Behemoth is hailing from Poland which is known as a big rip-off country, full of zines which are only after free stuff and never write back again... so naturally I asked Lord Baal Ravenlock what he thinks about all this, and does he believe Behemoth could be confused with all these rip-offs?

-We hail Poland of course, but not its current citizens whoare in 99.9% completely brainless. Stealing things and ripping off people is the native habits of an average Polish idiot, so I can´t do a shit about it. The only cure is not to write them. The list of such bastards is so long that I cant even think about anyone concrete... And once again I would like to point one thing: I hail Poland as the land of Slavs, as the territory of the Pagan culture and the sanctuary of the nature. I hate todays face of this country, but for sure I´m not responsible for it.

Capricornus from Graveland (Pol) told in our third issue that all of the "true occultic Pagan Black Metal bands" from Poland belong to their hermetic organisation, The Temple of the Fullmoon. He also mentioned some names who belong to their cult, but Behemoth wasnt included...

-Capricornus is a strange type with some mental problems I think. Probably he has read to many books... I dont know. He is trying to say that Pagan Slavanic ideology has some connection with the person of Adolf Hitler and so on. He represents a mainstream created by people like Greifi, who find fascismas a similar, lets say ideology, to Paganism. I myself find it childish and baseless. The scene in Poland is dead, and the only valuable bands I know are Behemoth, Graveland (Rob Darken), Damnation and Christ Agony. The rest can fuck off!

Behemoth is signed to Polish Pagan Records, so I asked Baal to tell me something about this deal...

-I think that the deal was directly caused by our rehearsal tape. Tomas got interested on us as he really found true black metal flame in that release. I also think that Tomas is the only one valuable to person in Poland to produce a Black Metal work. And about the deal thing itself - We always try to get some closer look at the people running the label, that is the most important thing. If someone is really valuable in all aspects, I mean physical and ideological and so on, it will be a good deal.

Then it´s time to get more personal and talk about the ideology of Lord Baal Ravenlock. The members of Behemoth have told to be satanists, so why dont we let the man tell som more about it....

-My ideology is not a belief (a stupid christian label), because faith is hope and I dont believe in anything exept the existance of the things that surrounds me - the nature, cosmos, my friends and the elemental co-reactions between these things. Hope is for me a sign of importance - waiting for things to be done themselves. No hope, no fear!!! About the satanic ideology... maybe I told I´m a satanist, but if there was so , it was only a small part of my outlook, now developed more concretely. I´m a Pagan - my music and lyrics are Pagan. The Slavanic cult and the mighty influence of the universe, forcing me through the phenomena of mother nature, are the most important things creating my current outlook. The true satanism showed me the way to utilize the potential of my own self and to find the essence of my existance. But the hatred I feel to the bastards who destroyed beautiful culture of my Slavanic ancestors is even more than 100 times stronger! So that is the essence of my music; PAGAN BLACK METAL! Also I would like to add that I dont give a fuck about any "satanic" or "nazi" organisations, cause I think the word "organization" itself stands against the basic ideas of satanism, which for sure are Individual Attitude and Freedom!

I must say that makes sense to me... Next I would like to hear Baal ´s opinion about christianity and it´s followers in general? Weak religion for weak people?

-I HATE CHRISTIANITY, as it is the religion dirctly responsible for the obliteration of the Pagan Slavanic culture. That´s all. Christianity is so popular nowadays thanks to those who propagated it with fire, swords and fear. It opresses people and their thoughts. Those who fall into it are for me nothing but worthless and weak. They just become servants! Disgusting!

Are Behemoth an original BM-band, and what separates you from the 1000000 other bands of this genre? Are Behemoth just another clone-band following desperately the roots of their "idols" Venom, Bathory and Mayhem?

-There is not a single band who are not influenced by the works of Venom, Bathory and gods like them. Behemoth is also one of them, but we interject on our own emotions into the stuff we play, so it´s not just trying to sound "nordic" or "black". It so stupid that I cant even write anything concrete about it. We are original in 100%, and when I hear such opinions as performed I get angry. When I listen to our latest release, I just can say it´s the best stuff I´ve ever heard. Not Black Metal stuff, but pure musical stuff! The best music I have heard!

Tell me something about the lyrics...

-Our lyrics are filled with the Slavanic Pagan mytology, our hatred against those who destroyed Paganism, about the personal emotions, metaphysical relationships, about the night and the nature of the universe. I love all of our lyrics!

The most talked about thing in the whole damn underground must be the Norwegian BM-circle with their killings, arsons, grave desecrations, robberys and death threats. Looking at some of the t-shirts that the members of Behemoth are wearing we can see that also they are supporting them... or?

-One thing about that childish shit; It´s worthless and I dont give a fuck about it! T-shirts showed up as a tribute to their music, not their acts!

Behemoth are using leather, corpsepaint, axes and swords in their promo-photos. What does it mean to you, and how important are these things to you?

-We dont perform it as any other BM-band! Our corpsepaintings and weapons are part of the cult we admire, so it´s not a trendy act. I dont want to attract stupid children with my leather clothes, painted face and battleaxe. I do it for myself, as I find it necessary to express my emotions and connections with the Pagan warriors and so on.

What is the most important thing in Black Metal for you? What makes BM "true"? And what have you got to say about "You cant play really cold sounding nordic BM without sounding even a bit like the old mighty Bathory"?

-The most important thing for me is to feel and understand the mood, character, meaning and artistical values of this kind of music. If the music is played by people who are able to feel all those things it´s supposed to be called Black Metal art. About the idea featured in the question: Thats the most brainless sentence I have ever heard! There are bands in Italy for example who claim to be "evil" because they play "true Norwegian Black Metal with Norwegian lyrics" - Fuck! How ridiculous they are! Bathory are great, but I know a lot of BM-bands who does not sound like Bathory, and I find their music great to.

Introduce Behemoth, and tell me something about the members. And what kind of personality must a Behemoth-warrior have? How about, for example, taking a black man or some 16 year old kid to your legions?

-The current line-up is me, Lord Baal Ravenlock, and Nergal. We are both students, trying to find a way of satisfying existance in this grazy country. I am 19 years old and Nergal is 18. We are both independent individualists. We are, let´s say brothers in eternity, which means in our music. We fight hand to hand, our outlook considering Paganism, Black Metal and so is unified. It makes Behemoth a strong band with no fakes hanging around. We dont want to change our line-up because we probably wont find anyone who´ll be able to co-operate with us in the way we want him/her to do it. I really can´t understand why you think that women are some kind of subclass or stuff... A black man? I dont know... they smell and they are... I really cant say anything concrete. Not, just not. A black man can not play BM because he cant feel it. Thats my opinion. A 16 year old kid? Just forget it!

Thanks for your time Lord Baal Ravenlock! Would you still like to add something?

-I´d like to hail all my friends and all of those who keep the Pagan flame burning with their thoughts and acts. The rest are worth of shit.