Their "Metal And Hell" album (later rebought in polish with "666") is a classic
hellish speed metal record, and was an adequate reason to look for Kat in
the webworld and to make this interview. Although we are not into the recent
records as in the old ones, we tried to do the best to keep the questions
interesting.
Could you remind us the early steps of the band ? Is KAT a Polish name
or is it the English word for this small pet ?
Piotr Luczyk - KAT is the Polish equivalent of the
English Executioner. KAT was founded in 1979, but only found a vocalist in
1981.
Was it difficult to find a singer or did you choose to be an instrumental
band at the beginning ?
Piotr Luczyk - Originally, KAT was an instrumental
band and it played the type of music our idols such as Black Sabbath and
Deep Purple performed. Playing instrumental music was only a temporary call
and from the very beginning of KAT we were looking for the right guy as a
vocalist. After one of the festivals a vocalist joined the band.
Which were the activities of the band between 1981 and 1984 ? Did you
focus on rehearsing and playing small gigs to forge the style of KAT ?
Piotr Luczyk - We were constantly rehearsing, consciously
creating the music with the vocalist. We tried to play every big concert.
We struggled to enter Jarocin Festival, which was the most important Polish
music festival at the time.
I would like to know what were your early influences when starting the
band as some songs are rather pure Speed Metal while other are Heavy or Hard…
Piotr Luczyk - Richie Blackmoore has always been
my idol and the band grew up listening to the bands such as Deep Purple,
Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd etc.
I guess you know there's another band with nearly the same name than you,
The Great Kat, lead by a sexy woman. Did you get contact from her ? Do you
enjoy her music ?
Piotr Luczyk – That's the band we have heard
of but have never gotten in touch with.
Did you get a good response for the 1984 "Noce Szatana" 7'' ? And how
did the deal with Ambush Records come in the picture ?
Piotr Luczyk - The Ambush Records producer, Jos
Cloek, got our promo materials and decided to release our first album. Unfortunately,
as far as I remember, Ambush Records broke up after our first album release
so there was no album promotion. There were also some conflicts between our
manager and Ambush Records we didn't know much of and that is how our presence
at the Western market came to the bitter end.
1985 was the year for "Metal And Hell" (and "666" for the Polish version).
Even if I don’t understand a single Polish word, I prefer the Polish version
of this masterpiece album because Roman Kostrzewski is more killer when singing
in his language. Was the English version due to the contract with the label
? Are you still proud of this album ? What do you think of Roman Kostrzewski
english vocals ?
Piotr Luczyk - Of course, I'm proud of it. I was
only 19 years old while I was recording the album, which I had been composing
since I had turned 16. There is another re-edition of the album available
on the market and it's still popular.
As regards its English version, it was the basic
version of the album for Ambush Records. The vocalist's command of the English
language appears to be quite another story... cha, cha, cha... Having played
the concerts with Metallica, James Hetfield, commenting on the English version,
asked me why our vocalist sang in Japanese at the record... Therefore I would
like to comment on the lyrics in English sung by Kostrzewski no more !!!
I've to admit "Metal And Hell" LP is fucking awesome, it was a kind of
fresh and original way of playing Speed Metal, sometimes inspired from Running
Wild such as in "Killer" do you remind how you wrote the tunes from this
release ?
Piotr Luczyk - At that time I certainly didn't listen
to Running Wild. I was fascinated with Motorhead, which perhaps doesn't have
much to do with that record.
When looking to the back cover picture, the band had much more a kind
of Glam look than anything else (lipstick, large sunglass, eyeliners). But
when listening to the release, you seriously kicked asses with a pounding
Metal melted with Speed influences, how does it come you had such a different
look from for instance bands such as Destruction, Kreator, Slayer and so
on ?
Piotr Luczyk - The band's appearance was constantly
evolving. As for the way we dressed, we didn't quite know where we were heading
for. There were neither records nor publications showing the images of the
Western bands available in Poland then. Perhaps the way we looked like has
always been a little late compared with our more progressive and advanced
music. I guess the present image of the band, which is hardly associated
with the music, seems to be no exception to the rule. But that is because
of other reasons than those mentioned above.
I have the Pronil vinyl edition of "Metal And Hell" that has a really
cheap quality, with thin cardboard, no info sheet and so on. Was it so expensive
in the early 80's to release a Heavy Metal vinyl ?
Piotr Luczyk - The albums like that were the only
achievable products on the music market of communist Poland in the early
80`s.
Guitarist Wojciech Mrowiec joined the band in ’84 and was out in ’85 or
’86. What was the reason of his departure ? Was it easy to find Jacek Regulski
?
Piotr Luczyk - Mrowiec was kicked out of the band
because just before entering the studio to record the tracks for “Metal and
Hell“ LP he decided to go on vacation. His lack of dedication influenced
his dismissal. Despite the fact that I had know Jacek Regulski for many years
and his accession to the band was a mere formality, I recorded "Oddech wymarlych
swiatów" and "38 minutes of life" by myself.
Which are your memories opening for Metallica in ’87 ?
Piotr Luczyk - It was one of the most profound experience
in the history of the band. It was then when I grasped the rules of live
performance. I do remember very warm treatment we received as a support act,
the parties we had together with Metallica as well as boozing with James
Hetfield in the cloakroom before the gig.
The same year, you released two albums. First, it was the "38 Minutes
Of Life". Wasn’t it too soon for a live LP ? Second was the "Oddech Wymarlych
Swiatow" LP. Was it received as well as the first LP ?
Piotr Luczyk - The time the album was released depended
entirely on the record company. Those days it was extremely difficult to
put out any record in Poland. As to "Oddech..." it has been considered to
be one of the best albums of ours to this day. As far as I'm concerned ,
"Mind Cannibals" is the best.
I'd like you to explain how was the scene in Poland back in the early
80's ? Did you had trouble with Polish Police, and was it hard to organise
gigs in you country ?
Piotr Luczyk - Metal music was in the underground.
It didn't formally exist. While concerts always attracted a lot of Metal
music fans. In the old days everything was a problem: an instrument purchase,
strings, not to mention obtaining the official permit to organize a gig.
Concert tours were handled only by national companies, like Pagart, and Western
stars visiting Poland were their only participants. Record traffic was purely
subterranean.
Let's keep on this topic, was there a unity between Polish bands from
the 80's such as Turbo, Hammer, Open Fire ? Any were you also into other
Eastern bands such as Törr, Root, Tudor from Czech Republic for instance
or other Russian Heavy Metal bands ?
Piotr Luczyk - Turbo, Hammer, Open Fire were our
competitors. The fact is that we gigging together but KAT was rather the
individual among those bands.
What was your view on the Western German Metal scene and bands such as
Running Wild, Grave Digger, Scorpions, Kreator, Destruction, Assassin and
so on ? Was it difficult to get releases from those bands ? Was there a black
market for Metal in Poland in the 80's ?
Piotr Luczyk - Among the bands listed, Running Wild,
Scorpions and Grave Digger were the most appealing to us.
According to me, and when looking through Western fanzine and magazines,
KAT wasn't that much known in the Western Europe both in the 80's and now.
So, did you get support from countries like Scandinavia, France, Spain in
your early days ? And will you tour in Western part of Europe now to increase
your notoriety ?
Piotr Luczyk - We never got any support and the
only ones we could count on were ourselves. As concerns concerts, in 2005
we toured Europe playing concerts.
KAT broke up a first time in 1988. Can you explain which were the events
leading to this split ?
Piotr Luczyk - KAT didn't split up. It was just
the vocalist who got fired. The above-mentioned situation repeated itself
a few times. The reason for hanging up the band's activity was always the
same: the clash between the vocalist and me.
The band was reborn in 1990. But it took two years to listen to a new
album, still preceding by a live album. Which are your thoughts for the "Bastard"
album ?
Slawek manager – After the band was reborn they
were huge changes in the band. They first had to get used to playing together
and then start working on a new album as a team .
In the early 90's Lech Walesa brought many changes in the Poland, turning
back to Russian point of view, and giving a bit more democracy in Poland,
that's according to the "official" biography. What is your views about that
period now ?
Slawek manager –It was an amazing period in Polish
history. We were all together in spirit at the time. Everybody believed that
it could be normal in Poland as well even in music.
How came the idea to release in ’94 the "Ballady" CD, containing KAT’s
ballades and four unreleased tracks ?
Piotr Luczyk - One the crucial things to me is the
skill at composing and playing a ballad. The approach was instilled into
me through listening to Hard Rock for many years. That's why I put the pressure
on incorporating that type of song at every single record. Our manager's
contribution also let us show the romantic side to KAT. That kind of album
gave us a chance to place instrumental pieces of music originating from the
early stages of the band's formation. The record has been the bestseller
so far.
As "Ballady" is the last record of KAT that I know, can you tell how are
the ’96 "Roze Milosci Najchetniej Przyjmuja Sie Na Groback" CD and ’97 "Szydercze
Zwierciadlo" CD ?
Piotr Luczyk - Personally, I prefer "Róze
milosci..." marked with an interesting climate and the edge. The compositions
are slightly slower but at that point the band could venture to depart from
the metal music standards. "Szydercze zwierciadlo" is the LP I don't particularly
like to comment on. It was conceived in the midst of the conflict in the
band and I'm not proud of it. The best album we've ever recorded is the recent
album – "Mind Cannibals", which brings the listeners back to the times of
"Oddech wymarlych swiatów". After the vocalist replacement our music
evidently shone with different colors. It has become far more mature.
The band broke up a second time in 1999 because of the death of Jacek
Regulski. At this time, did you think that the band was dead and buried too
?
Piotr Luczyk - After "Szydercze zwierciadlo" release,
the band ceased its activities but the reason for it was not Jacek Regulski's
death but my absence from the tour promoting the album. The atmosphere in
the band was so tense that it was no use gigging together. Nonetheless, there
were some concepts of new tracks running through my head. So you can't say
that the band has ever been dead.
KAT did a comeback in 2002. Was it because of still having the fire to
play metal ?
Piotr Luczyk - My main target was to document the
band's 20-year-long enterprise. The tours we went on enhanced our position
and were the great base to release our DVD. As it turned out later, I reached
my target, playing together with Iron Maiden and put out "Somewhere in Poland
2003" DVD.
Why did you fire original drummer Iremeusz Loth and original vocalist
Roman Kostrewski in 2004 ?
Piotr Luczyk - Musically, we were poles apart and
any attempt at creating a good album together seemed futile. I'm not disclosing
a secret by saying that there was a constant difference of opinions between
Kostrzewski and me and Loth was outside the band even before recording "Somewhere
in Poland". We already selected a new drummer to take his place. I think
that the ultimate answer to the question why Kostrzewski is no longer with
us will be his new solo record, provided that it is ever completed.
You played a tour in Germany with Helloween and Six Feet Under. How was
this tour ? Don’t you think it was a strange bill ?
Piotr Luczyk - It was definitely a strange bill
because of stylistic and textural differences between Six Feet Under and
KAT's music but for us it was mainly the opportunity to put ourselves to
the test at the European market. Generally speaking, we are very satisfied
with the way the concerts went. We have gained some experience, we are sure,
to prove useful in our next enterprises. Personally, I must admit that we
got in close contact with those bands' members and, what certainly surprised
me, we were listening to the same music genres while in private. Moreover,
our perception of the music genres was very much alike.
Your last album "Mind Cannibals" was recorded in 2005, with lyrics written
in English. How does it sound ? How would you describe it ?
Piotr Luczyk - It is KAT's best album combining
the musical roots with modern sound, which resulted in 10 tracks that, out
of all the songs this band has ever recorded, I listen to most often. For
the first time the instrumental and vocal textures are interrelated, creating
coherent and expressive unity of the record. I incorporated the elements
of Indian, African and classical music. The last of those was performed by
an orchestra. The album is a mature product of the band's musical experience
lasting more than twenty years.
Let's talk about the future of the band, how will KAT evolve in the near
future and what are the next plans ?
Piotr Luczyk - The future is unknown. Nobody knows
it and you can't seriously answer the question like that (mmmhhh I was talking
about band future and not life future, I know you don't have a crystal ball
to tell me what the future will be hehehe-Eric). Of course, we are going
to play some concerts and record new songs. I think, with the passage of
time, we will keep you informed on what is going on in the band. For the
time being, we are having the negotiations regarding "Mind Cannibals" license
as well as organizing new concerts.
Thank you for taking time to answer. If you have a last comment…
Slawek manager – Thanks a lot for being interested
in our music. We’ve only played twice in France in 2005 during our quite
long band history and so we're positively surprised that we're known there.
We would also like to thank everybody for being interested even though there
is no distribution of our albums in the West, so it probably takes time and
effort to get to know us. We're very pleased and impressed. Visit our website
(http://www.kat.com.pl
) for more info and fresh news. We’re planning to open an international online
shop, so that fans from outside of Poland could also enjoy the albums. Stay
Metal and rock on !
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