Divine Empire
Jason Blachowicz and Morgan
Hi there, will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you play metal?
I'm jason Blachowicz, I've been playing Metal for almost 20 years now, I do it because it's in my blood anf my heart to do so, I live for it and it's also an excellent outlet for my anger and hatred!
How did you get into metal and why did you start to play it yourself?
Ever since I was a kid I loved music, my first bands to listen to were Kiss and Black Sabbath, I listened to whatever was heaviest at the time, first it was those bands when I was a kid, then my young teen years Iron Maiden and Judas Priest came along, my mid teens Slayer, Venom, Metallica and Celtic Frost came along, then at the end of my teens and early twenties it was Death, Obituary, Sepultera and Morbid Angel, I picked up a bass when I was 15, I'm 36 now and haven’t put it down since then & have recorded 6 albums & committed 10 years of my life to Malevolent Creation and toured the world numerous times, I left the band in ‘97 and formed a new band with J.P. Soars called Divine Empire, toured numerous times and are on our 4th epic creation "Method Of Execution."
What did inspire you when you started to write your own music?
My love for heavy music, the dream to play on stage in front of people who appreciate the music I helped to create.
What do inspire you today?
The same thing, plus to keep creating music for all the friends and fans I've made over the years, they are the real inspiration, to be able to record an album, tour for it and run into all the great friends we've made all over the world.
If you have to point out your 5 biggest inspirational sources, what would they be?
Divine Empire in itself is an inspiration to me, it's something I'm very proud of. All my friends in Florida, and members of the S.F.D.M. scene. My cool, very sweet girlfriend Tracy! My dog Morgan. Jail is an inspiration, it makes me realize how much I have to lose, and how precious life really is!
Can you mention 5 albums and 5 tracks that have meant a lot to you personally and your song writing style?
Kreator ‘the Pestilence’, Slayer ‘Raining Blood’, Celtic Frost ‘Procreation Of The Wicked’, Black Sabbath ‘Wicked World’ and Metallica ‘Master Of Puppets’.
Your new album “Method Of Destruction” will soon be released, what do you expect from it?
We have high expectations for it, we spent 6 months in the studio busting our asses and we're very proud of the end result and have gotten a lot of positive response for it so far. This is our 4th album, it's our most versatile release to date and we're looking for the recognition and promotion we so much deserve.
How has it so far been received by the press?
Very positively so far, everyone seems to be very impressed by the versatility of the music and they are calling us the "new and improved" Divine Empire!
What are your thoughts about the album?
I'm very happy and proud of the end result, we put a lot of hard work and blood into creating it!
How have the fans received the evolution Divine Empire has been through, you started as a pretty straight ahead death metal band, and now you offer so much more?
So far so good, we've managed to achieve our goal by outdoing every previous effort and progressing in writing and production, every album gets better and better, unlike a lot of bands who tend to keep putting out the same album.
How will you describe the evolution Divine Empire has gone through?
We keep improving and are now showing more of our musical capabilities, we've evolved from a straight forward death metal band to “ a well-oiled machine” with a lot of musical talent to offer.
Why has it happened?
Because we want to grow, we want to prove to ourselves and everyone that we are a force to be reckoned with.
What did you want to accomplish with the new album, when you started to write it?
We wanted to write at least 15 songs & create our “epic” masterpiece, and feel we have done so.
What do you want to accomplish with Divine Empire?
A status that we can live comfortably off of our music one day, to get the priority recognition we deserve, we've been doing this for a long time and feel it's our turn to get the breaks we so much deserve.
Your label promotes you as one of the best and most forward thinking death metal bands, what do you think about that?
Awesome, that's what we need to hear, we're really trying to break the boundaries and make ourselves heard!
I have to agree with your label and I’m sure a lot of others do to, what does the praise Divine Empire gets mean to you?
It means getting the “respect” we deserve and have spent our lives earning!
Why did you choose to call the album for “Method Of Destruction” when the album is progressive and pretty constructive and not destructive at all? ... Even though there are a lot of brutal smashing death metal on there.
It's "Method Of Execution!" With all that's going on in the world around us today, the violence, war, political executions etc, I thought it to be the perfect title to represent it all, kinda like the news, how it shows the fucked up side of reality.
When will we see Divine Empire tear up Europe and especially Denmark?
Probably this fall during the 'Blitzkrieg III' tour with Vader & Rotting Christ!
Will you share your 3 all time favourite albums with the Danish death metal heads?
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill/Flag Of hate
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Sacrifice - Forward To Termination
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, please feel free to do it now!
Yeah, Check out our Divine Empire website for the best deals in merch, or my Divine Empire Myspace profile "PREPARE FOR ANNIHILATION!"
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