Interview with death metal band from Poland - CHAINSWORD.
Answered Herr Feldgrav (drummer), thank you!
Recenze/review - CHAINSWORD - Chapter XII (2025):
Ave CHAINSWORD! Greetings to the Warsaw underworld. When I first saw the cover art for your album "Chapter XII" this year, I immediately thought that you were inspired by the war board game Warhammer 40k. Is that so? This game is set in a fictional sci-fi universe. How did this idea come about and how does it relate to the music on the release?
Hail Satan (and all other pleasantries)! This time we went all in with 40k themes – this is a concept EP about World Eaters chapter of Chaos Space Marines – the most unhinged bunch of the whole setting! And with regards to music – we just tried our best to make it sound... bloody!
I have to say right off the bat that the new album is really hilarious. Musically, you have loosely followed the previous album. In a previous interview you revealed that you had a little trouble with the line-up. If I'm not mistaken, that's a thing of the past. I understand that you have chosen the same recording process? I always wonder about that. How does CHAINSWORD create new songs? I'm interested in the process.
The line up remained as it was on Born Triumphant, fortunately, but this time the recording process was more classic – both drums and all string instruments were recorded in Sound of Records studios in Warsaw, with only vocals and some guitar solos being done in Primate 666 studio – which is just a fancy name for our rehealsal space! Songs for this EP were made in 3 diffrent ways – one as a cooperation during jams, two were brought complete by our bass player, and with last two me and Sarin just met up in our den, recorded some riffs and drums, then bashed them around some in Reaper. Simplicity itself!
The sound, that's always what it's about. Especially in death metal. Where did you record "Chaptes XII" and who is responsible for the mixing and mastering? Was it Haldor Grunberg like last time? The new one seems to me more raw, colder, the war atmosphere stands out better, if you understand me.
It was Haldor, as always, he recently started his own thing (aforementioned Sound of Records) with Mikołaj Kiciak, who was also responsible for drum recording on Born Triumphant – we keep it all in our little dysfunctional family! Recording bass and guitars in studio (and not reamping them) really gave us the edge this time, it was definitely worth the extra effort!
I don't have the lyrics so I'll ask. Judging by the song titles, these are classic war themes. Who is the author? What sources did you draw from? Does the current situation, when the front line is more or less already a short distance from Poland (and actually from the Czech Republic), influence you in any way?
Other than the general vibe of the world coming apart – not really. Lyrics on this one are pure science fiction escapism into the world of larger-than-life ULTRA BLOODSHED. Like... Gorechild is about a huge battleaxe that demands of its owner to be fed blood – daily!
When I started listening to your new album, I just saw a documentary about Vietnam. It must have been crazy, fighting in the jungle, in the dark. You have one very good song (Good Mourning, Vietnam), which is also inspired by that war. How did that idea come about? Did you study history? Do you do any fact-checking? When I once interviewed HAIL OF BULLETS, they told me that a history professor came to their concert and started discussing with them that they were misinterpreting some topics.
We try to stay close to facts when we sing about real events (same thing with 40k, but in that case warpfuckery is a thing and two or more timelines can be true at the same time and no one bats an eye). None of us is a professional historian, but we are very passionate about it and consume a lot of war books and films. Was that a Netflix documentary with music by Trent Reznor? That one was truly something!
Our countries have a very similar history. Both were under Russian influence for many years. I, for one, still find out to this day how many lies we were told in school. It was similar with music. New bands and music in general came to us several years after the release. I still supplement my education to this day. How are death metal bands actually perceived in Poland? In our country it's still a deep underground, which the majority of society takes as something extreme, crazy, evil. How is it in your country?
Most people in our country know who Nergal is, but mostly because of his fight against catholic church , not his music. I would dare to say that being mostly atheist country you Czechs have it better! I think that to this day extreme polish bands are still more popular abroad than on home turf – but we have a lot of active young people in the scene, so my hopes remain high!
I'm an old dog, who started with death metal as a young boy at the turn of the 80s and 90s. One of the first death metal bands I heard and still admire to this day is VADER. But the Polish scene today is huge and there are really a lot of bands. There are only a few in the Czech Republic. What do you explain that death metal and black metal have such a strong position in your country? What about concerts, promoters, festivals, labels? From the outside it looks like you are a death metal paradise! Is that true?
It is more of a hellscape of competition for a small-ish band like us, but as a metal fan – yes! It is paradise! I think that the reason behind the abundance of metal bands in Poland is that we are still ANGRY at so many things! Best acts are still being made in Silesia, which is the part of Poland most affected by the switch from industial to service based economy – when you lose your job at the mine and have no real perspectives for life you get kinda pissed off and playing loud music with your mates seems like a good idea! Opressive postindustrial architecture also helps!
Everybody started somehow. Who was your role model? Do you have any formal musical training? What was the first gig you went to? And what was your first gig as a musician? Please reminisce for us...
Me personally – I have some formal musical education in a jazz/pop school, but I never completed it. I could play a jazz gig at gunpoint, but I doubt it would please anyone! The 1st gig ever that I attended was in Stodoła club in Warsaw, and it was by the famous polish pop-punk band Pidżama Porno (there, I said it, I AM A POSER!). I broke my glasses on that night, and for some time after I wore half of one of the lenses, it was kept on by a safety pin... Until one of my teachers called my mom and asked WHAT THE HELL?! And the first gig I played was... I frankly can't remember! Probably some dreadful high school talend show or something like that...
You're from Warsaw. It's a big city, with lots of clubs, pubs. Would you recommend any? When I come to your place, where should I go for good metal and beer? What about some local bands that you think are good, can you recommend them to us?
Club wise – 2koła, Voodoo, Chmury, Hydrozagadka and Mechanik for the smaller gigs, Proxima Stodoła and Progresja for the bigger ones – it seems that there are a lot of them, but then you remember that Warsaw is home for around 3 million people and then it suddenly is not so much! As for local bands – man, there are so many! From our own genre – Clairvoyance, Species, RIP, Abominated , Hexenaltar, the list goes on... And for the other sounds – check out Wij and Las Trumien and then let spotify suggest you more!
What does death metal and music in general mean to you? Is it a lifestyle? A hobby? You can look at this issue from different angles and feel free to get philosophical. I'd be interested in your perspective as a musician.
I get withdrawal syndrome when I don't play show for more than 3 weeks, soooo... Definitely a lifestyle. I work as a session musician and drum teacher too! And death metal gives me that feeling of power that other genres lack, it was coined as MURDERBONER by Doom Eternal (the video game) fans!
What direction do you want CHAINSWORD to take in the future? Do you have a benchmark, a goal you want to achieve? Is it maybe a tour with a big famous band? Or a strong label?
Chainsword will hopefully provide you all with more of the same (Old School Death Metal) but better each time, for years to come! And for now – we plan to tour as much as we can when we can one of our band members is becoming a father real soon, but it will hold us back only for couple of months – and it's not me saying it – its the mother! So next year you can expect us in or near your city if you happen to live in Europe, time will tell if we will manage to worm our way into the lineup of some mighty tour or festivals – our hopes are up!
And what are you planning in the next few months? If you have a message for fans, for promoters, labels, here's the space...
We will probably play some holiday shows, then také some time to regroup, plot a tour or two for 2026, jam out some new tunes to maybe storm the world with another EP, this time on Slaanesh or the Orks... We get a ton of messages from people all around the world who listen to our stuff while painting their armies or working out at the gym, this is AWESOME – keep them coming! And for promoters and labels – we are EAGER FOR CONQUEST – just be patient with us as we are really just a bunch of nerds and degenerates and it sometimes takes us time to bash our heads together and form an educated response!
Thank you so much for the interview and for your music. I really appreciate it. I'm gonna go play "Chapter XII" again. This is really a great war death metal album! Good luck in your private lives too!
Cheers, and rembember – DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF MAN!
about CHAINSWORD on DEADLY STORM ZINE:
Recenze/review - CHAINSWORD - Chapter XII (2025):
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