How and when did Witchmaster form?

Officially, we had our first rehearsal under the Witchmaster name in May 1996.  But to tell you the whole story, I must go back to 1990 I think it was, when Reyash and Vitold formed Mortuary, a death metal band.  Some time later me and Bastis became friends with Reyash; we were hangin’ around together, and in 1993 we formed another band that was more black metal oriented, ‘cause you know,  in the beginning we couldn’t really play anything decent, we couldn’t handle instruments, so black metal (in the vein of Samael’s first album) was the answer. And, a few years later, we all formed Witchmaster, initially without Bastis. Just three of us: Reyash, Vitold and I. We had this rehearsal room, and we used to stay there all night long smoking pot and drinkin’, and one night we just started playing these thrash metal riffs with blasts.

Witchmaster has been hacking and thrashing for over 10 years now.  When you started the band, did you envision you would still be doing it today?

We didn’t think about what would happen in 10 years, we were very here and now, and didn’t really care much about the future. All we wanted to do is play, bang our heads and release an album. So the answer is no, we didn’t have any idea that we would go for 10 years.

Why did the band decide to sign to Ibex Moon Records, and how did the unholy union come about?

This [is] Reyash’s fault I must say.  He was playing bass for Incantation, and  mentioned to John [McEntee] about Witchmaster. I don’t know, he must have bribed him or something, and that’s how things took off.  We got in touch and here we go. It’s good to see our CD released in the US ‘cause previously only our first album was released there. It seems like Ibex Moon is quite dedicated to what they’re doing in the underground.

Trucizna means “poison” in Polish.  The title seems fitting due to the album’s filthy contents, but can you explain why you chose it?

Yeah, it stands for poison. This is the title of the song we did, as well. The very moment we did this track, we all liked it; that was it. Simple to the core, primitive and raw. Two riffs. So it seemed obvious to name an album this way too. There is a theme going on [in] the album, and that is poison, in more than one sense. Some songs are about substance abuse, drugs, and what effect they had. “Self Inflicted Divinity,” for one, is a gospel of chemical shamanism; there is some deeply personal stuff goin’ on. The poison can ruin your body but it can expand your mind so to speak. We did a lot of that. Other songs are about the poison we’re injecting into the brains of the listeners by the means of our music, [the] same poison that’s running in our veins and keeping us alive and that is Hate.  In general the album is based around themes of hate, destruction, filth, and decline of the civilization. So, we thought Trucizna is a very flexible title that fits perfectly.

What is the story behind “Road to Treblinka?”

That is a question asked in every interview.  People seem to be allergic to the word Treblinka. All I have to say [is] the song is not politically motivated.

Trucizna is the first album without Inferno on drums in quite some time.  How was it writing and recording with a new member?

Yeah.  Inferno’s main thing is Behemoth, especially that they were touring constantly and me and Bastis lived in London, not Poland.  We couldn’t carry on with him. That simply would be not possible. We had to face it: find another drummer or quit playing altogether. Somehow, I got in touch with an old friend, Bastek, and we eventually started playing new stuff.  His style is a bit different to Inferno, but we immediately found common grounds, and the whole process was quite spontaneous. We shared the vision how the music should sound and it worked well. We’ll be recording future albums with him.
Witchmaster’s raw energy is clearly heard through Trucizna.  How does it translate live; what are your live shows like?

Ah, most definitively. We don’t play live too much. We never did.  But when we play, it’s always [a] raw, chaotic performance. Energy is what matters the most for us. People going crazy, violent sometimes.

Do you have any touring or festival plans for 2010?

Not yet.  We’re supposed to go on a tour in the Balkans, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, this part of Europe, but its not confirmed yet.

Each of your full-length albums contains a cover song.  Who will you cover next?

That’s hard to predict.  We haven’t even started working on the new album yet.  I’d love to do a few Motorhead covers, in the Witchmaster style.

Reyash is also in Vader, who released their last album very recently.  It seems that Witchmaster has plenty of ties with the Polish extreme metal scene, yet you remain under the radar in comparison to some of your countrymates.  Is this intentional?  Do you prefer it that way?

Reyash got involved in the new Vader lineup; I don’t know how that happened exactly. Yeah, we have ties with numerous bands from Poland; all Witchmaster members are or were involved in some other successful bands. You’re right, we’re not getting that much attention, and I don’t really know how to explain that. First thing is that we never wanted to be ultra big; we just wanted to play loud and fast. To get big, you really must try hard and we don’t give a fuck to be honest. We’re [a] bunch of lazy cunts with big egos. We used to be quite arrogant too, and that doesn’t help. We used to have this underground attitude, never paid any attention to the promotion or anything. Second thing is I believe we don’t make music for the masses. Our principle is to play raw and dirty filthy metal, old school, bad sound, punk riffs, bad lyrics. No major label will risk signing something like that.  It’s not really intentional, like we have an agenda, but it happened this way. Now I think I prefer it this way ‘cause at this stage I couldn’t handle big tours, and all the stuff.

http://www.myspace.com/wearewitchmaster