BEHEMOTH Frontman Discusses Making Of 'Evangelion'

Brendan Crabb (a.k.a. Spiritech) of PyroMusic.net recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

PyroMusic.net: Do you think that a lot of the commercial momentum that the band has built up really began with doing the Ozzfest tour in 2007?

Nergal: I think our momentum really started with the "Demigod" record, actually. There was definitely hype around "Demigod" and we really used that time well. We worked harder than any band that I know of. We did 300 shows just with "Demigod" — everywhere, all over the world. We did like five tours in the U.S., which was extremely exhausting but it paid off so well. "Demigod" has sold more than 40,000 (copies) so far (in the U.S.),which is amazing. It was a huge success, so fuck yeah, it was awesome and that's when it started. With "The Apostasy", we just increased everything — we had a tunnel vision and we just pushed more and with "Evangelion" it seems like all the hard work that we've done throughout the years, especially the "Demigod" and "Apostasy" cycles is just amazing. It's killer and it's paying off and we're pushing even more. So I would say it was a combination of factors, so to say (laughs).

PyroMusic.net: You mentioned the new album — to me, it seems like BEHEMOTH album titles are carefully thought out and aren't just chosen haphazardly. Why did you decide to go with "Evangelion" for the new record?

Nergal: "Evangelion" is a word that comes from the Greek and it stands for "good message," according to the Bible. It's basically about spreading the word of God. We have our own way of looking at these things and we actually... I'm not trying to tell you that we feel like apostles, you know (laughs),that we've got our denomination across the world and trying to convert people from Christianity to whatever else, other systems. That's not the point. The point is that we are here to spread the word about the divine potential of every human being and that's how we see that. It's a very rebellious, very provocative, very epic in sound and title and that's how I see it. It's awesome — it fits the whole concept so well, it fits the music, it fits everything. I just love it, I thought it was perfect.

PyroMusic.net: The vocals on the new album also feature some of your most aggressive performances yet. What really motivated you on this record?

Nergal: (Pauses) As usual, I was pissed off. I wasn't really at peace with myself and with the surrounding world. But it's not that I'm like super-frustrated or anything like that; I'm probably like every human being, probably just a little bit more sensitive to certain situations. But we just wanted to deliver great music, the best BEHEMOTH record, the ultimate BEHEMOTH record, the record that's going to be very liberating in its form. We didn't want to compete with anyone or anything — we wanted to release our own, true inner spirit and that's what we did. We didn't look at anything, any opinions — media, fans — we didn't give a fuck about anything, you know? All we gave a fuck (about) was how much pleasure it gives us to perform these new songs in the rehearsal room and that's how we did it. It was awesome. It felt great, it just sounded great and we enjoyed it. We were like, "okay, this is going to a great song," and that's it, man. I don't remember when it was the last time that we were.... I mean, like "Apostasy" was like over-analyzing, over-thinking, just going towards too many directions, making a record that was very diverse, but was losing the focus, was losing the impact. This new one is very diverse, but it has a super strong impact; that's what differentiates "Evangelion" from "Apostasy". And (with) "Evangelion" there's definitely a parallel with "Demigod", because "Demigod" was a strong impact, but it was definitely a less diverse... there just wasn't as many dimensions on "Demigod" that are on "Evangelion".

Read the entire interview from PyroMusic.net.