WHO AM I?
Some people say, I’m a „Renessaince Man”, as I am a singer, songwriter, lyricist, musician, performer and showman, but also a journalist, editor, PR-expert. In my „music life” I have won awards, have many albums, been on many tours, wrote music for others in different genres, composed video game and film soundtracks. As a journalist, I have also won some prestigious awards, been an editor-in-chief for major magazines, wrote about music, tech, games, economy and many other topics. So who am I? All of these, and above all a human being, a husband, a cat dad, a person who is fighting with some mental conditions, an idealist, a hair owner and a guy with the deadliest dad jokes. Choose which one you’d like – the other stuff will come as a bonus. 😉
bz - THE MUSICIAN
(excerpts from BZ’s Hungarian Wikipedia article)
He started playing music during his high school years, first on drums and then on vocals in amateur bands. Among his professional ensembles, Stonehenge was the first to gain popularity in Hungary and worldwide. The 2001 album’ Angelo Salutante’, featuring sophisticated progressive rock/metal music, was well received by critics and was a hit with the genre’s target audience.
Since 2003, he is a member of After Crying, a band and creative workshop that has been acclaimed for more than two decades both in Hungary and abroad, and is a leading name in the scene thanks to its unique blend of classical and rock elements and its special sound.
Zoltán Bátky is a founding member of Wendigo. The band has been in existence since 2004, their debut album (Let It Out) became a successful and sought-after album, and in 2006 they were nominated for the Fonogram Award (so-called „The Hungarian Grammy’s”, and thus for the Eurovision Song Contest. Their second album, Audio Leash, was released on CD format, but for a while it’s been legally available as a free download from the band’s official website and torrent channels. After the album release concert in March 2010, Wendigo went on hiatus.
In an interesting development, after the active period, Wendigo won the Fonogram Award for Best Rock/Metal Album in February 2011. In 2015, Wendigo played a successful concert at the Prog Heaven festival in Budapest, accompanied by guest musicians for one single concert. Finally, the band was revived in 2014, and in 2025 they released a fresh song, with promises of more to follow.
He has been the frontman of the first Hungarian Queen Tribute Band since 2002. The group brings Queen’s music to life not by imitating the iconic looks, but by recreating the concert versions of the songs as authentically as possible. They are currently inactive but have not disbanded.
He sung with the so-called supergroup H.A.R.D. for two years. In 2008 they released their album Traveler, which was also a great success in the national and international media. However, some members of the group wanted to go in a different musical direction, so the collaboration was discontinued.
In 2009, a new project called PhoeniX Files was formed, which recorded two EPs, was formed, bringing together members of Wendigo and H.A.R.D. They have released two EPs and played memorable concerts.
In 2011, after two years of rehearsals, Stonehenge returned to the stage at MetalFest Open Air 2011 with great success, but due to the different motivations and plans of the band members, this concert was not followed by further performances and albums.
In 2012 he formed a new band called At Night I Fly. The group’s debut four-track EP was released in November 2012, followed by the album Mirror Maze, released by Hammer Music in late 2019. In 2024, the follow-up, entitled collision/fusion/division, arrived. Both albums gained fame around the prog scene and received outstanding critic reviews.
In January 2017 he joined the band Wall of Sleep. With them, he has released two albums to date, The Road Through The Never in 2018 and The Kingdom in May 2025, both of which topped HammerWorld’s monthly album charts.
Currently BZ is a member of At Night I Fly, Wall Of Sleep and Wendigo along with the ‘sleeping’ After Crying.
BZ has contributed as a vocalist and co-writer on several albums (Ágnes Vanilla, Watch My Dying, Remorse, Mantra, Salvus, Wackor), but he also writes songs for artists working in completely different genres (DJ Sterbinszky, DJ Andrewboy). He also writes, records and arranges backing tracks, soundtracks and commercial music. He also writes music for video games, such as the main theme and soundscapes for the indie adventure game Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock. In addition to singing, he plays drums, guitar, keyboards and flute, and uses computer music editing and studio software. During his inactive periods in his bands, he records solo songs and arrangements, which he publishes on his YouTube channel.
His stage work is complemented by another kind of stage presence, as a host and showman. He’s been the main host for several events including the Budapest Game Show, World Cyber Games, PlayIT and PlayIT House. In 2020, he launched his Twitch channel, with live shows, including writing and recording full songs live.
Zoltan Batky - journalist, editor and creative
Zoltán Bátky graduated as a journalist from the SZTE-BMI in 1995. During his career, he was editor-in-chief of the online version of PC World for a total of 10 years, and also contributed to its companion magazines Computerworld and GameStar. He was also a founding member of the business IT magazine Bitport.hu and editor of the mobile and tech section of 24.hu.
In 2012, he was awarded the „Information Security Journalist of the Year” by the Seven Seals Information Security Association. He is a regular contributor to the business radio show Millásreggeli, guest contributor to renowned business and IT magazines, and presenter at IT, gaming and cultural events.
From 2018, he spent five years as editor-in-chief of Pont-Most.hu, a technology magazine run by Magyar Telekom. After that, he started his own business in journalism, editorial, translation, PR consultancy and creative work, with clients including leading Hungarian telecom operators, PR agencies and AI-based business solutions companies. In addition to these, he often undertakes image editing, video editing, web design, book translation and proofreading.
HEY! I’M AVAILABLE TO…
- write articles on various topics in English and Hungarian
- create or edit illustrations, pictures
- write music in various styles (I have references from rock through DJ to symphony soundtracks)
- sing to your songs, write lyrics for your compositions
- edit and effect videos, make music videos, lyric videos
- translate from English to Hungarian and vice versa
- handle your social media posts, advise campaigns
- design websites
FULL DISCOGAPHY
(with EPs, DVDs and other releases that are not on streaming, so missing from the linktree above)
- 2025.
WALL OF SLEEP – The Kingdom - 2024.
AT NIGHT I FLY – collision/fusion/division - 2019.
AT NIGHT I FLY – Mirror Maze - 2018.
WALL OF SLEEP – The Road Through the Never - 2014.
BZ PROJECT – 7414 - 2013.
After Crying – XXV - 2012.
At Night I Fly – September Kills - 2011.
After Crying – Creatura
PhoeniX Files – Scars for Sale - 2010.
Wendigo – Audio Leash - 2008.
H.A.R.D. – Traveler - 2007.
After Crying – Live (DVD) - 2006.
Wendigo – Let It Out - 2004.
Wendigo – R3C0nn3ct1ng - 2004.
After Crying – Show - 2001.
Stonehenge – Angelo Salutante
At night i fly
- Style: Melodic, progressive metal
- Formed in: 2012
- Releases:
- 2013 – September Kills (EP)
- 2019 – Mirror Maze
- 2024 – collision/fusion/division
wall of sleep
- Style: Doom / metal / hard rock
- Formed in: 2001 (BZ is a member since 2017)
- Releases:
- 2002 – Overlook the All (EP)
- 2003 – Slow but Not Dead
- 2005 – Sun Faced Apostles
- 2007 – And Hell Followed with Him
- 2010 – When Mountains Roar
- 2014 – No Quarter Given
- 2018 – The Road Through the Never
- 2025 – The Kingdom
wendigo
- Style: Modern progressive metal
- Formed in: 2004
- Releases:
- 2004 – r3c0nn3ct1ng (EP)
- 2006 – Let It Out
- 2010 – Audio Leash
- 2025 – From Within (Single)
- The group disbanded in 2011 but returned in 2024
after crying
- Style: Contemporary progressive / Symphonic rock
- Formed in: 1986 (BZ is a member since 2001)
- Releases:
- 1989 – Opus 1 (MC)
- 1989 – ‘1989’ (MC)
- 1990 – Overground Music
- 1992 – Koncert (MC)
- 1992 – Megalázottak és megszomorítottak
- 1994 – Föld és ég
- 1996 – De Profundis
- 1996 – Első évtized
- 1997 – 6
- 1998 – Almost Pure Instrumental
- 2000 – Struggle for Life
- 2000 – Struggle for Life essential
- 2001 – Bootleg Symphony
- 2003 – Show
- 2007 – Live (DVD)
- 2009 – Opus 1 (reissue)
- 2009 – ‘1989 ‘(reissue)
- 2011 – Creatura
- 2013 – XXV
Next concerts
See where and when I will play next! These are only the confirmed shows, so if you need the latest info, plans and rumors, check out my socials!