Industrial
doom/death from Canada? Yes, it's possible and ZARAZA is the band that would
pull it off. Their music ranges from one extreme to another, always remaining
harsh and dissonant. I'm glad I finally got a chance to do an interview with
Jacek and I'm very proud to have it in Eternal Frost. This band is doing
something very obscure and original. --goden
Eternal Frost: How long has ZARAZA been together? Has it always been just
Grzegorz and Doomhammer?
Jacek Furmankiewicz: We've been together since early 1993. It has been the
two of us (and only the two of us) since the beginning. The topic of other
members never really came up - we've never felt like we need anyone else.
What does the name "Zaraza" mean and what does the album title Slavic
Blasphemy mean?
"Zaraza" means "plague" in Polish. Inspired by the likes
of LAIBACH or EINSTUERZENDE NEUBAUTEN, I decided to choose a name from my own
language, thus making it somewhat stand out in an ocean of similarly-named
bands. "Slavic Blasphemy" was the title of an instrumental track from
our demo - we decided to use it as the album title because it seemed
appropriate.
Slavic Blasphemy was released not too long ago. How has it been
selling? Do you have any distribution deals with any companies or do you handle
it all on your own?
It's been selling okay, although of course it could be better. Our CD was a
100% independent release: we financed and organized everything from A to Z:
recording, production, mixing, mastering, printing, CD pressing, promotion, etc.
As usual, promotion and distribution is the biggest problem for a new band with
a limited amount of funds. A lot of distribution companies seem to be a bit
hesitant about carrying truly underground releases. We have distribution
through mail-order by Relapse in the U.S. and there was some talk about Cold
Meat Industry selling it in Scandinavia. I'm still waiting for Roger Karmanik
to get back to me on that one - he liked our first demo a lot due to its raw
'industrial' character.
Has the album been getting any airplay? What has the feedback to the album
been like? It seems that fans may be divided due to the industrial and
death/doom metal mix.
The CD has been getting quite good airplay in Canada: we've made it onto the
"Top 20" lists of a few student stations in Canada. I've sent out a
few copies out to radio shows in Europe and the U.S. and we'll see what the
response will be like. The feedback on the album has been rather good, even
enthusiastic at times. Admittedly, some reviewers (especially on the metal side
of things) have been somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer ugliness of our music. These
days trendy metal is based upon goth vocals, pleasing melodies and melodic
guitars. We prefer to stay away from that and concentrate instead on a
intensely depressing, sludge-driven, sampler-enhanced hybrid of all the ugliest
and darkest elements of industrial and doom/death metal. Also, let me clarify
one thing, since the term 'industrial' means a lot of different things to a lot
of different people. The sort of industrial material I am influenced by is the
works of such bands as Laibach, SWANS, Einstuerzende Neubauten, IN SLAUGHTER
NATIVES, DISSECTING TABLE, MYNOX LAYH, ORPHX, old TEST DEPARTMENT, etc. Commercial,
dance-laced drivel such as KMFDM, NINE INNCH NAILS, etc., is NOT 'industrial'
in any way, shape or form, at least not in terms of what this genre was
supposed to sound like. All in all, we are a bit of a problem for fans of both
genres: industrial fans find us mostly way too brutal (especially the vocals),
while some metal fans find us sometimes too 'industrial' because of our violent
use of samples and keyboards. But then on the other hand, a lot of industrial
fans use us as a gateway to a more extreme form of art, while some metal fans
like us because we are the most brutal industrial band they ever heard (as one
of my friends, an avid CANNIBAL CORPSE supporter once remarked). I guess it all
depends on one's attitude towards music. The funny thing is that some metal
fans remarked that they found the vocals too brutal and would want to see more
melancholic, clean, gothic vocals on the next album - I DON'T THINK SO. Any
way, our infatuation with doom and death metal stems from the fact that these
genres equal harsh industrial in sheer ugliness and brutality. Both genres
share the same aesthetics, they just express it differently and Zaraza was
formed to combine the two into one.
Is there any particular reason you opted to use a drum machine instead of a
flesh and blood drummer?
I've always been fascinated with programming drums and the sort of complex
and exceptionally heavy patterns one can generate with a good drum machine. We
never even considered adding a live drummer - there is nothing such a person
could add to Zaraza. Besides the usage of a drum machine gives me easy access
to an almost unlimited array of different sounds that would be next to
impossible to incorporate with a live drummer.
What language are the lyrics spoken in on Slavic Blasphemy?
Four of the songs are in English, two of them are in Polish. I always wrote
the lyrics in English at the beginning, but became a bit more open to writing
them in Polish after realizing how much better my control over my mother tongue
is and how much better the lyrics are.
There are elements of doom metal in Zaraza's music. Was there a conscious
effort to appeal to the doom metal underground with your music?
Of course not. We love doom metal and that is the reason why we play it, not
because we want to appeal to some specific group of listeners. I still remember
the first time I heard WINTER and CATHEDRAL on the radio - it was as if a whole
new universe of possibilities exploded in my head. Further works of bands such
as My DyING BRIDE, ESOTERIC, NOVEMBERS DOOM, UNHOLY or SKEPTICISM only enhanced
our love of this sort of music. It is a pity that it seems to be in decline
these days and overshadowed by more commercial-minded bands (such as EVEREVE,
etc.). Grzegorz used to join me sometimes during my radio show and we would do
a full two-hour onslaught of all the slowest, most depressing doom artists we
could think of (anything from Unholy to RAISON D'ETRE).
Does Zaraza play live very often? What is a Zaraza set like? It seems like
you would only be able to play a few songs since they're so lengthy.
Zaraza has thus far played only two live shows and both of them were in a
radio studio during my radio show in Montreal. We are planning organizing a
real live show with the great Quebec band DECAYED REMAINS, but with me living
in Montreal and Grzegorz Haus ov Doom now living in Ottawa, it is increasingly
hard to find time to get this done. It would definitely be an interesting
experiment - our last live show was a great experience and I think we are both
looking forward to expressing ourselves live and experiencing the burning
intensity of that sort of event.
Will Zaraza be following up with another album soon? Will it continue in the
style that Slavic Blasphemy introduced?
Our tentative plans are to start recording the new album in late 1998/early
1999. It will be called No Paradise To Lose and from the material that
we've worked on thus far it will be a bit different. It seems to be coming out
even slower than the first one (no blast sections in the new material as of
yet). The reviewer in Terrorizer Magazine described our music as
"incredibly ugly, yet strangely beautiful on occasion". I believe
after listening to the second album he will just simply describe it as
"incredibly ugly", period. Some of the more pleasant elements of our
music (violins, pianos, etc.) have been mostly replaced by more dissonant 20th
Century classical influences. We in Zaraza have always been influenced by
classical music and for Slavic Blasphemy our favourite classical
composer was Arvo Part and his somber melodies. Right now we are definitely
more into the dissonant, unpleasant sounds of composers such as Penderecki,
Lutoslawski or Bartok.