噩梦中的迷宫 - 波兰Technical / Experimental Death Metal乐队Banisher专访

Volcano Magazine
41 minutes ago
14 min read

今天采访到的是来自波兰的Technical/Experimental Death Metal乐队Banisher，组建于2005年的Banisher乐队由吉他手Hubert Więcek和他的高中同学一起组建的，2005组建不久之后乐队便发行了一张三首歌曲的Demo作品，2010年的第一张专辑在美国的Torn Flesh Records发行，2013年乐队在波兰本土厂牌Unquiet Records发行了他们的第二张专辑“Scarcity”也被更多人认识他们，2020年的第三张专辑“Degrees of Isolation”则是乐队最受欢迎，最成熟的作品，Banisher乐队汇聚了众多技术死亡金属界的明星成员，其中包括 Decapitated、Fleshgod Apocalypse、Belphegor、Vital Remains、Acid Drinkers、Redemptor、Hate 和 Shodan 等乐队的现役/前成员。他们发行了一张极具力量的技术死亡金属专辑，节奏感十足，旋律朗朗上口。融合了凶猛、恶毒、尖刻的残暴死亡金属和极其狂野的技术riff，是对听众的一次全方位冲击。乐队以如同铁砧般沉重的riff倾泻出狂暴的能量，同时又能随心所欲地快速切换令人眼花缭乱的技术攻势，展现出令人印象深刻的才华，而这种才华在这张专辑中得到了淋漓尽致的体现。他们也擅长转换风格，引入令人热血沸腾的律动，以精湛的技巧牢牢抓住听众的耳朵，同时持续不断地冲击着他们的感官。今年乐队发行了他们的最新专辑“Metamorphosis”，在新专辑发行之际杂志通过Selfmadegod Records厂牌的协助与乐队的吉他手Hubert Więcek取得联系进行了一次专访！

（V: 代表笔者 H: 代表Hubert Więcek）

Today we’re interviewing Banisher, a technical/experimental death metal band from Poland. Formed in 2005 by guitarist Hubert Więcek and his high school classmates, Banisher released a three-song demo shortly after their formation. Their debut album was released in 2010 on the U.S. label Torn Flesh Records, In 2013, the band released their second album, Scarcity, on the Polish independent label Unquiet Records, which brought them wider recognition. Their third album, Degrees of Isolation, released in 2020, is the band’s most popular and mature work to date. Banisher brings together numerous star members from the technical death metal scene, including current and former members of Decapitated, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Belphegor, Vital Remains, Acid Drinkers, Redemptor, Hate, and Shodan. They have released a powerful technical death metal album, rich in rhythm and featuring catchy melodies. Blending ferocious, vicious, and biting brutal death metal with wildly technical riffs, it delivers a full-spectrum assault on the listener. The band unleashes frenzied energy through riffs as heavy as an anvil, while seamlessly shifting to dazzling technical passages at will, showcasing impressive talent that is fully realized on this album. They also excel at shifting styles, introducing blood-pumping rhythms that firmly grip the listener’s ears with masterful technique while continuously assaulting their senses. This year, the band released their latest album, “Metamorphosis.” To mark the album’s release, the magazine—with the assistance of Selfmadegod Records—reached out to the band’s guitarist, Hubert Więcek, for an exclusive interview!

(V: Author; H: Hubert Więcek)

采访对象：Hubert Więcek（Banisher乐队吉他手）

采访时间：2026.07.22

V: 您好兄弟，很高兴认识您，非常感谢您接受本次采访。我想这是你们乐队首次接受中国杂志的采访。首先向所有中国乐迷和朋友们问好。Banisher乐队成立于2005年，是一支拥有21年历史的老牌乐队。当初你们是如何组建这支乐队的？

Hello brother, nice to meet you and thank you very much for participating in this interview. I think this is the first time your band has been interviewed by a Chinese magazine. First of all, I would like to say hello to all Chinese fans and friends. Banisher band was founded in 2005 and is an old band with a history of 21 years. How did you form this band in the first place?

H: 你好！能首次登上中国杂志，我们感到非常荣幸！Lynyrd Skynyrd已经成立很久了。而我们才刚刚步入巅峰期——而且感觉我们才刚刚起步。乐队是由17岁的我和我的高中好友在2005年创立的。这种情况发生过成千上万次。但并不常见的是，其中99%的乐队都解散了或悄然消亡，而我们却在二十多年后依然坚守至今。对我来说，这已经是一大成功了。

Nǐ hǎo! It’s a pleasure to make our debut in a Chinese magazine! Lynyrd Skynyrd is old. We’re just entering our prime — and it still feels like we’re only getting started. The band was started by 17-year-old me and my high school friend back in 2005. Something that has happened thousands of times. What doesn’t happen that often is that 99% of those bands break up or simply fade away, while we’re still here more than two decades later. And for me, that’s a great success.

V: 目前，乐队中只有Hubert Więcek是第一代成员，其余成员都已更换。你们上次更换乐队成员是在2022年。第一代成员为何离开乐队？新成员是如何加入乐队的？新成员为乐队带来了哪些新的创作灵感？你对新成员的表现满意吗？

Now only Hubert Więcek is the first generation member of the band, the rest have already been replaced. The last time you changed band members was in 2022. Why did the first generation members leave the band? How did the new members join the band? What new creative inspirations did the new member bring to the band? Are you satisfied with the new member's job?

H: 很简单——高中毕业后，我们为了上大学搬到了不同的城市。后来，有些成员决定退出，诸如此类。这没什么特别激动人心的。我一直都是在巡演和演出中结识新成员（或潜在成员）。我会尽量多去参加音乐会，结识新朋友和音乐人，并为这个圈子做出贡献。顺便提一下，我在波兰曾与许多其他乐队合作过，包括Decapitated——我在那里担任贝斯手长达五年，并有机会结识许多杰出的音乐人并与他们同台演出。至于最近发行的专辑，我对所有参与制作的人的工作都感到非常满意。这是一个漫长的过程，耗费了数年的辛勤付出，我认为从专辑的每一个细节中都能听出这一点。

It’s simple — when we finished high school, we moved to different cities for college. Later on, some members decided to quit, and so on. Nothing super exciting here. I’ve always met new (or potential) members on tours and at shows I played. I try to attend as many concerts as possible, meet new people and musicians, and contribute to the community. By the way, I’ve played with many other bands in Poland, including Decapitated, where I played bass for five years and had the opportunity to meet and perform with many great musicians. As for the recent record, I’m extremely satisfied with the work of everyone who contributed to this album. It was a long process that took several years of hard work, and I think you can hear that in every detail of the record.

V: 你今年刚刚发行了第五张正式专辑。能介绍一下你的创作过程吗？我相信你的创作经历会给更多年轻音乐人带来灵感！

You just released your fifth official album this year. Can you introduce your creative process? I believe your creative experience will bring inspiration to more young musicians!

H: 哦，我觉得这可能会让大家都望而却步（笑）。这是一个非常紧张且复杂的过程。首先，我会收集创意——录制乐段，将它们整理归类，并按节奏、调式和整体氛围进行分类。然后我会一遍又一遍地聆听这些素材——无论是在家、在健身房、散步时，还是在车里——希望能够迸发灵感，找到将其中一些素材串联起来的方法。通常，我会先为这些乐段写出鼓的草稿，之后再和鼓手一起打磨。接下来，我会录制贝斯的演示版。等器乐部分完成后，我才开始处理人声的句法。起初并没有具体的歌词，只有音节，这样我们之后才能更自然地填入歌词。接着我们开始创作歌词。但在那之前，我们会先讨论整张专辑的歌词主旨。我们努力让每首歌的情绪和节奏与歌词内容相契合，这样每首曲目都能在音乐的衬托下讲述一个连贯的故事。这基本上就是Banisher的歌曲创作流程。当然也有其他情况，比如我们在录制前很久就现场演奏过这些歌曲，但在最新专辑中，制作过程完全如我所述。

Oh, I think it will rather discourage everyone (laughs). It’s a really intense and complex process. First, I gather ideas — I record riffs, collect them, and sort them by tempo, tuning, and overall vibe. Then I listen to them over and over again — at home, at the gym, during walks, or in the car — hoping that a spark will occur and I’ll find a way to connect some of them. Usually, I sketch the drums to the riffs first, and later we refine them together with the drummer. The bass is the next thing I demo. Once I have the complete instrumental, I start working on the vocal phrasing. At first, there are no actual words, just syllables, so we can later fit the lyrics more naturally. Then we start writing lyrics. Before that, however, we discuss the overall lyrical concept of the album. We try to match the mood and tempo of each song to the lyrical content, so every track tells a coherent story supported by the music. That’s basically the songwriting process in Banisher. There have been other scenarios as well, where we played songs live long before recording them, but on the latest album the process was exactly as I described.

V: 你们乐队的每张专辑都有出色的录音效果。这张专辑是在哪家录音室录制的？由哪位制作人操刀制作的？新专辑的录制工作进展顺利吗？

Every album of your band has excellent recording effects. Which studio did you record the album in? Which producer made the album for you? Is the recording process of the new album progressing smoothly?

H: 好吧，这可能会让你感到惊讶，但基本上除了鼓之外，所有内容都是在我们的家庭录音室录制的。"Metamorphosis"中的鼓声是由两位不同的鼓手在三个不同的地点录制的。吉他和贝斯是在我的家庭录音室录制的，而人声则是由我们的主唱在他自己的地方录制的。真正的魔力发生在混音和母带处理阶段。这次这两项工作都由Tomek “Zed” Zalewski负责，他是一位才华横溢的录音工程师，曾与包括Decapitated在内的许多波兰乐队合作过。录音过程从来都不是一帆风顺的，总是一场硬仗。我们始终竭尽全力追求高品质的音轨和出色的表现，但我并不想为了追求绝对的完美而失去理智。过于精准的录音可能会影响歌曲的律动感和整体氛围。人耳其实更喜欢不完美。这也是我们钟爱Morbid Angel、Cryptopsy、Slayer等乐队的经典专辑，以及Led Zeppelin或The Beatles等乐队的复古摇滚专辑的原因之一。魔力比完美更重要。

Okay, this might surprise you, but basically everything except the drums was recorded in our home studios. The drums on Metamorphosis were recorded by two different drummers in three different locations. The guitars and bass were recorded in my home studio, while the vocals were recorded by our vocalist at his place. The real magic happens during mixing and mastering. This time, both were handled by Tomek “Zed” Zalewski, a super-talented engineer who has worked with many Polish bands, including Decapitated. The recording process is never smooth. It’s always a battle. We always do our best to achieve high-quality tracks and strong performances, but I don’t want to lose my sanity chasing absolute perfection. Overly precise takes can affect the groove and the overall feel of a song. Human ears actually like imperfection. That’s one of the reasons why we love classic records by bands like Morbid Angel, Cryptopsy, Slayer, as well as vintage rock albums by Led Zeppelin or The Beatles. Magic is more important than perfection.

V: 你们早期曾与Deformeating Production和Torn Flesh Records合作发行专辑，并于2020年开始与Selfmadegod Records合作，你们是如何与Selfmadegod Records厂牌建立联系并一直合作至今的？对这些厂牌的工作满意吗？

You collaborated with Deformeating Production and Torn Flesh Records to release albums in the early days, and started working with them in 2020 How did you establish contact and collaborate with the Selfmadegod Records label until now? Are you satisfied with the work of these brands?

H: 这一切水到渠成，我认为这是乐队发展过程中合乎逻辑的下一步。我们最初是自发行作品，随后逐渐进步，获得了更好的机会和合约。希望等到我们发行第17张专辑时，能签约Nuclear Blast或Sony（笑）。Selfmadegod Records做得非常出色。我们的发行作品都很精美，无论是常规版还是限量版CD，周边商品也很棒，分销网络也很稳固。

It happened naturally, and I think it was the next logical step in the band's development. We started with self-released material, then gradually improved and received better opportunities and deals. Hopefully, by the time we release our 17th album, we’ll end up on Nuclear Blast or Sony (laughs). Selfmadegod Records is doing a really good job. We have beautiful releases, both regular and limited-edition CDs, nice merchandise, and solid distribution.

V: 梦境主义、梦境、噩梦、人生悲剧。这些是你们乐队的音乐主题，为什么选择这样的音乐主题？你们希望通过这个音乐主题表达什么？你们还专门设立了歌词板块。这些歌词是谁创作的？创作灵感来自哪里？

Oneirism, Dreams, Nightmares, Life Tragedies. These are the music themes of your band, why did you choose such a music theme? What do you express through this music theme? You also created the lyrics section. Who created these lyrics and what inspired them?

H: 这个概念自我们的第三张专辑"Oniric Delusions"以来一直在发展。仔细想想，每个人都会做梦。真的，每个人都会。而且几乎每个人都有某些反复出现的梦。例如，我经常梦见自己无休止地坠落，就在快要落地时醒来，或者梦见蜘蛛和其他蛛形纲动物攻击我。许多梦感觉极其真实。有时它们会让你相信，某件事正在发生，或者已经发生了。然后你醒来，一切便烟消云散。又或许并非如此。有些梦令人毛骨悚然，有些超现实，有些则纯粹荒诞——比如我不得不重返大学，重新参加最难的考试（笑）。共同点在于，我们都有过这样的体验。正因如此，每个人都能在某种程度上与歌词和音乐产生共鸣。这使得这些主题对所有听众来说都既易于理解又引人入胜。"Degrees of Isolation"算是一个小小的例外，那张专辑的所有歌词都基于真实故事——我与Decapitated乐队成员一起被关押在美国几所监狱的经历。但即使如此，它也与“噩梦”这一主题息息相关，因为那整个处境本身就是一场现实生活中的噩梦。

This concept has been developing since our third album, Oniric Delusions. If you think about it, everyone dreams. Literally everyone. And almost everyone has certain dreams that keep coming back. For example, I often dream about falling endlessly and waking up just before hitting the ground, or about spiders and other arachnids attacking me. Many dreams feel incredibly real. Sometimes they make you believe that something is happening right now, or has already happened. Then you wake up and it’s gone. Or maybe not. Some dreams are terrifying, some are surreal, and some are simply ridiculous — like me having to go back to college and retake the hardest exams (laughs). The common factor is that we all experience them. Because of that, everyone can relate to the lyrics and music in some way. It makes the themes accessible and interesting for all listeners. A slight exception was Degrees of Isolation, where all the lyrics were based on a true story — my stay with Decapitated in several jails in the United States. But even that was connected to the theme of nightmares, because that entire situation was a real-life nightmare.

V: 你们乐队的标志设计非常漂亮。这个标志是谁设计的？你们的专辑封面设计也非常独特。这些专辑封面是谁设计的？它们有什么含义吗？

Your band's logo design is very beautiful. Who designed this logo for you? Your album artworks are also very unique in design. Who designed these album artworks for you, and do they have any meaning?

H: 最新专辑的标志及所有插画均由我的挚友Michał “Xaay” Loranc创作，他与乐队合作已逾十年。Michał还曾为我们的第二张专辑"Scarcity"设计过封面。新专辑中的视觉元素与歌词主题紧密相连，并专门针对每首歌曲进行了设计。在专辑内页中，每首歌都配有一幅专属插画，以体现其独特的氛围和情绪。

The logo and all of the artwork on the latest album were created by my good friend Michał “Xaay” Loranc, who has been working with the band for more than a decade. Michał also created the cover artwork for our second album, Scarcity. The visuals on the newest album are closely connected to the lyrical themes and were specifically designed to match individual songs. In the album booklet, every song has its own illustration that reflects its atmosphere and mood.

V: 首先，恭喜你们的乐队今年发行了最新专辑。你们的作品充满了技术性和实验性元素，每首歌曲都令人兴奋不已，既有复杂的即兴段落，又有优美的旋律。此外，你们还在作品中融入了其他元素，使整体听感更加丰富饱满。与上一张专辑相比，这次有什么变化吗？你对这张新专辑有什么个人看法？

First of all, congratulations to your band for releasing their latest album this year. Your works are full of technical and experimental elements, and each song is very exciting with complex riffs and beautiful melodies. In addition, you have added some other elements to your work, which makes it sound more rich and full. Have there been any changes compared to the old album? Do you have any personal opinions on the new album?

H: 我认为"Metamorphosis"比上一张专辑更加大胆、更令人惊喜。我们在吉他调音、人声、非常规音效以及各种独特或奇特的元素上进行了更多尝试。我们还融入了其他流派的影响，这使得这张专辑风格非常多元。与此同时，歌曲创作朝着更成熟、更注重歌曲本身的方向发展，使得这些曲目更加令人难忘且朗朗上口。

I think that Metamorphosis is even bolder and more surprising than the previous album. We experimented more with guitar tunings, vocals, unusual sounds, and various exceptional or bizarre elements. We also incorporated influences from other genres, which made the album very eclectic. At the same time, the songwriting evolved in a more mature and song-oriented direction, making the tracks more memorable and catchy.

V: 作为一支优秀的资深乐队，你们参加过哪些音乐节？其中哪些给你们留下了深刻印象？能否介绍一下当时的现场氛围？2026年你们还计划参加哪些音乐节？

As an excellent veteran band, which music festivals have you participated in and which ones have left a deep impression on you? Can you introduce the live atmosphere at that time? What other music festivals are you planning to participate in in 2026?

H: 我们刚从法国的“Metal Hunting Open Air”音乐节归来，下周将在华沙与Rivers of Nihil同台演出。这些年来，我们曾在许多国家和各类音乐节上演出，包括埃及、乌克兰、挪威、英国等地。过去十年间，Banisher的演出并不频繁，因为我们中的许多人都有其他乐队的演出安排。就我而言，当时我在Decapitated乐队；而Eugene则忙于Fleshgod Apocalypse和Belphegor的演出。我们衷心希望在未来几年里能有更多演出机会。凭借目前的阵容以及替补成员的支持，我们终于能够且准备好举办比过去十年总和还要多的演出。

We’ve just returned from Metal Hunting Open Air in France, and next week we’ll be playing with Rivers of Nihil in Warsaw. Over the years, we’ve played in many countries and at various festivals, including Egypt, Ukraine, Norway, the United Kingdom, and many others. During the past decade, Banisher wasn’t performing very frequently because many of us had commitments to other bands. In my case, it was Decapitated, while Eugene was busy with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Belphegor. We sincerely hope that in the coming years we’ll be able to perform much more often. With the current lineup and the support of fill-in members, we’re finally able and ready to play significantly more shows than we did throughout the last decade.

V: 你们是一支非常棒的乐队，我是你们的忠实粉丝。我会一直关注并支持你们的乐队。我也希望通过这次采访，能吸引更多中国粉丝关注并支持你们的乐队。采访即将结束。最后，你们想对中国的粉丝朋友们说些什么吗？

You are an excellent band, and I am your loyal fan. I will always pay attention to and support your band. I also hope to attract more Chinese fans to pay attention to and support your band through this interview. The interview is coming to an end. Do you have anything you want to say to your Chinese fan friends at the end?

H: 非常感谢这次采访——这真是一次愉快的经历！我们衷心希望您的读者能喜欢我们的音乐和我们的作品。我们非常希望能有机会有一天在中国演出，并亲自与那里的粉丝见面。谢谢大家，继续追梦吧！

Thank you so much for the interview — it was a pleasure! We sincerely hope that your readers will enjoy our music and what we do. We would love to have the opportunity to perform in China someday and meet our fans there in person. Thank you, and keep dreaming!