Entropia was founded in autumn of 2007 in Oleśnica by guitarist and vocalist Michał Dziedzic, bassist and secondary vocalist Marek Ceńkar, and drummer Patryk Budzowski. After a few years Damian Dudek joined them to provide keyboard, and later they were joined by a second guitarist, Michał Duda. He, however, did not last long and was replaced by Kuba Cołta in 2014.
At first they tried following into the footsteps of veterans of worldwide post-metal scene, such as Neurosis and Isis. These influences are readily visible on their demo Let’s Leave Before This Place Thaws from 2009. Yet, they did not confine themselves to these frames for long, as explained by Dziedzic in an interview with Magazyn Gitarzysta:
This whole post-metal phenomenon seems to be dying natural death now. Many copycats have emerged, and the forerunners are releasing boring, stale records. We have to stop following in one another’s footsteps and start looking for something new. We have to get critical and seek the source of our music within ourselves.
Their first EP was released in February 2013. Vasper, for that’s its title, consists of 6 tracks. It was praised by critics for not being afraid to go out of metal genre and reach for elements of progressive rock, electronic music and even shoegaze. Vasper’s elaborate compositions consist of many slow, low guitar riffs, which are clearly inspired by sludge and post-metal. In slower parts of their songs, together with growling vocals and heavy guitar riffs, one can hear keyboard parts, combining into an extremely interesting combination of genres.
In February 2016 Entropia released their second album, Ufonaut. This album was heavier than its predecessor, but also mixed the genres even more. Its 8 tracks were produced by Jakub Mańkowski, who was also responsible for Vesper’s production, and Haldor Grunberg (Piotr Gruenpeter). Many changes were introduced into their musical compositions on this album. Stereo keyboards, constantly changing channels, became very noticable. On the other hand, Entropia’s exploration of black metal continued, providing the album with sudden changes of rhythm and quick percussion parts. Vocals were pushed to the background, overshadowed by guitars, samples, and the emphasised rhythmic section.
The band suggested that they are creating pychedelic and trance music, but with their consistently changing motives and structural complexity its difficult to categorise them that way. Ufonaut is undoubtedly a brave and unconventional undertaking, and throughout the album you can hear Entropia’s characteristic atmosphere of melancholy. The LP sounds much more confident than Vesper, but at the same time it is still original, it does not follow the beaten track. It got positive review outside Poland, in Greece, the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Italy.
After the record’s release, Michal Dziedzic said in an interview with Noisey:
Ufonaut is kind of a rite of passage for us, with it we are entering the unknown, where the music represents the feelings of being lost and at the same time filled with euphoria that accompany the rebellion against black-and-white world of worn-out traditions. We started seeing everything in a broader context, as an element of some bigger plan. (...) We are what we are – a band with something to say. We still can mean nothing at all, touring around this squalid Europe, with languages changing every moment, where this whole pot of people is boiling, and the tension seeks a way to be released.
Entropia often tours with Thaw, Ampacity, and Merkabah, bands that are equally open to experimentation, and to which they are often equated. The members of the band from Oleśnica try to view post-metal in the broadest sense: they see the music as a medium of expression. They can be categorised as a middle ground between Blindead, a band with extreme need of experimentation, and Tides From Nebula, who create rather listener-friendly material.
In their manifesto on their Facebook page, Entropia’s musicians write:
Entropia emerges from the shadows, sure that the future of the world has to be psychedelic or it’ll be no more. We are devoted to Terence McKenna’s postulates and we want to reinstitute a tribal consciousness and get rid of materialistic civilisation, which is a sign of the rape of the cosmic order. Raising our eyes to the neverending space, we await the answer in silence.
Jacek Świąder, January 20017. Translated by AS February 2017
Discography:
- 2009 – Chimera EP
- 2013 – Vesper
- 2016 – Ufonaut