Behemoth frontman Nergal has shared a few choice, albeit tough, words of encouragement to musicians living through the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus has unearthed the music industry as we know it. With touring and live performance all but obliterated, many musicians have fallen into a place of financial insecurity. As I Lost My Gig, reports concert cancellations and postponements across Australia and NZ have cost more than $340 million — a statistic that hasn’t been updated since April.
In a new interview with Knotfest, Nergal has delved into the coronavirus crisis, offering an optimistic take on the situation and some words of tough love for his music contemporaries.
When asked about when he believes live music will return, Nergal shared, “I’m an optimist, but I’m also a big realist. I don’t think anything happens until mid-2021.
“I think maybe full-on we’re back in business in 2022, which I hope for. But this is what it is now. Deal with it.”
The Polish rocker ruminated on the importance of keeping creative during this time, “We’ve got new circumstances, we’ve got a new environment. So you can either just sit and whine and cry like a baby, or you can do something with the situation and just f**king bust your balls, bust your creativity, and deliver something out of this world. Because this world is somewhere else now.”
Nergal concluded, “It feels like we’re on a different planet. There’s so many limitations that we’re, like, ‘Holy shit! Is this what my life is gonna be from now on?’ So, considering this, which is not what we’re used to, we can either accommodate or just step aside. So, Behemoth, obviously, will accommodate, but on its own terms.”
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Behemoth recently announced that they will be hosting an immersive live stream concert, In Abstentia Dei, which will see the band perform at an undisclosed church in Poland. Nergal has promised that during the event, “there will be ritual, there will be sacrilege, and all from the comfort of your home.”
The event will take place on September 5th. Early bird tickets are available to purchase for USD $14 via Behemoth’s website, where the event will stream for 72 hours after its initial broadcast.
Check out the trailer for ‘In Absentia Dei’ by Behemoth:
