"ME"TAL 101 interview with Enslavement

A couple months back I discovered a great band on bandcamp out of Poland called ENSLAVEMENT. Their EP "KEEP SMILING" is one of my favorite finds of this year. I was happy to hear from their vocalist Pete recently. We get into a bit about what influences the band's songwriting and album art. Poland has produced some of the best bands in the history of metal so without further ado let's speak to one band that I feel is on it's way to making it's own lasting mark. - grownman

HMT: Hey guys, please tell me about this demo. How old is the material? This is one of my favorite finds on bandcamp.

Pete: To be honest this material is a bit old. The compositions were created one and a half years ago. All these tracks we made when we’re considered as a people who listen and playing the music genre called thrash-death metal. “Evocation of Blasphemy” is the oldest one, we played it even in 2010.

HMT: It says in the demo's description "It is all about fatal effects of abusing people, imposing them way of action, views or even the path of life." What do you find influences your music more, what's going on in the world or more importantly what's happening in your own backyard?

Pete: I’m writing all of the lyrics. Everyday life is more than just an influence. I’m the observer of life like everybody else, but I can manipulate my observations. I can make them surrealistic. I see normal people, normal activities and many absurdities, people complain about all that shit, but nothing changes, they not change themselves at all(in other case me too). However, for me it is just average day like the other. My head filters all these information and some unusual, fucked up lyrics are right on. You can hear some bullshit story in a train and place it into your own story about cementary slaughter. My last lyrics it’s like combination of “Night of the living dead”, “Tetsuo” and William Burroughs novel called “Naked Lunch”. Simply – grave, stench and psychedelic ecstasy.

HMT: I noticed that the cover art really speaks to the idea of being imposed into a forced state of emotion. The hands are literally stretching a smile out of a disembodied face. How did the art for this demo come about?

Pete: Yeah exactly it is. This is the problem which everybody sees. Today’s world, you cannot resist of the view all these advertisings, big banners, illuminated glass buildings – the enormous corporations which illustrates how you should live. I draw the cover and my brother saw it and said – “Keep Smiling”. That’s the whole story.

HMT: Here in the U.S. we've seen a real drop in the touring schedule of Metal bands from outside of our country coming to the states. Many times I'm looking towards your country and surrounding areas for new and exciting bands. I've been fortunate to see Behemoth play over here on one occasion. Please tell me about the metal scene in Poland. 

Pete: If we’re talking about current operating bands there are here some good bands, like Decapitated, Vader or Azarath… However it’s such a boring stuff for us till now. We’re looking for some bands in style of old school death but unfortunately our country is lacking this type of shit. There are many great black metal bands like Furia, Morowe, cultes des ghoules.

HMT: Are you planning on putting out a full length anytime soon or any stopovers in the states?

Pete: In the near future perhaps. But even before this time we’re going to create an wonderful split with Terror Tactics, our cordial colleagues. We’d love to have a voyage to U.S. but we don’t have any cash.

HMT: THANK YOU PETE! Look forward to the new split in the future.

Check out ENSLAVEMENT's "KEEP SMILING" EP on their Bandcamp Site. HORNS UP!