From a country perhaps more well known for it’s blacker metal, Hamulec bring us a different sound. Angry, abrasive and very Polish indeed…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Poland. Silesia region.
How did you meet?
Mikołaj (vocals) and Filip (drumms) are brothers who were also close with Kuba (guitar). We’ve met Kacper (bass) through mutual friends.
How long have you been playing as a band?
For about 5 years now
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Hamulec (ha-moo-lets) is a word for brake as in emergency brake in Polish. We were going to our rehearsals in a train playing with the e-brake and we thought that we could use it as a name for a band.
What are your influences?
Lots of ugly, grey, old polish punk rock. From the metal side everything from Metallica and Slayer through Venom and Bathory to Gojira and Behemoth.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
First of all it’s in our native language. Maybe you won’t like it but you have to admit that Polish will sound unique in a whole English playlist.
We play old music. Fast and aggressive but we make it for current times. The production is modern and so is our approach. It has to be made for people. We hear a lot of comments that even though it’s metal it’s pretty approachable by non-metal listeners.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We mostly sing about being angry at things haha. But that theme varies from being angry at our own life experiences or maybe seeing people pass away or at the fact that we don’t give a F when making mistakes on stage.
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You have played some big festivals in Poland. What was it like to play PolandRock and Jarocin?
Jarocin is the oldest one in Poland. The whole punk scene came from there. It was a pleasure to play in the same place as Siekiera, Dezerted and others. We played right after Vader so it was a tough job but we managed to secure a pretty big crowd and great moshpit inside.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Right now we might be getting close to maybe 80 shows?
The gig itself is always wild. Of course, we have most things planned but there are always unexpected things happening. We like to throw our bassist inside a pit once in the while. We like to let the people sing. We aim to leave everyone exhausted and out of their minds. After that we stay and talk to people and take as many pictures as they want. One hour, two hours it doesn’t matter. We are here because of them.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
It may not sound like a wild thing but when you sign a show papers for the biggest festival in Poland and you yell “fuck the Putin, motherfucker” for thousands of people it tastes like potential problems! Also, crowd surfing while playing solos is always nice.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
White old school Pearl export for drums. Ltd (the Araya model) 5 string bass. We all play on Neural QuadCortex, which are the best. Maybe it’s two weeks early to tell but we are going to work with RUF guitars for making our custom axes. You should seriously check them out. Carbon, indestructible, fully customisable, hand made in Poland.
What are you promoting at the moment?
New single “Stos” (video below), and our autumn-winter tour in Poland.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Release at least 3 singles and sell as many tickets for the shows!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Probably an unrealistic one would be Metallica and Gojira. In whatever order really! For our own shows we like to play with our friends from Punched Orange and we have to shout out the old guys from Dezerter band.
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