ORION – BEHEMOTH

The moment Behemoth comes into a conversation, my brain either shuts down completely out of sheer love and speechlessness or I can go on and on about them till I’ve been told to shut up. Always inspired by the band’s music and it’s members, I had a fangirl-filled and interesting chat with the mighty Tomas “Orion” Wroblewski. Courtesy of Soundworks Touring, Behemoth are all set to return to our shows and in the brutal company of Watain and Bolzer. We spoke about the upcoming tour, the massive and continual success of The Satanist, how Nergal’s battle with cancer impacted them as a band and individually, future plans for Behemoth and much more. 

Behemoth have been extremely over the past couple of years, especially after the release of their monumental album ‘The Satanist‘, “Yes, we’re just wrapping up the festival season after doing about 15 or 16 this summer”, Orion agreed. “They’ve all gone really well for us, we’ve played quite a few shows in places that we’ve never been to before and that was the objective – to perform in places we haven’t been which has been great.”

Talking about favourite memories, at one of their recent shows in Turkey, Orion and I had a laugh about the hardcore, lovable fan that came on stage and hugged everyone in the band leading to a very happy, smiling Behemoth on stage. ” That was really funny and definitely quite memorable. Things like this are not very common for us. It was all so sudden – we were taking a picture with the audience before the encores and our tech was taking it from behind the drum kit. Out of nowhere, this guy shows up and starts hugging us and we were in full stage gear,  laughing in the pictures with smiles on our faces. It was fun!” Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside doesn’t it?

2013 was the last time Australia witnessed the dark magnanimity of Behemoth and Orion is excited about bring ‘The Satanist’ experience down under for the first time. ” We’re coming with a really strong package and bringing Watain and Okoi’s band. What’s his band’s name, come on!” The sudden memory loss set off a further bout of giggling before Orion said ” I think it’s the perfect combination for this tour, we’re all good friends and I think it’s definitely going to be a great set of shows in Australia.” The Satanist will always remain one of the greatest extreme metal albums ever created and definitely one of Behemoth’s most special releases, ” Absolutely. This album as well as the whole Satanist tour has been very special for us and this has even got us thinking about playing the album in it’s entirety. We’re planning on doing this next year – it won’t be just a regular Behemoth show ( regular? Behemoth?) but will have a very special production. We want to make it different from what we usually do, there’s probably going to be some exhibitions alongside the show as well but we’re still working on this, maybe for Europe and the US next year.”

Having had the opportunity of speaking with Nergal and Orion in the past, I came to understand the simplicity of the band despite their onstage persona and musical style. While The Satanist is a monumental album to the world, the feeling is much more than this for the band and on a more personal level, “We always go into things with no expectations. It’s just what you feel – that you’re doing something extraordinary and that is important for you. To be honest, it’s the same for me, I feel we have created something that is very important to us, and that ‘The Satanist’ has so much potential still, even though it’s been a year and a half since it’s release.” Before I even addressed the rumours of there being a follow up album, he continues, ” We’re not thinking of a new album yet. We want to reach as far as we can with this one and use it to the maximum. We’re currently working on two more videos for this album as well so it’s going to last for quite some time.”

That being said, The Satanist is Behemoth’s first album in five long years and the first post Nergal’s triumphant battle with Leukemia. The impact on the way the band approached the album must have changed quite a bit given the situation, ” Well, we’re constantly evolving and changing as people during our lives, changing the way we do things. During Evangelion, we were five years younger , we were in a different moment in our lives and then it all happened with Nergal’s illness and everything he went through as well as the band. Because of this entire experience, I do believe it changed the way we approached things a lot and well, to put it in simple words because of this and this entire experience  we just enjoy and appreciate the moment that we’re in and everything way more than we did before. The writing and recording process was just also different as we were not trying to be focused too much on some technical things. We just wanted to feel like we were doing the right thing, which is how it’s been with ‘The Satanist’.”

It has been difficult over the past few years no doubt, but their strength to forge through is inspiring. We talked about whether there were times were doubt crept into the minds of Behemoth, “Well I dont know, I remember us talking back then, ten years ago while we were thinking about concerts and we were changing labels, negotiating with them. We analyzed – at the time we were 25-27, and we asked ourselves how long we could continue doing this; going on stage wearing the kind of gear that we wear and performing the way we do. We asked ourselves how long it was going to last. But it is hard to predict such things. As long as we feel good about everything that is happening for us, we’re going to continue on. We cannot expect more than we already have. If it ends tomorrow, it ends tomorrow, we’re happy with what happens today.” And what happens these days is hundreds of thousands of fans idolizing the Polish metallers, ” Again, I guess it comes down to expectations”, he explains, “If you don’t expect things, you’re happy with whatever you get. I am aware of the fact that we have a huge fan following and a lot of people are listening to what we say, watching what we do – even an interview like this has a huge impact on people. We try to be aware of this but it isn’t easy.”

Orion has one last message to Australia. “We’re very happy to go back Down Under again, and people can expect us to give our shows 200%. Like I said, this is a great package that we’re bringing with us; we’ve got very good people in company on this tour and we’re definitely looking forward to it as much as the fans in Australia.”

Being in the presence of Behemoth is as close to a religious experience as you can get, as ironic as it may sound but it’s the truth. That being said, you really do not want to miss the triple aural assault being brought forth by these bands, so grab your tickets if you haven’t already – The Australian Satanist Tour kicks off in a week!

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