Heavy Metal Riffs

Extreme metal band, Behemoth, released their 10th album, with aims to perform in India in the near future
Heavy Metal Riffs

The Polish extreme metal band, Behemoth, rang in the new year with a bang and is on a high note. The release of their 10th album - The Satanist - created waves across the world with its unique dynamics and superlative compositions. Even while the blackened death metal legends are packing their bags to embark on a world tour, the dream to perform before their Indian fans is yet to materialise.

So far, two previous attempts to stage shows in India did not take off.

In an interview to Express during the band’s recent tour of Nepal, Frontman Adam Nergal Darski says, “There were certain hurdles relating to the promoters - either they were unreliable or unprofessional. But we hope to make it one day.”

He confirmed that the band has got many emails and comments on Facebook with the request that they should perform in India. “To them all I have to say is be patient, we will come one day,” says Nergal. “We always wanted to hit the Indian market. I know the country has great historic values and tradition.  We want to spread our music to those who are hungry for it.”

Besides music, Nergal also wants to dip into Indian food. “I have never been there, but I like Indian food. I have heard that it is spicy. I will ask for spicy food when I come there,” he says.

The Satanist is the band’s first new full-length album after Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010. The Behemoth fans have been waiting for five years for this. The album has taken the 34th position on the Billboard 200 chart.  It was released world-wide during the first week of February and has become No. 1 in Polland. The latest offering is an incredible ascension from what the band had achieved in the past. From classic heavy-metal riffs and horn sections to acoustic spoken-words, The Satanist shows the band’s new-found interest in dynamics and presents nine very different compositions.

“The Satanist sounds pretty different from our previous records. It is more emotional and sharper than the earlier albums,” says Nergal. “It came out better than we expected. As a full-length album, I don’t want to freak out people. We are proud of this album as we worked on it for many months. It was a long and exciting process, but the final product is great.”

The album was produced with the help of legendary Swedish music producer Daniel Bergstrand.

“We had also hired Matt Hyde, who has worked with Slayer, and the record sounds amazing,” says Nergal. “I don’t think any black or death metal artist had reached a higher position on Billboard ever. We are eternally grateful to our fans worldwide for making The Satanist the game-changer in Behemoth’s history.”

Formed in 1991, Behemoth played a pivotal role in laying a sound foundation for the Polish extreme metal genre. Till the late 1990s, the band played a traditional black metal style with heathen lyrical content, but soon shifted to occult themes. With the release of Satanica in 1999, the band stamped their presence in the death metal scene, while retaining their signature style characterised by the drum works of Inferno and multi-layered vocals.

In their line-up, the band has Nergal on lead vocals and guitars, Inferno creates magic with drums, Orion is on bass and backing vocals,  while Seth plays the guitar and also does backing vocals. Presently, the band is heading for a month-long North American Metal Alliance tour to promote their new album.

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The New Indian Express
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