NERGAL Says Next BEHEMOTH Album Won't Be Longer Than 40 Minutes

Adam "Nergal "Darski has confirmed that BEHEMOTH has commenced the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2018's "I Loved You At Your Darkest" LP. Speaking to Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com, Nergal said (see video below): "The next BEHEMOTH album, for some reason, my mindset and the way I see that in my vision here, shouldn't be longer than 40 minutes. I just don't want it. And I feel it. It's hard for me to explain.

"We've just got bits of music here and there — no finished songs yet — but I don't wanna go that direction," the BEHEMOTH frontman continued. "I don't wanna deliver a 50- or 60-minute-long record. I don't wanna do that. I don't want an overkill of music and people being confused."

During the chat, Nergal also said that the two new songs on BEHEMOTH's latest "A Forest" EP — "Shadows Ov Ea Cast Upon Golgotha" and "Evoe" — were originally laid down during the "I Loved You At Your Darkest" sessions.

"We recorded 17 pieces altogether for that session, and even though the album is only 47 minutes, which is semi-long — not very long, but not very short — it feels longer, because of the way it builds up, the dynamics," he said. "So it's not very much longer than [2014's] 'The Satanist', but it feels like it's longer. I don't know how to explain it otherwise, but I hope it makes sense.

"When some of the bands — I don't wanna mention their names, because I'm a fan of those bands — I listen to their records, and I'm, like, 'Why is it so long, man?' I mean it. Enough is enough. I don't wanna say that, because they are one of my favorite bands, but some of the big bands… I don't know if it's an ego thing: 'We've got 13 songs. They're all on the record.' Sometimes, trust me, from an outsider point of view and from a producer point of view, I feel like, 'Guys, if you get rid of three songs in between, somewhere from the very center of the record, it would be way better balanced out, it would be way more interesting as a whole.' And then, of course, you get into arguments and people tell you, 'Yeah, but these days it's not album the albums anymore.' Well, I don't understand that we don't have time anymore… But the fact that the global tendency is that we think [in terms of] singles [and not in terms of albums] is not gonna change my way of viewing the record as a whole. And there's some of the bands that I don't wanna mention names — they start with 'I', they start with 'M' — they're amazing and I love them, but they should do shorter records."

"A Forest" was released on May 29 via Metal Blade. The EP's title track is a cover of THE CURE classic, and it features a guest appearance by SHINING frontman Niklas Kvarforth. The "A Forest" EP also includes a live version of the title track as well as the two aforementioned songs from the "I Loved You At Your Darkest" sessions.

BEHEMOTH supported SLIPKNOT on an arena tour of Europe in January and February.