BEHEMOTH's 'Evangelion' Continues Polish Chart Domination

"Evangelion", the latest album from Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH, has now spent four weeks on the official chart in the band's home country, coming in at the #1 spot three weeks in a row after debuting at #2, just behind MICHAEL JACKSON.

Guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski comments; "It's unheard of. 'Evangelion' is storming the charts in Poland and we've been three weeks in row number-one-selling record in our home country. How insane is that? If someone had told me this few months ago, I would have never believed that this conservative country can embrace us so much. Things are changing. And it feels good. I'm grateful and happy that people dig this record so much… Again, I want to thank everyone who picked up his copy of 'Evangelion'. It means a lot!"

A photo of a massive BEHEMOTH banner which was hung up at Empik Megastore, Poland's version of Borders, can be viewed below.

"Evangelion" first-week chart positions:

Poland: #2
Finland: #17
Austria: #45
Germany: #59
Switzerland: #88
Netherlands: #5 (Indie Chart)

USA:

#56 The Billboard 200
#5 Billboard Hard Music Albums
#6 Billboard Independent Albums

Canada:

#61 Top 200 Current Albums
#6 Independent Chart
#10 Hard Music Chart

In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, Darski and BEHEMOTH bassist Tomasz Wróblewski (a.k.a. Orion) both admitted that they have given serious consideration to moving away from Poland. "The more places we see, the less connected we feel with the place we live in," Wróblewski said. "All of them seem more attractive than Poland. But you get used to a place where you live, and it's kind of hard to move. But it's possible, yes."

"I'm always thinking about it," Darski admitted. "I was just in New York for a few days, and I was thinking about it then. I mean, I'm rooted here, right? I've got my family here; I've got a nice apartment; I've got a few friends. And I was born here. But I would have no problems to live my life a few months in Poland and maybe a few months somewhere else. If one day I fall in love in Portugal or Brazil, I'm not gonna think twice. I'll buy an apartment in one of those countries and just move there and try to live a normal life."

Darski continued, "I can't understand why people come to Poland and say, 'Oh, this country is so nice and the people are so cool.' I tell them, 'No — these people are not cool. It's just a façade. They just pretend. Deep in their hearts, they are evil human beings.' You see, people in this country are very backward-thinking and very conservative. People who don't grow up here don't know the reality, and they will never find out."

When Decibel asked Darski if there was anything about BEHEMOTH that was uniquely Polish, he didn't miss a beat. "I seriously hope not," he said. "I really believe that our work ethic is very not Polish. Our determination is not Polish. And our music doesn't even sound Polish. When people say there is something like a Polish death metal sound, I am already starting to get nervous. People compare us to other Polish bands and put us in the same category, but no, I don't think so. We don't have much to do with this country. Don't get me wrong — there is massive potential in the people in this country. There is something like 38 million people living here, and we have some really cool history, but it looks like we're just stuck with this very narrow-minded, very backwards, conservative thinking. And it doesn't allow us to move on and improve."

Wróblewski agreed with Darski's assessment wholeheartedly. "We're not trying to represent the country," he confirmed. "We're just representing our music. There's nothing like nationalism or anything connected with the place we live in this music. So, 'I hope not' is a good answer."