BEHEMOTH Frontman On Religious Contradictions Of Poland

Guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH recently talked to Metal As Fuck about the ongoing efforts by the national conservative Polish political party Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc (PiS) (English translation: Law and Justice) to have him prosecuted for offending people's religious beliefs — a criminal offense under Polish law — for allegedly destroying a Bible during a concert Poland in 2007.

One man in particular has taken a very vocal interest in Darski: Ryszard Nowak, who is the leader of the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects. After calling Nergal a criminal in a public interview, though, it seems that the Babylonian god from whom Darski takes his stage name had had enough. He took Nowak to court over his statements and won. The court ruled that Nowak had to make a public apology for his remarks, and pay Darski an undisclosed sum — one which he directed be made to a local dog shelter.

It must have been a surprise for Darski when the courts ruled in his favor.

"It was surprising on one hand, but you know what, the whole thing with Ryszard Nowak — the way I see it, and the way the majority of people who use their brains," Darski laughed, "see it. It is no longer a clash of different religious sides — it's not a religious conflict — it's a war between stupidity and narrow-mindedness and backwards thinking against the opposite. Obviously, I represent the open-mindedness and liberation. So that's the way the people saw that, that I'm not necessarily satanic, they don't like the music — but I'm right." He laughed again. "You know, things change and I think that were on the right track to get to the right spot."

Darski recently won the Gdansk Young Culture Creators award, which recognizes young people for their contribution to a country's culture — a far cry from the allegations that keep following BEHEMOTH.

"It's funny — it's a big contradiction. On one hand there's all these accusations of us being Public Enemy Number 1, we should be prison, we should be stabbed and burned. And then on the other hand we are winning everything on the way. It's crazy and awesome at the same time. On one hand, we are doing something very artistic and it's always recognized and respected by a renowned group of people — the BEHEMOTH fans. And now it seems like the big people in the mainstream media recognize that there is a band that does something for this country and it's good and quality — and it's art, and it's recognized in the world. And that's a good feeling; it's something that is, in a way, humorous.

"In one of the biggest polish magazines, The Activist, we picked up the award for the best band, and we picked up awards with all these big pop artists. It's awesome, it's good."

Read the full article at Metal As Fuck.