BEHEMOTH Frontman Nergal On Breaking Into North American Market - "The First Few Tours Were Really, Really Rough For Us"
January 17, 2010, 14 years ago
BEHEMOTH frontman Nergal is featured in a new interview with Austin Chronicle correspondent Raoul Hernandez. An excerpt from the discussion is available below:
AC: When was the first time the band toured the U.S.?
Nergal: "It was in 2003. It was our first tour. We opened for Amon Amarth and Deicide. It was a really, really rotten experience. Yeah."
AC: How so, just the traveling?
Nergal: "Yeah, traveling, with no money. We barely made it to the end of the tour, but we did. It was a trying experience to go through the states at that time. It was a crazy winter, January or February. I remember there were no facilities on the bus whatsoever – Amon Amarth pisssing in one big, five-liter empty bottle of vodka. Crazy stuff, crazy stuff."
AC: Was coming to the states at that point important for the band?
Nergal: "It was a huge thing. We felt very limited in Europe. It was important to experience new territories and expand basically. We traveled Europe countless times, playing the same venues 15 times. We just felt like something needed to happen. We needed to move on and expand. Just asking my friends from other bands I could understand that there was a huge potential in the U.S. I knew that with hard work and a bit of luck we could make it there. The first few tours were really, really rough for us. It was a huge struggle for us to make it that far and big, but we were extremely determined I remember."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
