Author: Rok Klemše
Location: Josefov Fortress, Jaroměř, the Czech Republic
Interview date: 12.08.2010
Decapitated were founded in 1996 by brothers Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (guitar) and Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka (drums), and with their debut, the technical death metal masterpiece Winds of Creation, they rocketed to the top of the Polish metal scene. They kept churning out quality albums right up to their fourth, Organic Hallucinosis, which lifted them among the stars of European death metal. Even more astonishing was the technical skill of the members, especially the Kieltyka brothers, all the more so given how young the band was. When it was formed, Vogg and Vitek were 15 and 12 years old, and by the time of that release this technically impressive lineup was only 23 on average! But it was the very tour promoting Organic Hallucinosis that brought a tragedy reminiscent of the untimely loss of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. On October 28, 2007, Decapitated were in a road accident on the Russian-Belarusian border that killed drummer Vitek, while vocalist Covan still hasn’t fully recovered to this day. Vitek was 23 years old. The band’s future was in serious doubt, and mastermind Vogg was shattered by his brother’s death. But in mid-2009 Vogg finally announced he was putting together a new crew, completed in July by Austrian drummer Kerim “Krimh” Lechner and in November by vocalist Rafal Piotrowski. In July 2011 the revamped Decapitated released the excellent “come-back” record Carnival Is Forever, and at the past Brutal Assault newcomers Krimh and Rafal talked about it.
RockLine: It’s great to see Decapitated getting a fresh start after the tragedy. How did you two feel stepping into the shoes of Vitek and Covan?
Krimh: Definitely, a new chapter began for the band with us. It wasn’t easy, it was a big challenge, and we really grafted to get there. For the first few months we rehearsed practically non-stop. We all want to squeeze out nothing but our best. I think that’s why the new lineup works so well. Personally, I don’t even think too much about having replaced Vitek. I can’t, and I don’t want to. I just want to do my job and enjoy it.
Rafal: Same goes for me. It wasn’t easy, but we decided to do it. Vogg picked us, and we respect that decision and we’re proud of it. We rehearse and work hard. We’re basically a new band, building this lineup from scratch, from flesh and bone. It took us a while to get everything rolling, but …
Krimh: .. we’ve got a new record! (laughs)
RockLine: So how did Vogg even find you two?
Krimh: Do you want to tell your story, or shall I? (laughs)
Rafal: No, it’s fine, go ahead.
Krimh: Okay, I’ll go. In 2007 I uploaded a video to YouTube of me playing the Decapitated track Invisible Control. Vitek and Vacek saw that video, and after the accident, in 2009, Vogg sent me a message saying he was putting together a new crew and invited me to an audition. I was really surprised. Of course I answered his call, even though I wasn’t sure I was good enough. He wanted four videos of me playing four songs, I sent them over, and that’s how I got picked. After that he invited me to Kraków, where we rehearsed together for four days straight, and over those days we decided this would be a new beginning for Decapitated. Until the end of 2009 Vogg was still playing as a session guitarist for Vader, and right at the start of 2010 I moved to Poland, and that’s when the band’s rebirth began. We started rehearsing seriously, and I met Rafal when he introduced me to some girl (laughs). And that’s the whole story.
Rafal: I met Vogg in Poland at some charity gig, about a year before Decapitated got going again. Before that I only knew him in passing, but when I finished my studies I ran into Vogg and for the first time seriously asked him if he’d found a new vocalist yet. He hadn’t, so he invited me to an audition, we clicked, and after a few rehearsals he officially invited me into the band.
RockLine: The excellent “come-back” album Carnival Is Forever came out recently. How did it actually come together, did you all take part in making it?
Krimh: It was a mix of everything. Some ideas came about back when Vitek was still alive, and almost every song has a part that Vitek actually wrote. Most of the music was built on Vacek’s riffs, and I wrote the drum parts on top of them. We worked the whole of December, and I honestly didn’t really know what I was doing, since it was the first time I was recording such a big album. But I had a few ideas, and once we started rehearsing, within the first few days we had so many ideas that half the record was already written. We combined old and new ideas, and then Rafal recorded the vocals in the studio. All the music was written before we even went into the studio, which saved a huge amount of time and let us really focus just on the sound and the playing. Recording the drums was a very interesting experience, and because we had the songs ready, apart from the vocals and some small details, I could spend a day or two focusing solely on how to get the best drum sound.
RockLine: Rafal, so you actually only created the vocal lines in the studio?
Rafal: Yeah, the musical parts were done, and in the studio Vacek and I worked out the vocal lines for the songs together.
RockLine: How would you two compare the new album with the old ones, first as outside observers and now as part of the band? Personally, I see Carnival Is Forever as a kind of spiritual successor to Organic Hallucinosis.
Krimh: Nice to hear that. When you listen back through the Decapitated albums, it’s great to hear that every album is different, each has its own style, its own “vibe”. The cool thing is that this gave us room, the freedom to experiment. Of course the “hardcore” fans will always demand Winds of Creation 2. I can understand that, but Decapitated have always written something new and kept evolving. I think this album is incredibly bold, and to be honest, I had to get used to the new album myself. It’s an album you have to listen to quite a lot before you really fall for it and get into it.
Rafal: We also have to understand that today Decapitated are a new band. Everyone except Vogg is a new member, even though he’s the head of the band. We have different views, different personalities, and different approaches to music. We’re different people, and we’re not the old Decapitated, whom I love, by the way, but we didn’t want to do the same thing, we wanted to move forward. And I think we pulled it off.
Krimh: I think we shouldn’t be afraid of this album. It’s definitely a step in a different direction, but I think it’s the right one. We all asked ourselves whether we wanted this, and we all agreed that this was it. But you always have those who hate you and those who love you. And it was obvious it would come to something like this, since it’s a new lineup, new songs, and in that case others always judge you.
RockLine: Still, the fans have welcomed you warmly?
Krimh: Yeah, it’s great to see we have our fans’ support. The album was received very positively, and the audience response live is warm too.
Rafal: Right now we’re playing a good chunk of the new album live, and the reaction to the new songs is good. People already know them and obviously like them.
RockLine: What does the future hold for Decapitated?
Krimh: Playing gigs and rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing (laughs). That’s the business: you have to play shows and record albums, but our main goal is to grow as a band and for all of us to be involved in making the next record.
Rafal: We simply want to be the best.
Krimh: A new album will definitely follow, we just don’t know when yet. Vacek says not before a year from now. We’re collecting ideas already. As we saw with Carnival Is Forever, it’s easier if you have ideas from before. I like to work so that when you’re in the studio you know exactly what you have to do, rather than being scared of recording because you haven’t worked out your compositions yet. That’s how it was on the last two Decapitated albums, which more or less came together only in the studio. Hats off to them, but recording that way was probably extremely exhausting. I believe you can always squeeze more out of a song, and I’m the kind of guy who likes to be prepared myself.
Photos: Nina Grad
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