‘If you are possessed by death and can handle a speed/thrash band at 10000 kilometers an hour, Ghost is for you!’ – wrote Adam Szulc from Butcher’ zine many years ago.

Let’s move back to the roots of Ghost. The band was formed around October-November 1998, yet Roman Pegza, Ghost’s guitarist told Thrash’em All (issue 1/1989) that the group dates back to 1982: We’ve been playing under the name Metal Danger with the same line-up, the Ghost name came up in November 1988.

Ryszard Łakomiec, Ghost’s bassist: Before Ghost was formed, we had another band with Roman Pegza. We were playing Kiss covers, mainly from the “Alive” and “Alive II” records. Later we started to make our own music. In the meantime the drummer left the band, than the second guitarist and it fell to pieces. Despite being stuck knee-deep in communist system, with no Internet available yet, we were  listening to a lot of music from the radio, vinyl records and reel-to-reel tapes. Kiss’ music was gradually replaced by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Rush, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica records… We’ve been heading towards heavy rock and metal, it was an inspiration to have a band of our own. Ghost was actually formed by three friends from district Orunia: Roman, Darek and me. I had the idea for a name and logo around autumn 1988, when we started to work with Staszek Wójcik.

Krzysztof Berlik: The forming of Ghost was a result of crossing paths with people with similar interests and musical – as well as non-musical – tastes. When we met, I was playing guitar and doing vocals in another band. Darek and Romek already had some material written for their band. At the time they were making music mostly in their apartments. Soon they were joined by a bassist Ryszard Łakomiec, who had returned from two-years-long army-sponsored “holiday”. The guys offered me a job as a vocalist, which I accepted reluctantly – the material and the sound have been solid, yet guitar jams and doing my own music seemed more enjoyable. We were good friends, absorbing anything that the world of music – as well as the liquor store – had to offer. My band fell apart and I joined Ghost full-time starting regular rehearsals with the band.

Krzysztof Jankowski, Ghost’s drummer: As far as I can recall, it was Darek Engler and Romek Pegza who formed the band. I joined them in 1989. A common friend told me they were looking for a drummer, but I never heard of the band before. I was only 17, they were older and experienced, and so it started.
Since the very beginning the Ghost’s manager was Staszek Wójcik: In the autumn of 1988 I met Darek and Romek for the first time. They were looking for a rehearsal room, though they didn’t have a complete line-up. Only during our second meeting we decided to work together. I came up with the idea for a name and they accepted it without hesitation.
At that time life was full of problems: lack of rehearsal rooms, concert halls and instruments, especially if you played such socially unacceptable music. It was due to young, determined musicians, Ghost members included, that underground activists appeared and started organizing first metal festivals in Poland. 
Krzysztof Berlik: Looking back I think nobody would ever hear of Ghost if it wasn’t for Staszek. What he did for us during our early days is priceless. We asked for his help as he was already in the business. He organized the biggest metal festival in northern Poland.
He had contacts, experience, vision and the background we needed. Besides all that he was crazy, so we matched. When we met him in the Community Centre in Pruszcz Gdański, there was no option of cooperation. He simply said – ‘pack your stuff and come on over’, and the ball went rolling. Thanks to Staszek we had all the things that other bands at the time could only dream of – unlimited access to a rehearsal room, technical support and management. It was him who formed the machine called Ghost and made it run.
Ryszard Łakomiec: We were looking for a rehearsal room and couldn’t find anything proper in Gdańsk. I have no idea how we landed in the Community Centre in Pruszcz Gdański, but it was a bull’s eye. We must have impressed Staszek during our assessment talk since he offered us a room at once. We were so happy we finally found a place that the distance didn’t bother us. We used to take a bus or a train to Pruszcz and return with a night line bus. The deal was simple: we were playing and rehearsing, Staszek was taking care of business, as he had experience and better understanding of management. And it was working fine.

After only two rehearsals the band recorded the “Ghost” demo tape. Two weeks later they performed at the Opole Festival competition, where they were awarded for “a masterful craftsmanship in playing musical instruments”.
Ryszard Łakomiec: By the end of 1988 life was giving us a lot of positive surprises. First rehearsals, first demo, then the Opole Festival contest… In was a milestone for us. The demo was recorded off-the-cuff in one hour or two, as we had to finish it in time to enter the competition for the Metal Battle festival. As for the Opole Festival, it embraced anything from sung poetry to metal. We were honored by the award, but more concerned about the feedback from the audience. I can’t remember who we played after, but people looked as if they saw a ghost (sic) – surprised, maybe shocked. It was our first gig with Marek Szczabel on drums and a warm-up for the Metal Battle.
Staszek Wójcik: I had been a Community Centre worker for two years and looking back I think I wasn’t only prepared, I was also “waiting” for a band like Ghost. The guys already had some songs in their heads, all they had to do is record them and go on tour. Had they not been so skillful, it wouldn’t be possible, I must add. The Opole competition wasn’t really a place for us, but we were happy our craft had been noticed. Yet I remember I felt unfulfilled and that the band was not as unified as it should.
Krzysztof Berlik: The Ghost demo was actually recorded during our first rehearsal in full line-up. I remember us calling the drummer, Marek Szczabel, at 8 AM on Sunday to come over to Pruszcz. He wasn’t aware that after a Saturday night party he would have to bang drums way longer than he was used to. Sweat was pouring, but we managed to record the material. Everything was done in heist in order to make it to the Metal Battle competition. As for the Opole Festival, for me it’s a kind of “city-sponsored event”. It was supposed to accustom us to the presence of the audience on bigger festivals that were ahead of us. I’ll never forget the frightened faces in the first rows, who after a solid dose of reggae, shanty and sung poetry was  being introduced to a thrash metal band for the first time.

Another achievement of the band is the Metal Battle gig in front of ten thousand people. It was preceded by a contest in Leśniczówka.
Staszek Wójcik: Contest for such a big festival wasn’t easy at the time. First you had to send a demo tape (I guess there must have been hundreds of them), out of which a dozen or so bands were  picked to play at Leśniczówka in Chorzów. Three best bands were allowed to play at Spodek in Katowice. I met Tomasz Dziubiński two years earlier, while helping another band during the Leśniczówka competition, but it didn’t affect the jury’s decision – Ghost’s music spoke for itself. It took only three songs to convince them. After we returned from Leśniczówka, I was setting the gear and backline all over the room so that the band would get used to larger distances on stage and lame sound in the monitors. We went to Katowice with a large group of friends (such people were always travelling with Ghost at the time). I managed to record the performance as well as some backstage/hotel moments with a VHS camera. The whole thing was awesome. Ten thousand people, wall of noise, simply terrific. Young musicians should  experience something like that.
Krzysztof Berlik: The overall standard of the Metal Battle contest was really high. Most of the highest-rated Polish underground bands appeared, with Vader at the helm. After the show we got an offer from Metal Mind Productions, but we declined. The whole deal seemed shady to us. We achieved our goal, which was to enter the top three bands and play as a support for Sodom, who were really popular back in the day. For a band that has just started, it was a dream coming true. Nowadays I watch the video recording of that gig with a smile, though we didn’t find it funny at the time. We were not prepared to play on such a big festival and got really nervous. After that show Ghost became a recognizable act in Polish scene and concert offers around the country followed.
Staszek Wójcik about the Metal Mind Productions offer: It’s been a long time since that contest, but personally I’d welcome the offer. Tomasz Dziubiński was a solid businessman and if he had a reasonable proposition, he’d fulfill the agreement. And yes, there were some talks about cooperation, but very general and vague. It was an early stage of Metal Mind activity and the label’s boss was interested in many bands, yet there must have been a strong selection. Maybe because he already signed some bands from Śląsk, and Gdańsk was a kind of an oddity, although the sound and style were very contemporary. After some talks I got the impression Dziubiński felt that too.
Let’s go back to the Leśniczówka competition.
Ryszard Łakomiec: As I mentioned, we were inexperienced and the time between the first rehearsal and our performance in Leśniczówka was very short. The fact that we qualified was a kick and made us believe in what we did. We knew it could have been a one shot thing and we had to catch the opportunity. I don’t know if the pressure was bigger during the contest or in front of ten thousand people in Spodek. Nevertheless, both were new, important experiences. I recall them with fondness. 
1989 brought the “Noc Demona” demo. The recording has been highly rated by Thrash’em All editor Mariusz Kmiołek: “Noc Demona” consists of five songs that cut you in half, then quarter you only to chop you into little bits. It’s a solid piece of “black” music played at the speed of light. Experts call it simply “a slaughter” – first rate, I must add.
Krzysztof Berlik: “Noc Demona” was actually the first proper demo to show our style and direction we were heading. If I had to rate it from technical point of view, I’d have to be critical, but It documents a particular stage in our development, so judging it from the perspective of today would make no sense. Those were our skills, abilities and possibilities. The demo received positive feedback from journalists and fans. It was recorded in Radio Gdańsk studio and played in various radio stations around the country, which helped us to reach a wider audience.
Ryszard Łakomiec: We were satisfied with the recording, although there were some shortcomings. We had little time for the final cut. As for the music itself I think it was very good stuff. If we were to record it nowadays, the only thing that I would alter is the sound.
Staszek Wójcik: “Noc Demona” was recorded in comfortable conditions of Radio Gdańsk studio, which resulted in better sound quality. The session lasted four days, all the songs were written by the band and the lyrics by Krzysztof Berlik. Front cover was designed by our artist friend K. Ziółkowski. Thrash’em All was at the time the only professional heavy metal magazine, so a positive review was really flattering. Mariusz Kmiołek supported us in those days. It was one of the benefits of our activity – a possibility of getting to know charismatic people devoted to music and metal underground.
Krzysztof Jankowski: For me it was something different from what I played so far. It was a straightforward, yet not simplistic play. I think it’s a great recording.

After releasing “Noc Demona”, Ghost played in various important festivals such as S’thrash’ydło (Ciechanów), Drrrama (Pruszcz Gdański), Thrash Fest (Wągrowiec) or Thrash Meeting (Gdańsk).
Ryszard Łakomiec: Terrific times. I think we all have plenty to remember and I regret nothing we have done. We played some gigs we don’t need to feel ashamed about, met  many fine people, had fans all over Poland. We were recognizable and that’s something…
Krzysztof Berlik: At that time we were playing many concerts and enjoyed it a lot. We came across befriended bands like Vader, Armagedon, Trauma (known as Thanatos back then), Smirnoff, Quo vadis and many, many more present on every metal event. We supported each other with gear and organization. We weren’t an unknown band, so metal fans gave us a warm welcome on every gig.
Staszek Wójcik: The aforementioned underground activists where those who organized all those festivals, where bands socialized with each other. In Ciechanów we drank a sea of alcohol with Smirnoff in one of the castle’s towers. Thrash Fest in Wągrowiec got a bit too big for the organizers to handle, but overall it was ok. Thrash Meeting took place in a now-nonexistent hall (it burned down a couple of years ago). It was organized by people with no experience and when the main star Kat didn’t arrive, Ghost took its place and I was hosting the whole show. There were also some misfires. I remember a gig in Stalowa Wola – we arrived only to meet some old ladies decorating the hall, and the organizer vanished into thin air. More than ten bands and many fans were left on their own and had to pay for their stay at a hotel, which happened to get some of its rooms demolished. We used to say that in one year we experienced what other people could in five. I think Ghost was enjoying a great time and was familiar to metal fans. Despite that, the guys remained normal and kept their feet on the ground.
Staszek Wójcik has been the founder and organizer of Drrrama Festival in Pruszcz Gdański: I was the only person behind the festival. Obviously I was helped by some people, yet all the decisions and responsibilities were upon me. It took a couple of years before I could bring the idea to life and meet some formal requirements, like coming to an agreement with the local authority – and the reds were in charge. You may not believe it, but I managed to put the Polish Socialist Youth Union (ZSMP) up to cooperation. The Community Centre capabilities were limited, but I convinced the management to the idea of a two days-long festival and railway transport refunded to the bands. Before the first festival in 1986 I went to Warsaw to advertise the band’s competition and the event. After the first day, the local committee of the Polish United Worker’s Party (PZPR) gathered only to decide “if and how” to end the festival. Afterwards I had to explain myself to the authorities about two incidents. First: some metalhead ran over the bonnets of a couple of cars. Second: a group of eight metal fans didn’t pay for their meal in bar “Magda”. In the following years it was getting easier, due to more experience and contacts. The event took place on the last Friday and Saturday of August. One year, during the Friday concerts, some metalhead threw Solidarność flyers around. Next day, the State Security Service (SB) demanded a dozen entrances to the festival area and arrested the man while he was throwing the flyers. They did it discreetly though and just took his personal data. This proves that the festival aroused interest from various parties, yet no one has ever forbidden me to organize it. In the 90’s I was organizing the so-called “small” Drrrama Festivals in local music clubs.
In was on Drrrama fest where Krzysztof Dobrowolski (who joined the band in 1999) saw Ghost for the first time: Twice I had the pleasure to see my older friends’ performance. First was on the last Drrrama Festival in Pruszcz, but the opus magnum came later, in Stocznia Gdańska hall around 1993. I was overwhelmed by the hall, the sound, the stage and large audience that attended. It made me realize how important the band was. Pity that time called that into question. I think that back in the day underground bands were more respected and gave plenty in reward!

At the turn of 1989 and 1990 Ghost played some shows in the USSR.
Ryszard Łakomiec: Staszek came up with the idea, already had some contacts there, so it came to reality. We played in Odessa, Kaunas, Grodno and Leningrad (today – Saint Petersburg), as far as I can remember. In Odessa we played three days in a row on some open-air festival. Krzysiek Berlik, who was getting married at the time, was temporarily replaced by Armagedon’s vocalist Sławek, who did his job well. The gig I enjoyed most was the one in a small club in Leningrad – terrific feedback from the audience, we were amazed how positively people reacted to our music.
Krzysztof Berlik: Our manager took part in organizing various festivals around the country, to which bands from the USSR were invited to play. They repayed by inviting our bands to play in their homeland. Those eastern tours did cost us a lot of health. We were drinking things of unknown origin. Hotel rooms got demolished, people got arrested by Russian militsiya, passports got lost and members of our crew disappeared… It was like an action movie, comedy and horror all in one. Family matters forced me to stay in Poland at that time, I was replaced by Sławek Maryniewski from Armagedon.
Sławek Maryniewski recalls: We met during a Drrrama Festival, I guess it was 1988. Later we had some common gigs, we came to Pruszcz, they

came to Kwidzyn, but the most memorable thing was our trip to Odessa, to a festival whose name I can’t recall. Ghost’s vocalist Krzysiek couldn’t go and our bass player Tomek didn’t get his passport on time, but we didn’t want to lose the opportunity. Thus I had to handle both bass and vocals in Armagedon, plus the guys from Ghost asked me to replace Krzysiek for some concerts. It was a tough racket, but we made it! I won’t go into further details, as both the trip and our stay in Odessa was a heavy party. We had some great and unforgettable moments together. As for their recordings, “Noc Demona” is the one I favor most. I’d like to salute to all the guys from Ghost!
Romuald Czyczyn-Egierd, Armagedon’s first drummer: It all started at the Drrrama Festival in 1988, where we met Ghost and their manager Staszek Wójcik. Pruszcz Gdański is about 50 kilometers away from Sztum, so the social meetings were not a problem. Besides Drrrama, Staszek organized some smaller gigs like Schizo from Italy, Ghost, Armagedon or Whisper from Sztum. A line-up I am familiar with is: Darek Engler, Romek Pegza (Romek’ sister was Darek’s girlfriend at the time), Krzysiek Jankowski (I liked his drumming, a small dude but played as hell), Krzysiek Berlik and Ryszard Łakomiec, later replaced by Mietek Klimek.
A Russian band Thrash Machine played at the 1990 Drrrama, later their manager Juriy “Paliec” Czebotara invited Ghost and Armagedon to play at some festival in Odessa. The problem was that there was maybe a week left and not everyone had their passports. Finally Armagedon went as a trio and Ghost lacked the vocalist. There was a huge queue on the border crossing in Przemyśl, but Staszek talked one of the soldiers into letting us outside the line and after counting the passports we were on the Ukrainian side. On the night train to Odessa someone fell asleep with a cigarette, the carriage started to burn, militsyia arrived and we had to pay a fine. In Odessa we couldn’t buy any beer but plenty champagne and vodka – as far as I recall only I and Krzysiek Maryniewski didn’t drink and remained sober the whole time.
The line-up of the festival included many bands from all over the USSR. On the last day we played a  S.O.D.-style improvised set with members of Ghost. I played some drums and also did some Beastie Boys-like vocals wearing a NYC baseball hat. At the end I decided to give some of my champagne to the audience, which resulted in us being arrested and charged with giving alcohol to the minors. Staszek told the officers, that we were careful and shared the alcohol only with the adults while skipping the youngsters. Finally, a bribe of a few thousands of Rubles convinced them to let us go. After another gig a guy came over and invited us to his 18th birthday. We went to a big estate of blocks, there was his family and some Polish metalheads, plenty of caviar and other goodies, really nice in general!

On our way back to the hotel we took two cabs and paid the drivers to race, and so we had a night race in Odessa. We also visited the famous Potiomkin stairs and the Black Sea, on which I and Krzysiek Jankowski sailed with a pedal boat. Two drummers on a pedal boat in the Black Sea (laughs). We had some problems with my USSR passport, they wanted to interrogate me, but ultimately I was set free. On the way back to Poland we met some small time gold traffickers, we were in the same compartment. They asked if they could put one of their bags with our guitars and other gear, and we said - ‘no problem’. The soldiers came, barely noticing one of our friends lying drunk on the floor and asked us what we had in the bags, to which we answered – ‘guns and grenades!’ (laughs) They started to inspect the traffickers’ luggage, anything except the bag lying with ours. Afterwards the men wanted to thank us and give us some gold rings, but we said – ‘no, that’s fine, good luck with your business’ (laughs).
We spent lots of time with the guys from Ghost in Pruszcz Gdański, it was just an hour away from our town. We also invited them to play with Vader in Kwidzyn in 1989. Recently I spoke to Krzysiek Jankowski and Krzysiek Berlik via Facebook. My favorite Ghost recording would be the “Bad Obsession” demo, with the “Kings of Darkness” track, also included on “The Lost of Mercy” album. Besides a skillful drummer, Ghost had a great guitar duo – Darek Engler and Romek Pegza, they fitted one another like the duos from Slayer or Judas Priest.
Krzysztof Jankowski: Staszek organized those concerts as some sort of international cultural exchange. I have some terrific memories, met great people living in a country even more fucked up than ours. As for the almost mythical “getting a horse drunk”, me and Darek Engler actually didn’t put that horse up to drinking. He wanted it, it was a very hot that day in Odessa (laughs).
Staszek Wójcik on foreign trips: First invitation came from Kaunas, to an annual guitar players festival – first I was invited as a jury member, then Ghost as a headlining band. The band played really hard and fans went berserk, banging their heads against the stage and the lights. Afterwards the guys in the band had to wash the blood of their shoes. Impressive, indeed. Due to my contacts came the offers from Grodno, Leningrad and Odessa. To the latter we went with a fellow band Armagedon. In the third day I came up with the idea of playing a bunch of cover versions after the last gig and pouring USSR-produced champagne over the heads of the audience. To my surprise, I was arrested for giving alcohol to minors. Luckily I managed to amuse the officers by explaining myself, that ‘I poured it only to the adults and skipped the youngsters’ and they let me go.
Another funny situation was our attempt to barge on the Aurora cruiser and hijack it to Gdańsk. Also in Leningrad I had to explain myself to the receptionist that the party was about to be over and it’s gonna be quiet soon. Suddenly Darek appeared holding the wardrobe door and said – ‘Look Staszek, they’re loose, I’m gonna take them home, they look good’. The receptionist simply called the militsiya, so we had to escape by jumping off the balconies and head to the railway station.  As for the horse – it was already drunk or at least had a hangover and Darek wanted to relieve him. Russia is a strange country. We ate the jacked potatoes there for the first time. When we asked for french fries in a high-class hotel, the cashier had like five dollars in the register and only vodka and champage to drink (a so-called “white bear”). Even a week later after returning from Russia I was getting drunk after having a cup of tea.

From the end of 1990 until 1992 Ghost was put on hold.
Krzysztof Jankowski: During that time the band had regular rehearsals. Also Mietek joined and I was temporarily replaced by Leszek Breguła.
Krzysztof Berlik: While Krzysiek Jankowski was in army, Ghost was still active. Krzysiek had a guaranteed place in the band, as he was both a terrific musician and a friend. We were looking for a drummer who could fill the gap temporarily. I remember we had one from Argentina for a short moment. Those were just short episodes, because the musicians didn’t meet our requirements or their style was far from the direction the band has taken. We were rehearsing new material which we recorded right after Krzysiek was discharged. In the meantime Ryszard Łakomiec left the band and was replaced by Mietek Klimek.

Ryszard Łakomiec: We were still practicing in the Community Centre, but not as often as we did when we had a full line-up with a drummer. We wrote the songs knowing that the arrangements will change when the drums join in.
Ryszard Łakomiec on his departure: Looking back it seems I left Ghost because of Krzysiek Jankowski’s absence. I felt like nothing was gooing on with the band and it was taking too long. Maybe it was meant to be, both for me and the band. Ghost was doing well with Mietek, they recorded “Bad Obsession” and “The Lost of Mercy”, which include some of my lyrics. I guess there is a particle of my work in there.
In July 1992 the band started playing live again, with Ryszard Łakomiec replaced by Mietek Klimek. In the beginning of 1993 Ghost recorded “Bad Obsession”, released by Mariusz Kmiołek’s Carnage Records.

Krzysztof Berlik: “Bad Obsession” was intended to be a recording that reminded fans of the band after a long silence. It was 100% self-financed and recorded in Sławek Łosowski’s (Ex-Kombi) studio. The music itself was pure brutal death metal. Carnage Records took care of releasing and promoting the record – we offered it to Mariusz, whom we had known for a long time then and knew he had the proper resources to announce our comeback. We achieved our goal and returned even stronger. As for my personal opinion on “Bad Obsession”, same as with “Noc Demona” I don’t want to rate it in hindsight. The technical level and possibilities for bands of today went sky high, so it makes no sense to look back from today’s perspective. Back then, considering our resources, skills and capabilities we recorded an album that satisfied us, showed our uniqueness, style and the particular stage of our history and development. But most of all, it was released to fan’s acclaim.
Krzysztof Jankowski: The cooperation with Mariusz Kmiołek was practically nonexistent, at least not on a daily basis. He released “Bad Obsession” and offered us his management, which we declined. It was a huge mistake.

In the early 90’s the band parted ways with their longtime manager Staszek Wójcik, who recalls those controversies: it’s a sensitive and deeply personal matter. I guess it was a process which lasted several months, a year maybe. In the 1990 I was elected to be a member of the city council, which resulted in having less friends and more enemies than before. In the meantime, the Community Centre got a new manager, and the band’s line-up changed. Parting ways was my decision caused by the aforementioned and by the new management-inspired conflicts between me and the band. I was forced to leave the job which allowed me to do the management part time. I had to look for another, which would allow me to provide for myself and my family. It has always been a price to pay for your independence. It’s just my personal point of view, yet I don’t regret any moment from those days.

Wojciech Lis