BEHEMOTH To Release 'The Satanist' In The Fall

Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH have set "The Satanist" as the title of their tenth full-length album, due in the fall via Nuclear Blast in Europe and Metal Blade in North America. The CD is being recorded at Hertz studio in Bialystok, Poland with the help of the Wieslawscy brothers and Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, IN FLAMES, SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD).

"It took us over two decades to come up with a title that… says it all," comments BEHEMOTH guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski.

"While our new songs artistically take surprisingly adventurous directions, our message stands steadfast — proud and radical.

"'The Satanist' stands for undying yearning for liberation and love for freedom in all aspects of life.

"Considering all our life experiences that often took dramatic curves, I couldn't think of more appropriate and fitting statement of who and where we are now."

In an interview with Rock N Roll Industries conducted aboard Barge To Hell extreme-metal cruise, Darski stated about the songwriting sessions for BEHEMOTH's next album: "I'm really thinking about my record. I'm dreaming my record, I'm eating my record, I'm shitting my record… I mean, everything just comes to the same thing: this artistic release that's gonna take place in the fall. That's the plan. … I'm so hyped and I'm so into delivering new stuff. I have this thought: every time I come up with a new theme or a new song idea, I think it's actually better than the one before. So I hope that this process stops at a certain point and I'm, like, 'OK, over. This is it. We're working on this bunch of songs and that's it.' Because this way I can go on forever."

In an April 2012 interview with Metal Blast, Nergal offered more information about BEHEMOTH's mindset going into the next album. "We want to take our time and not rush ourselves in any way," he said. "It looks like it might be the most important album in our career. I want to make the most honest record and I won't be bending to anyone's rules or expectations, including [BEHEMOTH's record labels] Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast. Every next BEHEMOTH album is a surprise and is never the same. . . We don't want to stress ourselves because the music business and the direction it takes is not as I would like it to be. That means we will be going against the current again and just do as we will and please. Whatever we do is going to be BEHEMOTH, 100%. It is the state of our will and nobody can deny it. I can tell you that we aren't going to come out with a reggae or country album; it's going to be BEHEMOTH, it's going to be extreme. But don't be surprised if people listened to it and said, 'Fuck, they did it. It's so amazing.' [laughs] That's what I like to say when I listen to my own music. I love to surprise myself. I hate things that are predictable. I want to surprise myself and surprise other people, as well. . . Don't get me wrong, I am a huge AC/DC fan and I expect AC/DC to be AC/DC, but don't expect BEHEMOTH to put out another 'The Apostasy', 'Demigod' or 'Evangelion' album, because that will not happen."

BEHEMOTH's ninth full-length studio album, 2009's "Evangelion", sold 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 56 on The Billboard 200 chart.