Nergal solo work has inspired new Behemoth material

Nergal
Nergal

Nergal says that working on his side project Me And That Man with John Porter has given him a “great hunger to make new music” with Behemoth.

Me And That Man will release their debut album Songs Of Love And Death on March 24 – and vocalist Nergal says some of the rock and blues flavour from the record has inspired work on what will be Behemoth’s first studio album since 2014’s The Satanist.

He exclusively tells Metal Hammer’s Luke Morton: “We’re in writing mode and I’ve been really creative lately. Once I did Me And That Man, I came back with a great hunger to make new music for Behemoth.

“It’s a little different. On one hand, where we stopped with The Satanist I take it from that place, but I’m developing. There’s new sounds and there’s new flavour I’m incorporating in these new songs.

“It’s exciting. We’ve got a few songs started, some are finished – but we’re not rushing. We want to make sure everyone is on the same page, everyone is happy with the process and we are comfortable with everything that comes out.”

He adds: “All those people who don’t like that I’m doing a thing on the side, relax. Behemoth is going and I bet it’s going better than ever. Be patient. I’ve got to do this thing first, then I’ll come back and do something that’s spectacular again.”

Behemoth will join Arch Enemy as joint headliners at the inaugural Heavy Scotland festival on April 1 and 2. It will be their only UK festival show in 2017 and will see Behemoth hook up with other artists including Blaze Bayley, Grave, Dyscarnate, Sodomized Cadaver, Shiraz Lane, Disposable and Centrilia.

Nergal says: “That will be amazing. We had a long, long break. The festival is in April, so the next shows we play are in June. You’re going to experience Behemoth like a drug addict – we’ll be all hell breaks loose, wolves without chains and looking for blood.

“That’s what it feels like. I’m getting more thirsty and hungry to play that stuff again. If we kept on going for another year we could tour the world again and keep it very successful. But the price would be that we’d be burnt out and that’s the last thing that I want to do.”

Tickets for Heavy Scotland are available via the festival’s website.

Following their Scottish date, Behemoth will head out on the road across North America with Slayer and Lamb Of God.

Me And That Man feature in the new issue of Metal Hammer which is out now.

Slayer, Lamb Of God, Behemoth 2017 North American tour dates

Jul 12: Bemidji Sanford Center, MN
Jul 13: Cadott Rock Fest 2017, WI (no Behemoth)
Jul 15: Oshkosh Rock USA 2017, WI (no Behemoth)
Jul 16: Chicago Open Air Festival, IL
Jul 18: Columbus Express Live, OH
Jul 20: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Jul 21: St. Augustine Amphitheater, FL
Jul 23: Philadelphia Electric Factory Outdoors, PA
Jul 25: Boston Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, MA
Jul 27: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Jul 28: Baltimore Pier Six Pavilion, MD
Jul 30: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, TN
Aug 01: Bonner Springs Providence Medical Center, KS
Aug 02: Denver 1stBank Center, CO
Aug 04: Las Vegas The Joint/Hard Rock Hotel, NV
Aug 05: Los Angeles The Forum, CA
Aug 09: San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, CA
Aug 11: Eugene The Cuthbert Amphitheater, OR
Aug 12: Seattle WaMu Theatre, WA
Aug 14: Dawson Creek Encana Events Center, BC
Aug 15: Fort McMurray SMS Equipment Stadium, AB
Aug 17: Missoula KettleHouse Amphitheater, MO
Aug 19: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Aug 20: Phoenix Comerica Theatre, AZ

Nergal: Love, sex, death and embracing your weaknesses

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.