I could not be further from any religion than I am

Hi Adam! Thank you for spending your time with Metal On Loud! Congratulations with the new album which has been awaited by your fans impatiently! So, how are things going in Hate? Being at the death metal scene for 27 years, is it hard to keep high standards of quality songwriting and brutal sound?

Thanks for your words. I’m proud and happy that we have completed „Tremendum” and the album is going to be released via Napalm very soon. Answering your question, I must admit that writing music is not an effortless process to me. It always takes quite a lot of time and energy to create something valuable. This time it took us over a year to write the material. Initially it was 13 songs, but after strict selection we decided on recording 10 that best represented our  tastes and the whole concept.

Metal critics often compare Hate with Behemoth, I don’t think it’s fair, as you have unique features in music style and lyrics. In your point of view, what are they, these unique features?

I never discuss with the comparisons, because it’s just peoples’ opinions and I believe everubody forms opinions that they can afford. If you ask me about Hate’s musical features, I think we have always had our own identity and it is rooted deeply in the so called „Polish death metal phenomenon”. Since I started the band in 1990, we have been a part of it and, I believe, we have contributed quite much to forming it in the first place. I often hear people say – I knew it was Hate after listening to first few cords. So I think there must be something in the way we arrange tracks that is characteristic for us. Also, my vocal and quite distinctive industrial backgounds are those elements that make us recognizable. When it comes to lyrics, they are often more philosophical and profound in meaning than most of the stuff you can hear in extreme metal today.

You are fusing black metal and death metal music styles…What extreme metal style do you prefer personally? Why?

My musical tastes go right across different styles, and I don’t divide them into extreme and non-extreme. I listen to old rock, alternative, black and death metal, dark ambient, industrial and recently a lot of ethnic music. So I don’t have a simple answer to this question.

As a musician, can you tell us if there are dramatic music/sound differences between Tremendum and Crusade: Zero, your previous album?

Well, we never record the same album. We always try to refine what we do over time. „Tremendum” is quite different from our previous albums when it comes to its character and sound. It is a further step into the realms of sonic darkness and, I believe, a better defined record than “Crusade: Zero”. As I mentioned, it took us more than a year working on the new songs. We decided to change the studio and producer. This time we recorded drums at Custom 34 Studio, Gdansk, Poland. The rest was recorded and mixed at Sound Division in Warsaw with Arek “Malta” Malczewski behind the console. I think our music has gained new qualities. It’s darker, more powerful and yet quite raw. We decided not to edit drums and rhythm guitar tracks, so the songs sound very true to the way we play them in rehearsal room or on stage.

Let’s talk about the new album in details. What inspired you to come out with Tremendum? Events, feelings about the current situation in the world, private life?

Most of the album is related to paganism, pre-Christian times and, in a way, getting back to the roots. I felt it was important because Slavic, pre-Christian domain is like a lost world, almost completely unknown to people today. Its values and  philosophies have been destroyed and buried by Christian civilisation that came along. Quite a lot of it have been discovered and put together in the last two decades and I think it’s definitely something worth refering to. It’s a great legacy. From this perspective „Tremendum” is also a manifesto against aspects of the civilization we live in. It deals with modern types of slavery, „machanized” societies, materialistic, non-spiritual approach to the world etc. 

Your poetry is getting darker in Tremendum. I had a feeling of despair while listening to Fidelis Ad Mortem, was blown away by blast of your anger in Walk Through Fire… Do you really believe in what you are writing? Your lyrics is very intelligent, but if you could describe your beliefs in a few words, what are they?

I’m not a religious peson. Actually I could not be further from any religion than I am. I reject monotheism in all forms; it’s a simplification and a very stupid one. But I consider myself spiritual. I accept existence of energies that permates all living things and matter. I also accept the archaic notion of holiness, which is combined with both – good and evil element. One cannot exist without the other. So „holy” is not necessary good. It’s both. And it does not mean it comes from above or from god. It actually comes from within. And it’s an element that exist in humans. By the way, this concept is stressed in the old Slavic beliefs too. They used different terms, but the meaning is similar.

How do you choose session musicians for recording and live shows? What are your criteria? For example, why have you chosen Dean Paul Arnold or Domin?

It’s very intuitive. I need to know that I’m on the same wavelength with somebody, that we share views on different things. But there must be something more that is hard to pinpoint. Domin has been with us for a year or more now. When I met him first time, I knew that he would be willing to join us. It was somehow obvious. I offered him going on tour with us, when Destroyer left the band and it turned out to be a right decision. Considering Dean Arnold. I met up with him while touring Europe with Vital R. and Belphegor, and in discussions it turned out that we have similar music tastes, and moreover, that he’s a big Hate fan. This inspired talks about doing something together in the future. It came out naturally without any plan. When it comes to music, we can communicate almost without words. He knew exactly what I wanted to have in a song, so working together was very effective. I am glad he could leave his mark on our new record.

What songs from the new album are special to you and why?

The most personal one is „Sea of Rubble”. It is about Warsaw Uprising. In my family, quite a bunch of people lost their lives while fighting the Nazis in the Uprising. They were civilians, not soldiers. Their :ethic” is still alive and somehow important to me. I have wanted to write a song about it for some time. Finally I did, but it is not an anthem about heroism or something like that. It’s a rather bitter song. A combination of rage and melancholy with a great solo by Dean Arnold.

Combination of great riffs and brilliant solos characterizes Tremendum. Please, tell our readers what songs they should pay special attention for killing riffs? For kickass solos?

Well, it’s for everybody to decide. My favourite compositions are „Asuric Being”, „Into Burning Gehenna”, „Svarogs Mountain” and „Walk Through Fire”. When it comes to solo parts, I would mention „Sea of Rubble”, Indestructible Pillar” and bonus track „Hearts of Steel”.

Let’s talk about vocal part of the album…Adam, as an outstanding death metal vocalist, what would you advise to young vocalists? How to sound different from others with the same guttural technique?

It’s not an easy thing because you are limited to the vocal you actually have – some special characteristics that you cannot escape from. It’s good to work with diaphragm a lot to strengthen the voice and find some comfortable way of using it while screaming or growling.

If you had to say a speech praising the musicians for their work with Hate and Tremendum, what would you say to each of them, like “Thank you, Pavulon, for…”

Well, I would say: thanks guys for tolerating my twisted character and (sometimes) short-temper, and also for your big dedication to what we do!

What events/shows are you waiting for with the most impatience and high expectations in 2017/ What would you wish to the metalheads – readers of Metal On Loud Magazine?

In May we do a European tour with Nargaroth and Absu. After that we play a short tour of our own in Greece and perform on some sommer festivals like Kaltenbach O.A. in Austria, Hard Rock Laager in Estonia and more. We are also getting some offers now, so I’m sure there will be much more activity when it comes to shows when the album is out. Observe ou official fb profile under „hateofficial”. Every info about upcoming shows / tours will appear there.

Thank you very much for your great music, awesome new album! Much success with Tremendum! METAL ON LOUD! m/

Thank you. Appeciate it!