Interview with Milán Leindler of Niburta

© Niburta

The latest news of Budapest with a Pinch of Music bring you the interview with Milán Leindler, the drummer for Niburta, one of our favourite bands from Budapest. I will not stall for too long by writing about the band itself, but be sure to read more on their Reverbnation site, or here about their gig in Crazy Mama Music Pub, on March 3.

1. Hi. Let's start by introducing yourself and the band?

Milán: My name is Milán Leindler and I have the fantastic opportunity to be the drummer of Niburta. I've been playing since 2004, and as a "civilian" I'm a psychologist. The band itself does not have such a long history, the founding members were Balázs Hormai, János Krieser and Anna Németh. They dreamed of a band combines the catchy and rather mystical folk tunes and melodies of the Balcanic region with the newest and craziest waves of modern metalcore. I myself joined the band in 2010 and I've been playing with these very diversly skilled guys ever since. The band's name comes from the ancient Scythian god. Niburta is definetely a two-faced deity; warriors prayed for him for strength and courage on the battlefield, so they could savagely rush into battle, and also during the summer when they hoped for a successful harvest. This bipolarity is not only a feature of our "patron-god", but also a feature of our music as well.

Niburta: Milán Leindler

2. Niburta has ‘awakened’ in the last year, both in studio and live. What was it that you have been accomplishing lately?

Milán: One of our greatest accomplishments is mentioned in the question itself. We recorded a studio version of Awakening, and Fúvom az énekem, a hearth-breaking Hungarian folk song. We also finished working on our very first music video, which will be introduced to the audience in the next couple of days or weeks. We also had a lot of live shows, performing with bands like Dalriada, Cruadalach, Stribog, Zrec, Krampus and other very good Hungarian bands. It is important to mention that we formed true friendship with our Czech and Croatian mates, so it will be a pleasure to meet them again in their country. We also plan to make a high-quality tour video during our trip. And at last, I must mention that the 9-member team "chose a king" for itself, as a manager joined the band, Balázs “Don” Buza, who helps us in many ways and knows the arts of diplomacy, organizing, negotiating, and other useful witchcrafts.

3. What has inspired you the most to pursuit the folk metal style? Which bands do you look upon most?

Milán: This obviously differs from band member to band member. However we all agree that there are a few important bands that were the pioneers of this genre. We respect all bands that play such a music that reaches to one's own heritage and traditions and can blend the strength and power of the music of our ancestors and today's metal music. Both of these have dynamism, passion, so they fit together very well. Concerning us, not all 9 members are true folk-metalheads. It is just the question of working together, feeling each others emotions, continuing each other's thoughts. Most of the members who play folk instruments do not necessarily listen to metal music, and those who literally "craft" the breakdowns (like the guitar players, or myself) do not know that much about folk music. But we share our knowledge, and together we create something that is way more than the sum of the two. But if names need to be mentioned, we obviously respect and like the music of Eluveitie, August Burns Red, Vildhjarta, and many more bands that do not necessarily belong to the folk-metal genre.

4. This spring you will be a part of an international folk metal tour – Beltine Fest. What are your expectations of the tour?

Milán: I hope that it will not only boost our popularity, but it will result in many more friendship with other musicians and with the fans. We tend to keep a close relation with our fans, for example I occasionally talk to guys from Brazil, Turkey or Germany, who love Niburta. Our expectation is that the people who come to the shows and honor us with their presence will have a good time and that we can convey our passion and love for these ancient cultural heritage. We hope to cross boundaries, break down walls that have been wrongly erected during the years. And also we hope for a lot of fun and drinking, naturally.

5. On April 23, you will play in Zagreb, Croatia, along with Trollfest and Korpiklaani. How did this connection happen? Are you excited about sharing the stage with them?

Milán: It is a great pleasure and honor to share the stage with them. It would be an honor and pleasure even if we were more popular, it is an honor to meet fellow musicians no matter how famous or popular they are. But I'm not implying that it won't be different from our previous shows, Korpiklaani and Trollfest are the two biggest names with whom we can perform at the same night. This is a huge possibility for us and we are in the middle of the largest preparation that we ever did. The connection can be thanked to Ana, ex-singer of Stribog, who we met at last year's Beltine Fest.

© Niburta

6. Is it true that not all of the band members will play on this tour? Will there be replacements?

Milán: Yes, we need to replace one of our guitar players in Croatia and Slovenia, but this issue has already been solved. Also, Márton Szilágyi cannot play with us in Maribor, his absence will ... as we, Hungarians tend to say it ... "be solved within the house".

7. This is not the first time you collaborate with Cruadalach. How does it feel working and touring with them? What’s your opinion on the other bands of the tour?

Milán: We love those guys! We talk a lot online and have a very good relationship. Last year Bálint Kemény played with Cruadalach on their Polish tour, and this time I'm going to play with Oganj at Maribor. This fills me with excitement and at the same time is a huge honor and challange. As said earlier, we respect all the other bands, we know that Avven is highly noted in Slovenia, I personally am very curious about them. And for Korpiklaani and Trollfest, I'm pretty much looking forward to meet them.

8. Which bands would you like to tour/work with in the future? How do you see the future of the band?

Milán: There will definitely be a full-length album coming soon! Very soon! I'm optimistic about the band's future, we have larger and larger shows, the crowd is thicker and thicker. Our on-stage performance is developing nicely, we are working to give the perfect Balcanic Folk-Metalcore experience to the audience. We would be honored if we could tour with great bands, Korpiklaani was "on the list" before this show too, but Eluveitie, Finntroll are such names too. I personally would very much love to have a tour together with Avantasia or Edguy, Apocalyptica or Stratovarius, but that's just my way of taste.

9. Having so many members, is it difficult for the band to get everybody on the same page, to find time for rehearsals?

Milán: It is difficult, but we try hard. We are starting to think of Niburta as a lifestyle, and this helps a lot. We just hope that you guys can feel this too!

Niburta: Balázs Hormai

10. Lately, you’ve started becoming a leading folk metal band in Budapest. Does it put a lot of stress on you as a band? What are your views on the (folk) metal scene in the city, and the country in general?

Milán: I must point out that we are NOT the leading band of this genre. This is not modesty, this is a hard fact. And there is no problem with it, Niburta is a young and prospering band, and we do not think of other bands as rivals, but as friends and even tutors, from whom we can learn a lot. For example, last august we had a great show with Dalriada, and we profited a lot from that night. We really appreciate their work and what they did for the Hungarian folk-metal scene. I think that the scene in Hungary is developing nicely, there are good shows not only in the capital, but in smaller cities as well. More and more people are interested, because there are good bands and musicians who can satisfy their hunger and appetite for a good folk-metal madness!

11. What would you like to say to your audience on Beltine?

Milán: We promise a great show and a few bruises, stitches for the guys in the front rows, because the passion and spirit of our very ancestors will be unleashed! Also, if there will be an opportunity, I can promise that I will personally say thank you for coming for everyone, who I meet after the show. And we are looking forward to meet you not only during, but after the show as well, because it is boring to drink alone!

Thank you once again for the interview. I wish you a great, extremely fun tour!

Milán: Thank you!

The interview was also published here in Croatian. Check it out!