BEHEMOTH's NERGAL Reflects On His Battle With Leukemia: 'It Makes You Realize That Life Is Very Short'

At this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski spoke to Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne about his battle with leukemia more than a decade ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It kind of makes you realize that life is very short. And that's it. And you'd better make the right use of it. … It's very existential and it just makes you think and it just makes you realize, 'This is it.' I know it does sound like a cliché, but it does feel like that. But then again, I wasn't really this reluctant guy that just backed off and [remained] in the shadow. It's my nature to be upfront and just ahead and, boom — I was that. So when I had started my second life or second coming, I'm even more that. And it felt like I came out alive and healthy. I'm gonna jump into deep water with no security, basically. And I'm gonna enjoy the fuck out of this water and waves. And I know there's gonna be tides and they'll be pushing me back but I'll keep on fucking swimming and just using all my resources, all my physical power to go through life the best I can. I'm still fucking making mistakes, but it's not about not making mistakes; it's about being aware of who you are, what you are, what you're supposed to do here. And I just realized, okay, I'm here to make a fucking statement, and I'm gonna prove that in three hours or four [when BEHEMOTH takes the stage at Bloodstock]."

Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia back in 2010 and, via the donation of bone marrow and extensive treatments, has since made a full recovery.

Two years after his diagnosis, he finally got to meet his donor, then-25-year-old Gregory Kite.

In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Nergal recalled being devastated when he first found out he had leukemia.

"I remember that the doctor handed me the printout with the description and the details about the type of leukemia I had and then he left," he said. "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."

BEHEMOTH will release its 12th studio album, "Opvs Contra Natvram", on September 16 via Nuclear Blast.