There are many bands out there who profess to arcane beliefs or who use the ideals of Satanism as a backdrop for their work. Other artists, such as Satanic Warmaster or Iugulatus, whom we interview here, spread the word of Satanism as a genuine and hard-fought belief. Iugulatus, in particular, do so at their own risk, for their native country of Poland is still fiercely Catholic and the church is not only powerful in its own right, but it is also heavily integrated into the world of politics, laying the foundations for outspoken acts such as Behemoth to not only be castigated from the Pulpit but also on a legal basis.
The increased tension between the church-led state and bands such as Iugulatus is hard to understand here in England, a secular country with the emphasis on tolerance leading home-grown acts such as Cradle of Filth to create T Shirts bearing the slogan Jesus is a C***, but to put matters into perspective Nergal from Behemoth is once again in court over the case of his allegedly tearing up a bible on stage (a case thought to be dead and buried some months ago) and to actively speak out against the church requires a certain amount of bravery and self-determination given that Catholicism is actively promoted in Polish daily life.
Quite where you stand on freedom of speech and religious tolerance will undoubtedly impact upon your enjoyment of this band – Iugulatus practice what they preach and their lyrics are not mere words used to garner outraged attention a la Marilyn Manson, but what is clear is that whether you have faith of one kind or another, or whether you are an agnostic unwilling to set your stall in either camp, Iugulatus stand quite simply for the honesty and purity of their values and their music delivers their message with ruthless efficiency.
Most recent album, ‘call of the horned God’ received a rave review here at SonicABuse and listening back to it now there is no doubt that the review was justifiable. Musically astonishing, the band are a tightly honed and professional outfit run by focused individuals. Intelligent and fiercely independent, Iugulatus represent the front line of Poland’s remarkable array of talented metal musicians and if you call yourself a black metal fan then the album is nigh on essential. With new releases planned it seemed high time to talk to the band and discuss their formation, lyrical themes and musical influences. Read on and discover Iugulatus…
please note – the following interview was conducted by SonicAbuse in English and translated by the band. We have left the original Polish elements in place for our Polish readers who may enjoy reading this in its original language.
- Iugulatus, I believe, is the latin for being killed or having your throat cut – what does it represent for you and why was it chosen as your band name?
- co nazwa wasza reprezentyuj dla was oraz czemu wybrana jest jakoo nazwa zespolu???
Matys: Yes, it’s from latin and it means “stabbed” or “choked”. It’s a good name for a band like ours, it matches to the music.
Markiz:Nazwe wymyslił Balrog, uważam, że odpowiednio koresponduje zarówno z muzyką jak I jej aspektem teksowym.
Markiz: The name of the band was created by balrog ,it joins music and lyrical context smoothly.
- How and when did you form?
- jak i kiedy sformowales ?
Matys: Iugulatus was formed in 2007, by Markiz and Balrog
Markiz: Założyliśmy zespół pod koniec 2007r, odtczuwałem głod twórczy po rozwiązaniu wcześniejszej grupy w której grałem War, na początku problemem był skład, nasz debiut był nagrany w 4 osobowym skladzie: Markiz – git, Morbid M – b, Wojtass – dr, Balrog – Voc. Po nagraniu debiutu w 2009r dolączył do nas Matys – git.
Markiz: We formed the band at the end of 2007, it was my creative hunger after war split -up. It was my previous band. We recorded our debut album in year 2009, the line up at that was MARIZ -GUITAR , MORBID M – BASS , WOJTASS- DRUMS, BALROG – VOCAL . MATYS, the secondguitar player joined us after this session.
- Which artists inspired you to start creating music?
- jacy artysci cie inspirowali cie by zaczac tworzyc muzyke
Matys: personally I am big fan of death and king diamond, so I can say that death inspired me. I also like Joe Satriani. The rest of the band likes very different bands, it’s too much to say here!
Markiz: Jest tego wiele zważywszy, że udzielam się w dwóch zespołach grających różną muzykę. Najważniejszy był dla mnie black sabbath od tego zepołu zaczęlo sie moje zainteresowanie ciezkim brzmieniem I druga fala black metalu której rozkwit nastąpił na początku lat 90tych, kiedy bylem nastolatkiem. Konkretne zespoły które do dzisiaj mnie inspirują to: Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Marduk, Electric Wizard, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Pentagram (usa), cathedral, Autopsy, deicide, Mercyful Fate, Nocturnus, Voivod, Satyricon.
Markiz: There are plenty of bands to mention , Considering that I play in two bands playing different kinds of music. The most important for me was Black Sabbath, the band I started to listen to heavy metal with, then it was the second wave of black metal at the beginning of the nineties. Most of those bands still inspire me: I mean: Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Marduk, Electric Wizard, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Pentagram (usa), cathedral, Autopsy, deicide, Mercyful Fate, Nocturnus, Voivod, Satyricon.
- The level of musicianship on the album is very high, did you spend a lot of time working on the songs to get them to their current stage?
- czy duzo czasu poswiecilisvcie by doprowadzic je do tak wysokiej formy??
Matys : Yes, we play a lot of rehearsals and we practice at home, of course if we have time for it. Markiz is the main composer he’s very creative so we have a lot of songs for next album.
Markiz: Na każdy album niezależnie od zespolu potrzebujemy od pół do roku prób zanim wejdziemy do studia.
Markiz:We need to practice for six months to have an album ready for the studio.
- There seem to be a variety of elements within the music, although the overall feel is that of black metal – were you consciously trying to push the boundaries of the genre or was that a by product of the members of the band having different influences?
- czy specjalnie przesuwacie granice black metalu czy byl to product uboczny rozmych wplywow muzykow tu wystepiujacych w zespole ?
Matys: Call of the horned god was written by Markiz, but on satanic pride everyone gave some private influences, it is a little different music but it’s still Iugulatus and its still a kick ass black-death threat.
Markiz: W iugulatus kazdy z nas slucha troche innej muzyki takze wplywy death , czy thrash metal są nieuniknione nasz drugi album bedzie mieszanka własnie black, death I thrash metalu, ale na następnych materiałach muzyka Iugulatus skieruje sie wyłacznie w kierunku black metalu.
Markiz: We listen to different bands here in IUGULATUS , That’s why there are many influences such as thrash/death/black metal in our music. But, we want to focus on black metal only in future releases.
- What inspires the lyrics on the album?
- co inspiruje texty na tym albumie ?
Matys: Balrog lyrics are inspired by chaos and hate, You’ll like the lyrics from satanic pride I assure you.
Markiz: Balroga inspiorują pewnie jego własne doświadczenia, jest on zawodnikiem mma dlatego takie odniesiena do agresji I elementu walki, jak również wielkim fanem świara fantasy I magji Aleister’a Crowley’a.
Markiz: Balrog is inspired by his own experiences. He is a mixed martial arts fighter, that’s why there are references to aggression and elements of fighting. On top of that he is interested in the world of fantasy and the magic of Aleister Crowley .
- With Markiz also in Deep Desolation, is it ever difficult to find the time to work on new material for the band?
- jesli markiz robi d de czy trudno znalezc czas by robic material dkla iugulatyus?
Matys: not really, it’s the matter of good organization, we have known each other for long time, we don’t have problems with organization, we also play gigs together sometimes.
Markiz: To są dwa odrebne światy muzyczne, takze jedynym problemem jest Znalezienie czasu na próby. Iugulatus to bardziej techniczna I agresywna forma, natomiast deep desolation nastawione jest na zlowieszczy psychodeliczny klimat poparty sila doomowego riffu.
Markiz: They are two different worlds; the only problem is having time for both of them. IUGULATUS is more technical and aggressive in form, While Deep Desolation focuses on evil psychedelic atmosphere supported by strong doom riffs.
- Do you prefer to sing in English or do you do so to make your work more accessible to a wider audience?
- czy wolisz spiewac w angielskim czy chodzi o dostep do szersze j pyubliki?
Matys: English is the most popular language, a lot of people understands it, so why not? Maybe some people prefer Chinese but I doubt it. The lyrics will be written in English.
- How would you say the staunch Catholicism in Poland has influenced your music?
- w jaki sposiob zawzistosc katolicka wplynekla na wasz tworczosc ///zawzietosc//
Matys: we hate Catholicism, but like I said earlier lyrics in iugulatus are focused upon chaos and hatred. Deep desolation have Satanic lyrics. Catholicism in Poland is very popular, it’s a big problem, when the church influences the politics and whole country. Fuck them!
Markiz: ta religia jest tak debilna, ze naprwde dziwie sie, ze jeszcze funkcjonuje I ktokolwiek oddaje jej czesc co siwadczy o poziomie ich wyznawcow. Wedlug mnie powinna byc zwalczona sila I raz na zawsze pogrzebana jak ktos chcialby jej bronic rowniez powinnien zginac, czas na nowy porządek, a nie na funkcjonowanie w jakis przestarzalych ramach moralnych ktore maja sie nijak do zastanej rzeczywistości. Jedyna wartościową postacią z bibli jest SZATAN.
Markiz: I think this religion is so dumb and I wonder why it still exists. Whoever praises that church only shows how narrow minded they are intellectually. I think religion should be wiped out by force and buried forever, and the supporters should die with the religion as well. There is time for a new order, there is no time to function in numb moral frames which are so irrelevant to the times we live in.
- Have you ever had trouble from the authorities in the way that bands such as behemoth have?
- czy mieliscie klopoty z wlaadzami jak behemocz , w podobny sposob , chodzi o koontekst religyjny ///////// tak , ksiadz nas wyglosil na kazaniu , hehhe
Matys: No, never, but maybe in the future? J I cant wait…
Markiz: Jesteśmy za mało popularni Jeszcze. Same te problemy które miał behemoth swiadzy o miernocie tej religii I poziomie ludzi którzy sa jej przedstawicielami.
Markiz: We are not big enough to have such problems, hehehe, the sort of problems Behemoth did have testify to the intellect of Catholic people and of religion itself.
- The Polish metal scene is very strong, which bands in particular would you recommend to readers to check out?
Matys: let’s see… Holy Death, Kriegsmaschine, Mgła , Deep Desolation, Infernal War, thoth, Primal, black altar, Lost Soul check them out you won’t regret it.
- What is next for Iugulatus?
Matys: We want to record the third album, play a lot of gigs and make a video for Black knight. About the rest we’ll write on myspace.
Markiz: Na początku wakacji powinnien ukaza split album Iugulatus, Primal, Deep Desolation, takze uwazajcie!
Markiz: We will have a split album between Deep Desolation, Primal and ourselvesso watch out for that.We also have another full album, named ‘Satanic Pride’ to be released this year as well.
- Any final words for our UK readers?
Matys: thanks for the interview, stay strong and listen to good music, and watch out, satanic pride is coming… hail satan!
Markiz: Hail Satan.
