Sphere tear through the fabric of the Polish death metal scene

How did Sphere form?
Hi!! It's very simple. As a kid, I decided that I'll have a death metal band. So finally in 2002 I managed to do this.

‘Homo Hereticus’ is a brutal death metal release that compliments classic old school death metal, SPHERE’s major musical influences are listed on your myspace site, but how do these influences relate to your lyrical content? Does this relate to novels, writings, even higher power observations.
Well, our inspirations are a vast topic. We listen to many various genres, and each of us bring a part of those into Sphere's music. We can't just quote all of the bands that somehow inspire us, there's way too many to list. Vital Remains, Slayer, Origin, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse are probably the most prominent ones out of the groups that influence our music. When it comes to the lyrics, they're mostly anticlerical and antichristian themed.

Whilst many technical flashes of guitar work feature in the release, I never get the impression that they are over bearing in the mix, the music is certainly (to me anyway) a great group effort, how do you work on the arrangements?
Our pieces are mostly put together by everyone in our rehearsal room. The guitarists bring some riffs they composed, then we hear them out and finally everyone tries to add something that will sound good, thus giving us an initial frame of our composition to build upon. When it comes to composing music, everybody has a say in everything, ensuring that nobody will feel left out.

Do you feel these arrangements are the big key factor in the albums overall success and pleasing listening experience?
Sure! You see, apart from our brutal and heavy tone, we also want the music to be both groovy and catchy. That's why we're trying to find a fine balance between brutality, aggressiveness and melody, which seems to be one of the key factors in our songs. At least, that's what we hear about our music from others.

Is there are particular story, event or theme behind the album title and its subsequent artwork?
Not really. Analripper always wanted to create a concept album, but this album is not exactly like that. Each track is preceded by an intro, connecting it with the others thus giving the listener a sense of continuity. The artwork alludes both to the lyrics and to the music itself, or at least that's what we were trying to achieve. Homo Hereticus is the end result of our work. All of the intro tracks were composed by Andy Blakk from Conquest Icon.

Who did the artwork?
The whole layout was made our friend Kaos (ex-Hate, Revelations of Doom) and Analripper.

What was the studio recording experience like? Were you already prepared with your tracks before entering the studio?
Once again, we were recording at the ZED Studio owned by Tomek 'ZED' Zalewski, near Olkusz. There we had everything we needed to really concentrate on our work. Truly a great place to record. Everything was ready upon our entrance to the studio. Because Tomek is an absolute visionary, we did some minor changes in the studio, but yes, You could say we were already prepared.

Is there a particular instrument/model/PA set up you prefer that brings out the Sphere sound both live and in the studio?
Well, that's a question that Tomek would be more suitable to answer. We only introduced him to the way we would like to sound. We wanted heavy tones and fluid sound. We didn't want all of that to sound artificial. He made it happen. The drums sound like they’re a living organism and the guitars and bass has the exact amount of the aggressive and heavy tones. All of that just blows your mind when you hear it. Andrzej's vocals also came out really powerful, so all of it really worked out well.

Do you have any touring plans to support ‘Homo Hereticus’?
We do have some gigs planned right now. In fact, you'll see us playing in March and June as support for Cannibal Corpse. But of course we're still arranging more gigs. Everything is yet to come.

The Polish music scene travels well around Europe and indeed the world, do you think Vader and Behemoth were the trailblazers for Polish death metal? Are there any other bands that should be credited as a major influence on Sphere and Polish death metal music in general?
Indeed, the polish music scene is quite well. Even now, there are more and more bands besides Vader or Behemoth, that are surfacing on the international scene, Hate and Decapitated being good examples. I believe that, given time, there will be even more bands that make it big. Each band brings something new to the whole scene, and each one is very original in its own right. There's just no way to mention someone specific.

Do you have an opinion on the deathcore music scene? I know it does not relate to Sphere, but I am interested in a real death metal bands opinion!
I listen to lots of various genres, there's a high possibility that one of the bands you mentioned is there somewhere. But honestly? I can't find myself in all those genres. Death core, math core, I can't even distinguish them. As a band, we don't really care, but if you're alluding to those bands that while playing heavy music, sometimes even death metal, look like Emo faggots, then I'm definitely against the whole scene.

Outside of Sphere and music, what do you do in your spare time?
Aside from playing in Sphere, another hobby of mine is something that's widely known as caravaning. Basically, I take my trailer, park it near a river. I place my deckchair, take a pack of beer, a fishing rod, and I'm ready to relax. I also try to spend every free moment with my wife and my son.

Thank you for your time, massive thumbs up for ‘Homo Hereticus’, do you have any parting words for your fans?
I'm also grateful for this opportunity to talk. I invite you all to all of the concerts that will take place in the future, and also to listen to the 'Homo Hereticus' cd. The album is worth buying! Cheers!

Many thanks