Krzysztof Raczkowski (29 October 1970 – 18 August 2005), also known as Docent or Doc, was a Polish drummer, best known as a member of Polish

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

bands Vader (1988–2005) and Dies Irae. He also appeared as a guest or temporary musician in Sweet Noise,

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

, Slashing Death, Unborn, Moon, and Overdub Trio.

Final years

In the last few years of his life, Raczkowski had been suffering serious

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

problems. Originally, drum sessions for Vader's album, ''

The Beast The Beast may refer to: Religion * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the New Testament ''Book of Revelation'' Fictional characters * The Beast, imaginary monster in William Golding's novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954) * ...

'' took place at Hertz Studio in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

in February 2004, however, Raczkowski fell down a flight of stairs, causing arm and leg injuries. Because of the accident, the studio sessions was postponed. Ultimately, the band decided to hire

Vesania Vesania (Latin for "insanity") was a Polish extreme metal band formed in 1997 by Orion, Daray and Heinrich. Later members were Annahvahr and Hatrah, who left the band in 1999 and was replaced by Siegmar. Their first release, ''Moonastray'', ...

drummer Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski as a session musician. Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek talked about the accident while working on the album, saying: In March 2005, Krzysztof Raczkowski officially left Vader. Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's lead singer, said in an official statement on their website: :Doc pretty hard tried to 'fight' against his weaknesses, which were troubles for all of us. Finally he had not prevailed over that battle... All in all, he attempted... Vader today is not just a friendship anymore — it's our life with armies of man involved in music, releases and, first of all, fans waiting for shows or new albums... This is a high responsibility, not too many know about. If a person, even the most talented one, cannot stand it — ehas to leave... That was Doc's decision as well.

Maurycy Stefanowicz Maurycy "Mauser" Stefanowicz (born 1976) is a Polish guitarist. Stefanowicz has played with such bands as Vader (band), Vader, Dies Irae (band), Dies Irae, Christ Agony (band), Christ Agony, UnSun. He is sponsored by Washburn Guitars. Discog ...

, the guitarist of the band, mentioned Krzysztof's problem with alcohol in an interview in April 2005. Doc's alcohol problems eventually caused him to die unexpectedly from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

in August 2005. He was 34 years old. His grave is located in

Korsze Korsze is a town in Kętrzyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, with 4,005 inhabitants (2022). It is a railroad junction, located along the major Olsztyn- Skandawa line and Ełk- Bartoszyce line. Krzysztof Raczkowsk ...

, Poland.

Drums setup

Discography

Vader

Other

* Slashing Death - ''Live at Thrash Camp'' (1988, demo) * Slashing Death - ''Irrevocably & With No Hope'' (1989, demo) * Slashing Death - ''Kill Me 'Coz I Can't Stop'' (1990, demo) * Sweet Noise - ''Getto'' (1996, as guest) * Moon - ''Daemon's Heart'' (1997) * Black Altar - ''Na uroczysku'' (1998, drums programming) * Christ Agony - ''Elysium'' (1999) * Tower - ''Mercury'' (1999, as producer) * Dies Irae - '' Immolated'' (2000) * Dies Irae - ''

The Sin War ''The Sin War'' is the second album on a major record label by the Polish death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniq ...

'' (2002) * Sweet Noise - ''Revolta'' (2003, guest) * Dies Irae - '' Sculpture of Stone'' (2004) * Sweet Noise - ''The Triptic'' (2007, as member) * Atrocious Filth - ''Atrocious Filth'' (2008)

Videography

*Vader - ''Vision and Voice'' (1998, VHS) *Vader - ''More Vision and the Voice'' (2002, DVD) *Vader - ''Night of the Apocalypse'' (2005, DVD) *Dies Irae - ''The Art of an Endless Creation'' (2009, DVD)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raczkowski, Krzysztof 1970 births 2005 deaths Polish heavy metal drummers Polish male drummers Vader (band) members Drug-related deaths in Poland People from Kętrzyn 20th-century male musicians