The story so far
The band was formed on the fall of 1999. The members were good friends, and started off with huge enthusiasm, but soon came to realize that mere potential and talent is not enough to reach but a certain level of success. Unable to cope with this, the first change of some members was inevitable. Soon after, they recorded a demo, titled Halottak Élén (Leader of the Dead), which was sent to the renowned magazine, Metal Hammer. They voted it to be the best demo of the month in Hungary. In the same year, the band had gigs in several clubs including a major concert in the Petofi Hall (one of the biggest stadiums for venues in Hungary), playing as the pre-band of Kiss Forever Band, for over 1000 people. In the next two years they become well known in the underground culture, playing lots of gigs, acquiring the backbone of fans, and even had the honor of playing before Edguy on their Hungarian show.
In 2001 they recorded an EP called Igaz Hittel (True Faith), which had very positive feedback. Also, they were asked to play with one of the leading metal bands in Hungary, called ‘Pokolgép’, and for the first time, they had the opportunity to participate at the ‘Sziget Festival’, the largest open-air festival in Europe.
Due to the growing technical demands in their music and personal differences, there were some changes in the band again. Since that time, only Peter Schrott (singer, songwriter, and bandleader) remains in the band of all the founding members. They recorded their first album in the autumn of 2002, but due to an exceptionally unlucky timing of electric power failure, it has been deleted completely just before the mastering phase. This accident almost caused the end of the band. Recovering from this “shock”, one last change was made in the recruitment sector, and from then on, the band became more powerful and positive thinking than ever.
Flameborn
Drums: David Haraszti
Bass: Attila Szucs
Guitar: Gergely Karolyi
Lead vocals: Peter Schrott
Guitar: Márton Kovacs
Keyboards: Zsolt Horvath
In June 2004 the band had finally got round to record the album again. After almost one year of anticipation, the album was released, bearing a new title: Jégkorszak (Ice Age). Taking their time, wanting to give the best of what they had, the procedure was time-consuming – but worthwhile indeed. Metal Hammer magazine had offered to distribute the album with the July-August issue, introducing the band to a widespread audience, rocketing their popularity in Hungary. The ‘CD-magazine-package’ was sold in over 7000 copies, what counts as an excellent ratio in a small country such as Hungary. The album had promising reviews from all the magazines and digital media:
“…This album is great! I’m listening to it the fifth time, and still I’m stunned. Technically perfect playing, modern, a bit on the progressive side, exacting content…” (Heavymetal.hu)
“…Nice songs, genuine playing. Tuzmadár could be one of the new favorites of our rockers soon…” (Metalnews.hu)
“…It was worth all the hard work and persistence: the album ‘Jegkorszak’ contains ten truly great songs!...” (Metal & Hard Rock Hammer magazine)
Throughout the year 2005, Tűzmadár played at the biggest summer festivals (including Sziget Festival) with ever-increasing success. They soon signed a contract with Ossian (the most popular metal group in Hungary) to be their official pre-band for their nationwide tour. They won the best debut album of 2005! See here the virtual plaquette:
In January 2006, Tuzmadár also played with Helloween, on their Hungarian concert in Petofi Hall, in front of over 2500 people. At the same time they finally got round to make their first official video for the song “Miért nem én lettem”, which is played regularly ever since on the Hungarian ‘VIVA’ music television, as well as BpTV, FixTV and HálózatTV among other regional channels.
Throughout this year, the band has been working hard on their second album called Fények (Lights), which was released on the 16th of July, 2007. Packed with all new songs, each member contributed their own style and feelings, creating what they believe to be unique and certainly distinguishable from others - a more modern approach, combined with catchy melodies, and a generally better sound quality and mastering than its predecessor.
Due to increasing demand from abroad, and in an effort to reach international audiences, the group has decided to record the more famous tracks in English, and to take up the overall more pronounceable name “Flameborn”.
The studiowork is still in session to this day, although a demo version has already been released for promotional purposes.
