Behemoth "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" Official Video (NSFW)

There’s really no such thing as a “big” black metal band, but Poland’s Behemoth are probably as big as they come. The band has charted a fascinating arc since forming in 1991. Along with Vader, they more or less gave birth to Poland’s extreme metal scene, and they’ve produced a deep catalog of ambitious and audacious records that have also sold well enough to make them actual legitimate stars at home — frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski was at one point engaged to the singer Doda, aka the “queen of Polish music,” aka Poland’s Britney Spears. In August 2010, Nergal was diagnosed with advanced-stage leukemia — reportedly too advanced to be treatable with chemo — which more or less shut down the band entirely. But Nergal fought the disease and, with the help of a bone marrow transplant, beat it. Last year, with Nergal fully recuperated, the band headlined a massive North American tour also featuring the Devil’s Blood, In Solitude, and Watain. Those are three very good bands. But from every account I’ve heard (and based on the one show I witnessed), Behemoth absolutely blew them all off the stage, putting on one of the most transcendent and transformative shows I’ve ever seen. Anyway, Nergal and Behemoth are back for real next year, with the scheduled release of their 10th album (and first since 2009), The Satanist. It’s probably as much an “event” as any metal album will be in 2014, and based on the outstanding first single (and video), “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel,” it’s going to be an event worth attending. Check out the track and its accompanying video (which is truly a thing to behold but absolutely NSFW).