If you look back at a young artistic Nergal would he be surprised with what you've become musically?
Hahaha, shocked probably! He'd have a heart attack or something. I started as a passionate kid. I just wanted to be part of this Metal movement. It was something that totally absorbed me and I was all about playing the music and wanting to be like one of my idols, to be respected, and eventually I became one. I brought this band to a place where people look up to us now. The bands that I listened to aren't even around anymore, and if they are they lost their courage and spirit. It definitely feels like there's more responsibility on us now and I know that we are leading the way. On the other hand, it's always been about fulfilling ourselves in the first place. When I was younger I wanted to express myself, but it was more about being a part of it. Back then I hardly knew my instrument. I had no clue what I was doing. Now, having this ninth album in our hands and really believing so much in it, realizing how strong it is, it feels good. I'm real proud of myself and of my band.
Behemoth is pretty much a band that has never compromised, do you find that as you get more popular, especially in North America, that there's pressure to try to get you to compromise, maybe slow it down a bit, make it prettier for MTV?
No, not at all. All the credit we get here in North America is for who we are. Yesterday we got on stage it was nearly a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, the heat was killing. We went on stage in our outfits, I was wearing the mask and everything, boiling on stage. Then I had this guy come up to me and thank me so much for doing it, for sticking to who we are. He knew that it was hot and not easy to come out in full armor, but that's who we are. It's worth doing that, that's what we believe. In Behemoth we never compromise. Even with the new album, it's the album that we really wanted to record. With THE APOSTASY and DEMI-GOD we tried to keep up with other bands, we wanted to be fast, make the most heavy shit. On EVANGELION we just wanted to be who we are. If we want to play slow, we'll play slow. We don't give a fuck, we're going to do what we want. We don't care what the trends are. People respect us for the fact that we are Behemoth. We will not compromise. We've reached that place where we can say, 'This is who we are, love it or leave it'.
