BEHEMOTH's NERGAL: 'Today's Extreme Metal Scene Is All About Making A Lot Of Noise'

Andrew Epstein conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH on April 23 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about BEHEMOTH's place in the modern extreme metal scene, Nergal said: "Today's extreme metal scene is all about making a lot of noise and just playing millions of riffs within one song, and I don't really see the point in doing that. You know what I mean? To me, it's masturbation, it's dull, it's boring, it's flat at the end of the day. When you listen to those kinds of records, it doesn't [do anything for] me at all. I grew up listening to extreme metal bands like SLAYER, even BLASPHEMY, the most extreme bands… or MAYHEM… They would still make songs, you know what I mean? There was a place for a chorus, a place for verses, a lead… And we keep that formula going. Even though our music is different, we are in a different place, we still compose songs, and that's what people dig after all. I mean, the things that have hooks and that are memorable, I'm not doing this to attract people, I'm doing it to attract myself, because I grew up that way, I was raised with that kind of music, and I appreciate it in other bands, so I definitely wanna do it the same in BEHEMOTH."

BEHEMOTH's new album, "The Satanist", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's ninth full-length studio CD, 2009's "Evangelion", opened with around 8,500 units to land at No. 56.

"The Satanist" was released on February 3 in the U.K., February 4 in North America and Poland, February 5 in Japan, and February 7 in the rest of the world.

"The Satanist" deluxe box, which is available in North America as an European import, includes: CD/DVD digibook in silver mirror slipcase with a high-quality 44-page booklet (with gold foil, UV gloss lamination),supersize poster flag (approx. 3.5' x 5'),wooden black inverted rosary cross, metal pin, black envelope with black communion wafers. The DVD, "Live Barbarossa", includes a professionally filmed show in Ekaterinburg, Russia, as well as 30-minute documentary about the creative process behind "The Satanist".

"The Satanist" was produced by BEHEMOTH, Wojtek and Slawek Wieslawscy and Daniel Bergstrand at Hertz Studio. The CD was mixed by Matt Hyde (SLAYER) and mastered by Ted Jensen (METALLICA, AC/DC) at Sterling Sound in New York City. The cover art for "The Satanist" was painted by renowned Russian painter and occultist Denis Forkas. The paint used included some of Nergal's own blood. Additional art and design was completed by Metastazis (PARADISE LOST) and Zbigniew Bielak (WATAIN, GHOST).