Nergal: Extreme metal is just masturbation

Behemoth frontman Nergal Darski describes modern extreme metal as “dull masturbation”.

The singer says the scene does nothing for him and that he hopes Behemoth offer something better to fans.

Nergal tells JMT: “Today’s extreme metal scene is all about making a lot of noise and just playing millions of riffs within one song, and I don’t really see the point in doing that. To me, it’s masturbation, it’s dull, it’s boring, it’s flat at the end of the day.

“When you listen to those kinds of records, it doesn’t do anything for me at all. I grew up listening to extreme metal bands like Slayer, even Blasphemy, the most extreme bands. They would still make songs, you know what I mean? There was a place for a chorus, a place for verses, a lead. And we keep that formula going.

“Even though our music is different, we are in a different place, we still compose songs, and that’s what people dig after all. I mean, the things that have hooks and that are memorable.”

Behemoth released their 10th album The Satanist this year, after Nergal underwent treatment for leukaemia.

Watch the full interview below, in which Nergal also discusses his tabloid fame in his native Poland

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.