magyar

Members

  • Péter Budai - vocals
  • András Perneczky - guitar
  • László Liwa - bass
  • Gábor Karner - drums

Photos


Band photos

Biography

The band was formed by András Perneczky (guitar) and Attila Máthé (drums) in 1995, in Gödöllő, Hungary. They were joined in the same year by László Liwa (bass), who had previously played with them in a local band. As their goal, the members defined a progressive approach of the rock/metal genre, in which the usage of Hungarian folk music would strengthen the band’s own innovative style. In 1997, the lineup became complete by the arrival of singer Péter Budai, who had experimented with similar ideas in his previous band, MOONSET. The band received a Jury’s Prize in 1998, at the 13th Rock Talent Show event at Ugod, Hungary.

The first independent release by the band, titled "Old", was released in 1999. It was recorded at Honvéd Studio with the assistance of Jácint Jilling, who also appears on the three-song demo material playing wind instruments. The demo was released as a cassette tape, and met a definitely positive reception. Not much later they decided to change the band’s name from ABSENCE to AEBSENCE, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups worldwide using the same name.

AEBSENCE achieved first place in October 1999 at the "Eastern Aces" National Talent Festival. The prize was to record an early version of their song "Deep" in Tom-Tom Studio, assisted by Péter Rozgonyi. From that time, the demo tape, augmented by the new composition, only served the hunt for publishers of the planned first album. Shock! Magazine’s A&R No. 1. compilation record introduced many aspiring Hungarian bands, including AEBSENCE, whose contribution was the song titled "7/4". In the autumn of 2000, AEBSENCE started their first tour in the company of DYING WISH and KAOTIKA. Next fall, this has been followed by another tour (Doomanoids Ride Again Tour 2001), this time alongside MOOD and DARK CLOUDS.

In January 2002, the band started recording their debut album in HSB Studio, aided by Viktor 'Max' Scheer. Flute and violin recordings were again done at Honvéd Studio with Jácint Jilling. The band did not find a publisher, so due to financial and management reasons, the album was only released at the end of the year (13th December) as a CD, distributed by MusicDome. The debut, titled "Unusual", met a noisy success on the national underground scene and in rock press likewise, while also collected emphatically favorable reviews from abroad. Following the album’s release, the band started a promotion campaign, primarily targeting Western Europe, to create a solid foundation for the publication of the next record. During this period, AEBSENCE appeared regularly at Káosz Festivals in Székesfehérvár. In the autumn of 2002 they joined SUPERNATURAL as guests on their UnNatural Tour.

In March 2003, Attila Máthé left the band for good, although among amiable circumstances, due to a career abroad and other plans. He was temporarily been replaced by János Moldoványi (ex-DYING WISH, ex-FÜRGERÓKALÁBAK), who has aided the band significantly during these times. The band found their new drummer, Balázs Polgár (ex-SKUNK) in 2004.

Thanks to Negative Art Productions, AEBSENCE had the opportunity to open for ANATHEMA in February 2006, and for CYNIC in in August 2007. Constant issues with the band’s rehearsal rooms hindered progress of the band’s plans during 2008. In 2009, they started writing new songs to finally complete composing their second record.

In accordance with their new sound concept, they willfully abandoned the use of folk instruments in order to achieve a rawer, more direct and instinctive sound. Start of the recording was postponed due to continuous problems with scheduling negotiations to January 2011. Finally, the second album, titled "...is dead", was released on the 22nd November 2012. Due to the state of international music markets and their own financial possibilities, the band decided to release the album only as an electronic download. The recordings were done in a home studio with Péter Budai at the helm, who took all responsibilities of producing, recording, and mixing. The album was mastered in Denevér Sound Studio, Szolnok, Hungary. The release of the album was accompanied by that of the first official video, for the song "Circle Of Confusion".

During the long time that past between the two records, the band’s public activities decreased, due to the meager possibilities in the country, the insecure financial background and private events in band members’ lives. In spite of this, they performed live in the past few years with bands like KOROG, GIRE, WATCH MY DYING, IHM, ONEHEADEDMAN, ANGERTEA, STEREOCHRIST, WALL OF SLEEP, MANGOD or ROOM OF THE MAD ROBOTS.

† Balázs Polgár died in tragic circumstances in May 2014. The band was devastated by the sad news.

Gábor Karner (ex-ZAMAT) became the new drummer of AEBSENCE in November 2014.