Fan-filmed video of BEHEMOTH‘s July 15 performance at Slagthuset in Malmö, Sweden can be seen below (courtesy of Niclas Johansson).
As previously reported, BEHEMOTH has tapped UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS drummer Jon Rice for the Polish extreme metallers summer 2024 European tour. Rice is temporarily filling in for longtime BEHEMOTH drummer Inferno (real name: Zbigniew Robert Promiński),who is unable to make the shows “due to health issues”.
On July 9, BEHEMOTH frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski shared video of one of the band’s production rehearsals, and he included the following message: “With the deepest regret in our hearts I must inform you that due to health issues Inferno was forced to stay home and take care of his well being and we are enforced by @jon.charn.rice on drums! Please wish Godspeed recovery to Inferno and cross fingers for Jon to outdo himself and make us sound as powerful as possible!”
Rice previously subbed for Inferno during BEHEMOTH‘s 2022 South American tour with ARCH ENEMY, 2017 North American tour with SLAYER and select 2019 headlining dates in Israel and Turkey.
Rice joined UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS in 2017 and appeared on the band’s 2018 “Wasteland” and 2024’s “Nell’ Ora Blu” studio albums. He has also performed with THE RED CHORD and UMBRA VITAE.
BEHEMOTH‘s “O Father, O Satan, O Svmmer” 2024 European tour is described in a press release as “a monstrous voyage through the continent to perform upon huge outdoor festival stages and selected club shows, accompanied by a wickedly curated lineup of bands. Truly a spectacle not to be missed!”
The tour features special guests TESTAMENT, GAEREA, PESTILENCE, UADA, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT and UNTO OTHERS on select dates and promises to be a treat for European fans of extreme metal.
In an interview with the “Everblack” podcast conducted at the December 3, 2023 stop of the Good Things festival in Brisbane, Australia, Nergal spoke about his plans for the coming months. He said: “Well, the plan is to focus on BEHEMOTH mainly [in 2024]. I’m doing like a short run with [my folk side project] ME AND THAT MAN late March, early April and that’s it. And all the rest, it’s gonna be dedicated like full-on BEHEMOTH.”
Asked if there is new BEHEMOTH music on the way, Nergal replied: “There’s new music. Next question.”
Nergal went on to say that he is not working on any material for ME AND THAT MAN at the moment and that he is concentrating exclusively on BEHEMOTH.
“I have no ME AND THAT MAN music in me for some reason anymore,” he explained. “Eventually it’s gonna come back. It’s like tides — it’s off and on and off and on, and when it happens, you’ve gotta catch that tide, that wave and just jump on it and surf. But there’s no surfing now for ME AND THAT MAN. There’s surfing for BEHEMOTH for sure.”
BEHEMOTH‘s 12th studio album, “Opvs Contra Natvram”, was released in September 2022. The LP was previously described in a press release as “a stark reminder of the rebellion, individuality, and unflinching self-expression that BEHEMOTH‘s phenomenal work imbues, shaped by a literary worldview.”
“Opvs Contra Natvram” featured twin cover art available in both black and white and was released in an array of physical formats designed by Bartek Rogalewicz (Lodge.Black).