Chad Bowar: Is your new CD Impressions In Blood in the same musical direction as the EP The Art Of War that was released earlier this year?
Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek: Musically yes, but atmospherically no. The Art Of War was the first album we recorded using different producers. The Wieslawscy brothers gave a new spirit to our sound. We continued that on Impressions In Blood but the atmosphere is different. The Art Of War was a more futuristic view and closing a chapter of Vader history. With Impressions In Blood we opened a new chapter. It's more like coming back to the roots of Vader. It's more devilish with a Wagnerian style, not so much futuristic. They were both recorded in the Hertz studio with the same producers. Impressions In Blood is just more brutal and intense compared to The Art Of War.
The original title of the CD was going to be Impressions In Red. How come you decided to change it?
Red was more artistic, more of a painter's aesthetic. But we can't forget we're a metal band and blood is more like a sign, a key word in the metal world. So we decided to use blood instead of red even though the meaning is almost the same.
Are you satisfied with the direction the drumming has taken with Daray's addition to the band?
Yes, especially since he progressed so much. He was working pretty intensely and has progressed from year to year. He reminds me of Doc when he joined the band. He has the same talent and ambition and works really hard. He practices all the time. He's a very dedicated drummer.
You toured in the U.S. earlier this year with Kataklysm and Destruction. How was that tour?
Pretty good. It was the first time we used a different agency and were afraid it wouldn't be smooth. We had so many fans at the shows and there were very few problems. 2 shows were cancelled but the rest of them were awesome. It brings hope for the future in the United States. What Vader needs in the United States now is more promotion and support and information for the fans. I am full of hope since we changed companies.
What are your favorite and least favorite things about the U.S.?
The best thing is that metal is so popular. There are so many fans all across the country and in Canada. I love to go shopping in America as well. What I hate is your food. I always lose weight while touring. It's the only thing I don't like. It's a shock for those of us coming from Europe.
The rest of 2006 you'll be touring in Europe on the Blitzkrieg 4 tour.
Yes. It's the longest tour we're going to do for Impressions In Blood. Touring is very important for bands, especially Vader. We are going to try to play more intensely in one trip and then have a longer break in between tours and have a little more time for family.
When you started Vader, could you have possibly imagined that 20 years later you'd still be together?
Never. When I started to play I was into metal and was just excited to play. We had dreams of course to be on stage and play in other countries. Holland was always the land for metal in the '80s. I never expected that Vader would have existed for this long and become a symbol and that we would be so strong for so many years. Of course supporting bands like Slayer and Judas Priest was more than we ever expected.
A lot of bands are more respected in other countries than their homeland. How is Vader received in Poland?
We never counted on a lot of support from Poland. It was so influenced by the government and things like that. But we didn't need to be popular in our land, especially after we became a leader in Eastern European metal. People in America didn't think of us as being an exotic band from Eastern Europe, they just thought of us as a regular death metal band. In Poland we have our diehard fans and they wait for the next album and next tour. We have fans all around the world.
You've seen so many changes in Poland with the fall of Communism. How did that affect the music industry there?
Poland became like a regular European country with tours and magazines and all the information was available. What was lost was the passion. I can feel it in general that the passion is getting less and less. If I could compare the old days to today it's my feeling that there aren't as many excited or diehard fans like it was years ago.
