Being that it's only February it maybe a little early to talk about best albums of the year but I still want to say that I'll be surprised if Embrional and their newest album called 'Evil Dead' is not gonna end up on bunch of those lists. 'Evil Dead' is powerful and fast, devastatingly crushing at times but also putting emphasis on technical aspect and completed with groove, some eerie melancholy and some disharmonious twists. Skullripper was nice enough to answer the questions giving us what we wanted to know and making it fun to read. Play the album, read the words, head bang and share with all.

Tomek

Hello, thanks for taking time to do the interview with Metalbite, what is going on in Embrional camp just after the release of the new album?

Hell! To start with, thanks for your interest and interview. Generally, after the release of the new album and just like before it, there is a full-blown mad house in the Embrional camp (laughs). There are a lot of things on our minds that need to be taken care of and more records and releases from the same bunch will probably pop up in the spring of this year, so the publishing farce is not over yet. So, it turned out that after all these perturbations in the lineup, good times finally came in and motivation is in the full swing... The effect is that we do not have time to calmly scratch our asses (laughs). Right from the beginning of the New Year, apart from the promotion of the album, the tour with Witchmaster and Brudny Skurwiel came up, so we had to prepare for it, but we are all very pleased with such a turn of events!

We are talking after the release of your third album Evil Dead. What were your feelings after closing the studio door, and what are they today after first reviews?

In general, before recording begun, we knew what we wanted to do and what effect to get, so after closing the studio door we felt relief and satisfaction from the fruits of our work. However, the reviews go down different, mostly very positive, which makes us happy. A lot of reviewers point out that this record is technically refined and difficult to receive at the same time. We agree with this in principle. Evil Dead is a restless piece of Embrional life, with a lot of fucked up rhythms and disharmony. This requires the listener to concentrate so he can calmly get into its poisoned sounds. This album is quite raw without beautifying samples, intros or other production flavors. Pure spirited death metal with elements "difficult to digest" (laughs).

What do you think is the most important element when creating music? Is everything buttoned up before entering the studio, or do you leave room for a bit of improvisation?

The most important thing in the creative process is muse and it's probably the nuisance of every creator, because unfortunately it does not always occur when we would like it. However, the systematics cause that at some point that ‘something’ comes in and then I press ‘record’ on the computer, registering whatever comes to my mind. Then is analysis, merging, changes and that creates the skeleton of the song. Sometimes I let a song sit for a few weeks to listen to it again with fresh ears. Sometimes it happens that I change something, and sometimes those riffs stay. As for the preparation for the recordings, I am essentially going into recording fully prepared, however, in the case of Evil Dead - there were motifs which, during breaks from recording, I simply changed or developed because the above-mentioned muse simply came back to me (laughs). Thanks to it, this is a very lively album. Basically, I cannot wait for the moment of Evil Dead being spat out on Vinyl and listening to it with my friend Puzon in the aroma of Bialystok’s moonshine (laughs).

How long did you work on Evil Dead and how was the whole process? Was there anything you did completely differently this time than during previous sessions?

The songs on Evil Dead were created in quite long-time intervals because it took us 2-3 years overall. It resulted, among others, in things like changes in the lineup and constant internal chaos. The creative process itself partly happened during practices, but most often at home. It started with random riffs' recordings, cuts, patches and eventually ‘click’ something hatched. After assembling the whole, I sent all the bits and pieces to the rest of the line-up and we tried to work on it calmly shaping the whole thing during practices. As for the session itself, it looked completely different than the previous one, although there are some similarities :) First of all, the drums were recorded at Darek’s studio in Myszków, where he had complete freedom and comfort during recording. We recorded the rest of the instruments and vocals in the so-called Rotten Heaven Studio - a basement with omnipresent mold, but well sound proofed. Good speakers, amplifiers, microphones and patient laying of tracks. The budget somehow forced such and not some other conditions, but the result at the end exceeded our expectations (laughs).

What was your attitude when composing - was it anger, was death metal rage a source of power, or maybe new souls in the band? What were your main inspirations?

First of all, there was a hunger for composing and a joy to create with new people. A lot of fresh air dropped in into this team and every day it only gets better. Evil Dead is a very emotional album, a lot of stifling atmosphere resulting from toxins that internally troubled me during certain periods of Embrional life. Death metal alone as a genre is not the only determinant for us. Of course, we love the metal of the 90s, especially the analog part of this period. In those days you just had to be able to play to make the album slay. In each of these productions a man is heard, and this is a model for us to imitate. On Evil Dead everything came out of our hands and you can hear it. It is not music made with computer loops, definitely. In addition to the mentioned death metal, I personally like the works of Alexander Scribin, Frantz Liszt and many others. The building of tension, harmony, climate change, darkness is a powerful mine of inspirations, if you add to this rhythmical madness of Zegalski, you get a compositional firecracker that may not always be easy to listen to (not to mention the performance itself), but very satisfying for the authors.

The new cover is quite complex and gives imagination a solid work out. You're still sticking to the same range of colors. What can you do tell us about the choice of graphic designer and the entire process associated with album cover?

The Evil Dead cover is a work of Rafał Wechterowicz (Too Many Skulls), which fits perfectly into the climate of the album. Maciej Mińczykowski recommended Rafał to us and for that I would like to thank him dearly! A few phone calls, some consultations and in a few days this beautiful work was created. Really, Rafał is a professional and without any doubt worth recommending. He did his work very quickly and efficiently, which I admit did save my ass from messing up the deadline and the timing of the whole publishing process. It was too close, but it worked. The motif itself was in my head from when I was just a pup. I've always dreamed of a Morgoth The Eternal Fall style cover (laughs). It's definitely different on here, however, the atmosphere of the cover steers the recipient to my roots and such awesome times for metal!

'Evil Dead' is a fairly well-known title in the horror world, did this classic leave a mark on your 3rd album? I do not believe in total coincidence?

The title of the album stems from the first letters of the titles of individual songs and it came out quite spontaneously really. Of course, the horrors of the 80s -90s are also my world too (laughs). It is a kind of bridge between music and film. The songs on Evil Dead had their own titles and after the analysis I stated that: "heck! it all comes together - so it must stay!". Probably one title required some modification, from ‘The Lord of the Skulls’ into ‘Lord of Skulls’. That's how it worked out in the end. In addition, the problem of setting the order of songs on the disc solved itself.

After the recording of The Devil Inside the lineup fell apart again and if you think about it, practically every album was recorded with different people in the ranks. What do you think about this situation, is it Silesian reality, or are there other reasons for these personnel problems?

I think that the problem of the proper lineup of the band sooner or later affects anyone who has many years of musical activity. A band consists, on average, of 4 people, each of which has their own character, an idea for themselves, or they simply fall into the trap of the prose of life. It's not easy to change companions in a band, because it always involves unpleasant emotions. Changes also slow down the band itself, because you need to find the right person / persons who will want to sacrifice, learn and face the difficult life in the underground. That is why I finally decided to enter into a deal with people I've known for years. I felt that the direction was right. We like each other very much and have a common goal, mutual trust and we are not afraid of mishaps or other obstacles related to the ordinary life of the band. It is a great joy to meet such enthusiasts on my way, who also love the art we create together!

Two first two long plays were released by Old Temple, what made you decide that this time you’ll take care of this stuff yourselves? Do you think that you can take care of this burden, I am mainly referring to promotion and distribution?

That is correct, the first two albums Erik from Old Temple released on CD, as well as The Devil Inside, Godz ov War, Helltrasher and Third Eye Temple on Vinyl, Cassette and Digital. In the case of Evil Dead, we decided to do it ourselves. There were many reasons.  I’m not denying that we had a dialogue with various labels, but the timing we set for ourselves did not meet expectations. We were not sure how to bite it and came up with the idea to try to spit it out independently, free of conditions, contracts, etc. We believe in what we do, and we have decided that we will take the risk because what do we have to lose. In times of the Internet, the promotion, despite appearances, is not such a big challenge that you cannot deal with it. It is well known that all this is associated with finances, however we are aware that we are working for ourselves! Work on Evil Dead consumed a lot of our time and we just did not want to just give it away. At the moment I can say that we do not regret our decision. The record sells very well, and we have the opportunity to learn some marketing (laughs). Of course, without any help it would not be possible. A lot of administrative and logistical issues are taken care of by my wife Asia, thanks to whom we can focus on music instead of mailings or e-mails etc. We are happy that our fans have not left us because of it - on the contrary, we feel their huge support!!! It gives us wings!

Here’s this crazy scenario - you meet a crazy investor with pockets full of money, and he proposes to pay for the video to one piece from new album. Which song you choose and what is the content of the movie?

If there was such a madman, I think we would do 'Day of Damnation'. We like this song very much. However, to direct to this clip we would have to think hard about it. This is not so simple, contrary to appearances.

You are fresh after the tour. You have visited 9 Polish cities, are there victims of your obscene filth, and maybe some gains, plans?

The tour in the company of Witchmaster and Brudny Skurwiel was surely a hellish ride. Awesome company, lots of laughter, but also lots of team work. Everything was buttoned up but with elements of improvisation, such as the end of fuel in a bus on A4, or a lost suitcase with drum parts in Wroclaw, which we learned about in Poznan (laughs). There were some adventures and drunken events. However, most importantly, people showed up. At each of the concerts there were on average around a hundred hungry for hellish sounds devils, which nowadays, especially during the week, is rare. Plans for the future are quite vague for now. We are currently focusing on the promotion of the record and we are planning a concert year. We’ll we see how it works out.

Premiere of the new album is already behind you, is enthusiastic reception and nearness of the Embrional legal age enough reasons to celebrate?

Of course! Each new release is a reason to celebrate. The band has been around for a long while now in the native underground. All this is undoubtedly something to be proud of. Generally, there was a lot of experiences, including uplifting moments but also painful falls, after which you had to pick yourself up, dust off and go on. Contrary to what fate is throwing at Embrional it continues to sow his plague, while developing musically. This is a powerful argument to the satisfaction of what we do.

Do you think that blood, death and hell are permanent attributes of Embrional musical identity?

In Embrional lyrics, everything you mentioned is often a symbol used to describe the reality around us, our often-ill-human nature, fears of weakness, the dark side of our being.

Many times, in texts and music I refer to the elements of rebellion against what is often observed by me. It drives me and causes me to feel what I am singing with my whole being. Emotions are the basis of musical creativity.

Once again, thanks a lot for this nice chat, something for conclusion maybe?

Many thanks for the interview and support! I hope that the readers have not been bored and endured all the way to the end. All undecided maniacs are invited to visit our website www.embrional.com or embrional.bandcamp.com where you can simply support our artistic activity and buy a new album and / or merch! We are not idle, there will be another piece of filth in the form of split soon! More info shortly! Thanks, and see you somewhere at the gigs!!!