BEHEMOTH Frontman To Remain On 'The Voice Of Poland'

Despite receiving "a record number of complaints from viewers," Poland's national television station TVP has refused to fire BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski from the Polish version of the hit singing competition "The Voice", dubbed "The Voice Of Poland".

A draft resolution calling for the dismissal of Darski from "The Voice Of Poland" show was proposed by three of the TVP council's 15 member-board after protests by conservative bishops.

The bishops lashed out at TVP for its hiring of Darski, who was found innocent last month of offending religious feelings in connection with a September 2007 incident when he reportedly called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."

Rochstar, the company that produces "The Voice Of Poland", has defended Darski's participation in the program, explaining that he has proven to be "a warm and friendly man with a great sense of humor" during his participation in the show.

Ryszard Nowak, head of the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects, called Nergal "a Satanist and blasphemous criminal," adding that his presence on the talent show is a "scandal."

Even though TVP has chosen not to dismiss Darski from "The Voice", the Polish national daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported that the TV station considered replacing the BEHEMOTH frontman on the program, but opted against it, in part because several of the show's episodes have already been taped and are scheduled to be broadcast until late October.

It was previously reported in the Polish media that the producers of "The Voice Of Poland" were hoping that Nergal's presence on the program would attract a new audience as well as improve its chances of competing against rival television talent-show franchise "X Factor".

"The Voice Of Poland" reportedly gets around 2.2 million viewers an episode.

In a recent interview with Terrorizer magazine, Nergal stated about his new television gig, "It's going to be fun. The first black metal judge ever in history doing a mainstream thing, you know? People are going to freak out! Some are going to love it, some are going to fucking hate it. But that's what this music has always been about, right? To provoke, to cause different opinions. The more extreme opinions, the better, I think."

He added of the attention he has received in his home country, "This so-called celebrity life is not my environment at all, but I am a part of it if I want it or not. So it's been crazy. Then the whole case with my sickness and me getting out alive [Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010 and underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure in December. Ed.], it just brought some extra attention to it. And there's definitely some people that want to make some money on it because it's a cool story for them to write about and stuff, but I was like, 'Okay, if they're going to make money, I want to have my share, too.' I was away from music and away from being active live for a good year, so yeah, I need to get something in return!"

The American version of "The Voice" was a big hit for NBC and helped breathe new life into the careers of coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.