Interview with

Bart Gabriel of

Bart Gabriel is a man who IS true metal. Throught his agency,DRAGONIGHT,he promotes bands throughout his hoime country of Poland as well as the rest of Europe. On top of that,he writes for various magazines in Europe about heavy metal music. Read below for more information about DRAGONIGHT and other metal-related stuff.

UF-How long have you been into Heavy Metal Music? What are your first memories upon hearing Heavy Metal music for the first time? What was the first record you ever bought?

BG-Well, to be honest, I'm into Heavy Metal for so long that I don't even remember when all has begun... I don't think if I listened to any other kind of music before Heavy Metal. One day, when I was a child, I heard some of MANOWAR's tunes on the radio ("Secrets Of Steel" & "Gloves Of Metal"), and I was completely blown away! You know, as a kid I was a great admirator of all those fantasy movies, books and so on (and still I am), like Conan The Barbarian, and when I heard that barbaric sound, I was sure that it would become my way of life...

First record I ever bought? I'm not sure, firstly I used to dub tapes from friends, as a kid I haven't much money. But some of the first were of course MANOWAR's albums,hahaha...

UF-How was the metal scene in Poland when you started listening to Metal? How has the scene changed,in Poland, since you became part of the metal "scene"? Where do you see the world-wide metal scene right now?

BG-When I started to listen to Metal, there were awesome Polish bands around, like KAT, TURBO, TSA, STOS to mention only few. But sadly scene has changed a lot from that time- many of those bands stopped to exist... But as you mentioned- one day I became part of Polish scene, so I hope that I will be able to bring to life some of those bands again.

Where do I see present Metal scene? Sadly it's very shared and destroyed- do you remember 80's? It was without meaning, if you're into Heavy, Power, Black or Death Metal- we all were brothers and sisters. And now, often fans of various Metal styles are fighting... It's totally stupid. As for me, Metal is Metal, and has enough (too much?) of its own enemies. We should keep together, not fight.

UF-How did you start writing for magazines in Europe? Did you ever run a zine of your own? Was it easy to get a job writing about Heavy Metal Music in Europe? How long have you been writing? Who do you still write for?

I started to write for zines in the middle of the 90's. Together with my brother we have created our own zine called BARD MEGAZINE in 1997, and I dare to say that actually it's the biggest and most known Polish classic Metal zine... I'm not writing much- I had many offers from zines and magazines from all over the world, but I had to refuse, due to the lack of time. I'm still writing for BARD, and for half a year I'm in the Polish edition of METAL HAMMER, as their contributor. It's very possible, that I will also write for Malaysian zine DEADHEAD, but nothing is sure yet.

You can also find my articles, in other zines, webzines or magazines, but I'm not stable contributor of any of them, I'm more a guest...

UF-How did you get the idea for the "Secrets of Steel" webzine? Describe what the "Heavy Metal Hunters" is all about.

BG-You know, I begun SECRETS OF STEEL, because I wanted to support Heavy Metal scene on every possible way- but sadly guys from the server where I placed S.O.S. completely pissed me off, and I wasn't able to do any more updates, so now S.O.S. is just a monument of the past.

HEAVY METAL HUNTERS? It's an international fanclub of traders and collectors... I created it more than year ago, but we had small pause, due to the problems with official website. Thankfully all is fine again, and HM HUNTERS are back with a vengeance, and stronger than ever! Feel free to check up our website at http://truemetal.org/heavymetalhunters, who knows, maybe you will join us?

UF-Currently you are running the DRAGONIGHT AGENCY...what is the agency all about? What bands do you currently represent? What do you do for the bands who are affiliated with your agency?

BG-DRAGONIGHT is totally uncommercial and independent Heavy Metal agency- our mission is to bring back the glorious name of True Heavy Metal and unite fans from all over the world. We are: supporting and helping to unsigned young bands, bringing back forgotten & unknown names of legendary Heavy Metal bands, promoting the official new releases, helping in promotion of the gigs, keeping the fans informed about all the news from the Heavy Metal world, supporting Heavy Metal journalists, editors, webmasters and clubs,and generally we're bringing back the spirit of united 80's Heavy Metal scene.

As for the bands- at this moment (May 2001), we promote more than 25 bands from all over the world, please check our website for actual list, it's at http://truemetal.org/dragonight

6)Do the bands approach you about becoming represented by the DRAGONIGHT AGENCY? How do you find bands than want to join DRAGONIGHT? What does a band have to do to become considered for representation by the DRAGONIGHT AGENCY? Do you represent your bands in just Poland or do you represent them across Europe?

DRAGONIGHT's bands are representated on all over the world, we aren't limited to just one country or continent. DRAGONIGHT has official representators in Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Kazakhstan and Mexico...

What do bands have to do? Just play pure Heavy Metal from the heart! As for "signing" new bands to DRAGONIGHT- I'm getting tons of various demos, promos, often I'm trading with friends etc. In the case that material from the band is interesting for me, and fit into style of DRAGONIGHT (we're only into Heavy, Power, Speed, Epic Metal), then I'm usually offering them a promo deal... Of course very often bands know about DRAGONIGHT, and are sending me their demos especially to join to DRAGONIGHT, but as I said before- there have to be pure Metal, played from the heart...

UF-How long have you known Bob Mitchell? Whose idea was it for you to become the European representative for ATTACKER and SLEEPY HOLLOW?

BG-It's long story, even if short in time... We're in touch just for something like 2 or 3 years, but we become good friends, as we understand each other very well, and often we have the same opinions. You will have occasion to read the whole story about our friendship, in the booklet of the debut album of his band VYNDYKATOR, as I wrote liner notes for it. Whose idea? I don't know, I think it was common decision...

UF-Someday,if it isn't already,would you like for DRAGONIGHT to become a record label or a distributor for a larger company?

BG-Yes, of course! There are so many awesome unpublished materials from the 80's, and so many great unsigned bands! Sadly I haven't enough money, to spend them into pressings- all what I have, I invest into promotion of DRAGONIGHT's bands (please know, that I'm not taking money from bands which are promoted by me!). But who knows, maybe one day? A record label is my dream!

UF-What is the next step for DRAGONIGHT? Are there any bands you are currently hoping to represent? What can you tell people about the tape you were selling (sorry, I forgot the name of it, but it had October 31,Twisted Tower Dire, Stormwarrior, Metalucifer, and many other bands)? Are there any still avaliable?

BG-Next step? I hope that we will still exist, hahaha...You know, I have no sponsors or something like that, all what I do, I do for my own money. I haven't a great house or a car- but I support Heavy Metal as much as I can.

I don't know what bands will join DRAGONIGHT in the future- I'm getting demos every day, so nobody knows who will be the next. As for the compilation- due to some personal and of course financial problems, it hasn't been ever published, so I guess there aren't any copies available.

UF-Please give our readers a way to contact you about your agency and your bands?

BG-Feel free to check up DRAGONIGHT's official website at http://truemetal.org/dragonight - you will find there a lot of news, interviews, reviews and of course tons of contact addresses to the bands, and a lot of links.

If you have any questions, you can contact me personally at email: bartofsteel@yahoo.com, or bartgabriel@ironmaiden.com ...

UF-What can you tell us about some more obscure bands that came out of Poland? Do you think that the band VADER is a good band to represent the country of Poland in the underground? Name for us some classic metal bands from Poland

BG-I respect VADER very much, but I'd never been their fan- sorry, I'm not into Death Metal. I realise that this band is a real legend (I remember that around '86 or '87, they were called a Speed Metal band), but I'm into classic Metal style only.

Don't get me wrong- I like to listen extreme Metal sometimes to, for example I like DARKTHRONE, IMMORTAL, sometimes MARDUK etc., but I need good melodies and headbanging rhytms. I hate chaos and hyper-speed drum beating in Metal... As for VADER, I don't think that they're still in the undergorund, they are signed by Metal Blade, as I remember. As for classic Metal in Poland- in the 80's there were such bands like for example: STOS (my absolute favorites- pure Heavy Metal with female vocals, now I'm working on bringing them to live!), TURBO (they played everything- from NWoBHM oriented classic Metal, to Thrash/ Death!), KAT (legend of Polish Blacking Metal, they have such cult status like Venom, Bathory or Sabbat), OPEN FIRE (great Speed Metal), WILCZY PAJAK (later they changed their name into WOLF SPIDER), LORD VADER (raw Heavy Metal a'la Cirith Ungol/ Accept- they're now in DRAGONIGHT, and I found German label, which will release their material from '82-'86!), DRAGON (they begun from great Speed Metal a'la DESTRUCTION, but later they started to play Death Metal), HAMMER (Thrash), IMPERATOR (Thrash/ Death) and few others like ASTAROTH, ALASTOR, HMH or TSA. At the beginning of the 80's was born also CETI- awesome band created by Grzegorz Kupczyk, vocalist of legendary TURBO. Firstly they played hard rock, but some of their releases can be described like a mix of early SAVATAGE and RIOT, with great keyboards.

As for present undergound scene in Poland- we have giant mass of bands, but 95% of them are into Black, Death or Gothis Metal music. We have just few good classic Heavy Metal bands, like SONHEILLON, METALHEAD, ANTARES, CHAINSAW, GUTTER SIRENS, DRAGON'S EYE, UNDER FORGE and few others...

UF-What is perhaps the best concert that you have ever seen? What are some of your favorite bands?

BG-It's a bit hard to say, we haven't many concerts of classic Heavy Metal bands at here, so sometimes we need to travel to other countries...

The best concert I've ever seen? I have no idea, I have great memories from concerts of such bands like MANOWAR, GRAVE DIGGER, VIRGIN STEELE, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD and Polish KAT or TURBO.

Some of favorite bands? Good that you signed "some", because if I would like to mention all bands which I really like, it could take few hours, hahaha... But OK, let's mention few: ACCEPT, ADRAMELCH (It), AGENT STEEL, ANGEL WITCH, ANGUS, ARIA, ATLAIN, ATTACK, ATTACKER, AUGUST REDMOON, AVENGER (Ger),AXEHAMMER, BATHORY, BERSERKER, BEWITCHED, BITCH, (early) BLIND GUARDIAN, CALIBOS, CELTIC FROST, CIRITH UNGOL, CITRON, CROSSFIRE, DAMMAJ, DEMON, DESTRUCTION, DESTRUCTOR, DIO, EMERALD (Hol), EMERALD (Swi), ESCAPE, EXCITER, EXXPLORER, FAITHFUL BREATH, FORMEL 1, GOTHAM CITY, GRAVE DIGGER, GRAVESTONE, GRIFFIN, GRIM REAPER, HALLOWEEN, HALLOW'S EVE, (early) HAMMERHAWK, H BOMB, HEAVY LOAD (Swe), HELLHAMMER (Swi), HELLION, (early) HELLOWEEN, HOLY DRAGONS, IRON CROSS (Fin), (early) IRON MAIDEN, JAGUAR, JAG PANZER, JUDAS PRIEST, KAT (Pol), KILLER (Bel), KILLER (Ger), KILLERS (Fr), KING DIAMOND, KREYSON, LIEGE LORD, LORDIAN GUARD, LORD VADER, LORETTA, LUZBEL, MANILLA ROAD, MANOWAR, MERCYFUL FATE, METAL INQUISITOR, METALUCIFER, MURO, OCTOBER 31, OMEN, OPEN FIRE, OSSIAN, OUTSIDE, OVERDRIVE, OVERLORDE, OZ, PAGAN ALTAR, PEGAZUS, PICTURE, PILEDRIVER, POKOLGEP, PULS (Czech Rep.), RAVEN, ROTOR, RUNNING WILD, SABBAT (Jap), SACRED STEEL, SAD IRON, SARISSA, SATAN, SAVAGE GRACE, SAVATAGE, SAXON, SHOK PARIS, SIFON, SKULLVIEW, SLEEPY HOLLOW, SONHEILLON, SORTILEGE (Fr), STEEL ASSASSIN, STEELOVER, ST.ELMOS'S FIRE, STORMWARRIOR, (early) STORMWITCH, STOS, SUDDEN DEATTH, SWORD, SYAR, TANK, THRUST, TITAN FORCE, TREZOR, TWISTED TOWER DIRE, TYRANT (Ger), TYSONDOG, U.D.O., VAVEL, VECTOM, VENOM, VETO, VIRGIN STEELE, VORTEX, WARLOCK, WARLORD, W.A.S.P., WITCHFINDER GENERAL, WITCHFYNDE, WITCHKILLER, WIZARD, X WILD... And many, many more. It's quite impossible to mention all of the favorite bands, there are so many...

UF-If there were three bands you would want to see re-unite,which bands would they be? Which bands/metal artists do you think should just give up and bow out gracefully?

BG-Wow, just three? There were so many awesome bands in the 80's, which I would like to see aliva again, like ATLAIN, VETO, VECTOM, GRAVESTONE, KILLER, CROSSFIRE, and all of those great NWoBHM bands... But if I have to mentioned only three, there will be STORMWITCH, WARLOCK and X-WILD...

I don't know if any band should give up- if musicians are happy by playing, and they still have fans, that's great, good luck to them!

UF-Where do you see the metal underground going in the next five years? Do you think it will remain underground, or do you think that it will become some-what popular again? Where do you see the DRAGONIGHT AGENCY in five years?

BG-I don't really know how the underground scene will look for a few years... I just hope that some of the great bands will finally get a deals, that there will be more Classic Metal instead of those Black and Gothic trends. I would like to see a great united scene, like in the 80's, but I don't think that it will ever happen. Sadly both undergound and major scene are filled with a few assholes.

DRAGONIGHT in five years? I don't know, between myths and legends? Hahaha, no, I don't really know...

UF-Bart...thank you for your time. I know you are very busy and I appreciate the time you put into answering my questions. Any final comments for our readers?

I thank you Chris, it was great pleasure to answer your questions (especially because your webzine has its name taken from AGENT STEEL's album, hahaha). And to the readers: take care, and defend pure Metal tradition!

No borders, no conflicts,no fights- we're all on the same side. Stay hard & heavy, loud & proud- Metal reigns supreme!

-Interview by Chris O'Brien-additional DRAGINIGHT info below.

DRAGONIGHT > International Agency Of The Heavy Metal Supporters. Website: http://truemetal.org/dragonight

New bands in DRAGONIGHT Agency: - VYNDYKATOR (US Pure Heavy Metal, feat. ex-ATTACKER/SLEEPY HOLLOW vocalist) - PULS (Legendary Czech Heavy Metal band from the 80's) - METAL INQUISITOR (German NWoBHM Maniacs) - ASSAILANT (Power Metal from Sweden)

Upcoming releases: - ANGUS 'Track Of Doom/ Warrior Of The World' CD (Sentinel Steel Records) - ASSAILANT Demo (Assailant) - CLAYMORE 'Messengers Of Steel' ?? (Claymore) - DI'ANNO 'Nomad' CD (Re-release, B.O.Records) - EMERALD 'New Album' CD (Emerald) - HOLY DRAGONS 'New Demo' CD-R (Holy Dragons/ Dragonight) - KRAZE 'Excavated' CD (Iron Glory Records) - LORD VADER 'Goliath' LP (Karthago Records) - MANILLA ROAD 'Atlantis Rising' CD/LP (Iron Glory Records) - METAL INQUISITOR 'Debut Album' CD (Iron Glory Records) - METALUCIFER 'Warriors Ride On The Chariots' 12"EP (Iron Pegasus Records) - METALUCIFER 'Heavy Metal Chainsaw' CD (Iron Pegasus Records) - SLEEPY HOLLOW 'The Rise And Fall' CD (Heavy Metal Heroes Records) - TWISTED TOWER DIRE 'The Isle Of Hydra' CD (Miskatonic Foundation) - VYNDYKATOR 'Heaven Sent From Hell' CD (Battle Zone Records) - WOLFCRY 'Debut Album' CD (Iron Glory Records)

HEAVY METAL HUNTERS CLUB is back online!

Check up our website, if you want to sell, buy or trade Metal items!

http://truemetal.org/heavymetalhunters