Vogg and Rasta of Decapitated.
2016 will be the 20th anniversary of Polish technical death metallers Decapitated’s formation. The band was formed by guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka and his younger brother and drummer Witold “Vittek” Kieltyka, back when they were teenagers.
“I was 14 or 15 years old. My brother was 12,” said Vogg, recalling that time.
Decapitated 1996 era
Looking back at the history of the band, he recalled forming the band with a then-16 years old vocalist Wojciech “Sauron” Wąsowicz and a then-13 years old bassist Marcin “Martin” Rygiel, and this lineup were featured on the band’s first three albums (2000’s Winds of Creation, 2002’s Nihility and 2004’s The Negation).
Vittek, the original Decapitated drummer.
Recalling 20 years of the band and the obstacles he faced over the years made him realize how much he has accomplished and appreciate what he has done to help shape Polish technical death metal.
“This kind of question reminds me where I can from, who I am and how it was almost ten years ago when we just started. It was four kids trying to play as hard as we can, without any professional gear or anything, but with passion and heart. I never imagined that I would ever have the opportunity to do all of those things, to see all of those countries, meet all of those people, or play with Fear Factory or any of my heroes. No never,” he said.
“I think about this today. What we have right now is an opportunity to travel all over the world and make money doing music, to get the best equipment in the world and meet bands like Meshuggah and Lamb of God and doing tours together. Well that’s awesome.”
“If someone back in the day 20 years ago would have told me this, I would shit in my pants. I wouldn’t believe that. That’s [what’s] cool about doing what you love and trying to realize your dreams.”
Rasta of Decapitated.
He talked about his thoughts about what makes Polish death metal its own brand of brutality like no other. Vogg has his theories behind what makes it so heavy.
“I’m not sure 100 percent. That’s what I was thinking about today. Polish metal seems something special in the sound – bands like Vader, Behemoth, Decapitated or Hate, or some other bands. We have something similar. I don’t know.”
“Yes indeed it only was Vader back in the day when you had to cross the border to get outside of the country. Probably Vader showed the way how to do it for the other bands, or Behemoth before Decapitated.”
“For sure we were fans of Vader and we toured with them and learned from them a lot. [It was the] same with Behemoth, and actually for every band in this country. They were an example for younger bands from this country.”
“To answer the question [about why there are so many Polish bands], I mean the Polish mentality is like that. The people are pissed off all the time. If you asked Polish people ‘how are you?’ – they would answer ‘ummm…same shit. Nothing special going on.’ It’s not like they knew what you’re asking. It’s like asking ‘how are you?’’ Oh I’m great man! Awesome.’ “
Vogg of Decapitated
He talks about the history of Poland, from its communist history times to its ultra religious rule within the country, and how that factor into how its metal can get so heavy. Now after the changes within the country, people are still letting their feelings out.
“In Poland it’s different. I don’t know why. We’re still in the second World War? We had the communism and the really shitty years in our history. We’re free since maybe 20 years now. So it’s not a long time. Maybe that’s why, and also Poland is a really religious country. Catholics rule in this country and you have to learn religion in school and bullshit like that. You have churches everywhere and on every corner. People are blindly into their religion and 90 percent of the people here are going to church every Sunday.”
“Maybe heavy metal came from the west and showed the new generation of people something different and something cool. Heavy metal music gives them some kind of freedom and different opportunity to a way of life. I’m really happy that I’m a metalhead and I took this kind of way, so my mind is more open from what I can see from the people around me. It’s going to change.”
“To come back to the question, I think when you listen to Vader or Behemoth or Decapitated, you can feel this aggressive energy and it’s against something. It sounds like you’re trying to fight with something – the system, with religion, with something that blocks your life and your freedom. It’s like fighting for your freedom. That’s why we’re pushing so much. That’s why we have such a nice metal match.”