Interview with Species

I discovered Species last year, right around the time they released their new album Changelings. They’re a phenomenal technical thrash metal band that can effortlessly venture into other territories as well. Species are part of the Polish metal expansion that has been taking place over the past decade or so. Simply put, they’re a band that must—and should not—be missed. The interview is quite substantial, so I won’t keep you any longer.

1. Hi guys, great to meet you! How are you, and what's been going on lately?

Hagrid (drums): Hi Alek, thanks for the invitation to the interview. We’ve been doing very well. Recently we came back from the “Symbolic Healing of Europe” tour alongside Death To All and played some gigs in Poland.

2. Tell us a bit more about the band, and why did you choose the name Species?

Hagrid: Around June 2018 Peter moved to Warsaw where I had already lived and we started rehearsing some song ideas. It was until October the same year when Peter met Mike at some local show and invited him to a rehearsal based on the common music taste, mostly focused on the obscure Russian band Aspid and King Crimson (whose t-shirt Peter was wearing). So we technically formed the band in October 2018 when all 3 of us started to make music together in the rehearsal room. In March 2019 we recorded our debut EP “The Monument of Envy”, which was set to be released on May 31 - that day we were also scheduled to play our very first show in Warsaw. Hence, we had to come up on some name for the band. We had many ideas on the way ending up on Mortal Chaos, which was mostly due to our then big interest in the Australian band Mortal Sin. We even created some sort of a logo and were put on the gig’s poster. We didn’t fully like that name, though. Cannot remember exactly but I think it was me who searched for some names and came up with the name Species, the boys liked it. The funny thing about our first show is that, due to the name change, we asked the organizers to announce that Mortal Chaos unfortunately are unable to perform and Species jumped in to take Mortal Chaos’ place. The gig went well. We shared the stage with our friends from Pandemic Outbreak and Frenatron.

3. From what I can see, the Polish metal scene has been experiencing a real boom in recent years. According to Metal Archives, there are around 5,000 metal bands in Poland. What's behind this phenomenon?

Mike (guitar): 5000? I had to check that myself as that’s quite a lot! Looking at active bands it’s actually about 2200, 800+ of which were formed over the last 10 years. Still pretty impressive! I think we have a very supportive scene here as people actually listen to the stuff that gets released and show up at shows and buy merch which encourages the new joiners to form bands, run webzines (or printed zines) or start booking gigs for other bands. Also, I feel like there’s no „fight” or competition between, say, death metal and black metal or whatever like it used to be in some scenes in the 90s and it’s considered „cool” to like all kinds of music which creates a sense of openness. There’s also a solid number of labels who like to sign new local bands as well as booking agencies who often get younger bands on festival bills or as support for bigger acts, which gives them additional recognition.

4. The band's been around since 2018. What has the journey been like over the years? Your first EP and the two singles that followed were all self-released. What made you decide to start looking for a record label?

Mike: We recorded and released „The Monument of Envy” simply to have something out so that bookers/labels could check it out prior to signing us or inviting us to open for some bigger bands. I think that from an artist’s perspective the main advantage of streaming is that once a recording is mastered you can immediately „release” it yourself and just send it to whoever you want to get their attention. On a worldwide scale, it’s just better to have a record label that takes care of distribution and promotion so from day one we intended to work with labels on our albums rather than doing everything DIY. I think people like to follow their favourite labels and check out the stuff that they release so it’s easier for bands to get some attention.

5. Your debut album was released through Awakening Records in China, while the second one came out via 20 Buck Spin in the United States. How did that transition from Awakening Records to 20 Buck Spin happen?

Hagrid: Our debut album “To Find Deliverance” released on Awakening Records was recognized by 20 Buck Spin in their Top 20 albums of 2022, which really surprised and amazed us. We’ve always admired the 20 Buck Spin’s roster and the amount of amazing albums their release. Li (Awakening Records’ boss) and the whole AR’s crew did an amazing job regarding the release and the promotion of the first album, especially given the distance and China not being as well recognized country in metal’s underground market as for example Germany (which is much closer to Poland) or the U.S. We were and still are very pleased to have worked with Awakening Records but we decided to make a step forward with this next album or at least do our best both on musical and promotion level. Hence, during the mixing process of “Changelings” we contacted 20 Buck Spin about the release and eventually got signed, which we’re very excited about.

6. Since we're already on the subject, 20 Buck Spin is one of the more distinctive record labels out there, with a roster full of unique bands. Over the last decade I've discovered several outstanding labels like them—labels with integrity, a clear vision, and a strong identity. Do you think 20 Buck Spin could eventually grow into a major metal label on the scale of Nuclear Blast or Roadrunner, etc., or do you see them remaining a respected underground label?

Mike: I don’t think 20BS will grow to be the next Nuclear Blast, neither will Dark Descent or Profound Lore for example, which are other respected underground labels. I don’t really think that they aim to - if you look at the entire 20BS roster, you’ll see that they release various kinds of stuff and they are not just a “metal label”. They also put out less albums (although it’s still usually like 10 every year) and really do their best to promote this stuff. And yeah, I think the stuff that they release is pretty unique, at least in their catalogue you won’t find 2 albums that sound the same. Regardless of the genre, they always put out quality stuff, which is how they’ve managed to build trust over the years and people will continue to support them.

7. Let's wrap up this part with one more related question. Where do you see the future of metal in terms of record labels? Do you think it lies with the high-output approach of the major labels, or with labels like 20 Buck Spin, Iron Fortress Records, Willowtip Records, and many others I won't start listing here? From my own experience, this is a fascinating topic because over the past decade I've heard far more consistently excellent and memorable bands coming from smaller labels than from the major ones. The quality often stands out by several levels—not only in terms of musicianship, but also originality and artistic identity. Some of the biggest positive surprises I've experienced have come from releases on these smaller labels.

Mike: I think it’s both, just like it’s been since the 80s when labels focused on releasing metal music started to show up. The classic formula still seems to be relevant - young bands get signed to underground labels and release records. Some of them grow bigger and sign up to mainstream labels while others stay with the smaller labels. Of course it’s not always like that but it’s a common scenario and, like you said, I also think that underground labels are more open to take risks and release something unconventional or simply have a wider portfolio of genres than a mainstream metal label. I am however really happy to see bands like Blood Incantation and Cryptic Shift get signed to the giants and hope that more unique/technical/weird/alien death metal bands will get that opportunity haha! For the underground labels I think as long as people will support the artists and labels by buying physical media, underground labels will keep on going. And looking at statistics on vinyl sales I think we’re doing fine (pretty sure CDs and Tapes are also doing fine).
On the other hand, it seems to me that more bands like to stay independent and while I’m sure it’s easier than it was pre-internet, I believe label support and promotion that goes with it is super helpful, especially for younger bands who want their music to be heard outside of their local scenes.

8. I have to admit that I first heard Changelings (that's how I discovered your band) when it was released last September. What initially caught my attention and made me click on the album was its striking cover artwork. Who created it, and what is the visual concept or message behind it?

Mike: The artist behind covers for both of our records is Aleksandra Pawłowska who’s a tattoo artist and a painter based in Warsaw. We found out about her around the time we were looking for artwork for our debut album and when we saw some of her paintings we thought her unique style would be a perfect fit so we reached out. We were really satisfied with the cover she did for “To Find Deliverance” so we decided to work with her again. To be honest with you, we didn’t envision anything beforehand - we just submitted the lyrics to a handful of songs as well as some demos for inspiration and she came up with this incredible, dreamy, colourful cover that perfectly captures the spirit of the record.

9. For me, Changelings immediately became one of the biggest positive surprises in metal of the last decade, if not longer. I won't try to describe the album myself, because I'd rather ask you a few questions about it instead. Do you see the album as the culmination of the musical direction you've been developing since the band's inception, or did you revisit ideas from one of your earlier releases and decide to expand on that particular approach?

Mike: Culmination would be the right word, because we’re constantly aiming to evolve as musicians; both when it comes to technical skills and songwriting abilities. We did revisit some ideas (instrumental interlude, long closing track with prog rock section) but in terms of music itself it’s simply evolution. Just like in the beginning, the basis is thrash but we do our best to bring in ideas from all over the place and getting into new kinds of music and practicing new techniques definitely helps with that. So this record is, well, a record of where Species were in 2025 with this journey that started in 2018.

10. I'm especially interested in the lyrical side of the album. I'd love for you to talk in more detail about the themes explored in the lyrics and explain why you chose Changelings as the album title.

Peter (bass, vocals): The title refers to both the ever-changing nature of the human race but also encapsulates the variety of musical ideas we tried to put on this album.

11. Do the lyrical themes evolve from one release to another, or do they simply build upon each other as part of a larger narrative?

Peter: I think it’s just what the song is trying to tell us from the melody itself - the music always comes first and I try to capture the climate and the story and then find the words to describe it. But there is a noticeable difference - I believe the first record was more psychological and political, the second one has a lot more space and sci-fi focus.

12. It's inevitable to ask about your musical influences, especially since your sound and style are so distinctive. But what I'm particularly curious about is this: what are the band's non-metal musical influences?

Mike: We love prog rock, krautrock, psychedelic rock, jazz fusion and funk. I’m pretty sure you can hear influences of these subgenres on the album, especially bands like Yes, Rush or King Crimson. We also like the synthy side of prog rock which has some connection with movie scores (after all, Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Popol Vuh, Goblin and others did quite a few of them) so we like to do atmospheric soundtrack-esque stuff like the Side A closer “Voyager”. Other than that we each have our own inspirations, in my case it’s mainly fusion guitarists like John McLaughlin or Allan Holdsworth.

13. One of the defining characteristics of your music isn't just the technical performance, but also the sound itself, which has remained remarkably consistent throughout your releases. It seems to me that you deliberately stick to an old-school production style without excessive polishing, almost drawing exclusively from classic thrash metal production aesthetics. Am I right in that observation?

Mike: Yeah, we don’t aim to make our music sound particularly heavy and loud; we aim to keep our records dynamic and for the instruments to blend together, almost as if you heard a live recording. That’s why the bass has that „nasal” tone and guitars don’t use a shit ton of distortion. I hope that on “Changelings” we finally got it right (I think we did, but I’ll leave it to the listeners to assess).

14. Since we're talking about sound and production, what's your opinion on the huge rise of polished, highly processed, and often generic-sounding metal productions that have flooded the global metal scene? Is this simply the result of modern music industry standards, or do you see it as a natural evolution of the genre?

Mike: Honestly, I think it doesn’t really matter as long as the mix and master fits the music (so that it serves its purpose). Some „legacy” bands have changed their style to more groove metal oriented and this kind of heavy yet polished production works for it, I guess. Same for many tech-death bands where every note has to be crystal clear and this kind of polished production is pretty much a necessity. It wouldn’t really fit the music of Species though.

15. Have you had the opportunity to play concerts or tour outside of Poland yet?

Mike: We’ve just toured Central Europe with Death To All on the first leg of their „Symbolic Healing of Europe” tour which was an amazing experience. Great response from fans on all shows and a full circle moment for me personally as DTA was the first death metal show I ever saw. We also did some shows in Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and France in the past. We will be coming back to France in September for the L'Homme Sauvage Festival and we have one more German show planned for this year at Sick Feast in Wolsfburg.

16. What do you do outside the band? What are your interests beyond music?

Hagrid: Besides music, I work in the airline industry. I’ve been a huge snooker fan since I was 5 - I like to play pool at times and hustle friends whenever it’s possible. My other interests include Space and the history of its exploration and the race between former empires, including rockets and political turmoil around that in the past century. Other than that - history (with focus on 20th century so WWII, Cold War) and aviation - technology, history, circumstances, consequences, and analysis of aviation accidents. I like to swim a lot and once every four years I consider myself a huge football fan. Big fan of spaghetti bolognese, USA and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Mike: I collect records, movies, books and other stuff that takes a lot of space in my tiny apartment. I love watching weird movies, travelling, trying new food and getting bitten by my cat. Other than that I work for a healthcare company.

17. Even though it hasn't been a full year since your latest album was released, what are your plans going forward? Are you already working on new material?

Mike: Aside from some shows we still have planned for 2026, we have some new ideas that are slowly starting to shape into songs. We want to do another full-length (so no EPs or split releases) but we can’t say when we can expect the material to be ready.

18. That's all for now. Thank you very much for the interview, and hopefully we'll have another opportunity to talk when your next album comes out. If there's anything you'd like to add that I didn't ask about, please feel free to do so!

Mike: Thanks a lot for inviting us to do the interview!