- Hello, Jacek! I bet you are in a perfect mood as your new album is about to be released! - Hey, I feel great! Finally we’re releasing our new opus! - So, it's been 6 years now since your previous CD, "Immerse in Infinity". There were some changes in your line-up, how does the current band look like? - Marek Golas (guitar) and Jonathan Garofoli joined Lost Soul. First and foremost, they infused the band with calm. It’s very important to me, because the band is fou different, adult people who must be able to accept each other for all their advantages and disadvantages. The band is definitely some sort of marriage. Marek and Jonathan fit this system very well. I can say that I feel supported by them. In terms of music Marek helped me finalize “Atlantis” by adding some ideas, riffs and solos, and Jonathan reinvented my original ideas for drum tracks in a way which made the album more powerful. His musical expression adds more air to the music. - This album is going to be released by Apostasy Records. How did you get the contract? What are your thoughts about it and what are the benefits that this cooperation might bring to the band? - We have been in touch with Tomasz from Apostasy Records for a long time. I sent him a finished album and started searching for solutions. Ultimately, the optimal solution for us was to sign a contract just with Apostasy Records. This took place in May 2015 after several months spent searching for the best possible solutions. Our expectations are always the same. We would like our label to take the band to a another level. Both in terms of popularity, and in terms of touring. I believe that Apostasy Records will rise to the challenge. Do you know how sound the most frequently repeated comment on Lost Soul? The most underrated band ever! I've had enough of this! - Recently you released the promo video for the song "Atlantis". I have to say it sounds really gloomy and heavy, very impressive! What is that track about? - This is the title track on the record. It is part of a larger whole and perfect for the end, both musically and lyrically. Great sums up the concept of the whole album. - Talking about the lyrics, what is the main message of your songs? Is it a conceptual album? Can you say that lyrically, this album is the logical extension of "Immerse in Infinity"? - This is definitely a concept album. Apart from the first album, every other was a concept. I'd be lying if I said that the story behind "Atlantis ..." is not related to the work of Alistair Crowley of the same title. The way in which Crowley cleverly concealed the true meaning of his work undoubtedly inspired me to create my own Sexual Magic with a few additional layers, with science fiction on top of it. Each inner and outer planet - over millions of years and the cooling of the Solar System - is inhabited by successive generations of Atlantean Kings on their way to the Sun. Each planet is assigned to one song and has its own history. Analogically, it refers to the anti-religious aspect. There is an anti-commandment thread in every song. I carefully connected these threads together and screamed with full power towards the heavens. I will leave in-depth analysis to fans who like to explore the art of death, not only through music. The essence of lyrics included on "Atlantis" is conveyed in a paleoastronautic envelope. In this aspect we can talk about extension or a kind of continuity. - Back to the music. How could you describe the new album in general? Comparing it to your previous works, what are the main changes? - "Atlantis: the New Beginning" sounds dark, fast, heavy, evil, dark, spacious, extremely massive and technical. It's no doubt full-blown and merciless metal album. We managed to structure it in a way so you can hear the evil, darkness, air and power. Speed is not our focus. While complicated parts are still there, it is a very listenable record by all means. We use the women's voices, flamenco guitar parts. A few songs and interludes feature choir parts (Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra) - call that an icing on the cake. Here you have a short characteristic of our music these days. That was exactly our goal to make this album sound this way. We were looking for solutions to get the most of what we had planned. I'm glad we managed to greatly achieve that. I'm very satisfied with the final result and proud of my bandmates. With a clear conscience I can call this album the work of a lifetime, but I might as well call that all previous Lost Soul albums. Each of them is my child to whom I always have special attitude. In the process of composing albums I always look for development. For each new album I have a revolution rather than evolution approach. My only goal is to kill! - Through music, of course! Compared to the previous records I primarily wanted to change the sound of drums in terms of production. My goal was to make whole sound more powerful with a powerful space. In matters of compositions I was trying to strike a balance between fast and slow parts, and simultaneously, give the songs a more pleasant, digestible appeal. - Before starting any works on the new material, do you challenge yourself anyhow? What is your usual process of creating new songs? In Lost Soul, is it a collective approach, or do you work on it on your own? - In the process of composing albums I always seek development. For each new album I take the ‘revolution’ rather than ‘evolution’ approach. My only goal is to Kill! – Music-wise, of course! I could not stand such sentence as - "Oh yes, another album, Lost Soul, not bad - as usual". We don’t let our fans down! We make the best music we can and record it best we can. Then we prove it live. For a band to greatly develop you need widely open mind and big focus on composing. I have my favorite bands, just like every other leader or composer in black or death metal. However, Lost Soul has been around for more than 20 years and for 15 years we've been releasing albums. We have our own style and we always intend to develop. There is one word which is particularly important for me: panache. If the music is lacking panache you will never find emotions in it. The music just flows in my head. When creating a riff, I immediately visualise drums, vocals and other instruments. Of course many things change in the process but the backbone is always there. It all comes very natural to me. Each one of us is a sparkling and musical man. I composed 95% of music on our new album, came up with bass tracks and drums backbone, did the samples and keyboards and wrote all the lyrics. Marek and Damian helped me finalize “Atlantis” by adding some ideas, riffs and solos, and Jonathan reinvented my original ideas for drum tracks in a way which made the album more powerful. His musical expression adds more air to the music. Each of us recorded his respective parts in one hundred percent. - You keep working with Wiesławski brothers, in Hertz Studio. What is the origin of that longtime partnership? Working with the same people all the time, how do you manage to come up with a different result each time? - At the beginning of recoding „Atlantis” we deicided to resign from Hertz Recording just to try something different and we began work with one of the producers. But the cooperation didn't go well and we back to Wieslawski Bros. It's a great studio, great professionals. They are amazing people and guarantee the highest quality. But I will always be open for changes. If there's ever a situation to try something different, we will consider every aspect of it. - Let's talk a bit about the cover. The video mentioned above shows a lot of details, and the whole art looks just amazing. Who is the artist? Did you work together on the concept or was it his vision of your new album? - I came up with the album artwork concept together with Piotr Szafraniec, who also designed it. We wanted to make it match the lyrics as much as possible. It contains the motifs from all the tracks, while the key element of the cover artwork seals the entire release together as a concept album. If I say too much, you stop looking for what is hidden, and that's what is most fun. - What are your plans to support the release of the new CD? Will the be any kind of Tour or just selected live appearances? - We are opening our Official Webstore very soon! For more details, you will to ask our label. We are ready to put our all efforts into following the designated path. - You've been representing the Polish Death Metal scene since the early 90s, how did the local metal underground look at those days? What were the first Polish metal bands that got your attention? - I don't want to come across as ignorant but I never follow the Polish scene much because of school and work, responsibilities which keep me occupied all the time. I always spend my time with my family and do pure dark magic stuff around my band. - How could you explain that huge amount of Polish bands playing Death Metal of the highest quality? And what are your favorites? - I don't really know, do you know some bands? :) Whenever Vader issue a new album I almost feel obliged to hear it. As a fan, however, I’m closer to latest Behemoth releases. Decapitated it's not my cup of tea, but I love their way of musical expression. On the other hand, I’ve never listened to their albums in full, I know only a dozen songs. In conclusion, I definitely prefer modern jazz and classical music. - Thank you for this interview, Jacek. Is there anything you would like to add in the end? - Thank you very much! Follow Lost Soul and hope “Atlantis: the New Beginning” will appeal to you in every aspect! All the best! Follow the band! Site Myspace Facebook Twitter YouTube ReverbNation |