I had the pleasure of catching up with NERGAL from Poland’s BEHEMOTH. We talked for a while about Ozzfest, the band’s new album, the musical state of Poland and America, and a lot more. Be sure to catch these guys on Ozzfest this year and to pick up The Apostasy. This band fucking rules!
FoundryMusicJosh: How’s it going?
Nergal: Pretty well, I just woke up actually. We have been traveling all night and are going to be doing a show soon. How are you?
FoundryMusicJosh: Doing good, thanks. First of all, how has Ozzfest been thus far?
Nergal: It’s been fucking great! Being a part of this tour has been one of the best things that has happened to us during our career – and that’s huge, given that we’ve been around for 16, nearly 17, years at this point. We are really enjoying bringing Black Metal music to the masses. As you can tell, we are one of the two heaviest bands on this tour and it’s great to see the reations of the fans to our music.
FoundryMusicJosh: It’s quite obvious from looking at the Ozzfest lineup that Behemoth is one of the most metal bands on the tour this year. How has it been to tour with bands like Circus Diablo and The Showdown, who are pretty lame when compared to Behemoth?
Nergal: Well, I don’t want to criticize any of the bands on this tour, but like I said we are one of the heaviest. They all put on great shows though. I mean, fucking HATEBREED sets the crowd on fire every single night. I think the biggest difference is that no one else on the tour, other than NILE, uses the blast beat. We put on a very punishing show that the other bands can respect and they put on a very intense show that we can respect as well. The biggest concern of ours is that the fans enjoy our show.
FoundryMusicJosh: How have the Ozzfest fans reacted to you?
Nergal: They’ve been really receptive. Judging by the merchandise sales alone, we could say that the fans have really enjoyed having us here and that’s what it’s all about. I am trying to promote one of the most extreme types of metal and I’m getting the chance to do that in front on the biggest Metal tour in America – to see the fans banging their heads and having a good time is fucking awesome.
FoundryMusicJosh: Who is your favorite band on the tour?
Nergal: I would have to say 3 INCHES OF BLOOD. I had never been exposed to them before and to see an old school Heavy Metal band these days is fucking great. They are straight out of the 80s and they put on a great show. LAMB OF GOD are very good as well. They bring a lot of intensity to the stage and the fans love them. NILE is one of my favorite bands as well. They put on a show a lot like we do, very brutal and they make quality music. Oh, and DAATH have been great. Like 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, I had never heard them before but they are fucking intense.
FoundryMusicJosh: Changing topics a bit, Behemoth’s sound has changed a lot over the years. Going from Black Metal to incorporating Death Metal and other types of music. What led to this change and how do you feel it has been viewed by your fans?
Nergal: Well, first of all, my main goal musically is to please myself. If some fans don’t like it, fine. If others do, awesome. BEHEMOTH is not about playing a certain type of music to keep fans happy, BEHEMOTH focuses on being organic and letting the sound guide us. The fact that our sound has changed over the years is a sign that we have grown as musicians. You know, some bands just go along making the same album throughout their career, just changing the cover and the song titles but we try to do something differently and we make music that we are happy with.
FoundryMusicJosh: I love the new album. How do you feel The Apostasy compares to previous Behemoth records?
Nergal: I never really compare the albums because we change our sound so much but I really like the new one. The Apostasy has only been out for two weeks in the US and has already sold 1/3 as much as Demigod sold in two years so it is clear to us that we made a good album. We even debuted on the fucking Billboard chart. It is really amazing, to us, to see this kind of heavy metal music being enjoyed by the masses. That means we are doing something right, eh?
FoundryMusicJosh: What is the current Metal scene like in Poland?
Nergal: It’s fucking great. I mean, it’s a shame that people aren’t catching on to how good the Polish metal scene is right now. There are at least 20 great metal bands there. Some are black metal, some are death, some are completely different. There is one band, Pristina, who are fucking amazing. Just really aggressive music and really talented musicians. (Pristina is fucking incredible. Pick up ‘Boner Jams ‘07’! –FMJ)
FoundryMusicJosh: With Emo music becoming all the rage in America, what is your opinion of the state of Metal and Hard Rock outside of Poland?
Nergal: I really don’t care about them. I mean, you and I and other true metal fans know that this is just a phase that will be gone within 2 years. I know a lot of people hate it, but I just ignore it. Why bother hating something that isn’t even going to be around much longer? I’m sure that they have something redeeming about their music, but the fact is that Emo is to music what McDonalds is to food. There is no substance to it. It is just something that is processed and watered down to the point that it’s completely insignificant.
FoundryMusicJosh: We have talked to several metal artists who say that they don’t listen to much metal in their spare time. What do you listen to?
Nergal: Nothing, really (laughs). I have bought 20 or so fucking CDs on this tour and haven’t really gotten to listen to any of them yet. I listen to a lot of stuff though. Of course, I do listen to a lot of metal because it’s the music that I love but I feel that there are so many types of music that can influence people and I listen to a lot of other stuff. I’ve bought a lot of Blues stuff out here and even some other stuff, like Willie Nelson. I also got my hands on the new NILE album and I’m very excited about that.
FoundryMusicJosh: After Ozzfest wraps up, what is next for Behemoth?
Nergal: We are touring for the rest of the year in support of The Apostasy. After we finish up with Ozzfest, we are going to be touring Poland and Europe. We will be back in the US too. We’ve got a lot on the table for us when Ozzfest ends.
FoundryMusicJosh: Aside from the new album, do you have anything that you want to plug for our readers?
Nergal: Not really. We will have a DVD coming out early next year but, right now, our priority is the new album. I also want to thank all the fans for coming out to the shows and buying the new album. (Buy The Apostasy … NOW! –FMJ)
FoundryMusicJosh: Thank you for the time, I’m a huge fan and I look forward to seeing you guys later this month on Ozzfest.
Nergal: Oh thanks for the interview, Josh. Make sure you come backstage at the show. We’ll have a beer and talk.
Well, that's all folks. Check out the band's official site for more info
Oh yeah, and BUY THE NEW ALBUM!
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