NON OPUS DEI - ENTREVISTA

1. Non Opus Dei was founded in 1997, after sixteen years of career, what do you remember of the early Non Opus Dei? What are these sixteen years as a band and how it has affected various lineup changes to Non Opus Dei?

Sixteen tears? Well, looks like you are right, ha ha. I never think about the passing of time, the most important things are still ahead of us. The current line-up is Klimorh (g., v.), Horizon (g.), Góral (b.) and Gonzo (dr.). Gonzo has been in the band for eight years. As for Horizon and Góral - they have been playing in NOD for about two years. In 2013 we played a few gigs, released a split, and are about to record a full album.

2. "Dziwki dwie" is your most recent work, a split with the band MOROWE Polish, How did the possibility of making this split? How was the writing and recording process of Split? Could you briefly describe the music of MOROWE ?

As for Non Opus Dei, it was an old school style live recording in the studio (with all the musicians and their amps in the same room), with no overdubs, and no post-production tweaking. The result was great and we thought that we should do something more with the songs. Someone came up with an idea for preparing a split... The next day I was discussing it with Nihil (Morowe).

Morowe... An original band, incredible music, remarkable lyrics. I actually hate talking about music, since music is something one should listen to and not talk about...

3. Your lyrics in general have always tried about spirituality and other concepts such as Nietzsche 's demon , the cycle of eternal return , however in " Dziwki dwie " it seems you try other things in your lyrics , are we facing a concept album ? What aspects you try to "Dziwki dwie" and why choose to talk about them?

You are right, the lyrics of both bands are linked by the same concept. The prologue to the split contains everything I wanted to say about it, so I hope you do not mind if I simply provide it here...

"The eternal war has just been unleashed again. I do not get involved. I am just standing aside, watching this battle. The encounter between the two powers, the two totally opposite ideas, which cannot coexist peacefully with each other. Never.

The first one is the avatar of the power which is always against stagnation and degradation. She is beyond any words, since words cannot describe her. She is beyond this world, because this world is not enough for her. The avatar of evolution, development, conquest… She will live until there remain any unknown spaces, previously undiscovered continents, ideas, immensities, galaxies… Or maybe I should say – she will live until we can find for ourselves any unknown spaces, previously undiscovered continents, ideas, immensities, galaxies.

She wants you to be sinister, free, unbridled and full of might. She wants to take off the chains of space and time which imprison you.

And today she has to face her biggest enemy.

She is opposed by the Power which wants to lead us straight into the consumer paradise. The paradise of ubiquitous safety, love, technology, tolerance. The heaven in which we are breastfed by the Radio-Computer-Television Mother. The place where we are in stagnation, suspended between life and death, but not really knowing any of these two states. The paradise in which we are weak and addicted. We just stand motionless, because we know that there are no new worlds to be conquered, there are no more warriors to be defeated, there are no more ideas to get acquainted with.

She wants us to become slaves. Weak, crying, dying, hollow, insipid. Junkies addicted to empty slogans".

4. The three themes containing this split you are very raw and aggressive, with a sound very straightforward, what are your main musical influences?

I do not think we have any particular influences, we try to follow our own path. As for the sound – we were bored with the way most metal bands record their songs nowadays. I think most albums sound in an unnatural way, maybe people overuse computer editing, maybe for some other reasons... This is why we wanted a live recording, just as you said – straightforward, raw, aggressive.

5. On the Polish black metal scene and the perspective that gives so much time carrying the same, why do you think he has developed a very important scene in Poland, with a quality in their band that has nothing to envy to the other countries? What do you like best about Polish black metal scene? 

Maybe playing black metal is one of our national triats, ha ha... The best thing is that the black metal scene in Poland often provides us with something worth listening to, like for example this dreary autumn I spent a few hours with the new acts by Voidhanger and Mord'a Stigmata...

6. Five fundamental cds within the black metal?

Difficult to say, really... I would have to include 40 or 50 albums in such a list, ha ha... I think one should mention some of the early brilliant albums, which introduced something new - "Written in Waters", "Thy Mighty Contract", "The Jilemnice Occultist", "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss". And we also should refer to the beginnings of the genre - albums like "Under the Sign of Black Mark". But I do not think it is possible to include all this within 5 albums...

7. How were your beginnings in music? Why did you decide to dedicate to be a musician?

At the beginning of the 90's (I was 14 years old), I used to borrow a lot of vinyls from a library in Olsztyn (my hometown). As far as I remember, every weeek I borrowed five vinyls (the maximum amount you could borrow). Then at home I listened to it and recorded my favourite songs on cassetes. They had a lot of vinyls with old Polish metal bands like Kat ("38 minutes of life" was my fave). I was so impressed with their music and lyrics that I bought an accoustic guitar and tried to imitate a distorted sound by plugging my beat-up, acoustic, out-of-tune guitar to an old radio (using a cheap, piezoelectric pickup). Did I want to be a musician? Certainly not, I just wanted to play black metal, which I guess are two totally different things, ha ha.

A few months ago I found two tapes I recorded in 1994 (guitar and vocals), listening to it was a very unusual experience, I must say...

8. Who designed the cover of “Dziwki dwie "? Could you explain a bit how it relates to the concept of the album?

Take a closer look at the cover please, I am sure you will find some reference to the title ("Dziwki Dwie" means "Two Whores"). Bartek Rogalewicz is the graphics designer with whom I have been working for some time, he had already prepared some graphics for the previous full album of Non Opus Dei, he also prepared graphics for our pagan folk project (Alne).

9. What plans do you have for Non Opus Dei about upcoming releases, concerts, etc. .. ?

First, we have to finish working on our new album and record it. Then we plan to play a few gigs.

10. Thank you very much for taking the time to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for the followers of Non Opus Dei, this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.

Thanks for supporting us!!!