Interview with Manache Mihály Guitarist and Founder of Nocturnal Eternity

September 14, 2026

Interview with Manache Mihály Guitarist and Founder of Nocturnal Eternity

By Mick Michaels

Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View! Thanks for taking some time out of your day to speak with us. It's greatly appreciated.

Manache Mihály: Thank you very much for having us! It’s a pleasure to be here, and we really appreciate the opportunity to speak with The Cosmick View and share a little more about Nocturnal Eternity with your readers.

CV: Over the past several years, the music industry has essentially changed multiple times. How have you navigated these changes and what positives have you taken away that keeps you moving forward?

MM: The music industry has changed a lot over the past several years, especially in the way bands promote themselves, release music, and reach new audiences. For us, the key has been to stay flexible and understand that making good music alone is no longer enough. You also have to learn how to present it, promote it, and build the right connections around it.

One important step for Nocturnal Eternity was starting our collaboration with Angels PR Worldwide about two months ago. We felt that if we wanted to grow outside Romania and reach more international media, promoters, and listeners, we needed a more professional approach to promotion. That collaboration has already helped us expand our visibility and connect with people we probably would not have reached on our own.

The positive side of all these changes is that today an independent band has more possibilities than ever to reach people directly. Of course, there is also much more competition, so progress can be slow, but every review, every new listener, every concert abroad, and every new professional connection tells us that we are moving in the right direction.

What keeps us moving forward is seeing that these small steps eventually become something bigger. We have learned to be patient, to adapt, and most importantly, to keep believing in the music we create.

CV: Artists everywhere seem to be struggling to find not only an audience but a stage to perform on. Do you feel this is more of a temporary trend or more of a signal that music has lost its impact?

MM: I don’t think music has lost its impact at all. People still need music, maybe even more than before. What has changed is the way they discover it, consume it, and decide what they are willing to leave home for.

For emerging and independent bands, finding the right audience and especially the right stage has definitely become harder. There are more artists competing for attention, touring costs are higher, and promoters naturally have to think more carefully about financial risk. So I see this less as music losing its value and more as the whole live music ecosystem going through a difficult transition.

At the same time, when you finally get in front of the right audience, the reaction can still be incredibly powerful. We have experienced that ourselves at concerts outside Romania as well. That connection between a band and an audience cannot really be replaced by streaming or social media.

So I believe this is a challenging period rather than the end of music’s impact. The audience is still there — the real challenge is finding the right way to reach them and creating enough opportunities for new bands to meet them face to face.

CV: Genre classification has essentially altered listener perspective and has redefined music categories. Has these perceptions changed the way you write music? Is songwriting more of a “fitting into a niche” than writing from the heart nowadays?

MM: For us, songwriting has never been about trying to fit into a specific niche. Of course, Nocturnal Eternity is generally described as symphonic metal, and that gives people an idea of what to expect, but I don’t want a genre label to become a limitation.

When I write music, I usually start with an emotion, an atmosphere, or a story. After that, the song develops naturally. Sometimes it becomes heavier, sometimes more orchestral, cinematic, melodic, or even influenced by something outside the traditional boundaries of symphonic metal. If I started thinking too much about whether every song fits perfectly into a certain category, I think the music would lose some of its honesty.

Genre classification is useful for helping listeners discover bands, but I believe the songwriting itself should still come from the heart. Trends and categories will always change, but emotion is universal. If a song is honest and it creates a connection with someone, then for me it has already achieved something important.

So we are aware of where we belong musically, but we don’t want to write according to a formula. The identity of the band should come from the music, not the other way around.

CV: Tell us a little about what you have going on right now.

MM: Right now, there is quite a lot happening around Nocturnal Eternity. We have recently returned from Italy, where we had the opportunity to open two shows for Anette Olzon in Rome and Milan, which was a very important experience for us and also gave us the chance to introduce the band to a new audience.

At the same time, we are continuing our live activity and working on expanding the band’s presence outside Romania. Over the last couple of months, we have also been working with Angels PR Worldwide on the promotional side, helping us reach more international media, reviewers, radio stations, promoters, and new listeners.

Creatively, one of our main priorities is our second album. We are already working on new material and developing the next chapter of Nocturnal Eternity. I want the new songs to keep our symphonic and cinematic identity, but also to show some evolution and a little more maturity in the songwriting.

So at the moment it is a combination of writing new music, playing live, building new connections, and trying to take the band step by step into new territories. There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but that is also what makes this period exciting

CV: How do you stay inspired as an artist?

MM: For me, inspiration usually comes from real emotions, experiences, and the things happening around me. I don’t try to force songwriting. Sometimes an idea comes from a personal experience, sometimes from a story, an image, a feeling, or even just a certain atmosphere that stays in my mind.

I also find inspiration in other forms of art, especially films, visual concepts, and orchestral music. Because Nocturnal Eternity has a strong cinematic side, I often think in terms of scenes and emotions rather than only riffs or melodies. I like the idea that a song should create a world around the listener.

Live shows are also a huge source of inspiration. Seeing people react to something you created gives the music a completely different meaning and often gives me new energy to continue writing.

The most important thing for me is to stay emotionally connected to what I create. As long as I still have something to express, inspiration usually finds its way back.

CV: Is there ever the fear of possibly repeating yourself musically over time?

MM: Yes, I think that fear is always there to some degree, especially when you have a very recognizable musical identity. With symphonic metal, it can be easy to fall into familiar patterns — the same type of orchestration, arrangements, riffs, or song structures.

I try not to overthink it while I am writing, because that can also destroy creativity. Instead, I focus on the emotion and the story behind each song. If two songs come from completely different emotions or ideas, they usually develop their own personality naturally.

At the same time, I think evolution is important. I like experimenting with different atmospheres, rhythms, heavier elements, orchestral ideas, and sometimes influences that might not immediately be associated with symphonic metal. But I also don't believe a band needs to reinvent itself completely with every album just to prove that it is progressing.

For me, the goal is to find that balance: you should be able to hear a new song and immediately recognize Nocturnal Eternity, while at the same time feeling that you haven't already heard that exact song before. That is probably one of the most interesting challenges of songwriting.

CV: Many critics believe music has lost it touch...it's connection with the audience. Is that really the case on some level, or has music found itself competing for attention in a sea of over stimuli?

MM: I think music still has a very strong connection with people, but today it has to compete with far more distractions than before. We are constantly surrounded by social media, short videos, streaming platforms, games, news, and an endless amount of content, so naturally it is harder for one song or one artist to hold someone's attention for a long time.

Because of that, I don't think music has lost its touch. I think the way people experience music has changed. Sometimes songs are consumed very quickly, almost like another piece of content, and that can make the connection feel more superficial.

But when music really reaches someone emotionally, that connection is still just as powerful as it ever was. You can see that especially at live shows. When an audience sings with you, reacts to a song, or tells you afterward that a certain piece meant something to them, you realize immediately that music has not lost its impact.

So for me, the real challenge today is not whether music still matters. It absolutely does. The challenge is breaking through all the noise long enough for people to really listen.

CV: What do you believe music has given you that nothing else would have?

MM: Music has given me a way to express things that I probably could never explain properly with words alone. It has been a place where emotions, ideas, frustration, hope, and personal experiences can all become something meaningful.

It has also given me experiences I would never have had otherwise — travelling, meeting people from different countries, sharing stages with artists I respect, and seeing complete strangers connect with something I created. That is a very special feeling.

But maybe the most important thing music has given me is purpose. It constantly pushes me to create, improve, take risks, and keep moving forward even when things become difficult. There are easier paths in life, but very few things can give me the same feeling as hearing a song that once existed only in my head come alive on stage.

That is something I don't think anything else could replace.

CV: What more can fans expect coming from you this year and beyond?

MM: For the rest of this year, fans can expect us to stay active both live and creatively. We still have concerts ahead of us, and at the same time we are continuing to work on new material for the second Nocturnal Eternity album.

The next album is very important for us because we don't want to simply repeat what we did on Eternity. We want to keep the symphonic and cinematic identity of the band, but push it further with stronger arrangements, heavier moments, new atmospheres, and a more mature approach to songwriting.

We are also continuing to build the band internationally, both through live shows and through our collaboration with Angels PR Worldwide. The goal is to reach new audiences, new countries, and hopefully create more opportunities to perform outside Romania.

Beyond this year, I would like Nocturnal Eternity to keep growing naturally, step by step. More concerts, more collaborations, more new music, and hopefully bigger stages. The important thing for us is not to rush the process, but to keep moving forward and make sure that every new step has a real meaning behind it.

CV: Thanks again for taking the time to share with our readers. We wish you all the best and continued success.

MM: Thank you very much for having us and for giving Nocturnal Eternity the opportunity to share our thoughts and our music with your readers. We truly appreciate the support.

All the best to you and your team, and hopefully we will have many more things to talk about in the future!

Check out Nocturnal Eternity at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nocturnal.Eternity.Symphonic.Metal

Instagram: www.instagram.com/nocturnal_eternity/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@NOCTURNAL_ETERNITY_RO
BandCamp: nocturnal-eternity.bandcamp.com/album/eternity

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, author, show host, big dreamer & guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice & a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books & now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar & showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.