Doomed Confessionary: Marcin Jerzyna (Optical Sun)
Photo by Paweł Furman
Optical Sun is a stoner/post-sludge/doom metal band from Lublin, Poland. The band’s trademarks include samples and visuals from old Polish films, interwoven with powerful guttural vocals and double bass lines.
The members played for over a decade in the punk project Panta Koina. Founded in 2017, Optical Sun consists of Łukasz Piłasiewicz (guitar), Hubert Bzoma (vocals, bass), Przemek Bobrowicz (drums), Marcin Jerzyna (bass) and Robert Zapała (guitar).
Their discography includes »Optical Sun« EP (2018) and two full-length albums, »Save Our Souls« (2021) and »Diabeł« (2025).
»Diabeł« (Eng. “Devil”) is an unusual album that combines three elements: music, cinema and poetry. Michał Pijocha (Moonstone, Belzebong) handled the mixing and mastering of the album, having a key influence on its sound, giving it the right dynamics and character.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
The band was formed in 2017 in Lublin. We founded it as a friendly form of expression. We have been friends for years, we meet, talk and help each other. Our music comes naturally. It is an expression of ourselves, our experiences and observations. We play heavy music because the times we live in require a strong attitude.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Working on each subsequent album becomes the greatest challenge for us. We want to give our listeners the best expression of ourselves. We treat our music as something that should make people think, inspire them and be a support in their lives.
What can you be most proud of so far?
We are most proud of the fact that we are still friends and continue to make music together. There are disagreements and different points of view, and sometimes we even have quite heated arguments. Ultimately, however, we always manage to reconcile.
What was your biggest regret?
Generally, we try to endure whatever fate brings us. The greatest sadness and grief is when someone from our family or friends leaves us forever. And this has happened recently. However, we support each other and are able to respect when one of us needs a longer break from people and playing.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We think that the best concert or tour is still ahead of us. We try to treat every gig seriously. However, one of the best concerts we played was when we supported Weedcraft and TOŃ in Lublin at the Graffiti club this spring. The atmosphere was pretty crazy, and one of our bassists forgot his guitar. It was quite funny, and in the end, the guitar was quickly brought in, and the people from Weedcraft and TOŃ had a good laugh at our expense. Nevertheless, we played a very good concert that day.
Photo by Robert Grablewski
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Recently, we have been listening to new albums from bands such as Harvestman, Pelican, and Polish bands Ugory and Towot. However, we mostly listen to our favourite bands such as Type O Negative, My Dying Bride, Kyuss, Dead Can Dance, Ministry, Grails, Killing Joke and, of course, Black Sabbath.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Never give up and try to follow your own musical path, creating your own musical story and not copying others.
What are your guilty pleasures?
From time to time, we like to indulge in rock ‘n’ roll without holding back. This is probably our greatest guilty pleasure.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Poland?
There are currently many bands that want to make a name for themselves. Perhaps too many, which makes it difficult to stand out. However, the metal scene in Poland is doing well. There are many high-quality bands that have something to say. And they do it professionally. Take Weedcraft, TOŃ, Ugory or Sunnata, for example.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We are playing on 26 September at a wild festival near Dębica. We are also planning to play concerts in Lublin and Warsaw.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
At present, we want to focus on promoting our new album »Diabeł« (“The Devil”). We already have an idea for the next album and we will slowly implement it.
How can people best support your band?
The best way to support us is to come to our concert or purchase our albums and merchandise. Ideally, both.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Of course. Stay healthy, take care of yourselves, follow your own path and of course, listen to Optical Sun and other good, intelligent music.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well