Behemoth's Nergal: 'Satan stands for everything that is dear to me' – interview
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Version 0 of 1. Earlier this week, news broke that Polish extreme metal band Behemoth had been detained by police while on tour in Russia, and on 22 May a court ordered they be fined and deported. The official reason is that band did not have the visas, but it's also been suggested their eloquent but forceful anti-Christian stance has struck fear into the hearts of the powers-that-be in a country still reeling from the Pussy Riot saga. Whatever the reason, Behemoth – fronted by iconic leader Adam "Nergal" Darski – are one of the most notorious and acclaimed bands the metal underground has ever produced, and the whirlwind of critical enthusiasm surrounding The Satanist, the band’s latest and best album, has propelled them into the mainstream spotlight. A new controversy will do nothing to spike their growth. But beneath his unerring ability to ruffle feathers, Nergal is anything but the mindless devil-worshipper his detractors assume him to be. Instead, as he showed speaking to me earlier this year, his story is one of defiance, strength in the face of adversity and a profound belief in the power of heavy music as an art form. To eyes and ears that generally focus on mainstream music, the world of extreme metal is seemingly destined always to appear either thoroughly impenetrable or, sadly, completely ludicrous. For those who inhabit that world, mainstream acceptance is seldom worth worrying about, but there are occasions when a major figure from the extreme metal shadows has a story that cannot fail to resonate with people from every walk of life. Nergal’s recent personal history has elevated him above metal cult hero. In the summer of 2010, he was hospitalised and subsequently diagnosed with leukaemia. Family, friends and fans feared the worst, and it looked as if Behemoth’s steady rise to prominence in the metal scene was to be abruptly and permanently curtailed. Nearly four years on, however, Nergal is alive, kicking and revelling in widespread critical acclaim for The Satanist, Behemoth's 1oth studio album: a masterful piece of work that, while still hardly likely to lure in the average Ed Sheeran fan, is propelling the Poles towards previously unthinkable levels of commercial success. Ferociously smart and articulate, and far warmer in person than one might infer from the bleak onslaught of his music, Nergal recalls his battle with cancer with disarming honesty and insight. “I remember that the doctor handed me the printout with the description and the details about the type of leukaemia I had and then he left,” he says. “It was just me and my girlfriend in the room and I started crying. I had no idea what I was confronting. I just read the word, read that it may be fatal in many or most cases and it was shocking. I won’t play the hero or pretend I’m a tough guy, but it took me maybe five minutes to get over the shock and very soon after I was shaving my head. It looked like I was going to war and I needed a warlike attitude and a warlike haircut.” The manner in which he confronted and subsequently defeated cancer took even the most hopeless devotees by surprise. Taking inspiration from others who had been through similar experiences and survived – he cites both Dexter star Michael C Hall and cyclist Lance Armstrong as unexpected kindred spirits – Nergal approached his own recovery with a kind of evangelical fervour, keeping himself as fit as possible and refusing to succumb to pessimism. “I was talking to some other patients and they were all seeing things as black, saying: ‘If you survive, you have to be careful for the rest of your life,’” he says, audibly exasperated. “I told my doctor: ‘If my life is gonna be about just surviving and praying to stay alive and not being able to do what I love, then I’m not interested in going through this at all.’ Now I realise that this was the most important experience in my life and I’m honestly grateful for it. I’m mentally, physically and spiritually a much stronger individual now. Sickness is a sign and it happen to us for a reason. You know what? I probably needed it.” After chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant, Nergal was finally released from hospital in the summer of 2011. His return to Behemoth plainly took some time and lot of self-discipline and determination, but The Satanist offers the most devastating declaration of that recovery and a declaration of the impact it has had on his worldview. “I’m not trying to discredit things we’ve done in the past, but what differs from other records is the level of consciousness behind it,” Nergal says. “Now I know that there may not be a tomorrow. I focus on the very moment and I know, for today, I’m giving you my very best. The moment is the only thing that we can be certain of.” From its striking artwork to the music itself, wherein Behemoth maintain their tradition of playing euphorically brutal metal while striding imperiously into more groove-based and atmospheric territory, The Satanist is as formidable and direct as its title suggests. That said, with a history of tussles with religious authorities in Poland and an image that cannot help but engender either cynicism or mirth among mainstream critics, Behemoth continue to rely on their leader to make the case for the artistic validity of their music – something he's happy to do (“This is blowing my mind! The Guardian!” he laughs at one point). “For me personally, I’ve always related to antiheroes," he says. "In most cases they were scapegoats, martyrs and negative archetypes, tools that were used in order to make other people into slaves. To me, Satan stands for everything that is dear to me. I’ve always been very fond of independence and autonomy and freethinking and freedom and intelligence. Satan has always been a very strong symbol of all those values, so for me it’s very natural to take his side.” When Behemoth performed at the Forum in London earlier this year, what would have been a fairly standard metal show a few years ago morphed immediately into a joyous celebration when Nergal strode up to the microphone for the first time: despite the otherworldly trappings of his music, his triumphant return has been both heart-warming and enlightening for those who follow Behemoth. “When we made it public that I was sick, I know for a fact that the metal community totally stood behind me,” he says. “People sent best wishes from all over the world. It was a movement and it brought back some faith in the human race.” • Behemoth play the Download festival on 14 June. The Satanist is out now on Nuclear Blast. |