Behemoth’s Nergal wants ‘extreme’ reaction to solo album

Nergal onstage at Bloodstock
Nergal onstage at Bloodstock (Image credit: Phil Wallis)

Behemoth frontman Nergal has named his upcoming blues, country and folk-inspired album Love Is A Dog From Hell.

He’s just completed work on the project with his friend John Porter and previously issued two video clips from the studio.

And with such a radical departure from his work with Behemoth, Nergal says he’s looking forward to hearing “extreme” views from fans of the band.

Speaking with TeamRock at Bloodstock, Nergal says: “The more radical and more extreme they are, the more delighted I will be. The worst thing you can get is people just saying, ‘Yeah, it’s OK.’

“I want people to either say, ‘Fuck you, asshole. I’m throwing out all the Behemoth records because of all this crap you recorded.’ That’s what I would love to see on one hand.

“And on the other, ‘All that piece of shit Behemoth stuff you’ve done, I don’t want you to scream any more.’ I want to get both reactions.”

He continues: “It’s influenced by everything from Neil Young, early Nick Cave, Seasick Steve and Wovenhand. It’s got some Clash, some Damned, some post-punk influence as well. It’s got some country notes as well. It’s really diverse.”

He reveals there will “13 or 14” tracks on the record and gives more details on the inspiration behind the album title.

Nergal says: “The record is going to be titled Love Is A Dog From Hell, which we stole from Charles Bukowski. But he’s dead, so he’s going to have no problem with that whatsoever. I’m super-proud of it.”

Behemoth have 23 dates remaining on their 2016 tour.

Behemoth remaining tour dates 2016

Aug 13: Jaromer Brutal Assault, Czech Republic
Sep 24: Hyderabad Geo Garden, India
Sep 30: Katowice MegaClub
Oct 02: Wroclaw Klub Eter, Poland
Oct 06: Bydgoszcz Artego Arena, Poland
Oct 07: Krakow Hala Wisly, Poland
Oct 08: gdansk Klub B90, Poland
Oct 10: Poznan MTP Hala, Poland
Oct 20: Colgne Essigfabrik, Germany
Oct 21: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Oct 22: Rennes L’Etage, France
Oct 23: Le Mans Le Bikini, France
Oct 25: Lisbon Paradise Garage, Portugal
Oct 26: Madrid La Riviera, Spain
Oct 27: Barcelona Razzmatazz 1, Spain
Oct 28: Lyon Transbordeur, France
Oct 29: Lucerne Konzertzentrum Schuur, Switzerland
Oct 30: Strasbourg La Laiterie, France
Dec 13: Helsinki Black Box, Finland
Dec 15: Oslo Sentrum Scene, Norway
Dec 16: Gothenburg Liseberghallen, Sweden
Dec 17: Stockholm Arenan, Sweden
Dec 18: Copenhagen Store Vega, Denmark

My Favourite Horror Film: Behemoth

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.