Elegis was founded in 2011 by Baron (also ProFanatism, ex Victimized) after his move from Poland to Norway. A long in planning solo projects music is a combination of massive wall of blackened death metal with a serious dose of awesome sounding orchestrations. 'Superhuman Syndrome' is the name of the new full length that came out in 2017, following a 2014 demo release and 2016 split album. Keep reading to find out more about the project, visit Elegis Facebook page to show support, but before anything - visit Elegis Bandcamp page to give it a listen and possibly purchase it for your collection. Go on then!

Tomek

Forgive me if this question is too personal, but why did you move to Norway?

When I visited Norway for the first time, I thought that this would be the place for me and when I got a chance to stay here, I did not think long. 10 years has passed already.

Tell me about it then. Where do you live, what kind of scene do you have happening over there, what about weather, and most importantly - is never-ending winter helping you compose?

I live in the region called Rogaland. Bands as Gehenna, Carpathian Forest and Shaarimoth come from this region. People often ask me about the weather, but it's very similar to many other countries in Europe. A vision of never-ending winters fits more northern Norway, not the south-west where I live.

I've been doing some research but nothing was definite, what is the meaning of Elegis? What does it mean to you?

The name Elegis has existed for a long time. I had a plan to create a band under this name in 1997, and in 2011 I decided to use this name as a solo project. Maybe the present meaning is not relevant, but Elegis is a transformation of the word "Elegies", and represents anthems to dead.

You play in two bands; you've recorded a few albums; what was the spark that got you into metal and how did it start?

Main bands are of course Elegis and ProFanatism, but I also have 2 more side projects. A dark ambient project TRYHM and CODEX NERO which I just begun to create. My first contact with music was to a stronger genre of metal music directly, not through classical rock or heavy metal, and I was only 9 years old. Since then, my interests have grown and metal has been a big part of my life.

Why black and death?

I was always interested in extreme metal, so it was natural that I listened to brutal genres. My first bands were Venom, Kreator, and Sodom etc. The next period was a death metal period with Morbid Angel, Deicide etc. And after the second wave of black metal came, Norwegian especially, my passion has been focused on black metal-scene. So I was always a fan of death and black metal as separate genres.

Let's talk about Superhuman Syndrome. How many instruments were done live on this album?

Everything exept the drums.

What about all the orchestrations, what inspires you? Is it movie scores or is it classical music?

Long time ago, when I played in previous bands, I had a plan to enrich the music by additional sounds and atmosphere, but in those years I did not have the possibility to create it. Except the metal-music, I was also inspired by dark ambient, especially everything from CMI. That's why I have a side project TRYHM. The movie soundtracks always give me inspiration, but all orchestrations are created naturally during process.

Which lyric on the album is your favorite one? Why?

I do not have a favorite; every composition has its own story. One tells about conquest, another about the fall, the liberation, the enslavement, the exploration of the unknown or revenge. All connects the entireness, as the chain of human instincts.

Did Elegis and Superhuman Syndrome shape out to be what you imagined it would be?

When I created the music on Superhuman Syndrome I wanted to create several different stories which have the same target, so all songs are connected with the title of the album. So yes, it turned out the way I planned.

If you ever would meet the right people to join the band would you ask them to join?

Elegis will always be a solo-project, and sessional musicians surely could be found. The problem is that it needs a lot of work and time to prepare for concerts, and in the present situation I do not see occasions for this. Of course I wonder sometimes how the music of ELEGIS would sound live.

Do you have the ability to criticize your own creations? Does it help or rather gets in the way?

Everyone is capable of criticism of their own achievements, but if I look at the accomplished music, I treat it as something finished and created in the past, so I concentrate on new creative forms.

When composing and putting ideas into flesh - do you have a formula or maybe some kind of ritual that works for you every time or is it more of an instinct that you follow and let ideas flow and materialize?

The first riffs are created by the instinct. Sometimes I create them by using some rhythm of drums which puts me into trance.The next step is to build the constructions, and next is the arrangement cut.

Whose work do we see on the album cover, how does it correspond to the lyrics and music?

The cover art of the album is created by my friend Hidden from ProFanatism. This is expression about all the lyrics together and visual form of the music.

How did you make your decision when choosing album cover, tell us about the process?

I knew what kind of vision that had to be on the cover. I chose the version of a transformed face which symbolizes on one side the purity, the grandeur, the divinity, and from the other, the dark sides of the human nature.

What made you decide to go with a one man show?

With a busy everyday life it's easier with a solo project. Independence gives a bigger spectrum for creativity.

You did some stuff with ProFanatism and one album with Elegis. ProFanatism is black metal and Elegis is considered death metal; which genre is closer to your heart?

I do not have a special one that dominates. I am connected with both black metal and death metal, and to some kind of mix of those two genres.

Thanks a lot for taking time to answer all the questions, last word is yours.

Thanks for the interest in ELEGIS. For those who are open to the atmosphere in death metal I encourage you to check out  ELEGIS. The new anthems will come soon!

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Armagedon was founded by brothers Maryniewski (Krizz & Slavo) and in Poland they need no introduction. Loved by some, by others not necessarily but that seems to be the story with art; personal tastes are not up for discussion. They are considered a cult band in their homeland, but abroad they're not appreciated, most likely because they're not known. Blame should be placed on the lack of touring and the 11-year hiatus, but musically I find them to be one of world's top death metal bands. No mistake here - one of world's top death metal bands - and if you still need convincing, you have to check out "Thanatology". Slavo was kind enough to answer my questions - so judge the outcome of our conversation yourselves.

Arek

Welcome Slavo, what is the feedback on, in my opinion your best work yet, "Thanatology"?

Hello, thanks so much for such an evaluation of our new album. When we were finalizing work on "Thanatlogy" we knew it’s alright! Even at early stages of production – when our material was still in a very raw form, it was listened to by a lot of people. Then at the final stages of mixes (already in the Sound Division Studio) many of our friends visited us, and each time the reception was very good. Each of them emphasized the great progress but still keeping the characteristic style of Armagedon. When our new material (in its entirety and all finished up) was heard by our publisher, he said the same thing - we knew it’s really good! We were putting new songs (teasers) up on the web successively and our fans also really liked them. Then, after the official premiere came the first reviews and opinions of a wider audience. Generally, the reception of the album is more than very good! Unfortunately, nowadays it is not enough to beget such a work and think that everything will go on by itself ... Although we get a lot of support from fans, we are missing on opportunities to reach out to a much larger audience that we believe "Thanatology" deserves. To summarize, reception and reviews of the album are very good, but our reach is limited...

First time I had the pleasure to hear you was in the castle in Ciechanow at S'thrash'ydlo 1989 or 1990, I can’t remember. Long time ago. How would you rate your way from "Survival Time" to "Thanatology"? The road was bumpy, and there was no shortage of obstacles on your path wasn’t there?

You know, when playing extreme metal you kind of agree to the hard work and to the long road ahead. With this kind of music success does not occur overnight. Usually it takes years of hard team work (which is often very difficult – there are plenty of examples of bands, where only the leaders are left in them). We focused on the band back then. We were a group of friends, but unfortunately for us, from small towns located somewhere "in the middle of nowhere" ... And that meant a hard and difficult way to break through. Besides, we were not a band playing "popular" sounds (even in metal). It always was (even then) a total underground! I think our success back then - in addition to the fact that we were spitting out some interesting sounds - we owe it to our fans that have supported us amazingly, wherever we appeared to play concerts. There were administrative, logistic, contractual and many others hardships, but I think we managed. Our first two official productions from that time: "Dead Condemnation" and "Invisible Circle" have a cult status until today! There was a bit of a forced break later (didn’t expect it would take so long) and now for nearly six years we kept recording more albums and played more concerts again. I know that spectacular career is not waiting for us anymore... We understand it, and therefore can record better and better materials without all the pressure and expectations. The road we have traveled, and still walk on is not easy, but it gives us a lot of satisfaction!

I personally have a great fondness for those years. I’m often remembering great bands that are gone already, such as Egzekhutor, Imperator, Slashing Death, and many, many others. Although I understand that passing is the normal order of things, I get teary eyed sometimes. How do you remember creating processes back then, artists, touring, etc., and how would you rate it these days?

I think this is a topic that’s so big that you cannot tell it in just a few words. At that time when we started the band (around 1986) - everything was different ... literally. The world, our country included, looked completely different. Our first live performances had to be approved by the provincial department of censorship – can you even imagine that today? There were amazing stories of course, memorable concerts and friendships, some of which survived to this day. But it was too gray and full of hopelessness. Music was also a way for us to break away from contemporary reality. Besides, in contrast to the present times – there was just not enough of it. I know it is hard to imagine in today’s world, but back then there was no easy access to bands, albums, and recordings. There were no real festivals. It was not until the early ‘90s, when the situation began to gradually improve. Today everything is flooding us in every area and aspect of life. It is no different with music. I like the situation, when I’m the one to decide and chose who to listen to, whose concert I go to and whose interview I read. Unfortunately, this generally available message has to travel a difficult path to reach the final recipient. Valuable albums often do not reach persons to whom they are addressed. I think we’re a good example of this phenomenon...

Your first CD after reactivation - "Death Then Nothing" was one of the most interesting materials from returning bands. Did you manage to once again gain interest of the western music market in your recording?

"Death Then Nothing" was mainly a return album with which we wanted to remind our fans about us after many years of absence. The assumption was meant for local market only. We did not conduct any aggressive campaigns to release it outside Poland by other labels. We are very pleased though, that our publisher Mystic Production released it in Europe and USA through a network of distributors.

Let's go back to "Thanatology", who is the author of each batch of the act, i.e. lyrics, music, cover and artwork?

"Thanatology" is primarily the result of teamwork. As it always is the case with Armagedon - music was created in stages and was created by Krizz and arranged together with Adam. Lyrics are my work, and cover art is our ideas graphically dressed up into a cover by Xaay (we worked together already with DTN). I think that each of the elements of the new album fits together and at the same time can create separate stories.

Could you let us a little on the secrets and summarize individual songs from this album?

"Thanatology" is a collection of eight sound killers, but it's also eight quite disturbing images associated with leaving and passing. Simple stories, without deep metaphorical undertones. I think they represent an ideal unity with our compositions. Everything fits together and supports one another very well. It is also a natural continuation of our previous lyrical layer enclosed in the words: death then nothing! I would not want to analyze individual tracks - I think that they are solid as a whole and follow each other in a natural way. Each of them contains different but characteristic fragments (i.e. Caesar's vocals), but it is best to come to this by yourself, listening carefully to the songs.

It seems to me that as musicians you have come to the stage of you career where you don’t have to prove anything to anyone by creating another record. What was the reason for Armagedon to get back to the studio after four years of rest?

It is four years already indeed... However I see these four years as more of additional ballast on my back than the interval from the release of "Death Then Nothing". You know, we actually perceive it a little differently. We are not a band that has rigid publishing and concert duties. Every next record is an act of creative summary of the time intervals of several years of playing and creating together. This approach allows us to spit out better and more mature sounds. Just like in case of "Thanatology".

I see that the line-up has changed a little bit yet again, did it have any bad influence on the creation of "Thanatology", and does it change anything in the current concert power of Armagedon.

The album was recorded by Slavo / Adam / Krizz / Bartosh , which is the lineup that we played with for the last few years. We always try to give back and give our fans something special and unique! The time that we gave ourselves from the release of the last album, contributed to our unison and understanding of each other (also musically) - we have a lot of confidence in one another and as a band after those few years. This resulted in the fact that while creating and recording "Thanatology" we stepped outside the standard templates that were with us before. This time around, each of us brought a lot of their own ideas and had a lot of "creative freedom". While having just a frame of the song, we watched them with undisguised joy transform step by step into very fulfilling musical creatures. This way of working on the album produced very consistent, proven and strong material. After the recording of the album Bart (Azarath) joined us on second guitar strengthening very much our concert power. We played a few gigs together already and "the force is with us"!!!

Science of dying would seem such a simple idea for the album title for bands playing death metal genre, but it seems to me that you were the first in the genre to use that title. Why do you think it was?

Hmmm, tough to say... at the early stage of work on the album we knew already in which direction we're going to go lyrically. We were looking for a title that would bond these simple stories. And I think we succeeded. We never created some unrealistic stories, we didn't sing about dragons, and other nonsense. "Thanatology" is solid in the form of verbal communication, motto, and music!

Thanks for the interview Slavo, I sure hope that it will bring closer the silhouette of Polish Armagedon for the people abroad and to all the other metal maniacs peeking onto metalbite.com webpage. Thanks again and see you at the concerts.

Many thanks for such a thorough mangle! All those who would like to know Armagedon made in Poland we invite you to visit our profile: http://armagedon.bandcamp.com/

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