sphere. Their album was out by a foreign record-label (maybe Hammerheart Records?), but after that I didn’t hear anithing about them. Do you know anything about this band now? I guess, they splited up, or?

Their second album wasn’t out, because the label made bankruptcy. They had valid engagemant, so they couldn’t step down from the label. They are disbanded.

As far as I know, László Landy works in a studio. Did you make any kind of co-operation between his studio and your new band?

You are wrong here, he doesn’t work in a studio, he just have at home a little hobby-studio for making demo-recordings etc. He wanted to develop it, but he didn’t have time for this work.

As we saw, you and László made Metal music also after Antichrist. But what is the situation with the other ex-members of Antichrist?

Just József, our ex-guitarist played music after Antichrist, but he wasn’t with his band outside of the rehearsal-room ever. Now he doesn’t play anymore… The others? They stoped with music, too…

What do the ex-members of Antichrist in their private life?

Everybody has a civil job, I’m working in a wood-store, I play music also now. My brother makes tattoos, he began this work before two years. Landy is an author / writer… And finally about József. As I said, he played Metal music some years long after Antichrist, but now he doesn’t, he is interested just in his job.

Are there any contacts between the old members? Any kind of friendship?

Four members of five meet eachother regularly, because we were always friends, not only members in a band. We also don’t have any problem with the fifth member, we just aren’t in contact with him, but I meet him sometimes…

Your favorite music at present? Are you a maniac or a record-hunter?

I use to listen rather to my old favorites. I don’t know too much the newer bands. I don’t want to say, that there aren’t good new albums, but these new recordings don’t have too much influences or inspirations for me. But of course there are some good exceptions, too…

Near to the end of the interview tell us your most interesting / funny / important reminiscence about Antichrist!

I have a funny story back from 1988. We played in the rehearsal room, as an old woman from the neighbour came to us, and said: „Boys, your music is very good, but the trumphets are too loud and my grandchildren can’t sleep.” (I guess, she told about the bass-guitar, or?) We laugh a lot about this story. I had also a lot of other funny stories, but this one is the best.

Thanks for the interview! Your last comments?

Thanks for the possibility! And sorry for my delay in answering…

Palócföldi Pagan Madness (September of 2006 - January of 2007)