INTERVIEW WITH MONK BORUTA AND BARTŁOMIEJ “ВАРФОЛОМЕЙ” KRYSIUK BY JILLIAN DRACHMAN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACEK JACA WISNIEWSKY
Патриархь/Patriarkh has a new album, Пророк Илия, referred to as both Prophet Ilja and Prophet Elijah, which is guaranteed to prove a crowd-pleaser. First christened as Батюшка/Batushka, this Orthodox black metal institution from Poland has garnered an incredible amount of attention, conquering droves of committed fans from across the globe. Verily, this sensation has attained a level of fame that is rare and difficult to achieve for bands with black metal components.
After all, as guitarist Монах Борута/Monk Boruta states, “Currently, not only in black metal itself but generally, there are so many bands that the competition is absolutely crazy. I think we’re doing something different. There are so many bands that play just the same riffs, the same blast beats, you know—‘Satan-Satan,’ crosses, all that kind of stuff. We’re trying to go out with something different, something fresh, something new.” Пророк Илия transcends genres and amounts to a highly inventive sonic journey, a fascinating leap forward.
“WE’RE TRYING TO GO OUT WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING FRESH, SOMETHING NEW.”
Monk Boruta reminisces upon the genesis of the epic Пророк Илия: “That was a pretty long process, pretty tough. It took us over two years, almost three, but we’ve got a really solid album with a great story. The second single, ‘Вершалин IV’ [or ‘Wierszalin IV’], people seem to enjoy it a lot. So, that’s a great sign. Originally, the album was completely different—half of the songs were completely different. The first half of the album was so coherent in a way that there was a point when we decided to think of three or four songs that we had and just continue with the idea that came from those songs. There was a lot of discussion about what to add, what instruments to use. The whole album, Пророк Илия, Prophet Elijah, is based on true events that happened in Podlachia [also written Podlasie], Poland. We encourage listeners to dig for some info and learn about Prorok Ilja because it’s our own Polish Rasputin in a way.”
Patriarkh’s lead vocalist and mastermind, Bartłomiej “Варфоломей” Krysiuk, whom we may call Bart for short, likewise explains, “Prophet Ilja is a very conceptual album. The magic of the album is when you are listening to the whole album as one part. I know nowadays it’s a very difficult album for the listeners, but that was our intention. You have to devote time to the music, and you must be involved—that’s what we wanted after listening to music very selectively, and we set quite a high bar.”
“THERE’S A LOT OF PLACES WE’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE MUSICALLY, AND WE LEARNED A LOT AS MUSICIANS.”
Bart continues, “We left the comfort zone with this album because Batushka is characteristic of monastic music, I think, and Patriarkh was an opportunity to develop into natural music. Maybe it’s compared with folk and metal, but it’s still connected with Orthodoxy.” Among the folk instruments implemented are the mandolin, mandocello, tagelharpa, stringed dulcimer, and hurdy-gurdy. Monk Boruta agrees that the group ventured into new territories. “There’s a lot of places we’ve never been before musically, and we learned a lot as musicians. We’re trying new things, and it worked pretty well.”
A highly varied, textured, and nuanced offering, Пророк Илия wields elements of doom, theater (accordingly including bits of texts from a play by the same name), and, furthermore, boasts the charm of a film score. Bart fills us in on a key reason behind Пророк Илия’s cinematic qualities, “We’re working with a composer of cinematic music, Marek Kubik. He’s also my friend from the Podlachia region. He is responsible for the production of a few Polish TV series like Raven—it’s about Podlachia. And, yes, cinematic music is a big inspiration.”
“THERE WERE A LOT OF TRACKS, LIKE OVER A THOUSAND TRACKS IN THE SESSION BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF FOLK INSTRUMENTS, VOCAL HARMONIES, THE SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA…”
Bart informs us that the production process, which he oversaw while Wojciech Wiesławski handled mixing and mastering, amounted to the most trying aspect of making Пророк Илия, requiring much time and for the team to move from studio to studio. “It was very tough.” Monk Boruta weighs in, “Yeah, at some points, Bart was living in the studio. There were a lot of tracks, like over a thousand tracks in the session because there were a lot of folk instruments, vocal harmonies, the symphonic orchestra…” Increasing the head-spinning complexity, Patriarkh worked with choirs. Patriarkh has combined numerous types of vocals—harsh, chants, spoken, male and female, etc.
It is difficult to fathom how Patriarkh went about selecting and placing all the material that they gathered from recording. Monk Boruta confirms, “It was quite impossible to fit everything in, because the moment we tried to put in everything, it became too muddy—there’s too much stuff inside. So, you have to find a way to choose the stuff that you want the listeners to hear and then add all the other stuff.” Various effects—bells, crows, horses, and so forth—can be heard throughout Пророк Илия. Bart clarifies that knowing when to insert such embellishments did not pose an obstacle, however, because those decisions were dictated by the narrative. “It came naturally because everything is coming from the story about Prophet Ilja, and it’s also compared with the biblical Prophet Elijah. Everything that’s going on is a story about the two people, but, on our album, it’s one whole piece.”
Given the ease Patriarkh assimilates the imagery, music, intellectual heritage, and other traditions of the Eastern Church, Bart says, “Where I live in Podlachia, it’s not a problem to go to the Orthodox Church. When there’s something happening in the Orthodox Church and when I have an opportunity, I’m always going to see or listen to something special. Yesterday, I was at a concert of the male choir, and, of course, it was very inspiring.” The experience of Пророк Илия is both imposing and intimate like a place of Orthodox worship.
“WE’RE REALLY GRATEFUL THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL FOLLOWING US AND LISTENING TO OUR MUSIC.”
Nevertheless, as Bart admits, Patriarkh has had its struggles with the Church, “We still have an ongoing case in the Polish court. It’s not about offending the feelings, but it was about blasphemy of the holy place because we recorded a video on a holy mountain in our region, a very special place.” The clip in question was shot for Batushka’s “Ектения IV: Милость,” meaning “Litany IV: Mercy,” and hails from 2015’s celebrated Литоургиiа, romanized by the band as Litourgiya, which hasn’t ceased to create a stir.
Clearly, the ensemble has had other battles, as Monk Boruta acknowledges, “As you know and people know, we changed the name—all the legal stuff that happened, the lawsuit, all of that is still going to be an ongoing process in our own private lives, but we decided to cut it off once and for all and focus purely on the music. People really enjoy that and also enjoy the name. We’re really grateful that people are still following us and listening to our music. The only thing I can say is thank you.”
Пророк Илия represents the start of Patriarkh’s aforementioned collaboration with Napalm Records. Bart comments, “We are signed for the next two albums, so we’ll see what happens now with the whole process. All of the work that they’ve devoted to the band is perfect. We are very happy and enjoying it. So, everything is going very good, and what will be with the future, we will see.”
Bart is a label owner himself, having founded Witching Hour Productions, which released Литоургиiа, for instance. Yet, Bart updates us, “Witching Hour has been on hold for two years since I don’t have any time. If you want to do a good job and to promote the bands, you must devote everything. I decided only to devote my time to my band, and my only job now is Patriarkh.” All the same, Bart keeps the figurative door of Witching Hour open. “I won’t say that I’m absolutely finished with the label yet.”
As for Patriarkh’s future, Monk Boruta reveals, “We have a lot of cool stuff, but we can’t talk about it yet, unfortunately. Follow us on social media because we’re posting all of the info on Facebook and Instagram.” Bart affirms that this is a great period in the band’s history and mentions, “It’s exciting for us, to see how the album is received. I hope that we’ll see you on the road, and that we’ll invade the USA soon.”
