“There’s only one Ozzy and he was the best, everybody knows that” – interview with Congress

The belgian hardcore band Congress played at this year’s Alcatraz festival, so we chatted with them about performing in their hometown, the pandemic and Ozzy Osbourne.

Hello guys, how are you doing?

Congress: Great. Tired, but great. Satisfied.

I wanted to ask your impressions of Alcatraz so far, and what does it mean for a Belgian band to play Alcatraz?

Congress: It’s our hometown, so it’s very special. And the fest is, like, booming since the last years. It’s great to play here. You have some friends and family that come see you. So, yeah, it’s always nice. I think for 10 years straight, the organizer asked the same question. “When is Congress gonna play on Alcatraz?” Every year, we have to tell them the same thing. We don’t have a singer. So, for one year now, we have a singer back, the original singer. So, now we can pull it off, to play here. So, we’re very humble, and we’re very happy to play here.

What do you do to prepare for the show?

Congress: We rehearse. We have a good soundcheck. If you’re comfortable with the soundcheck, you hear everything, the balance is right, you feel good. And there’s a good vibe. You’re anxious to play. A good night’s sleep, I think that’s the best. It’s not actually a ritual. Just a fist bump or a hug, and we play.

What do you think that the COVID pandemic has taught you as a band?

Congress: It’s easy. In the pandemic, there was a podcast in which we were interviewed. Then we got back a few years later than the pandemic. After that, we made amends and we decided to bring Congress back to life. Maybe that’s the good thing about the pandemic. And we do the comeback now for one year and we decided to do it for another year. So, we’ll see what happens next year.

2025 brought so many amazing live shows and albums and things, but also it took away Ozzy Osbourne. Was he or Black Sabbath an influence for Congress? 

Congress: Ozzy was a god. Godfather of heavy metal. Who doesn’t like him? Tony Iommi was a guitar hero. And still is. And all the guitar players in the Ozzy solo band were guitar heroes as well. From Randy, to Jake E. Lee, to Zakk WYld. Who doesn’t like those guitarists? They are gods. But Ozzy, he has a unique voice. But otherwise, he didn’t write lyrics. He didn’t write songs. He was just a character who pulled a lot of shit that made him popular, like a lot of shocking stuff. Because he was under the influence. He took drugs. There’s only one Ozzy. But he was the best, everybody knows that. In 98. Congress was on the same bill as Black Sabbath. We watched Black Sabbath with the Misfits, Deftones, and Primus. That was a great band. We are that old.

Do you think it’s harder for women to be in the metal industry?

Congress: No. Nowadays, really not. You have a lot of female-fronted metal bands. Huge difference than the 80s. In the 80s you had Doro, Warlock, Lita Ford. There were just a few. Now you have hundreds, extreme metal bands, mainstream metal bands. Linkin Park, Jinjer, Arch Enemy... It’s a good evolution.

So, since the website that I work for is from Finland… Are there any Finnish bands that you like or listen to?

Congress: Sentenced, Amorphis, Impaled Nazarene, Nightwish, Bythos, Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, The Rasmus. 

Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything else that you want to add to our readers?

Congress: We play in Bologna, in Italy, on the 15th of November. It’s a one-off show. We fly for one show. We rent the back line and everything’s there. So, there’s tickets for sale. Rebirth Fest is the name, actually. Come over to Bologna!