GORGOROTH Guitarist Speaks Out: 'We Have 40 Million Polish People Who Hate Us'

GORGOROTH founder/guitarist Infernus has spoken out about the controversial concert in Poland that has resulted in the group being investigated for possibly breaching Article 196 of the Polish penal code concerning offense to religious feelings. The maximum penalty for breaching the article is five years in prison.

The backdrop for the GORGOROTH's Feb 1 concert in Krakow consisted of several naked women and one man, all covered in blood and apparently crucified on six-foot crosses. Sheep heads and satanic pentagrams also were on display as the band performed in front of hundreds of teenagers.

A spokesperson for the public prosecutor in Krakow, southern Poland, said last week that they are also looking into whether the law on protection of animals has been breached.

The spokesperson, Miroslawa Kalinowska-Zajdak, said the prosecutor was following up a complaint from the head of a local television station who rented a TV studio to GORGOROTH for the concert, recorded for a DVD.

The local television in Krakow, which complained about the performance, had acquired broadcasting rights for the show, Kalinowska-Zajdak said.

In one of the band's first interviews with the media in the aftermath of the concert, Infernus spoke with Canada's UNRESTRAINED! about just what went down in Krakow.

"We didn't plan to really have an outcome like that, our only intent was to go there and film the DVD," he began. "All the chaos and media reaction that came from this was a surprise of sorts."

Were you worried when the authorities were called?

"Not worried, really. I mean, what was the worst thing they could do? Destroy the tapes? I don't think they would do that and I don't think they could really do any harm to us, though they might be able to put the Polish producer away in prison for a few years. For us, this will probably help us sell a few more records.

"I am sure they could have taken us down to the local police station to question us about that, but nothing happened. As for what is going on right now, I don't know. I know the authorities had a meeting sometime today, but I have not gotten back any feedback from it yet. I know there has been a mention of us possibly spending some time in a Polish prison, but I can't take that seriously at all.

"As of now, I can only think that the DVD will be put out eventually. I mean, I am still working on stuff for it. It would be almost like they are stuck in the Middle Ages in Poland if they destroyed the tapes by burning them. I hope to get them back one day…I hope."

How do you feel about the way the Polish people and government are reacting?

"The Catholic Church has always had a great deal of support and influence with the people for many centuries now. They have such a tight control on things, more so than a lot of the other Eastern European countries. They also have some influence on the legal authorities as well, though I don't really think they could really bring about some kind of medieval ways of control upon us. I, like you, don't really know as much as I'd like to know and am relying too on the media to see where all of this is going.

"We have a lot more legal problems now, bigger than what we are facing in Poland, so this is just another part of what we do in our lives and we must face up to it. Like I said, this is just another legal problem, but if it draws attention to what we are doing, showcasing us as grown-up human beings practicing Satanism as a lifestyle and performing metal music, then it's all good."

Read Infernus' entire interview with UNRESTRAINED! at this location.