[Music] Behemoth

Let’s face it: the most whip-necking metal fan can be pretty annoying with his or her (rarely her) musical taste. If the prick doesn’t hear enough blast-beats he/she will usually go on his or her favourite band’s message board and chastise them for selling out. What am I talking about exactly? Anal music fans with the most tit-hardened opinions about their genre of choice.

So when Adam ‘Nergel’ Darski, the mastermind and only original member left of the band Behemoth, tells you that he digs Morrissey along with future Kings of Leon opening band White Lies, one’s ear perks up. Especially when you consider the pedigree of one Nergel and Behemoth in the battled-hardened arena of extreme metal. Putting out demos since ‘91, touring almost non-stop since their inception, Behemoth and Nergel have the clout and respect of hardcore metal-fans around the world.

But the man doesn’t like labels or misconceptions. “To be honest, I’m a fan of good and honest music. I get bashed for being a fan of Placebo or Morrissey but I really don’t care about boundaries or categories,” says the Polish extreme metal pioneer. “They simply do not exist in my world. It’s either good and honest stuff or shitty music. That’s it. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of White Lies from the UK. They are an awesome cold wave band in the vein of Joy Division, but with great production and a vocalist that can actually sing.”

Of course that’s not how one gets inspired to write music and lyrics that make the Devil say in a whiny voice, “Man, tone down on the evil.” No, that was for Iron Maiden to do, Nergel says. “I remember watching Maiden’s “Wasted Years” on TV and I was hooked right away. It was a blast! It was sooo captivating, so special that I can’t even describe. I wanted to be a metal head, I wanted to play this music…that’s what this song did to me.” One must observe the evilness of the “Wasted Years” video on YouTube to fully appreciate the effect it must have had on a child (Bruce Dickinson’s balls nearly popout of his short shorts for the entire duration of it. Traumatizing stuff).

The biggest influence on Nergel’s odyssey into music actually came from his homeland of Poland. “Bands like KAT, TSA and TURBO were the ones that introduced me to heavy metal. I still have huge sentiment for those acts, though I don’t listen to them very often. But KAT and their 666 album still belongs to one of my all-time favourite records.”

Being born and raised in a Poland that was in political turmoil, Nergel truly believes he has a much better understanding of what freedom actually means. “I was raised in a communist regime but keep in mind that I was a kid back then. First of all, I had absolutely no interest in politics. Second, I was too young to even realize what’s ‘good’ and what’s ‘bad’ for me along with my country. But I’m definitely happy that I was a part of it… it gave me knowledge. It gave me the sense of what freedom is. Later, in the Nineties, we entered the whole new era of democracy and it showed me how restrained and limited the previous system was. Even though we were democratic it was still a long process to fully recover the system after 50 years of physical and mental imprisonment.”

This upbringing during such a difficult transitional period for his homeland also toughened the man up. “The fact that nothing was handed to me on a platter made me who I am… that’s when my character was shaped and that’s something that strongly influenced my life. I had to fight. I had to struggle in order to get things done. When I recall these memories from the early Nineties, I remember it was extremely difficult to put a band together, to get a rehearsal room or find professional instruments.”

The strength he gained from such adversity (and killing goats in a blood-soaked pentagram, I naturally assume) helped Nergel to forge ahead with his band as a young man even though the odds of ‘making it’ weren’t in his favour. “To be honest, I wasn’t thinking we’d ever get that far with the band. I’ve always been determined and took no compromises… it was either the band or nothing in my life. But still, within an extreme metal genre there are very few bands that can really make a decent living and focus on playing only. When I graduated university I was already a professional musician. I never really had to work, which I find very fortunate. The last 10 years we’d been steadily growing up by constant touring and putting out records every two-year period. We built up a very solid foundation and now it feels like we’re hitting the roof with our brand new album… We’ve never been that hyped, that enthusiastic about the band and the things that are happening around it. It feels awesome, really.”

The band’s latest album, Evangelion, actually debuted at #98 on the Billboard 200 in August. Not bad for a band that has been threatened with bans on performing in their home country due to the content of their lyrics and stage show (the stage show sometimes includes the destruction of a Bible). But Nergel makes no apologies. “We are politically incorrect. And that’s a fact… We are speaking out loud of what pisses us off and in most cases these are taboo topics for a majority of the society. But that’s who we are. That’s what we represent and what we stand for: freedom of speech, autonomy, strong uncompromising will… these are the key words to understand our message and to understand what human nature is all about.”

One of the things that will strike you before you hear a single note from Evangelion is the album artwork. The Whore of Babylon is depicted riding a seven-headed beast with what appears to be two cardinals or saints praying to her. Nergel explains: “The Whore of Babylon basically stands for all the virtues that stand against God and his followers. This archetype has a very sinister vibe to it… and wasn’t overexposed in the metal genre, which is awesome. We wanted to come up with something that’s not going to be another heavy metal cliché. I truly believe we have something that looks very disturbing and beautiful at the same time. Worth noticing is the fact that we didn’t ‘steal’ this woodcut from anywhere… it was done from the scratch by our graphic artist Graal… we added a few extra elements so it’s even more unique. She’s holding a sword in her right hand so she has a more militant, more violent look… at her feet you will find broken 10 commandments plates.”

That’s the kind of stuff one wants to read about in the Halloween issue. But for me I like hearing about the humanity from ‘evil’ people. So what do Nergel’s Mom and Pops think of their son’s profession? “Actually they love it. They seem to be very proud of what I do… and the fact they see their son happy is what matters after all you know.” From the man who wrote the song “Christians to the Lions,” sounding rather normal and coming off as a likable guy. I find him to be far scarier now because of that.

Nergel and Behemoth I salute you with devil horns held high.

Evangelion is out now on Metal Blade.

Words: Dave Von Bentley
Illustration: Lisa Lavin