VADER Bassist Checks In From The Road

Polish death metallers VADER kicked off the final part of the European Blitzkrieg 4 tour in Olomous, Czech Republic. Bassist Marcin "Novy" Nowak answered several questions for the band's official web site:

Q: How has the tour been going? Would you be able to make the final [assessment of] Blitzkrieg 4?

Novy: We're still in [the middle of the tour], so that would be really hard to make the final [assessment]. But one [thing] is for sure: so far the tour has been very successful. All the shows we've played on Blitzkrieg 4 have been nothing but great. The tour is very professional, we have a better equipment (which means a better sound),we have a great road crew, also the feedback is beyond our expectations, so we can't complain about anything. In my personal opinion this tour is even better than Blitzkrieg 3. A lot of unforgettable experiences, a lot of great shows...

Q: Blitzkrieg 4 is the longest tour in band's career. How hard is it to be in a good shape during such a long trip?

Novy: We have been playing together for a long time so it's just a matter of experience, a matter of professionalism, I would say. But being on such a long tour is definitely a challenge! As Peter [frontman] usually says: this is a war! (laugh). He is right. If you wanna survive, you have to be in a good shape, both mentally and physically. Each of us has a different method for that. And we are all laptop maniacs (laugh).

Q: You have been constantly promoting VADER's new album "Impressions In Blood". What the response for the album has been so far?

Novy: Great! The tour started simultaneously with the album release. You know, usually people aren't enthusiastic when you play new songs for the first time live. So we're quite surprised because it seems like they know our new songs very well, both [the music] and the lyrics. That's incredible! Every time when we play our new hit "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" the reactions are more than positive. Most people just love that song, it's going to be another "Carnal" or "Sothis" in band's live set, if you know what I mean. One of the slowest VADER's songs, I mean "Predator" (actually, one of my favorite songs from the new album) has also been doing great...

Q: Now it's time for the Balkans...

Novy: Yeah, the war goes on! After a short break we kicked off the next part of Blitzkrieg 4. It's going to be another great experience...

As previously reported, VADER will enter Hertz Studio in Poland in March 2007 to re-record 25 of the best songs from their entire discography for a 25th anniversary release, to be issued in 2008. The set will also include a DVD containing tons of bonus features, such as archival recordings, live shows, video clips and other special material. Jaroslaw Szubrycht, a well-known Polish journalist who recently finished a book about SLAYER, will write a VADER biography.

VADER's "Impressions in Blood" album entered the Polish national chart at position No. 8. The band's video for the song "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" has been posted online at YouTube.com. The clip was shot with director Andrzej Wyrozebski, who is said to be one of the leading movie producers in Poland. Janusz Król (known from the Polish fantasy movie "Wiedzmin") was responsible for all special effects and the whole set design. Slawomir Panasewicz (who has worked on over 140 video clips!) was a cameraman.

"Impressions in Blood" was recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland and features artwork by Greek artist Seth (ROTTING CHRIST, PARADISE LOST). A full-length MP3 of the song "Warlords" can be downloaded at this location.