"You decide upon your destiny"

Doctrine X are new blood from Poland. Two guitar playing Ratajczak brothers, Mariusz a.k.a. "Maniac" and Mirosław a.k.a. "Mr M" wanted to create a band with both, modern and old school approach towards metal music. They started to compose material for their debut album, and soon began to gather other members around them to record it. And so, 'Mind Control' was born. This monument of thrash/melodic death metal was reviewed here some months ago. There's nothing "nu" about it, mind you... We contacted the band and Mr M politely answered our questions.

AM: Greetings from Finland! How has the life been since the release of your debut album 'Mind Control'?

Mr M: Hello to you and all fans of metal music in Finland! Well, I wish I could say that everything is absolutely all right and that we're opening for Metallica this summer but things don't seem to be THAT great :) I mean, it feels that we're getting more and more attention, our CD 'Mind Control' has received many great reviews so far but still we're searching for a label. And that's one of the most important things for the band right now.

AM: You decided to give it free for the people. Has it been downloaded a lot? What have people commented on it?

Mr M: Yes, since uploading the album to the Internet interest in the band has risen noticeably. And we're getting really positive comments. That really motivates us to carry on.

AM: Have you received any kind of record contract offers from any labels?

Mr. M: There've been some talks going on but nothing big or important. I guess labels, especially in Poland, aren't interested in stuff we play. I really don't understand why.

AM: No more than one option: Money... Hit music without talent is what sells, sadly.
I personally find your band as a "lost gem" among the multitude of metal bands. In the times of the Internet, it is easy to promote your band, but not so easy to stick out from the mass. How do you see this?

Mr M: Thanks for the kind words. Well, it's just like you said. It's considerably easy to get started but reaching some further audiences is a lot more difficult because there's so much new stuff nowadays. New doesn't mean good in any way, but that's a different story. Anyway, we do our best to promote our music. That's also one of the reasons why we recorded a video clip for the song 'Last Hour Dawn' - to promote ourselves and get noticed.

AM: So people, remember to check out that video clip!
Let's go back to the roots of Doctrine X now. How it all began?

Mr M: It started quite spontaneously. My brother and I started composing music around 2008 with a view to recording an album. To achieve that, we needed professional musicians who would like the stuff we've created and play their parts easily. I got acquainted with MAX through myspace, showed him the music. He liked it very much, sent it further to Mr Tau and Vera. That's pretty much how Doctrine X came into existence.

AM: I see you two brothers, Mariusz and Mirosław Ratajczak, are the ones that have made the songs. Do you compose drums and vocal lines ready on computer for others to follow or do other band members have their say on their "land"?

Mr M: We composed all the songs, including drums and vocal lines. Of course, we're open for modifications, so it' not like the other members have to play or sing exactly the same way as in the original versions of the songs. It's more like my brother and I come up with the outline and they do with their part what they want. We polish and arrange the material during rehearsals until everybody is happy with the result. Playing music should be fun for every member of the band. That's the way I see it.

AM: In Doctrine X's music, both 1980s and the first decade of 21st century's styles happily exist together, or actually as one. What are your influencing bands, musicians, other possible things? What are you made of?

Mr M: When we compose music, we always try to be the listeners. We want to create music that we enjoy, and we would like to listen to. Sometimes it's very difficult, because it's very easy to forget that the listener just don't want to listen to you shred for 2 minutes or even longer :) From the musician's perspective maybe that would be somehow interesting but I'm sure that the listener would get fed up with that sort of thing sooner or later. Our music is a mixture of stuff that we love but also we're trying to add something from us. Some of the bands we're crazy about are: Annihilator, Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Boston, Thin Lizzy, Fear Factory, Pantera, Slayer, Lamb Of God, Arch Enemy, Killswitch Engage, and many many more...

AM: I admire your style, where also the riff is the king! It's not about technicality, even though you are no amateurs in any way no, but about good songs. And about feeling. How do you see that the other members have managed to make your ideas happen?

Mr M: Thanks again. We especially draw our attention on the riffs and rhythms. Those are the most important things for us. Good riff + good rhythm = good song :) I believe that everything is about balance, everything should be served in the right proportions. As for the performance of the other members, I'm completely satisfied with it. Everything sounds just as I imagined before the recording.

Doctrine X in 2009 (from left to right): Mirosław "Mr M" Ratajczak (guitars), Mariusz "Maniac" Ratajczak (guitars), Maciej "Max-X" Koczorowski (vocals),
Weronika "Vera" Zbieg (vocals), Bogusz Rutkiewicz (bass),
Sebastian "Mr Tau" Górski (drums)

AM: Your vocalists Weronika "Vera" Zbieg and Maciej "Max - X" Koczorowski do not do typical female/male duet. The beauty and the beast inverted?! And we do not hear clean female vocals at all... Why this way?

Mr M: Maybe I'll surprise you but, in fact, there are some clean female vocals on the album. It's in the song Addicted, in the bridge part, before the solo. Well, we didn't want absolutely clean vocals to mix with the screaming or growl. To me the album would've sounded too modern, too nu-metal... And we simply didn't want that to happen.

AM: Oh yes, now I get it! Vera does not sound typical "opera" vocalist the metal bands are filled with... Very unique voice indeed.
There are a few moments of synth work on the album. Are you going to keep it this, the metal, way, or maybe go into the realms of synth-enabling music?

Mr M: Some synth was used only in the intro of the song 'Pyramid' to build up the right atmosphere. That's it, no more synth on the rest of the album.

AM: You recorded 'Mind Control' at "Studio X" with Szymon Czech, who have produced quite a lot of local bands's works. How do you feel he did his job?

Mr M: Szymon is a really remarkable person with the right attitude and a lot of necessary experience. We understood one another very well and worked in truly brilliant atmosphere. He gave us lots of useful advice. Thanks Szymon!

AM: Your lyrics are about real world, real lives. What are your messages?

Mr M: We're big advocates of rational, critical thinking. All the same time, we're against doctrines; I mean no-one should tell us what to do or what to think. That's why Doctrine X, the unknown doctrine, the doctrine that allows you to look critically at itself, the anti-doctrine. You are the judge and you decide upon your destiny.

AM: It's easy to say, that Doctrine X isn't typical Polish stuff. You definitely aren't cloning any well-known Polish band, that's what I mean. Polish metal scene is really vital, even though there are these obligatory "clone bands", but how do you see it from short range?

Mr M: Polish metal scene is really vital. There are so many bands and so many fans of that kind of music. The sad thing is that, the media or labels are simply not interested in them. Polish bands are forced to look for acclaim abroad, because only there they can be noticed and appreciated. That's very depressing.

AM: So, summer's approaching... Any gig's coming?

Mr M: We're getting more and more gig offers. Unfortunately, I cannot give any specific dates at the moment as the negotiations are still in progress. We're also planning a tour across Poland in autumn. Hopefully, soon we'll be able to give something more specific.

AM: Ok, we've reached the end of this interview. Thank you for your time. Anything left to say you still haven't said?

Mr M: Greetings to all metal heads in Finland. Hopefully, we'll be able to visit your country and give some kick-ass gigs for you. It'd be something really awesome. Stay heavy!

Interviewed by Lane.

05/04/2010 20:37