Armia

Emerging from the mid-1980s Polish punk scene, Armia was formed around Tomasz Budzyński, Robert Brylewski and Sławomir Gołaszewski, and developed from the start a distinct identity within the country's alternative rock. The core of Armia's sound remains rooted in punk rock and hardcore, but the band added elements of progressive rock and gave a distinctive role to the horn, which became one of its trademarks. Tomasz Budzyński's lyrics, nourished by literature, philosophy and religious references, accompany music that evolved significantly through lineup changes without losing its original intensity. After Armia (1988), the band released Legenda (1991), Czas i byt (1993), Triodante (1994), then Duch (1997) and Droga (1999), before entering the 2000s with Pocałunek mongolskiego księcia (2003), Ultima Thule (2005), Der Prozess and Freak (2009), and Podróż na Wschód (2012). Armia is also a live band, present for decades in Poland's rock and punk circuits, with a career marked by successive lineups but sustained around Budzyński.