This legendary band came into existence in 1984, being created by Tomasz Budzynski, hitherto the vocalist of Siekiera [The Axe], who has ever after been bands vocalist, lyrics author and spiritus movens. In Armia, the orthodox punk Budzynski, met another great personality of Polish underground music scene the guitarist Robert Brylewski, who had an impressive dossier of having played in some of the most renowned Polish alternative music bands: Kryzys, Brygada Kryzys and Izrael. Budzynski is now remote from his original extreme anarchism, however he remained a rebel and nonconformist. The clash of two great artistic personalities of Budzynski and Brylewski resulted in the first single of Armia entitled Aguirre (1985), which immediately earned the band the fame of the best post-punk band in Poland. Aguirre is still very much sought after by Armia funs.
Apart form traditional rock instruments, the band from its early days employed also wind instruments. Armias music gained its unique character when Krzystof Banan Banaisk, who played the horn, joined the band. The next album recorded with him, Legenda [The Legend] (1991), immediately attained cult status. Reviews by critics were most enthusiastic and the band was listed among the greatest rock stars of Poland. Armia was voted the best band of the year by the readers of Brum and Tylko Rock as well as by the TV program Rock Noc. The band was enthusiastically welcomed at all major music festivals and hundreds of concerts in Poland, on several of which Armia accompanied world famous bands: Killing Joke and New Model Army. Some of the concerts were recorded and gave birth to a concert longplay Exodus (1991).
The next album, Czas i Byt [Time and Being] (1992) consisted mostly of older songs in new settings. Shortly after it was released, the band was abandoned by one of its leaders, the guitarist Brylewski. His place was taken by Michal Grymuza, famous as a session musician. Together with him Armia recorded its next album, Triodante(1994), inspired by Dantes Divine Comedy. In this album Budzynski used music and his poems to take listeners on a mystical journey through hell, purgatory and heaven. Music from Triodante was also used in a TV show.
Next year the composition of the band changed once more, since the guitar was taken by Dariusz Popcorn Popowicz, well known as one of the leaders of a top Polish metal band, Acid Drinkers. With a new guitar player Armia recorded in 1996 a new album, Duch, [The Spirit], characteristic for strong music and texts. In 1999 the band released Droga [The Way], a nostalgic trip to the realm of lost youth, while 2003 witnessed Pocalunek Mongolskiego Ksiecia [The Kiss of a Mongolian Prince]. The title of the latter album, as well as some of its lyrics, were inspired by writings of a Polish avant-garde writer, Stanislaw Witkiewicz, to whom Budzynski has ever been heavily indebted.
The success of Armia was a result of the combination of punk-rock kick off with mystical sound of wind instruments and prophetically inspired texts of Budzynski. The bands music has been influenced by punk, hard core, metal, hard rock, reggae but also classical and folk music. The instruments used by musicians included not merely guitars and drums but also horn, flute, cello, violin and didgeridoo. But what is perhaps the most distinctive feature of Armia are the lyrics of Budzynski. His poetry, full of references to the Bible, Artur Rimbaud, Samuell Becket and others, has always treated about spiritual side of a human being. Its form changed together with the author, form anarchic rebellion, through gnosis, Christian mysticism, neophyte proselytism to current mature Christian humanism. They have always been a warning against crude materialism and the illusion that the flesh and the world suffice to satisfy the needs of mankind.
Budzynski, besides continuously playing with Armia, undertook also several other projects. In 1996 he co-created a band called 2Tm2,3 which put biblical texts into rock and metal settings. Thus, as the name of the band makes clear, Budzynski became a soldier of Jesus Christ. In autumn 2002 the first solo album of Budzynski Taniec Szkieletow [The Dance of Skeletons] was published. In producing this album Budzynski cooperated very closely with Banan, with whom he also worked in Armia, and with whom he has a perfect artistic understanding. The music was much different than that of Armia, since both of its authors flirted with electronics using, among other things, synthesisers. The lyrics are very personal and concentrate on death and love, telling us, for example, about Budzynskis wife and grandma. What is more, in 2004 Budzynski and Trupia Czaszka [Budzynski and Dead Mans Skull] recorded their first album which combined radical punk rock music with lyrics of Jozef Baka, an eighteenth century Jesuit poet.
Tomasz Budzynski is not only a singer but also a painter, a poet and an amateur film director. His paintings were displayed at several exhibitions across Poland and his poems are due to be published shortly. Hes also hoping to shot a feature fantasy-comedy film entitled Sny [Dreams] to his own script. Recently he composed music to a performance of Witkacys play in the Teatr Stary in Krakow.
In the last two years the band was very successful. It gained a new drummer, Slepy, (formerly Sweet Noise and Dump) who replaced Beata Polak, and contributed elements of trans to Armias music. In 2004 Armia played at great rock festivals in Poland Woodstock and Castle Party while towards the end of that year it gave several much acclaimed concerts in the USA, including one in the legendary CBGB club in New York. In January 2005 the last so far studio album of the band, Ultima Thule, was published. It is a poetic and psychedelic journey inside the darkest corners of human soul in search of the furthermost island. The album met with many affirmative reviews and was very well received by funs. One year later the band published a DVD recording of their 20th anniversary concert. Recently they went on a tour promoting this newest production, accompanied by Maleo, Moskwa and Trupia Czaszka.
Discography:
1988 "Anti-Armia" (re-edition: 2005 Metal Mind Productions,
MMP CD DG 0342)
1991 "Legenda" (re-edition: 2004 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD 0271
DG)
1992 "Exodus" (re-edition: 2004 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD 0272
DG)
1993 "Czas i Byt" (re-edition: 2004 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD
0273 DG)
1994 "Triodante" (re-edition: 2004 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD
0274 DG)
1996 "Duch" (re-edition: 2005 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD DG 0351)
1999 "Droga" (re-edition: 2005 Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD DG 0352)
2001 "Soul Side Story 1" (re-edition: 2005 Metal Mind Productions,
MMP CD DG 353)
2001 "Soul Side Story 2" (re-edition: 2005 Metal Mind Productions,
MMP CD DG 354
2003 "Pocaunek mongolskiego ksiecia" (Pomaton EMI)
2004 "Triodante" (Metal Mind Productions, MMP DVD 0038)
2005 "Ultima Thule" (Metal Mind Productions, MMP CD 0312, MMP CD 313 D)
2006 "Koncert na 20-lecie" (Metal Mind Productions, MMP DVD 0059)