«
»
What the fuck??

BEHEMOTH’S NERGAL FACES UP TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR DESTRUCTION OF A BIBLE

 Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 11:30am by

Somebody call Antonin Skullia.

Nergal has been formally charged with insulting Roman Catholics after he called the Catholic Church “the most murderous cult on the planet” and destroyed a copy of the Bible on-stage during a 2007 concert (video above). This is possible because offending someone with regards to their religion is apparently a criminal act in Poland, and I guess freedom of speech laws are either non-existent or not as high of a priority there. Ryszard Nowak, head of the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects (which sounds like one of those awful religious groups we have here in the U.S. that always have a nice name to cover uptheir bigoted agenda – e.g., “People Who Love Families” would be code for “Fuck the Fags”), tried to sue Mr. Nergal (né Adam Darski) for promoting Satanism immediately following the incident. Unfortunately for Nowak, Polish law apparently dictates that there must be multiple complaints for charges to be filed, so the case was dismissed after an initial hearing. Fortunately for Nowak, it was only a matter of time before he was able to find some cronies to join his suit, and so now here we are.

Metal As Fuck (great name for a website!) reports that during that first hearing, Nergal made the perfectly reasonable argument that he has artistic license to what he likes on stage, and no one should be offended. I’d agree; if you’re pissy because a blonde dude in make-up said something mean about your beliefs, you need to grow a pair.

But I’d go one step further and say, people should be allowed to do whatever the fuck they like in the name of freedom of expression, so long as they’re not physically hurting anyone. For example, I’m not happy that there’s a site called Jew Watch (no, I’m not providing a link – you can find it pretty easily if you’re so inclined) that covers the way the Jews are allegedly running the world and raping Aryan woman and blah blah blah on a daily basis. I hope the people who run it all have to watch as their pure, beautiful daughters marry Jews, blacks, Asians and Hispanics before giving birth to hordes of homosexual children. But I’d never argue that there’s any legal or even moral right to shut that site down; there isn’t. I can sit here and type all about how I fucked all their mothers in the ass and they can’t sue me, and they can sit there and type all about how I’m a dirty kike who’s gonna burn in hell and I can’t sue them. And that’s exactly as things should be.

With all due respect to Poland and its people, protecting the feelings of the religious community over freedom of artistic expression is neanderthal thinking at best. I know we’re supposed to be super-tolerant of other cultures in 2010, but gimme a break. This is total bullshit, like Muslim communities that won’t allow their women to be educated. I hate to echo the sentiments of someone as ridiculous as Bill Maher, but sometimes things are different, not better, and sometimes things are just better. And freedom of speech is just better. Period. End of story.

Hopefully this ridiculous case will get thrown out of court in record time. But regardless of what happens next, Nergal should have plenty of material for the next Behemoth record.

-AR

Thanks to our friend David for the tip.

Tags: , ,
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bobby-Tims/1313713879 Bobby Tims

    Fuck that shit. i could get into a whole anti-religion rant but i’ll save myself the time.

    • Isaac

      Ah, fuck off. I’m not religious, but I’m not going to bash people who are. YES, it’s not logical, but who gives a flying fuck? People can (and should be able to) believe whatever they want (yes, even Scientologists). It’s when those beliefs involve the harm of other people that it crosses the line.

      • sinner

        WRONG if it weren’t for religion todays society would most likely be a much better one, all religion does is five other people a new reason to judge. the fact is humanity is just to scared of death, so they create a false utopia that they can believe is achieved after death… but thats not the point. The point is, it should be mandatory that ALL religions should be wiped from earth. and all their followers… genocide. it’s the only logical explanation.

        • Josh

          Don’t reproduce. Please.

          • Behemoth

            Fuck all of you little metalcore boys you suck ass.
            all those little stunts were old news by the 90s, he just wants people to know he’s still around.
            as for all these anti-religious comments, you’re all trying to sound cool but you look like assholes, which isn’t what metal is about, it’s about accepting whoever and whatever.

  • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

    I’m SO going to burn a bible on stage some time.

    • hotsauce

      You meant, *I’m SO boing to burn a Bible on stage sometime in Poland*, right?

      • hotsauce

        *going*

        • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

          Haha, i’ll just burn one EVERY time I play! I live in a really religious state, i’m sure they’d find some ways to twist the laws on me… They managed to have religious classes for high schoolers.

  • Who Gives A Damn

    destroyin’ a bible is still hip and cool? lol

    • Dongus-balls

      I prefer to yell at them with a REALLY deep growl while headbanging!

      • Gaia

        You growl at bibles? cool…

    • UpwindGravy

      Ha! nice.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jay-See/726690352 Jay See

    Good article! Plenty of laughs

  • Lordassenfroth

    i will verbally abuse the SHIT out of the polish government over the internet if they lock up nergal.

    • Dongus-balls

      Be sure to add really angry words like “Hate” and “poopy-heads” in your letter, that’ll show the Polish government!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Micheal-Vanderven/502827008 Micheal Vanderven

    i see a freemasonic symbol of empowerment on the mic stand

    • Jesus

      I’m pretty sure he took it from aliester crowley…. he seems kind of obsessed with that kind of stuff

      • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

        He’s thelemic. Which is the religion Crowley made up. Interesting stuff to say the least. The lyrics to Lucifer and a few other songs were written by a major member of the thelemic cult.

        • Lordassenfroth

          actually the image of baphomet is used thelema as a symbol of the unity of opposing forces like sperm and zygote and is rumored to be a symbol the freemasons use to signify wisdom, but i dont know any freemasons so i couldnt prove that. i know behemoth has a song written about baphomet on zos kia cultus.

          • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

            My dad was a freemason… I can tell you that, unfortunately, it’s not in there.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dalton-Kern/1572885386 Dalton Kern

        Yes, I am also thelemic, and that symbol is indeed a unicursal hexagram. As a matter of fact, if I am not mistaken, all of the members of Behemoth also wear unicursal hexagram pendants whenever they perform.

  • http://www.last.fm/user/M60Patton Patton

    I do so love my country. Having experience with the fucked up mentality of the majority there it is safe to assume that hell is about to break loose. Prepare for a shit storm.

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      I’m guessing you’re from Poland?

      • http://www.last.fm/user/M60Patton Patton

        Indeed

  • Cryzthormagnusian

    I don’t think there is any religion that, at it’s most orthodox, wants it’s women to be educated.

  • DemonicLemming

    Hm….I’m going with a simple “Fuck Poland” right now.

  • Jizzmaster3000

    That’s so 1994, tearing up Qur’ans is where it’s at now with the hardcore kids. Seriously though, it’s sad that freedom is still so scarce, but organised religion will always be an enemy of freedom. It just seems that the two can’t sit comfatably together.

  • Cryzthormagnusian

    And arguing “artistic license” is kind stupid too. Artistic license goes only as far as the laws of the city, county or country allow you to go. Performing on a stage doesn’t make you above those laws.

    To use the same arguement as the Jew Watch topic, a WP band in the US can use the swastika all they want as part of thier stage show but if they use it in Germany they get put in jail.

    And since we’re not hypocrites here and we’d all say we could care less about the crappy jew-hating WP band that goes to jail for anti-semetic lyrics and us of nazi imagry, I’m sure we won’t flip that and suddenly support a catholic hating person we like while he performs an act that violates a law in Poland, right?

    • Truant

      Wrong. Because Christianity is the most biggoted and hateful and silly and blah blah blah blah….

      Its cool to hate Christians, get with the times.

    • Spencer

      What I think can be said is that the German law and the Polish law both would be deemed unconstitutional in the United States. Further, IMO, both laws are backwards and should be, as the “some things are just BETTER” arguement states, stricken from both Poland and Germany.

      A human being has every right to say what they want to say. We should defend that right to free speech, no matter how abhorent and unforgivable the things being said actually are.

      The point being made in this post is that the law Nergal violated has no real merit to it. I think we can all agree that just because this law exists doesn’t mean it’s right. These unjust laws tend to be, as history goes, rebelled against and resisted by reasonable people. In this case, resisting is exactly what Negal is and should be doing.

      • Cryzthormagnusian

        I would agree that just because the law exists it doesn’t make it right.

        • Buh?

          Fuck yeah, legal positivism.

      • mongorian

        One should bear in mind that in Germany, those anti-nazi laws were partially put in place by the US Government in the post war era. Most probably with quite good reason, as no-one wanted to see a resurgence in Nazism after what had just happened.

        And there is no fuckin way Nergal is going to jail over this. Even if they get a conviction, he can turn to EU laws and courts who would overturn it in a second. Freedom of speech is not enshrined in law in Europe as it is the states, but it’s still very much there. Remember it was Dutch people who made those Mohammed cartoons a while back, for the very same reason as Nergal.

        • Cryzthormagnusian

          I was a little annoyed by Germany recently trying to urge the EU to ban the swastika throughout the EU. That may be all well and good as far as keeping the Nazi from marching, but they pissed off a lot of Hindus over that as well.

          While I think the law had a good intention, keeping Nazism from resurging, I think it’s a well known fact that the movement itself is still alive and well whether they use the swastika or not and Germany has perverted the law into more of an instrument to hide thier shame.

        • http://www.last.fm/user/Jugglemonkey Jugglemonkey

          Does the Hindu symbol actually count as a swastika? I know it looks similar, but it’s a mirror image of the nazi version, if I remember rightly? Or, the nazi version is a mirror image of the Hindu image, I should say. I find it hard to believe they would try to ban something that people would only mistake for the swastika out of ignorance.

    • Sandy n Papo

      I agree, a year ago an “artist” said the same thing when was acused in honduras when in the name of art he left a dog starving to death, just because he though it was art and he had the rigth to do whatever he wanted… I know that in this case he is messing with a life and not with a religion but still

  • boobies

    funny, i was just rewatching some of the old PMRC footage on youtube last night, partly for interest and partly for some research

    I mostly watched Zappa talking (and Al Gore looking OH so cool by saying he’s heard of Zappa), and then I watched that great Crossfire debate with Zappa and some dude I forget.

    Maybe Poland is just 25 years behind the times? (though, I suppose Dee Snider and Van Halen is a bit different than Nergal).

    Whatever… same shit, different pile, eh?

    • http://www.myspace.com/1033metal Jackson

      that crossfire debate is amazing

      • boobies

        it is,

        I could have been mistaken, but weren’t they talking about “words”? ba-zing

  • Gabe

    I think Nergal is disgusting and that his actions are repulsive and insulting, and I can say that he offends me deeply as a Christian.

    I can also say that I didn’t pay money to see him or his band perform live, nor did the nutjob that’s starting this crusade. I’d hate to oversimplify this situation, but I think it comes down to “Mind your fucking business.”

    • Dongus-balls

      Gabe, I too am a Christian, and was deeply moved that you spoke out with all these meanie-Satan-heads around! It gave me the strength to also speak out! I wanted to say, that his heart is filled with baddies and probably a lot of saddies too, but I feel the power of Christ will one day shine a light upon him and tell him “Hey Nergal, everythings cool dude” and everyone will be happy again! YAY!

      • pro-nergal freedom/pro-bible tearing

        your comment made me laugh. really. i just wanted to say. but i feel the power of satan will one day send you to a horrible violent death and you will be dragged to hell and tortured eternally by satan himself. because, like most christians, while you say and support your religion SO much. and get offended when people talk about it, simply because subconciously you hate other people who have decided to break away from the ridiculous. you have sinned plenty. because christians never really bother to learn there religion. if you havent confessed for every time youve sipped a beer, smoked a ciggarette, cussed, gotten “aroused” or eaten more than you need. then guess what? were going to the exact same place :D see ya

  • Milo

    In Poland the destruction of an object sacred to a religious group in front of members of that group counts as something like a hate crime. You have hate crimes in the US, don’t you? That’s why that Nowak guy needed more witnesses. To be able to claim that Nergal insulted/intimidated a group of people which was present at the concert.

    Nergal is in trouble because he destroyed a Bible not because of what he said about the Catholic church. Nowak wouldn’t stand a chance in court if Nergal’s speech was all he had.
    BTW That condescending attitude towards countries you know nothing about doesn’t make you look intelligent Axl…

    • Steph

      Yeah but why would there even be many Christians at a Behemoth concert in the first place? It’s not like they don’t make their views clear in their music.

      • Milo

        That’s the best part! None of the people who complained about the Behemoth concert saw it live! Nowak and a few right wing Christian politicians saw it on youtube and claim that even though they weren’t there they are offended by Nergal’s behavior and that his actions were an offense to all Christiians . It really doesn’t make any sense. These religious wackos keep using every chance they get to sue someone because they think that by doing so they are protecting their faith. I can’t recall any case Nowak had actually won. He has already lost 4 to Nergal.

        • Tim

          Hi ‘Milo’. I’ve read your comment. I’m guessing that you are from Poland judging by the fact you seem to know a lot about Nowak and his failed cases. If you are from Poland, can you tell me what it’s like over there? Are Behemoth really creating a storm? Are they creating a big rebellion amongst the youth and such? I hope so. I’m guessing that this Nowak guy is getting slightly afraid of Nergal. I’ve watched interviews with Nergal and seen footage of a polish TV show on youtube with an interview of Nergal. He really seems to believe in what he is doing, and by that i mean, it seems like he really is putting his heart and soul into turning as many people away from Christianity/ Catholocism as possible. Behemoth seem to be creating a lot of controversy. They are modern warriors! I’m from Northern Ireland, it’s very religious here, much like Poland, although Poland is even worse than NI…..

          Tim

      • Ian

        @ Steph. I agree completely. If you go to a Behemoth concert, your values will be pushed, no question. But thats the music they play, so if you don’t agree, don’t go see Nergal destroy a bible. If he were ripping up bibles in a more public setting (where everyone is paying attention and not just metal heads), I’d think it would be comparable to burning the American flag. And i bet a lot of you wouldn’t like that

      • Ian

        @ Steph. I agree completely. If you go to a Behemoth concert, your values will be pushed, no question. But thats the music they play, so if you don’t agree, don’t go see Nergal destroy a bible. If he were ripping up bibles in a more public setting (where everyone is paying attention and not just metal heads), I’d think it would be comparable to burning the American flag. And i bet a lot of you wouldn’t like that

    • Tonberry

      The comparison of the prosecution of a symbolic act to US hate crime laws is a bit glib. “Hate crimes” generally refer to the motivation of an already criminal act, such as murder, assault, or robbery. Frankly, I think these laws are horse shit- whether you break a man’s jaw because you don’t like his skin color, or because you just felt like, his jaw is equally as broken. Now I’m going off on a tangent, though.

      The principle of cultural relativism, while sometimes a great way to understand and coexist with other cultures, shouldn’t be used as a shield from criticisms of ridiculous ideals.

      • Milo

        I’m aware of that. The Polish law has some imprecise acts which allow items to be considered special and in a way a property of all the people who consider them special. Because of that the misuse of a special item you own in certain cases can be seen as misuse of someone else’s possession. These acts of law were designed to protect unique items with historical value. Unfortunately the laws are very murky and simply not specific enough, but I can’t imagine that the court could consider an ordinary Bible to be such a special item. I’m pretty sure Nowak will make a fool of himself yet again.

  • Chance

    Nergal tore one up when I saw behemoth live was fucking awesome!

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      He tears them up in music videos.

      • Dongus-balls

        I saw him once tear up a bible on a city bus!

        • pro-nergal freedom/pro-bible tearing

          where the hell does he get all these bibles? seems like the best way to waste money. but still…

  • http://www.metalmanic.com Jedsan

    How come he didn’t destroy one in Montreal? That would have been…

    br00000000t4l!

  • Matt

    this is why they should move to America. yay, most Americans would be pissed off, but he couldn’t go to prison for it.

    • mat

      right you just send people to Guantanamo without a trial :)

      • DemonicLemming

        Terrorists != people. ;)

        • mat from Poland

          Which state is the leading terrorist? :D

          • sic13

            At least we play by the rules!

          • DemonicLemming

            No “state” is a terrorist. You evidently need to brush up on the definition of the word. And as far as you trying a bullshit little underhanded way of suggesting the US is somehow “a terrorist”, again, learn to use the dictionary.

            Must suck to live in a country dominated by religious fascists.

  • Ben

    Anti religious comments go! What does Nergal expect? He tore up something that was SACRED to billions of people. He should have freedom of expression and I do not believe he should go to jail for it, but seriously nergal, tearing up a bible is just childish, like if someone decided to piss on muslim holy ground. I love behemoth and Ill probably be one of the only ones who will say this, but I think both of them were in the wrong.

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      How was he in the wrong? You can think it’s childish to tear up a book, but that’s all he’s doing — Tearing up a book. Harry Potter is just as popular, if not more so, than the bible, and he wouldn’t get in trouble or be under such scrutiny if he had tore that up instead.

      • gojirasaurus

        I think your missing the point entirely nate. im not going to explain it but are you seriously that unable to comprhend the difference between the to?
        And since when is it wrong to piss on Muslim holy grounds? when ya gotta go, ya gotta go

        • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

          I realized how dumb that analogy was, but it was just as intelligent as what it was responding to. A better piece of literature to choose would have been a Buddhist text (sorry, don’t know the proper nouns for them). No one, even the Buddhists, would be upset if he decided to go tearing up text on the path to Enlightenment.

    • cougar party

      I think you do bring up one interesting point here. As the above poster “truant” pointed out, hating on Christianity is consider “cool” and also i think people believe that it makes them seem very enlightened because they don’t believe in the “man in the sky”.

      However, if Nergal had defiled a Koran or pissed on a picture of Mohommad I think many of the same people celebrating what he did would be commenting on how intolerant and racist Nergal is for doing that to a Muslim holy symbol. Just a thought.

      That being said, he should be allowed to tear up a bible or any other holy book if he chooses to do so.

      • Dead_Letters

        Hating on Christianity may be seen as “cool” now, but Behemoth have been doing this for almost twenty years now. If you read interviews with Nergal about Poland, he talks about how the Christians there are completely indoctrinated, to the point of being like walking zombies. So obviously he’s coming at it from a personal perspective.

        People who are vehemently against Christianity tend to be against organized religion in all its forms, regardless of pc-ness. I’ve never heard any say “Fuck Jesus the Bastard Son of Christ, Mohammed is my co-pilot.” I also don’t know how you could cry “racist” for tearing up the Qu’ran, as Islam is simply a faith like any other. However, would these “Defense Against Sects” people care if Nergal tore up a Qu’ran onstage, or the I Ching, or Dianetics, or the Torah?

        • cougar party

          I don’t think Nergal is trying to jump on a trend or anything. All I’m saying is usually the Satanic or anti-religious statements you hear are always focused on Christianity and it’s gotten to the point where it’s not even extreme or controversial in the least. It has become a very comfortable point to “rebel” against; at least in the United States. People who disagree with religion feel good jumping on that band wagon.

          However, if the sentiment was primarily focused on the Jewish religion or Islam I don’t think it would be widely accepted by the same people who unapoligetically bash Christianity although they all come from the same roots (old testment). At least that has been my experience as an agnostic who does not really concern himself with being right or wrong about the afterlife (or lack thereof).

          • Tonberry

            You know, an anti-religion movement is one instance in which I don’t see any problem with people jumping on the bandwagon.

      • http://reaper-x.deviantart.com/ Reaper-X

        You forget that if Nergal pissed on a Qu’aran, he would have a price on his head. Look up Salman Rushdie.

    • Watty

      Hell, I’m sure there’s homeless folks all over the place who’ve used a bible as stuffing to keep them warm at one time or another; a book is just a book, be it “holy” or otherwise. And, being that he had to have purchased it, been given it, or found it somehow – it was his to do with as he pleased.

      The sentiment, however, is what matters, hence the reason that Nergal did so.

      The only thing that’s childish here is prosecuting someone for doing something you didn’t agree with, and failing that, finding more people to bring the charges again. Nergal wasn’t wrong to do it, he’s making a statement that he feels is right (and a sentiment shared by MANY).

      Before going and spewing numbers like 1 billion, make sure they’re accurate – I say that because of the following: I have been confirmed a Christian, and absolutely loathe the religion (had to when I was younger). Many of the people you include in that number don’t take their religion to heart, and therefore cannot be offended by any slander against it.

      • Ben

        You can never be too accurate with religion but assuming that their are approximately 2 billion “christians” in the world, Im assuming at least half of them actually believe in their faith. I agree with everyone here that nergal should not be punished for this. I’m just saying tearing up a bible is a little bit in bad taste. As for the muslim holy ground thing, it might be a stupid analogy, but I think most people get what I was going for. What amazes me is the hypocrisy in the metal world, when people at concerts cheer on bands who make anti-religious rants and tear up bibles, and then boo the christian bands who do the same thing, but the opposite (Minus the tearing of books). Yes I realize that metal is mostly a non-religious thing for most, but when most of the world is preaching tolerance for everyone, it kinda makes a hypocritical statement. Im Christian and I listen to Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Goatwhore, ect. Good music is good music. Thats fine and dandy if you’re upset about the way religions are in your country, but I go to shows to watch bands play music. And have a raging good time. Its hard to do that if bibles are being torn up and everyone in the audience hates religion. Just a thought.

  • mongorian

    So does Behemoth keep like, a ton of Bibles on the tour bus for the sole purpose of ripping them up? That would be pretty fucking metal.

    But yeah, you yanks ought to get off your high horse. You have a healthcare system that boils down to: the rich get everything, the poor are left in gutter to die. Unlike virtually all European countries.

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      I agree our healthcare system is fucked up, but lots of European countries lack basic freedoms of speech. Islamization and attempts at “community coercion” have fucked over our friends across the ocean. I

      • Milo

        Be specific. Which countries lack freedoms?

        • boobies

          go Canada!!!! muahaha

        • Alex_P

          A surprising number, even ignoring non-union countries. Britain really suck at freedom of speech, with strident anti-libel laws. Ireland has anti-blasphemy laws (which would make me illegal), and you’ve seen how fucked up Poland is. I can’t name every set of laws, but suffice to say that Europe’s freedom is lacking.

          America learned well from the McCarthy years, and so it’s one of the few points on which they’re ahead of the game. I’m Canadian, and our situation is not as good.

          • Milo

            Sure, the US has less restrictions then most European countries, but is it fair to say that “lots of European countries lack BASIC freedoms of speech”?

          • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

            @Milo. Yes, it is fair. Go watch videos by Pat Condell on youtube.

          • http://www.last.fm/user/Jugglemonkey Jugglemonkey

            Last time I checked, the only place in England in which I would have freedom of speech is on a soapbox in a designated area. Freedom of speech isn’t a right we have legally, and it’s surprising how many English people don’t realise it.

        • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

          The U.K. has legal Sharia courts. The dutch have given into islamic oppression. The only country that truly has remained free of the bullshit is the French, as far as i’ve been made aware of.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Olivia-Jaremi-/581522119 Olivia Jaremi ✯

        lacking basic human rights? okay, i’ll remember that when i’m not paying to have my life saved in hospital.

    • DemonicLemming

      Actually, it’s nothing like that at all, and even if it were, I’d take that over the fascist anti-gun, anti-individual, pro-Muslim laws Europe has in place. You can’t even own a decent sized fucking KNIFE in a lot of European countries – the one I carry and use every day at work would put me in jail for a while in most of Europe.

      • mat

        what a redneck…

      • mat

        definition of terrorism by US gov: “…activities that involve violent… or life-threatening acts…… appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping….” .Yes, unfortunately USA is the leading terrorist state and I think you are the one who should learn how to use dictionary. Peace

  • Reznik

    I’d like to see him set himself on fire on stage, that’d be cooler

    • Dongus-balls

      With a bunch of bibles glued to him! Hell yeah! Now you’re thinking!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bryan-Keith-Blain/100000618260825 Bryan Keith Blain

    you know, the only people who get upset about this shit are the ones who eat breathe and shit religion on a daily basis, Nergal has all the right to express his opinion on religion and I am sure there are what over fucking 20 billion more copies of the bible almost worldwide.

  • Dan

    I’m sure they can just let their manager take for the fall for it like Gorgoroth did over the Krakow incident.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jamal-Mohmed/663730590 Jamal Mohmed

    I’m sure these are the same religious people that go out of their way to have offensive books banned, if not they’re damned sure on the same boat. It’s ridiculous. I don’t think he’ll receive anything too major in the end, prison time seems a bit over the top for desecrating a bible on stage performing as a SATANIC METAL ACT. It’s like me mistakenly going to a Christian concert and bitching about them pushing their beliefs on me.

    Nevertheless, the bible is an interesting read, tearing it up for shock value is maybe a little unnecessary for getting your point across and only costing you a bible per show, ha!

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      If it truly was in the name of “Satanism,” under Polish law, shouldn’t his religious right (in this case, tearing up bibles) be protected? If they accuse him of being a satanist, and put him on trial for THAT accusation, then they are hypocrites.

      • gojirasaurus

        i take back what i said before that was freaking genius

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dalton-Kern/1572885386 Dalton Kern

        Exactly! Although technically Nergal isn’t a Satanist, he is a Thelemite. However, the same principle still applies. Aleister Crowley had clear anti-Christian views, and he expressed them in several of his writings. While I personally do not despise Christianity nearly as much as him and wouldn’t go to this extent of expressing that, I think the fact that the Polish law forbids this is absolutely ridiculous. He was simply sending a message about his own personal religious beliefs, and if you are opposed to that, don’t go see a Behemoth concert. Other than that, keep your damn mouth shut and let the man express his beliefs how he sees fit.

        • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

          I think most of us realize he’s Thelemic… Except for the zealots. They see anything anti-Christian as “satanic,” and somehow equate that to evil.

          This reminds me… I just got back from a show with my overtly Atheist band (upside down crosses and pentagrams ahoy) and every other band was Christian post-hardcore. Oddly enough, the band that played right after us ONLY mentioned our names during their set, and ONLY used our name when suggesting who the audience should support. Then later on, we were heckled by JesusCore kids for playing “satanist Deathcore.” Just goes to show there’s always idiots who like to call bullshit when bullshit simply isn’t there… Like this Nowak fucker.

      • Meredith

        Lol, this is exactly what I was just trying to explain to my sister. Like, would a Christian in Poland get in trouble for burning a pile of “Satanic” things? No fucking way! So the law should work against the committee if Nergal’s lawyer is any good at all.

  • Watty

    This.

    “He” is a figment of a collective imagination, nothing more or less.

    • Dongus-balls

      I disagree, I believe he also has the power to use a “Haduken” at will!

  • http://fantasyh.wordpress.com fantasyh

    Truth is that Christian religion is and was very important to the Polish people. It has been vital part that helped our forefathers through many wars and tragedies, form the medieval times up to more, relatively, recent event like WWII and f.ex. the death camps in Auschwitz and so on. And I, as Pole and a not very active Christian (and disconnecting with the church more everyday), I respect that. I understand the influence, and I can appreciate that some people do believe in God, good for them. But the result of that attachment to Christianity is that many loudmouths can speak out and conceive such bullshit as this lawsuit and get support. I think it infringes on the freedom of artistic expression. I’m not saying it was right or wrong of Nergal to tear up a Bible, I’m just saying it’s his own damn business. People have minds of their own, they’re not blind followers, that will denounce their religion because some dude in leather armor said so.
    Also, taking into account Mr. Darski’s current track record with lawsuits, I think he’ll win this one too.

    • cougar party

      Correction: I’m pretty sure that’s +1 leather armor. My elf battle mage wears the same one.

  • http://www.myspace.com/whitearmsofathena Josh

    THE EMPIRE NEVER ENDED!

  • Igottawocket

    Man, that Nergal fellow is so controversial and cool.

    • Alex_P

      You’ve missed the point. If Marilyn Manson was being arrested for stripping naked on stage, or Slipknot for playing terrible music, we’d still be defending them. This is about artistic freedom, regardless of your opinions of the artist’s actions and output.

  • meat mincing machine

    This just confirms what my parents have told me about how fucked up and backwards Poland still is even post-communism. It’s a fucking theocracy with 95% of the population being catholic and they have government agencies that investigate crimes against catholicism or some shit like that. What a fucking joke, I’m sure they’d have the same reaction if someone had torn up the Koran or Torah seeing as how Poland is extremely xenophobic and intolerant of Jews in particular. I wish the country would catch up with the 21st century already, I’m wary of going and visiting family there cause for all I know, the catholic gestapo are gonna pick me up off the street for wearing a Behemoth or Slayer tshirt which is obviously a crime against god and all creation.

  • Alec29

    Lock him up! LOL

  • http://www.flamingtusk.com Zosimus

    I’m always kind of interested in who or what, exactly, laws against defamation of religion are meant to protect.
    Are they intended to set aside people’s religious beliefs as special thoughtforms which cannot be criticized because they are somehow “sacred” and inviolate, or are such laws perhaps intended to protect potential offenders from being kidnapped and burned at the stake by a group of infuriated believers?
    In other words, are laws against defamation of religion intended to protect religious expression from offense, or are they intended to keep the peace from being broken by offended zealots?

  • FarBeyondJuban

    Yes, the Bible is sacred to billions of people. But it might one of the most metal and br00tal books ever. Beheadings, the world being flooded, plagues, rape….try and tell me it’s not metal.

  • KilledByDeath

    That’s why he’s my hero

    • Dongus-balls

      My hero is Jesus Christ, and Nergal is a meanie! A BIG BAD MEANIE PANTS FILLED WITH DOO-DOO HEART!

  • wroth

    I’ve always thought Christians are pretty soft for a group of people who are fond of telling people they’ll /burn for eternity/ if they don’t follow the rules.

    • Dongus-balls

      Yeah, but in consolation they give those SAME people wine and vanilla-wafers!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Koch/100000785018253 James Koch

    Facebook group to save Nergal plawx?

  • Bierko

    Poland is a fucked up place. They were oppressed and murdered by the Germans, but they now have large numbers of neo-nazis and incidents of nazi-related violence, yet Poland, like Germany today, does nothing about them and pretends they don’t exist.

    So they get offended about ripping up a bible. Wonderful. Europe is a great place.

  • Spanky

    I saw a band a few months ago tear up a bible on stage and I got them to sign it haha good times

    but anyway, Poland needs to get the dick out of their ass about this…it’s not a big deal…it’s being made a big deal because NOTHING HAPPENS THERE!!

  • Shimbo

    This is because Poland is a ridiculously religious, specifically Roman Catholic, country.

  • http://myspace.com/zerolotusixxx Mr. Z

    Come on,.. This is religulous.

  • http://myspace.com/zerolotusixxx Mr. Z

    Come on,.. This is religulous.

  • Jonathan

    I’m Christian. Nergal tore up a bible. Oh, wow. It’s not like there aren’t a bazillion other ones. Regardless of his beliefs, that’s what they are, frankly, I like his ideas that the self in and of itself is all you need. But I do like to believe that there is a higher power. And if I’m right, awesome. If I’m not, and there is no afterlife… no harm done, so it’s kind of a win-win situation. Do I agree with Nergal’s complaints about the church? The Catholic church, sometimes. But mostly, no.

    I don’t agree with his methods in the video, but it’s not my right to tell him what he can and can’t do. But for this guy to be suing him for promoting Satanism… well, correct me if I’m wrong, I only own Evangelion, but it seems Nergal hates the idea of any other type of being than a physical one. So… doesn’t he hate the idea of Satan as well?

    It seems if that he simply says he doesn’t believe in ANY deity, good or evil, then he could get off the hook for promoting satanism. Dunno what he’s gonna say about ripping up a bible… and it didn’t look like that many pages either.

    So, even as a Christan, I look at this and say: So what? I believe those words. He doesn’t. I’ll keep my bible nice and together, thank you, and he can rip his up. After all… he paid for it.

  • mat from Poland

    ” With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” i guess that’s a best comment for this situation

    • Someone

      Wicca?

      The monotheistic father-god religions are the worst for misogyny, of course. Once you define a supreme deity and define that deity as male, women are going to have a second-tier status no matter how hard you try to talk around it or avoid it.

      • Someone

        ARGG! IT moved the comment I was answering to one comment and stuck it on another comment. THis was in response to the person who said that “there is no religion at it’s most orthadox that wants women educated”.

        to THIS comment, I just wanted to say: Great Quote!

      • SomeoneELSE

        ARGG! IT moved the comment I was answering to one comment and stuck it on another comment. THis was in response to the person who said that “there is no religion at it’s most orthadox that wants women educated”.

        to THIS comment, I just wanted to say: Great Quote!

        (Now, why won’t it let me post this correction to my previous comment? trying again with a different username)

  • Jay

    He shouldn’t have gone to jail for the Bible thing — he should’ve gone to jail for making such a patently absurd statement. The whole “Catholic church killed millions of people in the Dark Ages” is an egregious post-Enlightenment myth that people consider common knowledge today.

    • gojirasaurus

      they did kill millions of muslims in the crusades though. fact

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/46e389eb8b79606050d3d447431ff6ac?s=80 Nate

      Die in a fire, please. Not only was there the crusades, but most, if not all, of the extermination of native americans (both north and south) was done in the name of Christ.

    • Gaia

      Oh dear. Please say you’ve heard of the crusades?

  • http://salsicha.wordpress.com Gabriel [Pylsa]

    Not a surprise coming from a VEEERY catholic place like Poland. Yes, that’s a nation I admire lot, a nation where people have the blood of warriors – you know, they got over Nazis in WW2, and later communists who ruled there until Solidarnosc kicked their asses.

    BUt… yes, I admit, that’s the uncool part of polish culture: THEY ARE SOOOO CATHOLIC…!

  • lol

    Next Polish Christian bands are gonna start getting copies of Evangelion and smashing ‘em up on stage

    • Jonathan

      So? They’ll have had to pay for the album, just as Nergal had to pay for the bible. Supporting each other through hate, lol.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Heffner/100000289780879 Michael Heffner

    wow.

  • Dieing Feetis

    The Poles did pretty much the same thing with Gorgoroth when they performed with models “crucified” and covered with blood. Gorgoroth didnt get in trouble for it, I doubt the boyfriend of the Polish Britney Spears gets in trouble for it.

    Who knows, maybe Gaahl blew some dude to get out of trouble.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Amir-Antonio-Palma/777253992 Amir Antonio Palma

    Dogma at work.

  • Phro

    Actually, in Germany, swastikas and Nazi imagery IS legal in an artistic context…it was a big deal when inglorious basterds came out last year.

  • Peeter

    Well not that i wish this case will get into Nergal or Behemoth. If this case becomes huge, doesn’t it gives Behemoth more publicity? Nergal didn’t tear up Mr. Nowak’s bible so, why should that bitch cares? This religious fanatics is what makes the whole world fucked up. All of them are putting their happy faces when different religions meet or what ever seminar or shit you call it. I’m pretty sure all they want is to kill everyone that doesn’t believe in their religions. Religion’s is a political tool, to make people feel bad about themselves.

  • Moses

    This not good, if I saw someone set a Bible on fire I would immediately piss on it and put it out.

  • DaNi

    technically he’s right, the Catholics have had quite a bloody history in oppressing non-Catholics. Even as a Christian [that's right, I SAID it] I think that’s unjust. i really appreciate the freedom we have in america… btw, why are they getting him NOW after all those years they’ve been around???

  • http://myspace.com/obeydarklord mr_Izan

    ur an asshole for not providing a link to jewwatch.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bronson-Blake/709453690 Bronson Blake

    This is fucking bullshit… Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Or even entertainment? Fuck. I guess freedom of speech is very limited these days. Nergal you’re my hero \m/ \m/

  • Jay Hall

    If they convict Nergal the catholics in poland will only prove themselves to be idol worshippers. Its called bibliolatry. Its just a book but they treat it as if it were god. Anways this law is just plain stupid. All religions offend people. I’m an athiest and islam says that I’m worse than a murderer. I find that highly offensive but don’t care what muslims/christians/jews think. The catholics in poland should grow a thick skin and stop persecuting people. I suspect that what happened to a few churches in the early 1990s could happen again if they throw Nergal in prison. I can see it now…another 800 year old church burned to the ground…

  • blaze666

    “Ooooh, lets arrest someone for defiling a fake person.” I’d rip a bible right in front of the fucking pope.

  • juuuu

    PUT HIM IN THE FUCKING JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!