“… chained to the wall of lobotomization for 10 years…”
Karol Sowa is the composer of Mushroom Land – an experimental metal project based in Bytom within the North Silesian region of south Poland. Sowa’s story is vast – ranging from a dynamic involvement in the local band Amok in his high school years to multiple visits to the psych ward and the consumption of olanzapine, alcohol, perazine, risperidone, speed, and other opioids.
A love for goth, doom, and black metal came to fruition on the latest release by Mushroom Land – Pharmachrists, which digs deep into Sowa’s own personal experiences with treating mental health through psychopharmacology, and the corruption within the pharmaceutical industry. In our discussion with Karol, he shared insight about Pharmachrists, his medication analysis, and upcoming music.
From the age of seventeen to twenty-seven, Sowa was forced to take neuroleptics (commonly known as anti-psychotics, however Sowa believes this term is incorrect – “They don’t have an antipsychotic effect, but a lobotomizing [effect]”). In the first five years of treatment, Sowa claims that he did not struggle with any disease for which the medical system allows the use of antipsychotic medication, calling the situation a “funny misunderstanding.” In the latter years of treatment however, Karol was diagnosed with schizophrenia to which he describes as a “fair verdict.” In his overall experience, Karol holds criticism of the mental health / medical system as “pure mockery,” considering his own mistreatment as well as the system’s history of wrongfully prescribed medication to patients.
Of the 15 tracks across the Faith No More-meets-Cradle of Filth record, Pharmachrists name-drops narcoleptics aplenty. “All of the medication in the album’s tracklisting names were taken by me, while weed and opioids, along with alcohol, came some time after psychopharmacology began in my life, a nightmare in which they were a form of anesthesia for me,” explains Sowa.
“Perazine”
“Now’s your turn to find out what is wrong and get poisoned through your soul / on the line of shots with bullets to swallow as the ticket to abyss doors… Through these lies led by shamans of doom, with the rules they have put there – You can not fight them, but be sitting or lying for the wish of the king of hell…”
Karol sheds light on the first time he took the drug – “One day, due to mental exhaustion, I experienced sleep paralysis for the first time. I reacted to this with fear and screaming. The nurse asked me what’s going on, so I explained my experience… I guess she thought I was in a psychotic state, because the next day, I was prescribed risperidone with perazine – without any prior consultation with me by the shrink.” The effects? Karol lists off insomnia, breathing issues, akathisia, loss of sense in everything, dementia, and the loss of the will to live.
While it’s clear that Karol Sowa’s decade-long drag through the mental health-pharmaceutical system is heavy, he is nonetheless open about everything, from his inner thoughts and trauma to an overwhelming passion for music, expression, and socialization.
Daniel Mackler
‘Descendant of the Fallen Angel’
a shrink at the Psychiatric Hospital in Lubliniec
While promoting Mushroom Land’s Pharmachrists is the current priority, Sowa is also working on a couple next steps.
Descendant of the Fallen Angel is a 23-track release; you can get a teaser of what’s to come through five instrumental demos, focusing on a more dynamic and progressive doom metal style. Additionally, Karol has birthed a side-project titled Soovka. with an upcoming album ProToRe currently being produced.