Yesterday, the collective metal world gasped after hearing that Behemoth were being detained in Russia. While shoddy translation first reported that the openly Satanic band were being held due to “evil,” the much more benevolent reason was that they were having visa issues. Still, Russia hasn’t exactly held the bar high on foreign relations, and after Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe was detained in Prague several years ago for a crime he didn’t know he committed, there was a precedent for extreme metal bands being held overseas. However, according to Polish website znak.com, the band have been deported.
In an interview with the site, vocalist Adam “Nergal” Darski claimed that the band were detained overnight in a small room with feces-smeared walls, and that they were denied bathroom visits and had to urinate in plastic bottles. Nergal said that while they got a business visa at the Russian consolate in Warasaw, they needed to have a “humanitarian” one. When asked if there might be political motivations for their detainment, Nergal didn’t comment, but said that when they to play the Russian town of Novosibirsk, their show was canceled because of Orthodox activists. They’d had a show scheduled in Moscow on Sunday, and have scrapped plans for that.
[photo via ZNAK]
