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My story. Wojciech Wiesławski, Hertz Studio, and years of metal production for 100%
Wojciech Wiesławski – my story is about the journey from my first sessions in Białystok to the albums that shaped the sound of Polish metal around the world. For over two decades, I have been co-creating what many call the “Polish school of metal” – as a producer, recording engineer, and mixing and mastering engineer, and the foundation of this story was Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording.
Introduction: the journey that changed the Polish metal scene
When my brother Sławek and I founded Hertz Studio in Białystok in 1999, I never imagined that this small room would become the birthplace of the most important Polish metal albums of the 21st century. For 26 years, Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording was my second home—a place where albums were created that topped the charts and won the most important music awards in Poland.
My name is Wojciech Wiesławski — music producer, sound engineer, and recording engineer. For over a quarter of a century, I have had the privilege of working with the best Polish and international metal bands. Today, in 2025, I am starting a new chapter in my career as an independent producer, but the history of Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording remains the foundation of my artistic identity.
This website tells the story of my journey—from my first tentative steps in the world of professional music production to albums nominated for prestigious awards and recognized as milestones in Polish metal.
The beginnings (1999–2005): building a reputation
The late 1990s was a time when the Polish metal scene was just beginning to gain international recognition. Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, which my brother Sławek and I created, focused from the very beginning on the highest quality recordings and the authentic, raw sound that death and black metal bands were looking for.
Our first projects involved working with local bands that were just beginning their adventure with a professional studio. Each session was a lesson—we learned not only recording techniques, but above all how to bring out the band’s true, unadulterated energy. It was during these early years that the characteristic sound of Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording developed – powerful, organic, yet crystal clear.
Over time, a natural specialization developed in our work with my brother Sławek. My domain became setting up the sound of guitars, and gradually I expanded my activities to include the final touches of production: mixing and mastering. The result of this organically developed collaboration is a sound that fans and critics recognize as characteristic of Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording — something that cannot be replicated with any preset or shortcut.
Our collaboration with Vader began during this period. The album The Art of War (2005), recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, was one of our first major projects, proving that the Białystok studio could compete with the best European facilities.
The heyday (2001–2015): Decapitated, Hate, and international recognition
At the beginning of the 21st century, Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording began to attract the most important Polish metal bands. Two of the longest and most important collaborations of this period were with Decapitated and Hate – two pillars of the Polish extreme metal scene.
The Decapitated Trilogy at Hertz Studio
In October 2001, we recorded the album “Nihility” at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording. – the second album by Decapitated, which is still considered a classic of technical death metal. The band members were only 17–20 years old at the time, but their technical skills and artistic vision were top-notch. Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording provided them with “fat sound, lots of punch, excellent readability of instruments” – as one reviewer put it.
Four years later, in August 2005, Decapitated returned to Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording to record “Organic Hallucinosis” – an album that changed the face of Polish death metal. Tomas Haake from Meshuggah said after the death of drummer Vitek: “I remember when I first heard Decapitated’s Organic Hallucinosis and it just blew me away! What a band and what a drummer!” Blabbermouth.net described the album as “a hugely forward-thinking and ambitious album” that “defined Decapitated’s sound and spawned a host of imitators.”
After the tragic death of drummer Vitek in 2007, the band suspended its activities. When Decapitated returned in 2014, they deliberately chose Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording after a 9-year hiatus.
“Blood Mantra” was a return to their roots. Metal Hammer called it “a masterpiece of modern death metal.”
These three albums – “Nihility” (2002), “Organic Hallucinosis” (2006) and “Blood Mantra” (2014)—recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording over a period of 13 years—are proof that bands return to places that understand their music.
HATE: long-term cooperation with the Warsaw phenomenon
Hate is one of the most recognizable Polish blackened death metal bands in the world, active since 1990. Our long-standing collaboration has resulted in a number of key albums:
Anaclasis
A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred”
(2005) – recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, released by Listenable Records, was Hate’s first major step towards the European metal scene.
Morphosis
(2007/2008) – recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording in August 2007. The album received positive reviews and opened the door for the band to perform at major European metal festivals such as Party.San, Brutal Assault, and Metalcamp / Metaldays (info).
Erebos
(2010) – recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording in July and August 2010, in just five weeks. One of the strongest points in Hate’s discography, released by Listenable Records.
Solarflesh
(2013) – album mixed at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, released by Napalm Records. It received numerous positive reviews and cemented Hate’s position as the leading Polish representative of extreme metal.
Auric Gates of Veles
(2019) – Hate’s first release for Metal Blade Records, produced by the Wiesławski brothers at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording. The album incorporated Slavic pagan motifs and reached No. 12 on the Polish album chart.
Auric Gates of Veles
(2019) – Hate’s first release for Metal Blade Records, produced by the Wiesławski brothers at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording. The album incorporated Slavic pagan motifs and reached No. 12 on the Polish album chart.
Further development
Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording has become synonymous with high-quality metal production. We have worked with Hour of Penance (officially), Dies Irae, Trauma, and many others. But the real turning point came in 2013, when Behemoth arrived at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording.
Artistic maturity (2013–2025): "The Satanist" and the peak of his career
“The Satanist” by Behemoth – this was the project that changed everything. Between February and June 2013, Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording in Białystok was the epicenter of the creation of an album that went down in history. Together with my brother Sławek and Daniel Bergstrand, I co-produced an album that has been hailed as a masterpiece of blackened death metal.
The album “The Satanist” was released in February 2014 and immediately won critical acclaim. Metacritic gave it a score of 92/100. Loudwire named it the best metal album of 2014. Pitchfork, The Guardian, Metal Hammer—they all agreed.
In 2015, “The Satanist” won a Fryderyk Award in the Heavy Metal Album of the Year category. The album was produced by Behemoth, the Wiesławski brothers (Wojtek and Sławek), and Daniel Bergstrand. In 2019, the album was named the best metal album of the decade by Loudwire and Consequence of Sound. The album achieved gold status in Poland.
Throughout all these years, one of the most important and longest collaborations in the history of Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording has been ongoing – with Vader. The Olsztyn-based quartet is one of the oldest and most recognizable Polish death metal bands in the world, and over the years has become a de facto resident of our studio.
(Note: I am not linking to vader.pl, as it is not currently the band’s official website. Instead, I am providing the official channels that are currently active.)
The first major project with Vader was the album “The Art of War” (2005) – recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, which cemented the band’s position in Europe. Two years later, between July 2007 and March 2008, we recorded “XXV” – a unique album celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary, which re-recorded all of Vader’s greatest hits from their discography. Then came “Necropolis” (2009) – the first album released by Nuclear Blast Records, which was a huge step in the band’s career and confirmation that Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording is the right place for artists aiming for the top.
The culmination of this collaboration was the album Welcome to the Morbid Reich (2011) – probably Vader’s greatest commercial success. The album entered the charts in seven countries, including the US, reaching 17th place on Billboard’s Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) and 25th place on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums. Importantly, “Welcome to the Morbid Reich” won a Fryderyk Award for Heavy Metal Album of the Year. This means that Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording has two Fryderyk Awards in this category – for Behemoth’s “The Satanist” and Vader’s “Welcome to the Morbid Reich.”
But that’s not all. In 2007, Vader recorded the song “Sword of the Witcher” at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording
– composed and recorded on special request by CD PROJEKT RED as the official promotional track for the first game in The Witcher series. It was a unique project – Peter Wiwczarek recalled: “CD PROJEKT RED asked us if we would be interested in recording a music track related to The Witcher RPG game.” The song was included on the album “The Witcher: Music Inspired by the Game” (2007) and became the official music video promoting the game’s release – the video was shot at Bolków Castle. This is one of the most recognizable moments in Vader’s history, and the fact that we mixed this song at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording puts our studio in a unique cultural context – we became part of the history of one of the biggest Polish gaming brands.
Vader’s subsequent albums, Tibi et Igni (2014, Nuclear Blast Records) and The Empire (2016), were also recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, continuing this long-standing artistic relationship based on mutual trust and understanding.
Beyond metal: diversity of designs
Although Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording is associated with metal, I have always been open to a variety of projects. And speaking of roots, it is impossible not to mention one of the most unique projects from our hometown.
Dead Infection is a Białystok-based goregrind/death metal legend, active since 1990. As one of the pioneers of the Polish extreme metal scene, they were – alongside Vader – the second Polish band to sign a contract with a foreign label outside Europe (their debut album, Surgical Disembowelment, was released by Japanese label Morbid Records in 1993). Their second album, A Chapter of Accidents, is still considered one of the milestones of the goregrind genre. Alongside Vader, Behemoth, and Decapitated, they are listed as one of the leading Polish metal bands.
In 2004, we had the honor of recording, mixing, and mastering their album Brain Corrosion—Dead Infection’s third and, as it turned out, final LP, released by Obliteration Records (Bandcamp). One Polish reviewer wrote at the time: “I was a little afraid of combining Dead Infection with a modern sound (recorded in Hertz), but the effect turned out to be excellent – it’s powerful, massive, quite clear, but not sterile.” This is a particularly important collaboration for me – working with a legend from my own backyard, who was already making Polish metal history at the time. Unfortunately, in 2020, after the death of drummer Cyjan, the band officially ended its activity.
Łydka Grubasa recorded at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording:
O-dur C-ból (2018), Socjalibacja (2019/2020), and ĘĆ (2022).
The song “Rapapara” became a huge internet phenomenon and exceeded hundreds of millions of views on video sites. For convenience, I am leaving stable links as a search (it always works, even if someone replaces the clip’s URL):
Łydka Grubasa – O-dur C-ból (YouTube: results)
Fat Man’s Calf – Rapapara (YouTube: results)
I have also collaborated with UnSun, Bracia Figo Fagot, Leather Leone, Behind Closed Doors, and many other artists.
New horizons and global authority (2020–2025)
It is no longer just the “Polish School of Metal” – it is a global brand serving customers from the US to Iceland.
Hour of Penance (Italy): albums Misotheism (2019) and Devotion (2024) – mixed and mastered at Hertz Studio / Hertz Recording, which the band highlights in their official materials as a guarantee of quality.
Leather Leone (USA): the legendary singer, known from Chastain, entrusted us with the sound of her solo album “We Are The Chosen” (2022). Reviewers emphasized “heavy vocal tones and the overall quality of the mix.”
Patriarch (formerly Batushka): album Prophet Ilja (2025) – black metal combined with Orthodox church music and folk, requiring extraordinary sensitivity in the mix. (For stability, I am linking to the band, as the album title on Facebook tends to be changed/scrolled over time.)
Behind Closed Doors: the album Caged in Helices (2022) – experimental metal with a string quartet, proof that I feel perfectly at home in multi-layered post-metal arrangements.
Nexion (Iceland): One of the most exciting projects of recent times. Icelandic black metal quintet Nexion entrusted me with mixing and mastering the single “Uþarpaspa” from the album “Sundrung” (September 2025, Avantgarde Music). Confirmed on Bandcamp: “MIXED & MASTERED BY Wojtek Wiesławski at Hertz Studios.”
The album “Sundrung” received enthusiastic reviews – the prestigious website No Clean Singing included it among the best albums of 2025, describing it as “an absolute beast of a record!”. Angry Metal Guy gave the album a “Very Good!” rating and described Nexion as “a band that has the potential to go places.” This is further proof that my services are appreciated by artists from all over the world – from Białystok to Reykjavík.
2026 – new releases:
The year 2026 brings new projects: the release of new albums by Upior, Liverum, and UKC. Each of these projects has a different aesthetic and presents different production challenges – it is this diversity that fuels my artistic curiosity.
Key projects and albums
Awards and distinctions
Fryderyk 2015 – Heavy Metal Album of the Year for The Satanist” Behemoth
Fryderyk 2012 – Album Roku Heavy Metal za Welcome to the Morbid Reich Vader
Two Fryderyk Awards in the same category – confirmation that Hertz Studio defined the Polish metal scene for a decade.
The Satanist – the best metal album of the decade 2010-2019 Loudwire, Consequence of Sound
Gold record for “The Satanist” in Poland.
Welcome to the Morbid Reich Vader – charty w 7 krajach, #17 Billboard Heatseekers, #25 Billboard Hard Rock Albums
Organic Hallucinosis Decapitated – klasyk technical death metalu.
Rugia Hate – #30 Billboard Hard Music Albums
Sundrung Nexion – among the best albums of 2025 according to No Clean Singing
Sword of the Witcher Vader – official track promoting the first Witcher game (2007, CD Projekt RED)
A new chapter: from Hertz Studio to our own brand and Dolby Atmos
After 26 years at Hertz Studio, I am embarking on a new stage in my career.
I specialize in music production, recording, mixing, and mastering, with a particular focus on metal, rock, folk, and alternative music.
New studio and Dolby Atmos system on iLoud speakers
My new studio is equipped with a fully professional Dolby Atmos system based on IK Multimedia hardware from the iLoud Precision line – studio monitors officially included by Dolby in their Audio Room Design Tool (DARDT) as recommended equipment for Dolby Atmos configuration.
Detailed system configuration (7.2.4 layout):
- Front L/R: 2x iLoud Precision MTM MKII]
- Center: 1x iLoud Precision 6 MKII
- Side L/R + Rear L/R: 4x iLoud Precision 6 MKII
- Overhead (sufit): 4x [iLoud MTM MKII
- Subwoofers: 2x iLoud Sub
Each speaker is equipped with a built-in Automatic Room Calibration (ARC) system, which automatically adjusts the characteristics of the transducer to the acoustics of a specific location in the room – this is absolutely crucial in a multi-channel configuration, where each listening position has different reflection characteristics.
Linear phase and point-source emission guarantee a precise, consistent spatial image at any distance.
I chose this particular set for two reasons: firstly, the sound quality and consistency across the entire iLoud Precision family, where each speaker (regardless of size) retains the same tonal character. Secondly, the exceptional ease of acoustic adaptation thanks to the ARC system. Instead of costly and invasive structural modifications to the room, the system calibrates itself to the conditions. This makes it one of the most flexible and precise Dolby Atmos setups available on the market today.
Why Dolby Atmos?
The Dolby Atmos format allows sounds to be placed in three-dimensional space with a precision that is impossible to achieve in stereo.
Unlike stereo (2 channels), Atmos offers up to 128 audio channels – instruments and vocals surround the listener from all sides, including above. The listener is literally immersed in the music.
Key benefits for artists:
- PRIORITY PROMOTION IN APPLE MUSIC
gives priority promotion to Dolby Atmos tracks in editorial playlists and no longer offers editorial support for stereo-only material. A Dolby Atmos mix gives you a real chance of being featured in prestigious playlists and increased reach. - SPOTIFY DOES NOT SUPPORT DOLBY ATMOS
Important information: Spotify does NOT support Dolby Atmos. Although the platform added lossless audio (FLAC) in September 2025, it has no plans to introduce Atmos. Dolby Atmos is supported by: Apple Music (since 2021, largest catalog), Tidal (since 2019), and Amazon Music Unlimited. The format works on AirPods, Beats, smartphones, and home systems. - INDUSTRY STANDARD
92% of artists from the Billboard Top 100 in 2023 released music in Dolby Atmos format. Major labels are remastering their catalogs. This is not an experiment—it is the new industry standard.
I offer: mixing new projects in stereo, surround, and Dolby Atmos standards, remastering back catalogs, and technical consultations. Each mix is checked on various systems – from 7.2.4 installations to spatial audio headphones.
What next?
If you are looking for a music producer with a Fryderyk award under his belt, 26 years at Hertz Studio, and a global portfolio ranging from Behemoth to Iceland’s Nexion, feel free to contact me.
From The Satanist Behemoth, through the Decapitated trilogy and six albums with Hate, to mixing in Dolby Atmos on the iLoud Precision system—every project is a story that I help tell to the best of my ability.