BEHEMOTH vocalist/guitarist Adam "Nergal" Darski was present for a hearing this morning (Wednesday, June 29th) at the District Court in Gdynia, Poland, accused of insulting religious feelings at a concert in 2007 when he tore up the Bible, calling it "a book of lies".

Wiadomosci.wp.pl reports: Darski, testifying as a witness, confirmed that the incident took place with the Bible. He remarked, however, that the concert at which it occurred, was a closed event / ticket. He added that the band depends on the fact that their concerts do not infringe on "outsiders who do not understand the message and may mistakenly understand it."

He added that according to his knowledge none of the several hundred people present at the concert said they felt offended by the act. Offended were the people who were not at the concert, who do not understand the context and the media, said Darski.

Read more at this location.

Nergal also commented: "I spent 5 hours In the court in Gdynia today. The case is back on track and there's still few witnesses to be interviewed. It's way too early to give any further comment. I just hope the final verdict is gonna be positive for me. I have a feeling that I'm in this situation for right reasons and I'm not giving up. Cross fingers! The battle ain't over yet…"

Check out Nergal's comments (in Polish) below:

Video of the Bible-tearing incident can be seen below:

Behemoth hasn't rehearsed as a band since Nergal was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2010. Since then, Nergal has undergone chemo therapy and a bone marrow transplant. Now, for the first time in over a year, Behemoth is back in the rehearsal space working on old and new songs.

Nergal has issued the following update: "Sooo, first rehearsals after the transplant are under our belts! I didn't want to get overexcited at first, just wanted to see how things would go, but I have to tell you…the second rehearsal we fuckin' nailed "Ov Fire And The Void", "Lucifer", "Conquer All" or "Antichristian Phenomenon" flawlessly! One of us even asked: 'Did we really take a year off from each other?' Ha ha… it was good times in great company! But the biggest surprise were the songs we NEVER played live ever and planning to do on the upcoming "Phoenix Rising Tour". I won't reveal any names yet, let it be a mystery til we hit the stage, all right?

In other news, I started jamming out some NEW shit too…too early to give any further comments but it sounds VERY disturbing and eerie. Can't fuckin wait to unleash those ideas to my friends…"

Many plans are in the works in the Behemoth camp, so stay tuned for updates.

Check out more rehearsal photos at this location.

Behemoth's return to the stage will occur this fall on their Polish Phoenix Rising Tour 2011. The band will play these six show (with more to be announced) with support from BLINDEAD and MOROWE (with one special guest to be announced for the Warsaw show).

Confirmed dates include:

October

8 - Poznan, Poland - Eskulap
9 - Gdansk, Poland - Parlament
14 - Kraków, Poland - Studio
15 - Katowice, Poland - Mega Club
16 - Wroclaw, Poland - Eter
21 - Warszawa Poland - Stodola

(Photo courtesy of Ivo Ledwozyw)