Burning Sun are a glorious Hungarian power/heavy metal project made up of Pancho Ireland (Merciless Law) and Zoltán Papi! Check out this extensive interview with Zoltán for an exclusive insight!

TheNwothm: Hey there Burning Sun, happy new year! Can your first of introduce the band and where you are from?

Z.P: Hey Rob, thank you for having me! This is Zoltán Papi from Burning Sun, a 90’s power metal influenced project from Hungary, featuring international musicians. 

TheNwothm: How has the city of Debrecen and the region of Hajdú-Bihar influenced the music of Burning Sun?

Z.P: I don’t think it influenced me in any way. The project was initiated and formed by me; therefore, it is a Hungarian project. It’s very important to underline that this is a Hungarian project that features international members. Unfortunately, there are barely any power metal bands here, and that’s the reason I’d like to show to the Hungarian fans that there’s someone trying to create music in this genre. Who knows, someone might get in the mood to start similar bands! I would love that!

TheNwothm: And how did you come up with the name of the band?

Z.P: The name comes from Helloween. I decided on the name in 2015 when I started a printed fanzine (written in Hungarian) because I wanted to name it after a Helloween song. For me, Burning Sun is not just an excellent song from my favorite band, but also a name that can represent my favorite genre really well. This is the reason why I carried this over to my small cassette label, Burning Sun Records, then to Burning Sun, the power metal project. When I conducted an interview with Michael Weikath, the composer of the song, he said that “It’s really cool”. I think we’ve got Weiki’s seal of approval! (laughs)

TheNwothm: You only formed in 2022! Where did the idea for Burning Sun come from?

Z.P: The idea goes back for several years as I always wanted to create my own project to record some German influenced power metal with my lyrics. Since I was not a composer, lyricist and couldn’t play any instruments, this idea remained a dream which with time, became annoying enough for me to do something about it. I could have quit several times, but my stubbornness didn’t let me. I’m still not a musician, lyricist or composer, however I keep being stubborn! (laughs)

TheNwothm: And what is it like to working with Pancho of the Chilean Metal band Merciless Law?

Z.P: The first song for the project was “Emaly”, and for the most part, it was written by Cederick Forsberg (Blazon Stone, Rocka Rollas, etc.). He advised that the singer should be Pancho. I didn’t know him back then but then we quickly became friends, in fact, I released Merciless Law’s first ever physical edition which was the cassette version of “Troops of Steel”. As Ced was busy with his many bands and projects, I asked Pancho to join not just as a vocalist, but as a guitarist and composer too. I have a lot of respect for his person and his skills. I’d like to think both Pancho and I enjoyed working on this record, along with the other amazing musicians involved.

I also feel like that my friend, Alessio Perardi from Italy’s Airborn, must be mentioned here as he truly poured his heart into the production of Wake of Ashes. And don’t forget that he wrote the music of “Hundred Lions” which turned out amazing!

TheNwothm: How did you decide you wanted a mix of heavy, power and speed metal to be the sound of Burning Sun?

Z.P: My goal was to create an album that was influenced by 90’s European power metal, mostly by my German favorites. I would say we could label our music as power metal, but just as with Helloween, Grave Digger, Iron Savior and many others that we love and cherish, heavy and speed metal are part of the mix.

I’ve seen many reviews comparing our heavy metal song “Bend the World” to Grave Digger, and “Hundred Lions” to Iron Savior, while “Templar’s Verdict” is a heavier speed metal tune. My idea was to create a diverse record within the heavy, speed and power metal realm. I think it functions as a cohesive unit, and if enjoy the mentioned bands and era, you will definitely enjoy our debut album too!

TheNwothm: What role does Stormspell Records play in the journey of Burning Sun, and how did the collaboration with the record label come about?

Z.P: I’m a HUGE fan of Stormspell Records ever since I discovered them in 2015! I was a bit nervous to reach out because I’m a total fanboy! (laughs) 

Lordan, the label’s owner not only selected some of the best underground artists from the world of traditional metal, but also released some of the best-looking CDs out there which rival big, commercial designs. He worked with some of the best artists for the covers, therefore Stormspell CDs are a joy to collect. I don’t put it lightly when I say that it’s a huge honor to be part of the Stormspell family, joining to the pantheon of bands that I love as a fan. I’m very grateful that Stormspell gave Burning Sun this chance, Iordan was super easy to work with.

TheNwothm: Let us begin with discussing your demo. What inspired the creation of the demo “Emaly” in 2022, and how was the reception from fans and the music community?

Z.P: Originally, I didn’t want to do any sort of demo, however I just couldn’t wait to finally announce the project hence it was the logical step to take the first song, give it a quick demo mix, and then release it as a way to say “hi”. Despite the fact that we didn’t really promote it anywhere, people seemed to find it somehow and as far as I know, they enjoyed it.

TheNwothm: Considering both band members are from different parts of the world, how have you made that work for the band?

Z.P: We use the word “band” to simplify this, but Burning Sun is not a band by any means. It’s a project, we share files over the internet, we have creative conversations online. There are differences in time zones for sure, but I think we can work pretty well this way.

TheNwothm: Do you think that working separately for a lot of artists these days and communicating over the net has become a normality?

Z.P: Absolutely, and I think it’s a great opportunity for people like me to find partners in crime. The magic of playing in a real band, putting songs together in the rehearsal room, is surely different and sometimes that can translate in the final product, but I think nowadays it’s pretty normal to create online. 

TheNwothm: If Burning Sun’s music had the power to transport listeners to any place or time, where and when do you think it would take them, and what would that experience be like?

Z.P: Ah, this is a really good one! Music evokes different emotions in every listener so I guess that varies, but as for me, the lyrics of Wake of Ashes are pretty self-explanatory, it’s meant to transfer you to a fantasy world with undead, holy knights, noble defenders and haunted castles to discover. You don’t always need to say something about the world, give a social commentary of dwell in politics. Sometimes music is just for fun, and to have yourself a little escape time. It’s an adventure!

TheNwothm: Can you reveal any hidden or unexpected talents that you possess, beyond the role you have in music and the band?

Z.P: I’m not sure if I can think anything hidden, that’s why it would be hidden, right? (laughs) But they say I have a strong talent in making interviews, and I enjoy creating layout designs for cassettes. I also love to cook potato paprika!

TheNwothm: So, what is your typical process for writing and recording music?

Z.P: I would say there’s no typical process yet, we are still figuring that out. In case of the debut album, I had a bunch of cliché words that I called “lyrics”, and asked my buddies to write music for it. (laughs) This time however, I am learning how to write lyrics for existing vocal melodies. Right now, the method is that Pancho composes, and I write words for it. He always has a ton of great ideas, and it appears that we’ll soon have a third member to join our ranks. With two awesome composers, and one guy trying to write lyrics, I think we will figure something out.

TheNwothm: So, before you started your debut full length “Wake of Ashes,” did you have a clear idea in which direction you wanted to take the album?

Z.P: I did, yes. My idea from the get-go was to release an album that pays homage to some of my favorites, an album that is some sort of a tribute to the great era of 90’s power metal. I had the saying of “Let’s make it German!”, and that’s what we tried to do.

TheNwothm: And where did you get inspiration from for the writing process?

Z.P: My biggest inspiration for lyrics was Chris Boltendahl from Grave Digger. I enjoy how he creates a concept, and writes lyrics around a certain theme. When you close your eyes, you can see the pictures that he’d like to paint with his words. My idea was to create something similar, and although my lyrics are cliché, I’d like to think that they’re fun clichés.

Almost all of the songs were inspired by my World of Warcraft character who I have for 17 years now – over the half of my lifetime! Over the years she grew really close to me, let’s say, even became a part of me, and with this album I wanted to immortalize her, so she doesn’t exist only in the game, but also in the world of power metal. There are several World of Warcraft references on this album, but my point was to tell a few tales, share some emotions and episodes from the life she has in the game, and in the stories I made up with her.

TheNwothm: The album consists of eight tracks including the likes of “Way of the Paladin” and “Golden Wings.” Can you tell us a little bit about each song and what songs on the album remain personal favourites?

Z.P: This would a really long answer, and I think I already gave your readers a lot to read. (laughs) I think my personal favourite is still “Emaly”, that was the first song so it’s special to me in many ways, and I also think it’s an awesome opener for the album. It’s really hard to highlight songs because I love every single track for a different reason. They remind me of different emotions, and evoke memories of when these lyrics were born.

With “Way of the Paladin” in particular my idea was to create a song in the vein of Hammerfall, but people keep comparing it to Helloween.  (laughs) The idea came to me last year, after seeing Hammerfall perform before Helloween in Budapest.

“Golden Wings” seems to be the listeners’ number one favourite, and our guitar wizard, Pancho is the one to be blamed for it. He composed an excellent mix power metal with a tiny bit of NWOTHM flavour added to it.

TheNwothm: Continuing the theme of the demo you used the same character in the albums artwork! Can you tell us more about the artwork and who created it?

Z.P: The art was painted by an English artist, the amazing Alan Lathwell. I’m a huge fan of his artworks ever since I discovered them through Stormspell’s releases – my favourite cover of his being Blazon Stone’s “No Sign of Glory”. His dark fantasy art is absolutely stunning, and I was overjoyed when he agreed to work on the cover for Wake of Ashes. He was my dream artist, that’s for sure. This album is about making many of my dreams come true… (laughs)

My idea was to illustrate Emaly in a “one against many” scenario in a dark, gloomy forest, with a full moon, and a ruined castle in the background. The latter being a reference to the song “Darkfang Keep”. Alan changed some details on Emaly’s armor so it’s not exactly the same as the one I use with her in the game, but the whole thing looks very close to that. Alan needed to give Emaly a “real” face, and it was the most important thing for me because I wanted her to be the same person I know from the past 17 years. It was no small task, but I’m happy with the result.

TheNwothm: Are there any upcoming projects, collaborations, or releases that Burning Sun fans can look forward to in the near future?

Z.P: I’m a bit superstitious in that regard so I would rather not share anything. Follow us on Facebook and Bandcamp to be informed if something comes up!

TheNwothm: What is next musically for the band?

Z.P: We are planning to release an album this year. But that’s enough said! (laughs) We’ll share more when the time comes!

TheNwothm: And do you have any shows planned in 2024?

Z.P: Since we are not an actual band, I don’t think there will be live shows. Some people are asking for them, and I know a few guys I could invite to form an actual live line-up, but I’m not really at that point in my life where this is something I’d like to do. Forming an actual live band is very time consuming and several expenses have to be paid. Right now, this is not in the cards, but I would lie if I’d say I wouldn’t like to try this at some point. We will see, right now I would like to focus my energies on telling more stories.

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

Z.P: The best place to support us is always our Bandcamp page, which is: https://burningsun.bandcamp.com .

Listen our music on our official channels, Wake of Ashes is available on every streaming platform, big and small.

If you’d like to get a CD in Europe, it is sold in a long list of online stores, but US maniacs should definitely check out Stormspell’s store, and grab a copy of Wake of Ashes there.  https://stormspell.bigcartel.com/

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Z.P: Follow us on our pages, listen to our music, spread the word and don’t hesitate to reach out! We would love to hear from you!

Thank you for the interview, and good luck with the site! It already looks amazing!