With:	Fire
Conducted by:	Lucas, Bad English (e-mail)
Published:	09.12.2008
Band profile:	Elgibbor

- Hello, my name is Lucas from Metal Storm, thanks for doing this e-mail interview with me. You are "Fire" from Elgibbor, a very unknown Polish (Un)black Metal band. The band originated in 1999, what has happened since then? Can you give us a short introduction to the band, a little biography?




Elgibbor is a solo project created in 1999, as you said. Since 1999 I’ve recorded a few demos and have had some albums produced and distributed. Elgibbor is probably more well known in the USA and in South American countries than it is in Poland at this point.

- What does the name Elgibbor mean?

Elgibbor is the Hebrew/Aramaic word for “God Almighty”.

- What inspires you to make music, and in particular this style of music? Are your inspirations limited to bands or do you also find inspiration in other forms of art? Or even broader: nature, cities, relationships?

I’ve played this style of music every since I was young. It’s what I grew up with and that’s why I play it now. Much of my inspiration comes from life’s situations and circumstances that I’ve lived through and I take a lot of lyrics from verses in the Bible.

- You were known to be a Satanist in the past, but you have converted to Christianity. That's quite a different take on life, any particular event that caused this change? Was it a sudden change, or a slow transition? How is it to be a Christian and live with a satanic past?

My life was on a downward spiral. I was pretty deep in to drugs and alcohol and had lost all sense and reason in life. A lot of my friends had committed suicide and I knew I was on the same road. The day came when I did try to commit suicide and a friend of mine found me and told me that God had changed his life and that there really was hope and sense in this life. I had hit rock bottom and had nowhere else to turn... so I listened to him and made the decision to give my life to Christ. I realized that God could rebuild everything that I had torn down in my life. I gave up the drugs and alcohol immediately. I finally saw past the “religion” and saw God as someone I could have a true friendship with. Growing up in Poland, I saw religion as just a bunch of rules and regulations you had to obey in order to be a good person. I didn’t know that God was someone who actually cared about me enough to send His son to die for me. That’s what changed my life. I think that coming from a satanic background makes me even stronger. I saw the side of life that was filled with hopelessness and despair and stepped in to a life full of hope and grace. I also think God allowed me to go through what I went through so that I could have a better understanding of where people are coming from when they too get to a point where life doesn’t make sense anymore. No matter how hard you try to understand someone, you can never fully understand what they’re going through unless you’ve been there yourself and I’ve been there too... I can totally relate and understand what it’s like to live without hope... something that not many Christians can truly do.

- Was this something that happened before or after the formation of Elgibbor? Did this also affect Elgibbor in any way?

This all happened in 1996 and is actually why Elgibbor was created. I wanted a way to share what happened in my life with others who were going through the same troubles that I went through.

- The notorious vocalist of Gorgoroth, Ghaal, once said in a video: "Black metal is a message". Does your music contain a message too, and if so, what is your message?

Yes my music always contains a very strong message. The main messages in my music are about the spiritual battles that we all go through and the relationship between humankind and their Creator.

- Poland is a strongly religious country, and strong actions cause strong reactions. The Polish Black metal scene is probably one of the most satanic and blasphemous ones in the world. Where do you stand in this? I can very much imagine that you are hindered by either side, since you don't play "true kult Black metal" in the eyes of the Black metal scene, but you also don't play church gospel music. How do both 'sides' react on your music and attitude?

To be honest both sides are about the same usually. I get good and bad reactions from the satanic bands and I get good and bad reactions from the Christian community. There are a handful of Christians who understand that this music is a way to show the metal music culture that there is hope and sense in life. Others don’t understand the music because they don’t understand the purpose and can’t imagine how music that sounds so close to the secular bands can be used for good or even played by Christians for that matter.

- Poland is also the country of the notorious Gorgoroth concert in 2004. Since you live there and it was probably all over the news, or at least in the news, what is your opinion on this?

I actually didn’t hear much about this concert on the news. When I still listened to secular metal bands, Gorgoroth didn’t exist yet, that I know of. I don’t really want to give my opinion on something I don’t know about!

- You are involved in two other "Unblack" or Christian Black metal bands, Abdijah and Fire Throne. What's going on with these bands?

Abdijah is the solo project of the drummer from Fire Throne who is a good friend of mine. Right now he is taking a break from the music scene for a while. Fire Throne is also taking a break. I am not saying that either one of these bands have quit, or split up. They are just on hold for a while. Sometimes bands just need to fall back and regroup, you know?



- And what are we going to hear from Elgibbor in the near future?

I am in the process of recording a new album which will be out in 2009 and it’s called “War”. After that....we’ll see!

- One of my favourite questions is always the "deserted island top 10". You know, the classic situation in which you are stuck on an island, all by yourself, with only ten albums to accompany you. For most this question is a real pain in the ass, because it is very hard to name only ten favourite albums when there is so much good music out there. And that's mainly the reason why I like it so much, haha. So, apologies in advance, what are your ten favourite albums?

Vivaldi – Four Seasons
Horde – Hielig Usvart
Drottnar – Anamorphosis
Drottnar – Welterwerk
Armageddon Holocaust – Nekrofonik
Vengence Rising – Human Sacrifice
Frost Like Ashes – Born To Pieces
Deuteronomium - From The Midst Of The Battle
Fearscape – The Scent Of Divine Blood
Mortification – Scrolls Of The Megilloth


- That's pretty much all I had to ask you. As is the tradition with interviews for Metal Storm, the last words of this interview are yours. Thank you very much for taking the time to answering my questions, and all the best to your future endeavours. Speak your mind:

I just want to tell everyone out there that no matter how hard, endless and senseless life seems... there is always hope! Don’t give up and don’t stop searching!

Thank you!

Thanks to "Fire" for the interview and thanks to user "Bad English" for coming up with the idea to interview this band and contributing with questions.