The first interview of 2026 is ready, featuring the legendary Czech death metal quartet Pandemia. I spoke with bassist Jaroslav "Jarda" Friedrich primarily about their new masterpiece, but other interesting topics also came up during the interview. Now enter the dark realm of nightmares, if you dare!!!
Hail to thee, Jarda! Pandemia's latest album, "Darkened Devotion", was released on May 16, 2025, by Hammerheart Records. First of all, what has the feedback been like so far, both from fans and the media? Secondly, how did you end up with Hammerheart Records, and what kind of contract did you sign with them?
We're thrilled with the new album and we're happy that both fans and critics in the press like it, although there were some reviews with partial misunderstanding, which means it's not an album for everyone, but maybe it's for connoisseurs :). We got together with Hammerheart Records by making a short list of labels we wanted to approach, and we put Hammerheart at the top. And what happened? Out of the whole list, they were the first ones to get back to us – the very next day – and they were absolutely thrilled with our new music and offered us an absolutely amazing two-album deal! The album came out in two colored vinyl variants and also as a CD digipak with worldwide distribution through Napalm Records – what more could you ask for?! Complete satisfaction and respect for their work and fair dealings!
Compared to your previous album, "At the Gates of Nihilism" (2015), I would say that the new songs are more atmospheric, melodic and refined, while the sound is less aggressive. What do you think about that? Is this mainly due to the change in the positions of the guitarist and drummer?
Really? That's interesting. The new album is definitely more atmospheric, but the sound on the new record seems way more aggressive to me than on the last album, where the sound is really beautiful, unique, but compared to the new album it's kind of... nicer.... which was thanks to master producer Waldemar Sorychta. This time we entrusted the sound and mix to the Portuguese studio Demigod, where they fulfilled our current requirements exactly. As for the guitar position, it's not a new member but the return of original member Alex, who I founded the band with and recorded the first three albums together. I'm really glad Alex is back – his guitar signature is unmistakable and unique! The new drummer is Jakub, a young, very talented drummer who's a real pleasure to play with!
Where did you record the material for "Darkened Devotion"? How long did you work on it, and who was responsible for mixing and mastering? Did you change anything in the recording process this time, or did everything go as usual?
We recorded the new album in several Czech studios and then sent the recordings to the Portuguese studio Demigod Recordings where Miguel Tereso mixed the album, so everything different than the previous album, but complete satisfaction. The pre-production and songwriting itself took about a year of work, mainly for Alex, who's the main brain behind the whole concept. I think we managed to record a really exceptional record, but it requires multiple listens!
Giovanni Ponziano's cover artwork is really cool. How does it relate to the lyrics of "Darkened Devotion"? Tell us more about your lyrics and their message, please.
The new album is conceptual and the lyrics are directly related to the cover art. I recommend every listener to read the lyrics while listening to the album! The album's concept explores events that people experience during the night, from nightmares to anxiety, sleep paralysis, insomnia, etc. Each song deals with a different struggle, each contains a transformative twist that leads to resolution and healing. Basically, it's an album about resilience. Darkness plays a crucial role – it must be fully accepted and experienced before it can be overcome on the path to resolution. A fighting spirit of perseverance runs through the entire album, depicting the inner strength needed to face these nocturnal battles.
You shot a professional music video for the song "Blessed, Blessed Oblivion" to spread it among the masses on the internet. Was it a natural choice for you to choose FZG Studio as the location for filming, or did you have to choose from several options? By the way, I noticed that the music video is one minute shorter than the album version of the song. Why did you shorten it? Is there a special reason?
It's a completely new studio and probably the most badass in our country, where only a few of the most famous Czech bands had filmed before us, and one of them – Arakain – inspired us to use this professional studio as well. I think everything turned out just as we imagined and we're satisfied with the result. Yes, we shortened it – for the video it seemed too long to us. There was no other reason....
I'm sure you already have several concerts and festival appearances booked for 2026. So where can death metal fans see you in the near future? Will there be longer European tours to promote the new album?
Concert tours have been really complicated in recent years, so we're focusing more on weekend shows. We have concerts coming up in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, then we'll also fly to festivals in Portugal and Malta, and we also hope there'll be an opportunity as soon as possible to play for fans in Ukraine!
Pandemia has been around for more than 30 years. Would you have thought in 1995 that you would have such a long career? How do you look back on the past years, and if you could, would you change anything?
That number is kind of scary, right? :) Well, it's been a long time, and yeah, I thought we'd keep playing, otherwise we wouldn't have done it. And would I change anything? Probably not – everything has its reason, everything has its time, and when I look back I have a lot to be proud of. We've released 6 great albums with foreign labels with worldwide distribution, played in more than 30 countries around the world with all our heroes like Death, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Vader, Kreator, Loudblast...... Yeah, everything is as it should be....
In 2024, Chinese label Awakening Records reissued the band's first two albums and first two demos on CD. What is your personal opinion of these reissues? Each one contains bonus material. What should we know about these bonuses?
The first two albums, "Spreading the Message" and "Personal Demon", had been sold out for many years, so it's great that these reissues came out with the original sound, improved booklet, and added bonuses. And our first two demo cassettes are now also released on CD for the first time under the title "Dance in Vicious Circle", which is awesome. The bonuses on each album are rarities that fans never had a chance to hear before – let yourself be surprised! :)
What is the current situation on the Czech death metal scene? Are there many promising new bands? If so, which new bands would you recommend to us? On the other hand, I guess many old death metal bands are still active today? So which ones are they?
I'll admit that I don't really know of any new young band that caught my attention – it's usually the old guard that gets me excited, you know, I remember something and I'm probably a bit conservative too. And from the older ones, well of course our buddies Hypnos (ex-Krabathor), Fleshless and lots of others.... But what really excited me lately is the last album by the band Lvmen – "Amen", really beautiful work and yet it's not a metal album, but I still recommend it!
Thank you, Jarda, for taking the time to answer my questions. Please dedicate your final words to our readers.
I thank you for the opportunity to introduce our band to Ukrainian fans and I hope that everything will get better for you soon and we'll finally be able to come play a concert there! Hang in there, we're with you! Death Metal Forever! Jarda Friedrich and Pandemia.
