Matan Cohen of Betzefer gives us the dirt…

MC: Hey guys, we have been working on writing new tracks for our next album, it’s been a long process – but I can assure you it will be well worth the wait. 🙂

MI: How was the summer tour?

MC: Summer tour was awesome. Like every tour we had some hard times, but it’s been a year since we played headlining shows in Europe and it was really amazing to see that more and more people are coming to the shows.

MI: What were some of the highlights?

MC: Crashing our car in a Czech Republic parking lot. That’s the second time we did that. 🙂

MI: You’re working on the second disc now. How’s it different than the first? How’s it the same? What are we in for?

MC: It’s been over 3 years since we wrote Down Low, and after it was released we toured a lot and been through a lot of experiences so for me this album still has all the brutality, aggressiveness and heaviness of the Down Low but naturally, it’s more complexed and mature.

MI: Will you be working with Tue Madsen again?

MC: We sure hope so, we are talking about it, Tue is a good friend and an amazing producer and I’m pretty sure that he’s gonna do the next record with us.

MI: Has being signed to a major label been everything it’s cracked up to be?

MC: Well, a lot of people think that getting signed to a big label means that you don’t have to worry about anything from now on and that success will follow instantly. The truth is that getting signed to a label just means you have to start working way harder. Of course we accomplished alot as a band since the signing.

MI: I saw you got to play with your childhood idols Sepultura. It was heartwarming. You guys looked thrilled. Tell me about it.

MC: Was definitely the best tour we played. The Sepultura guys and crew are so genuinely nice so we really had an awesome time, we got the chance to play for big audiences every night and then rock out with the guys. Andreas jammed with us a cover for AC/DC’s Thunderstruck on few of the shows, that was really amazing. (check that out here.)

MI: How do you think the Israeli scene has changed since you guys were signed in 2005?

MC: I don’t think it was changed because of us, but it was the first time a small metal band from Israel got signed to such a major label. I don’t think anyone saw that coming, and since then you can see more and more Israeli bands getting signed to good labels, flying out to Europe to record and touring. I dunno if we inspired that but maybe bands started realizing that it’s not impossible to get signed, even if you are a small band from Israel, I hope so. 🙂

MI: What else is in the works for Betzefer?

MC: Right now – just concentrating on making the best record we can deliver. We’re starting pre-production this Thursday (at time of publishing, that’s today), then we’re gonna play Tel-Aviv and keep on doing the pre-production the week that follows. Also expect some more shows in Israel in August-September.

MI: Anything else you want to say?

MC: Just thanks to all our fans that keeps supporting us with mails, and coming to our shows!

Check Betzefer on the net:
www.betzefer.com
www.myspace.com/betzefer