Artist Behemoth

Behemoth, led by the grunting, face-painted Adam “Nergal” Darski, is Poland’s preeminent pagan black-metal band—or rather, “blackened death metal,” which takes the most punishing elements of black and death metal and brings it together in a whirling dervish of brutally fast tempos and plenty of “hail Satan” occultism. The group’s love of blasphemy (however murky it becomes in translation) has naturally led to controversy in its homeland but only further endeared it to lovers of all things extreme here, as evidenced by a high-profile run on 2009’s Mayhem Festival alongside Slayer and Marilyn Manson. In 2010, frontman Nergal was diagnosed with advanced leukemia, but has since received a bone marrow transplant. The group is back on the road, with their planned 2012 release pushed back to mid-2013.

Updated 04/25/2012