N°120 BALTHAZAR - FIFTEEN FLOORS

With an Ep, two early releases, one full album and a second on the way the Belgian rok band Balthazar has been quite busy the past few years. It all started in 2004.

When the band Lost And Found with Maarten Devoldere, Jinte Deprez and Patricia Vanneste wins the competition of Kunstbende (art gang) it was clear there was a lot of talent and chemistry available in the western part of Belgium. They renamed the band to Balthazar and in 2006 they are award with the audience price of that year’s Humo Rockrally. Time for them to create and release a first EP carrying the nme of the band. Early the following year they decide to switch drummer and bass and from that moment on the current formation of the band is complete. Apart from the earlier mentioned foudners there’s also Simon Casier and Christophe Claeys. New settings and they are invited to a few Belgian festivals where they give it their best. The first ever single ‘This Is A Flirt’ was already recorded and released with the complete band as it currently exists. In 2008 they’d release another single named Bathroom Lovin’ Situations’. More live invitations followed on the biggest Belgian festivals and Balthazar also made their way into the charts.

Yet they found the time right to record a first complete studio album. Awaiting the release of the album in 2010 Maarten and his gang decided to release the first track in December 2009. ‘Fifteen Floors’ got picked up on  the radio a bit and was a great way to promote the first album. Fifteen floors also knocked its way into my music link. When thinking about three doors down I immediately thought of an apartment building and a fifteen floor building seems big enough to fit the picture in my head.

Balthazar received a lot of applause from their fans at the early stage of the band and wanted to give back some by naming the first full album ‘Applause’. And more of that they got from critics all over the land. The album received well and scored the Album Of The Year award in the 2010 Belgian Music Industry Awards. Correct if you listen to songs as ‘The Boatman’ and ‘Hunger At The Door’. For this they were asked to do the warm up for dEus’ European tour.

Check the clip out I’d say and if you like it you just might buy their second album soon. Expectation date: October 15^th, 2012.