The last time I spoke with frontman Nergal from Poland’s Behemoth in 2009, he told me that he wasn’t very popular in his home country. Unlike many of its neighbours, and despite producing some of the genre’s best bands, extreme metal music doesn’t seem as popular in Poland. Looking at an old appearance from a Polish chat show, Nergal seems at odds with mainstream culture, no matter how hard they try to understand him.
But since then Nergal’s profile at home has exploded. Many have attributed this rush of interest to his relationship with pop-star Doda and his brief involvement with the Polish version of the TV talent-show “The Voice”. This seemed a bit absurd to me, as Behemoth’s music at its most accessible is undeniably extreme and utterly indigestible to a pop audience.
At the same time it hasn’t always been easy. Nergal was twice brought up on charges of insulting the Roman Catholic Church for tearing up a bible on-stage, a crime with a maximum two-year sentence. As well Behemoth was put on hold in 2010 when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
So it was with all this in mind that I sat down with Nergal before his Toronto headlining set on the Metal Alliance tour to talk about his increased profile at home, and the unique circumstances both bad and good that have made Behemoth one of the world’s most well-known and consistent extreme acts.
Shot and edited by Aaron Mandel
A Journal of Musical Things
UPDATE 05/26/14: Not long after the release of this interview, the band found themselves in trouble on their “Russian Satanist Tour”. They attracted attention from conservative Christian groups with some dates being cancelled. Apparently things did get physical at some stops. Finally in the city of Yekaterinburg, the band was detained for not having the correct visa.
Seven members of band and crew spent a night in a narrow cell with feces smeared on the walls and were forced to urinate in bottles. The next day they were deported back to Poland. In the end, they were only able to play four of the thirteen Russian dates they had scheduled.
Sources: The Guardian, Moscow Times
Sabaton is a Swedish heavy metal band that has managed to gain a considerable cult following due to their lyrical content which revolves around the history of war, especially World War I & II. For instance they have a very passionate fan-base in Poland because of the song and subsequent video for “Uprising” (not surprisingly about the Warsaw Uprising of 1944). Writing about specific historical events has created a deep emotional connection with fans in the various nations that these events took place. At European festivals Sabaton often attracts crowds that rival the headliners, easily eclipsing their peers.
They’ve also grabbed a few headlines in the past couple years by changing three of five members, and by releasing the album “Carolus Rex”, their first solely about Swedish history. I spoke with newer members Hannes van Dahl and Chris Rörland in Toronto after a set supporting Iced Earth, about joining a band with a huge passionate audience and how some people can get the wrong idea when it comes to historical lyrics.
Photos by Charnelle Stöhrer
Combichrist are the current kings of industrial music. Led by Norwegian frontman and main creative force Andy LaPlegua, the band comes across as more musically conscious than snarky peers like Mindless Self Indulgence. While guitars sometimes make an appearance the band is more about hardening the beat on the dance floor. This way they’ve now taken up the mantle as a more modern version of Laibach and KMFDM. Chances are if you’ve seen a Rammstein concert in the past five years you’ve seen them open the show.
While industrial music is often associated with leftist social and political views, LaPlegua (who resides in the US) tends to veer more towards sarcastic humour in his lyrics. While others in his perceived scene are singing about child soldiers, LaPlegua is often content espousing the virtues of having a good time with friends. Which is why I was a bit taken by surprise by the latest Combichrist release entitled “We Love You”, as it comes across as more politically confrontational than any album before it. The album is also perhaps their most musically diverse, at times incorporating pitch-shifting pop vocals and extreme metal guitar. This led some to speculate that LaPlegua’s recent stint composing music for the video game “DmC: Devil May Cry” had affected his writing.
I got to sit down with a relaxed-yet-energized LaPlegua backstage before a recent performance at Toronto’s Opera House so I could tackle a few of these ideas. We also compared notes on our recent engagements, as photos of his marriage proposal had popped up on Facebook, an entity that Andy isn’t so keen on (so much so that he missed my attempt at a dirty joke). What I found was a gentleman who is hitting his stride just shy of his 40’s, standing at an intersection between musical styles and scenes. In our modern culture where the mainstream and the underground now seem to cyclically feed off each other, Combichrist and those who follow them fit in quite comfortably.
March 25, 2014 - Andrew W.K. is a renaissance man of hard rock and heavy metal. Aside from making music with a pizza-shaped guitar and bashing the keyboard like Little Richard, he’s parlayed his positive party philosophy into a rather eclectic career that reaches far beyond music. Over a decade after his debut smash album “I Get Wet” and Andrew W.K. himself continues to be a bit of an enigma. Some say his ultra-positive public side is just an act, while others make the extreme claim that he doesn’t even exist at all.
After an intense solo show in Toronto (and a brief discussion about Arnold Schwarzenegger), I got to explore the mystique that has risen around one of rock’s most prolific entertainers. What I found was an individual whose rock persona seems to share his body simultaneously with his real personality. He’s Jekyll and Hyde working in perfect harmony to create someone who can be your friend and your idol. So when it came to talking about the recently departed Dave Brockie aka Oderus Urungus of Gwar, Andrew W.K. became realer than I could have ever expected… whoever he might be.