Search & Destroy

This october 30th the month will be finished in a perfect way by a great show at Mexico’s Circo Volador brought to you by Dilemma. At the meeting will be the finns Korpiklanni and the band that concern us in this exclusive interview to Search & Destroy, Darzamat, a polish atmospheric black metal group coming lasts since 1997 with their debut, In the Flames of Black Art.

The main reason that brings ‘em to our territory it’s their last LP Solfernus’ Path, a production of Scar Symmetry guitarist Jonas Kjellgren. The album is seen by the band as the most important of his prolific career, and has special guests like King Diamond’s guitar player Andy LaRocque; and there’s not the end, Solfernus’ Path is a conceptual album, an epic work of abysmal dimensions created by Darzamat.

Rafał “Flauros” Góral, singer, details in a motivating manner, every element that makes of Solfernus’ Path a record to improve in future years.

As a major advance to the concert that is expected by mexican Darzamat’s fans, this is the Search & Destroy interview, embellished by atmospheric passages.

Search & Destroy: Congratulations on the new album, Solfernus’ Path. Why did it take several recording sessions to do the album and why working in different studios?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Thank You very much! I must admit that the situation during the ‘Solfernus’ Path’ sessions was very comfortable. We weren’t concerned with economizing at all: our sole concern was the quality of the album, which is why during the sessions we worked in as many as three different studios. All the instruments and vocal tracks were laid down in Poland under the scrutinizing eye – and ear – of our sound engineer, Jarosław Toiffl. We worked on the drums and guitars in HH Poland studio in Gliwice; the vocals were done in Maq Studio. As to the keyboard parts, we got these done in Red Room studio. For each instrument we chose the most optimal place to lay down the tracks and we spent quite some time analyzing all the elements of this puzzle. We listened to various bands produced in those places and at the end of the day we didn’t have any doubt as to our choices – they were simply perfect. The only thing that mattered was the effect total, and we are positive it will satisfy the biggest of malcontents. Hence, the process of recording took us over a month; after that, the songs were mixed in Sweden by Jonas Kjellgren – the Scar Symmetry axeman – in Black Lounge Studios. Frankly, it turned out that Mr. Perfect Symmetry was in no hurry either: his work took around four weeks.

Search & Destroy: Why did you choose Jonas Kjellgren as a producer? What where you looking for in your sound that Kjellgren gave you?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: We were well acquainted with Jonas’s previous production work: Katatonia, Sonic Syndicate, Centinex or Steel Attack, to name but a few. But it was our friend Marek Dobrowolski, drummer for One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, who recommended Jonas to us, as he had worked with him before and knows his skills and abilities first-hand. The preliminary talks with the Scar Symmetry guitar player made us feel very optimistic. Jonas mixed one song of ours and the effect was staggering. It only reinforced the idea that it had to be him. The cooperation was smooth; Jonas is very patient and listens carefully to any sort of suggestions from the band. In my view, he is presently one of the best young generation producers, in Europe anyway.

Search & Destroy: How was the collaboration on the album with Andy LaRocque (King Diamond)? We know he produced Transkarpatia, your previous album. He did the solo on King Of Burning Times, but did he compose that solo, or was it Darzamat’s idea?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Andy is not only an excellent guitar player and a producer, but also a great personality. We did meet during the sessions for our previous album. We’ve been in touch ever since, and when another occasion for cooperation arose, we didn’t hesitate for a second. Him playing a solo on a Darzamat album was a dream come true; it was really supernatural that he agreed to participate in the sessions. This is the most important album in the history of the band, and it took us a lot of work. We poured loads of energy and emotions into it, and the presence of LaRocque on this album is the crown jewel in the whole structure. I take enormous pride in the fact that he is there, because so far all the records he has appeared on as guest performer are special. Just look at the list: Death, ‘Individual Thought Patterns’; At The Gates, ‘Slaughter of the Soul’; Evergrey, ‘Dark Discovery’; Dimmu Borgir, ‘Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia’. And now we are on that list as well! (laughs)

Search & Destroy: Why not having again LaRocque again as a producer?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: This decision was made due to many factors among the most important was a short deadline. Jonas was free then and he could make this job for us.

Search & Destroy: Solfernus’ Path is a conceptual album. What was the inspiration for the story?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Yeah, for the first time in our history we decided to create a concept album. The idea was a novelty, but to be honest we had been thinking of such a move for quite some time. Since the days of my youth I’ve been fascinated with concept albums, such as released by, say, King Diamond. So that move was simply unavoidable, it was just a question of time. We draw inspiration from a variety of sources. Frequently it proves to be literature or films, but also some event which touches either us or someone belonging to the circle of our family or friends. I believe one should not confine oneself to one or two usual places but rather search for a possible creative impulse anywhere one can.

Search & Destroy: Tell us more about the lyrical composition for the album. Were you sure right from the start about creating a concept album? How much time did it take you to compose the release?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: A coherent story to be told by lyrics and music alike is much more of a challenge than fashioning ten new songs in the same stylistic vein. As the story unfolds, so does the music and both elements have to go hand in hand. It is, in a way, like a movie script, created to pull the audience in.

The story told on the album takes place in a mystic scenery as provided by Countess Josephine von Küchmeister’s manor, the inspiration for which we derived from two truly fantastic places in Silesia (Poland), namely the Willa Caro in Gliwice and the palace in Pławniowice (Poland). The tale itself is set in the beginning of the 20th century. Our main hero is a young medical student who undergoes a spiritual transformation – he experiences the existence of the incorporeal world and perceives the other side. The whole story is permeated by a fairytale-like atmosphere, full of occult key concepts. Nothing is obvious, nothing is predictable.

Naturally, the eponymous Solfernus is not the main hero, he’s just a gray eminence. This character is respectfully lifted from a work entitled Playing with the Devil, written by Czech dramatist Jan Drda. Still, this is just inspiration, an impulse which does not mean we take Drda’s story as-is. In fact, his play is grotesque and rather humorous. Our story, on the other – left! – hand (laughs) has a totally different character, closer to horror stories of a Polish classic Stefan Grabiński than to the work of the Czech playwright.

This time everything began with creating the concept and writing the lyrics. Only when I was done with that did we begin writing the actual music. This burden was mainly to be carried by Chris (Krzysztof Michalak), our guitar player, and Spectre (Patryk Kumór), the keyboard man, but I kept a vigilant eye and ear on what was going on at the moment. I worked with them to make sure they would reflect the story of the ‘Solfernus’ Path’ in the best way they could. Later, together with Nera (Agnieszka Górecka; voice), we began arranging the pieces, then we introduced corrections to what we’d done so far, and – finally – we worked with Spectre to come up with atmospheric intros to round off the whole project.

Search & Destroy: Do you have a favorite concept album in metal?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Definitely ‘Abigail’ of King Diamond.

Search & Destroy: On the different studio sessions, did the songs changed from the initial songwriting? did the songs went through more arrangements?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: We started working on everything much earlier. Before entering the studio we prepared a very good demo. That allowed us to work out all the small details well before the real thing started. I admit we worked like this for the first time and we are really satisfied with such tactics. When you listen to the practically ready piece which sounds as good as it can at the preproduction stage, you can analyze the arrangements one more time and have less of a trouble imagining its final shape. Entering the studio(s) we knew exactly what we wanted and how the songs were supposed to sound.

Also, there were no songs left somewhere in the drawer, no album outtakes. From the very beginning we knew precisely what we wanted and we went straight for that. That is why every song which was composed for the record is really well thought-out and exactly the way we wanted it to be.

Search & Destroy: Beside the album, have you thought in doing something else with the story? Like a novel or something?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: No this time. But maybe in the future. Who knows? (laughs).

Search & Destroy: Do you see yourselves as being part of a golden generation of metal bands in Poland? If so, why?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Polish music scene is primarily known from great black/death metal bands. So it’s only logical that young bands which appear take it as their ambition to follow in Vader’s or Behemoth’s footsteps. When it comes to a more atmospheric music, well, that is more of a problem here. First, a lot of bands became disheartened and simply stopped playing their music; also, Poland has never been big on a more atmospheric approach to making music. There are quite spectacular exceptions to this rule, like Riverside, the prog-rock act already known all over the world, but they still count as an exception.

Yes, I think we are special! (laughs). What I love about this band is that we constantly search for different inspirations and styles, that we constantly try to evolve. We don’t stand in the same spot and record albums which sound alike. But – and we are conscious of that – when our fans reach for the new album, they never feel disappointed or misled – it’s still Darzamat, all the way through.

Search & Destroy: Is there in Poland a lot of censorship for death and black metal? Have you ever experienced any kind of censorship?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Metal music in Poland has gained some attention lately, but I must admit it was’t like that a few years ago. There has always been fans, but there was no the social approval and no promotion from the part of media. The main reason to such a situation I find in the fact Poland is a catholic country and the devilish character of metal is unacceptable for most of the Christians. Anyway, a great job done by Polish metal scene bear fruit.

Search & Destroy: How much from Solfernus’ Path are you guys going to be playing in your upcoming gig in Mexico City?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: I do not know exactly yet, but there will be obviously some new songs.

Search & Destroy: Anything else that you wanna say to the readers of Search & Destroy?

Rafał “Flauros” Góral: Thank you for your support. Thanks for your interest in Darzamat and see you very soon in Mexico city! Stay metal!

From Bergen’s cold lands in Norway, arrives The Batallion, an union that includes in it’s ranks history and heritage that this controversial city built with great bands like Immortal or Burzum.

The Batallion debuted with Stronghold Of Men, a CD that was published in 2008 under command of Old Funeral’s founder, along with Abbath, Stud Bronson, who plays guitar and is the lead singer. The group is complete with guitarist Lust Kilman (Deride, Deathcon, Grimfist), bassist Colt Kane who has knowledge in the scene with Borknagar and finally, drummer Morden (Cult Of Catharsis, Helheim, Taake).

Together they waged a musical battle in Europe performing at massive festivals in their country, and reaching across borders to others nations like Germany. Their sound can be discovered throughout 11 songs that revive the flame of thrash and a sense of “black” rock & roll in the veins of classics like Venom. Their best distinction is on stage.

Bronson, who also is a Bomber’s member, a Motörhead tribute band where he share credits with Abbath (Immortal), talks exclusively with Search & Destroy about Stronghold Of Men, their future plans, career, background, black metal and Bergen.

Search & Destroy: What was the initial idea behind The Batallion? Stronghold of Men has a touch of ‘old school’. It’s like an angry rock & roll band with some Motörhead on steroids elements and a big drink of blackened death metal in the mix.

Stud Bronson: There wasn’t actually an idea. It was just the hunger to play raw fucking thrash metal with some dirty rock n roll in it. I have a lot of aggression lurking in my mind ,so this is my way to get it out! I was lucky to get hold of some of the best guys in Bergen for the band to complete the line-up and here we are 3 years later with a hungry spirit. Just the way it’s supposed to be. We play music for all the right reasons ,and what you see is a very honest band with very strong roots to the way metal used to be.

Search & Destroy: Also, on the album there are great artists like Abbath from Immortal doing an special appearance. Did the idea of the collaboration came from your other project, Bombers?

Stud Bronson: Abbath is my oldest and maybe best friend. He is my brother so to speak. We have known each other since we were 9 years old and went to school together.

We started Old Funeral In 1988 and have been in the Motörhead tribute band Bombers together since 1996. So when I asked him to do a few lines for the album, he said “Of course! Were do I come in?” We had a great time in the studio with tons of drinks hehe.

Search & Destroy: What what were you seeking in your sound for choosing Bart Schlagermeister as a producer? He has a good background with Helheim and some other big names.

Stud Bronson: He recorded our debut demo EP and we were very comfortable working with him. Easy going and a good human being. We described our wishes for the sound to him,and it turned out well. We played some old Sodom records and stuff for him and explained we wanted it to sound old and fresh at the same time.

Search & Destroy: How was it, collaborating with him?

Stud Bronson: Like I said we had a great time in the studio, and he allowed drinking there. He also allowed me to smoke 20 Marlboros and cigars before recording the vocals. Not very many studios allows smoking anymore. Where the hell is the rock n roll spirit in that?? It was especially good during “Smoke Em Out”. The studio was full of tobacco!! Great atmosphere!

Search & Destroy: Do you see The Batallion like a “supergroup”? All the band members have been on other bands, with a great background in the Norway scene.

Stud Bronson: No. Absolutely not! We are a decent band in all regards that stand on our own feet. The Batallion is now the only band of our drummer for example. Kilman plays in Deride also and I still play in Bombers. Kane plays a little bit with a band called St. Satan. But The Batallion is our main focus. I hate these “supergroups”. They only last for one or two albums most of them.

Search & Destroy: The Batallion also has a lot of inspiration from thrash metal, do you care about the new wave of thrash? New bands that sound like 80’s thrash bands.

Stud Bronson: I don’t see ourselves as the new wave of thrash. We were all there from the beginning. We are all between 33 and 36 years of age in this band. But that being said I like a couple of the “new” thrash band, although when I wanna listen to new music for me,I normally go back in time as I find the quality was much better back then. I don’t care about trends or “waves” as you call them anyway. I was always true to my heart.

Search & Destroy: You played in very big festivals in Norway, Hole In The Sky and Inferno. What does this represent to the band?

Stud Bronson: Oh, we had a fucking great time at those festivals, and of course it’s important for a band to be reckonized and play at such places. It’s always great to play festivals where the organizers are 100% professionals. The Batallion is absolutely a live band. We love to play and rip everything apart! We want more!

Search & Destroy: Stronghold of Men came out last year, are you working on the next album? What are the immediate plans for The Batallion?

Stud Bronson: Yeah, we are almost finished in the songwriting process for the second album. 11 tracks are ready. I’m only working on the final touches with the lyrics for the last three songs. So I guess we are ready to enter the studio again around new year. We will start pre productions tomorrow actually. The plans are to play, play, play and play. We’ll just see where it takes us, but we wanna play live as much as possible! Hopefully we’ll also be able to record a promo music video.

Search & Destroy: Do you think that right now that Norwegian black metal is still controversial?

Stud Bronson: Black metal is today a household name. It’s nothing scary about it anymore. The only two bands I think are true to the old black metal spirit are Taake and Gorgorth. Immortal is also true to their spirit, but I don’t regard them as a black metal band. I regard them as a rock & roll band. Just like The Batallion actually. Not because of the music, but because of the spirit! Few people understand this, but just let them wonder. We are just a band of motherfuckers, and thats it.

Search & Destroy: Not so long ago, Morgan Hakansson from Marduk said that he doesn’t care if Varg Vikernes is out of prison or not. What are your thoughts on these?

Stud Bronson: He has served his time. I played with him for 2 years in Old Funeral ,but have not spoken to him since late 1993. He is a free human being and can do what he wants. I still think killing Euronymous was wrong, but it’s not my business. If I meet Varg on the street, I will of course go over and say hello. I just hope he makes some good music again, ’cause I think the three first Burzum records are just brilliant. They have an aura of real hell and danger! If you want real black metal? There you have it!

Search & Destroy: Anything else that you wanna say to the readers of Search & Destroy?

Stud Bronson: Thanks for reading this interview. Check out our band if you’re into old school thrash, Motörhead or Venom. I think you’ll find us just up your alley! All Right! If it’s in the spirit, it’s in everything! Cheers!