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Sick to deth of the charlatans and the generic? Try Vader... guaranteed to purge those places where others might only tickle, and flay thy very soul. Arguably at the vanguard of European Death Metal, this Polish act is indeed a band to be relished. Spandex Oo-er had a yarn with human-battery Doc (drums)...
'Czesc! Jak sie masz?'
"Very good!" laughs Doc. He's evidently of a diplomatic inclination, given my diabolical mispronunciation of this stock Polish greeting.
Ok, boss, let's get down to business. Well, I have to say that newbie 'Revelations' hits that magical Vader 30 minutes mark...
"Actually, we have recorded some new songs, more than 50 minutes, but we still keep some songs for special editions, digipacks, the Japanese version, y'know?"
 There's a 'purer' Death Metal feel to this album, as opposed to say, 'Black to the Blind'... in this sense, it's more akin to 'The Ultimate Incantation' era Vader than to latter day works. Would this be an observation with which you'd concur?
"Yeah, I think so, because after we did the last one, Litany, which was straightforward, simple and fast songs, we thought it over a bit, and we just tried to do a few different things this time. So we tried to incorporate more harmonies and melodies, especially in guitar parts and solo parts. We slowed down a little bit too I guess, there's not much of this blast-beat playing and that was intentional, definitely. Yeah, we tried to do something different to Litany."
I'd also point out at this point that not only does Revelations encapsulate the core Vader sound and remit, it also reflects excellently on the genre as a whole, also capturing a very pervasive Morbid Angel feel. In common with that landmark act, Vader's lyrics likewise display a dark intelligence, clear indication that a lot of effort has been put into both the writing and the underlying concepts... readers who're into this band will know that the lyrics aren't actually written by the band themselves, but by their friends... but why so, Doc? And is there a conceptual blueprint laid down for these guys, to which they must adhere?
"It's just mainly because of our kind of limited knowledge of English. You know, I don't want people in the States or England or Ireland to read the lyrics and laugh about them, I don't want them sounding cheesy. Plus, these guys are really good friends of ours, we share the same point of view on many things. They're really into books, literature, philosophy, magic and occult stuff. So it's really cool, I really like the lyrics and we also try to help the guys out, coz I think they deserve it."
Do you give them Polish lyrics to translate or anything?
"Actually, I think they write it directly in English. It makes more sense I guess that way, coz we're going to sing it in English!"
That's a fair point indeed. Ok, not only are you the best known Metal band in Poland, you're equally significantly the first band that brought Polish Metal to 'western' ears... I myself recall first hearing of you via the 'Dark Age' video on 'Raw Power' (a UK-based late night Metal TV show that readers may recall). I apologise for this desperately tired and clichéd question, but did you ever think it possible that you'd claim such an elevated global position?
"Not really, not in the early days. I mean, we always tried to work as hard as possible to put as much energy into things, but in the beginning we never thought. We were poor constantly, like the last couple of years we were still really poor, with recording and stuff. Damn, I'm happy about the life we're leading right now... I never expected that we'd be able to live on the music, to have enough money to pay my bills. It's not really easy when you're playing death metal, it's not like mainstream rock'n'roll or whatever."
Yeah, so what exactly went right for you? You produced the two demos ('Necrolust' and 'Morbid Reich'), which led directly to interest from the UK's Earache records...
"I think Earache was a big help at the beginning, a really big help, because they organised the first tour for us, we supported Bolt Thrower and Grave on our first European tour. That was a really big thing for us. Plus, they did the video clip for us... we were one of the first, if not THE first, Polish bands on MTV. So that was definitely a big kick, they were definitely great at the beginning. You know, actually after some time, Earache kind of dropped us, I mean, stopped putting as much effort into us. I'm not sure why, probably because of sales numbers or whatever. But we owe them a lot, especially in the early days."
I think Earache actually changed their philosophy in mid 90's, in that they decided to move away from core grind/ death base...
"Yeah, probably. There's not really many 'Metal' bands on Earache right now."
Any band starting out will have a range of problems to surmount... but would you equate any as being unique to Poland?
"It's better now for young bands to start, but when we started it was tough, y'know? We couldn't buy decent equipment, it wasn't easy to find a place to rehearse." But how about the broader context in which you started? "The political problems weren't the issues, we didn't actually have any problems with the authorities, it was just simple things like we couldn't afford equipment."
I was in Poland eight years ago, in Warsaw and Krakow, and remember seeing swathes of Metallers wherever I went. The main train station in Warsaw, as I recall, had a huge outdoor market beside it, crammed with stalls selling bootlegged Metal CDs and tapes. Metal certainly looked healthy then, but is this still the case?
"I think so. I think it's like anywhere. It's still a problem to find good Metal music in the 'official' media, like TV and radio, the official press, but it looks like a lot of young people are listening to it right now and we still have two, three hundred people coming to our shows. When we play Warsaw, we usually have eight hundred, even one thousand, people at our show. Looks like it's kinda popular right now!" He continues, "We have Decapitated, Death Wind, Sceptic, Behemoth... yeah, the Polish scene is pretty strong right now."
Why do you think that so many Polish bands play extreme Metal?
"I'm not sure, it's hard to say y'know... I don't know... we have a lot of good musicians over here in Poland, not only through Metal. I'm not sure why. " He pauses for a couple of seconds, musing this over... "Look at Brazil, it looks like those countries that are poor generate those types of bands somehow. Maybe it's the way of living which is sometimes really brutal, not really easy. Maybe it makes people more angry and gives more energy."
Perhaps, but the fact that wealthy countries such as Sweden produce some of the most crazed Metals known to mankind means that this question is destined never to fully answered, dooming it to eternal discussion in Metallik ale taverns the world over. Do you ever get feeling that most interest in Vader is primarily due to your nationality... that maybe some element of novelty or indulgence is at play on the part of the listeners?
 "Yeah, that could be the reason probably, probably a similar thing to Sepultura and Brazil. That could be one of the reasons. But I hope that people like us not just because we are a band from some sort of 'weird' country, but that people like us because we play good music."
Over years, what have the been highs and lows, both for the band and for you as a band member?
"It's life... there's always highlights and downsides... you try and forget the downsides. But the highlights... a couple of great festivals, like when we played with Slayer in Poland... that was fucking killer, in front of ten thousand people, that was a great show. I really love playing in Japan, it's so far away, a different culture and mentality, that was one of the best trips ever. I dunno... each tour has some really crazy nights and something to remember. Changing a line-up is always a big pain in the ass, I hate it, like last time we had to change the bass player, which sucked, but it came out pretty good because the new guy (Simon - Spandex) is really cool - a really great musician and a nice person."
You yourself had actually left at one point...
"That's right. I had some problems and I had to reconsider my priorities, to think it over and get better. To stop and think for a while. There was a drug-related problem in my life, and personal problems, girlfriend and stuff, which sucked a lot, but it's over."
Do you ever feel constrained by the Death Metal genre?
"Actually, I've got to tell you that I'm not listening to that much Death Metal these days, not like I was up to a couple of years ago. I think I kind of got tired in the sense that when I get back from all this touring and recording, I just try to chill out a bit and relax when I'm at home..."
... which you can't do when someone's going 'Blurghhhhhhhh' from the speakers...
He laughs "Yeah! When we're on tour, it's fucking 24 x 7 listening to brutal stuff, so when I get back home it's more of a softer side, things like trip-hop, drum'n'bass, like Massive Attack or Underworld. I also listen to stuff like Ministry, NIN, Static X. So I try to chill out a little bit and don't listen to much Death Metal these days."
Is there anything you want to branch out on but feel wouldn't lie within the Vader remit? After all, it's been over fifteen years now, and no matter how much fans may disapprove, it's a given fact that bands must move forward so as to stay fresh.
"For the last couple of years I've been thinking of setting up a side-project using a lot of samples and heavy guitars, but still I don't have too much time to do it, between touring and recording. But I still have this Dies Irae project (which also features Vader's Mauser - Spandex)... and by the way, we've just recorded a second album, it's so fresh it's not even mastered. It should be out in a couple of months."
Care to name the title?
"It doesn't have a title yet, it's so fresh!" (laughs) "I just got it back from the studio two days ago" (nb. Since this interview, the title has been announced - 'The Sin War')
If anything, that further cements the Vader crew's reputation as a very hardworking band, whose touring schedule would make lesser acts baulk...speaking of which, I understand that we'll being seeing Vader a second time in Ireland this year.
"Yeah. I remember the first time in Ireland, I really liked it, much better than England..." Ah, a deliberate sop to Metalworks readers? Hey, why not "...The crowd was better, everything. The other thing that was cool was that we were there in time for St Patrick's Day, that was cool!"
Well, we'll surely be seeing you in August.
"Yeah, for sure. Thanks for the interview and thanks a lot to our friends and fans in Ireland. Have a good night!"
And with that, our interview concludes... start counting the days to the show, kidz.
Interview and words by Spandex Oo-er. This interview originally appeared in Metalworks magazine.
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