An exclusive BW&BK; interview with BEHEMOTH frontman Nergal discussing their new album, Evangelion, and the road the band has taken since Demigod, released in 2004.

Q: Demigod is considered Behemoth's breakthrough album, hands down. How do you feel about that given the lengthy history of the band (dating back to the early '90s)? What was it that gave Demigod its widespread appeal; a sign of the times, remarkably good taste or a different approach by Behemoth?

Nergal: "I agree. This was the first record that open whole new world of possibilities for us. First of all, due to countless tours we did in support to this album…second, it was a REALLY solid and honest record. We managed to finally get a decent production, the artwork, the song writing…everything felt just right and with extra push from Century Media, who licensed that album to the territory of North America big things started to happen for us."

Q: Listening to Demigod back-to-back with Evangelion, Demigod has a very obvious mechanical feel. The new record sounds much more organic in nature. Is that the result of production, or creative decisions made while you were putting the new material together?

Nergal: "I think it's the result of everything but foremost is a result of us being more mature and simply more aware of where we wanna go. Evangelion is a testimony of our present state of mind, of who we are as individuals and as musicians. We definitely wanted to make an organic sounding record but at the same time we wanted it be very violent and aggressive. We don’t care about the tools we are using since everything is determined by a goal. And the goal is to perfect our style, make it even more unique and special. I honestly feel that this new record is a new beginning, new exciting start for the band…big things will start happening, just wait and see."

Q: Evangelion is a much more immediate album compared to The Apostasy. Accident or design?

Nergal: "Shit, that’s funny…prior to this interview I was answering the question where the guy told me how this record is complex, mature and demanding. And I hear extreme opinions from all around…it looks like Evangelion can be perceived in so many different ways, which is awesome. It only means that the record is diverse and mature. To me it’s pretty straightforward, catchy album…but at the same time it’s probably the most sinister and dark sounding record too."

Q: Did you push to get this new record as extreme as it is performance-wise or do you chalk that up to the production? It’s one thing to envision the music as a recorded work, another to play it, and yet another to make it come to life in the studio. This thing is huge, even on crappy computer speakers...

Nergal: "Before any note was written, I had a HUGE concept in mind. It really starts in your head, my friend…think BIG. That’s what I learned throughout the years (laughs). I wanted Evangelion to be as monumental as it can be. Just check out the title; I couldn’t find a word that would better represent the power and charisma of the album. Then read the lyrics, check the booklet, photos, and finally the video we made for 'Ov Fire And The Void'. It all comes together and builds a huge picture of this record. Nothing’s really accidental here. This is the ultimate, most complete opus we’ve ever committed. No doubt about it."

Q: How much input did the other guys have on this record, or is this all you playing director?

Nergal: "I’m the one who’s in charge of the production. I also give the artistic direction which way we should take with every next record. No different this time. I bring the riffs and musical material to the table but we all collectively sit together and work on the arrangements. I would even say that it was the most teamwork kind of cooperation from all three records we’ve done in this line up. It’s pretty smooth and easy. They trust me, I trust them. We know exactly what we can expect from each other which makes the whole creative process comfortable."

Q: It’s a cliché to say that live experience plays a part in how future recorded works will sound, but how much of that is true of Evangelion? You’ve toured extensively since Demigod, so it seems as if Behemoth has become more organic as a result.

Nergal: "What you hear and read on the record is a result of live experience. We actually took some serious time off in between the records. In 2008 we pretty much did only one longer tour in North America. Other than that we stayed at home quite some time. We found time to decompress, recharge batteries, live our lives before we even started thinking of the follow up to Apostasy. Just in 2008 I had two months vacation. I flew to Australia, Tasmania, Egypt, Thailand, and none of those trips had to do with the band."

Q: You kept Evangelion down to an old school length (41 minutes), reminiscent of the days of vinyl. Was that intentional or did you not have enough material to fill things out?

Nergal: "The priority was not to over do. Apostasy was a very challenging record. We put a lot of stuff there, which was cool because it made that record really diverse, but at the same time it felt like we lost focus. The album started drifting in way too many different directions. The final outcome was a record that wasn’t consistent enough. Evangelion was meant to be shorter, it turned out longer. But the overall feel is that record is pretty short. Why? Because it's well structured. Because it’s intelligently put together. There's a lot of valleys and hills on the new one which makes it varied and intriguing but it’s also very compact, very conceptual."

Q: OzzFest. How did that do for Behemoth in terms of the resulting exposure versus long time diehard fans that may have had a problem with "their" band suddenly appealing to the masses? Did that matter to you at all?

Nergal: "I don’t remember anyone giving us shit, really. We all felt that at that time doing OzzFest was a very much needed experience. It was a natural catalyst for our career. I always listen to my inner voice, always follow my intuition and I’ll be honest with you, it hardly ever let me down. No different was now, when I was writing Evangelion. I felt it’s the right record in a right time. Very honest and dangerous."