Controversial Metal Bands in Krakow

Krakow’s black and death metal fans should get an earful of music this weekend with two days of concerts. Two major bands are playing at Loch Ness, a student club on ul. Warszawska a few steps from Galeria Krakowska. World-renowned Behemoth will take the stage this Sunday, September 9, after the Hatesphere and Rootwater shows. Apart from Vader, Behemoth is the only Polish metal band to make it in the international music scene.

They’re even better known abroad then here in Poland.The act, currently consisting of Nergal (guitar, vocals), Inferno (drums) and Orion (bass), released their first demo tape in 1992 in Gdansk, the coastal city in the north where the band came from. Since then they’ve recorded eight full-length albums. Starting with a classic black metal sound, the band evolved into death metal in their most recent albums “Demigod” and “Apostasy.”

This summer Behemoth starred at the Ozzfest concert as one of four non-U.S. bands. On Monday, September 10, the Swedish band Marduk will perform in Loch Ness as part of their five-show Poland tour. The four-member group has for years been considered one of the most radical black metal bands. Even with the original singer and drummer gone, it continues to uphold this status. Beyond the wall of guitar, bass, and relentless drumming, the band is known for its controversial lyrics about Satanism and war.

Last year the band’s Warsaw concert was cancelled when the city decided their lyrics went too far. The band may find a similar outcome in Krakow, where residents still remember an infamous 2004 concert given by another Scandinavian death metal band, Gorgoroth. City police launched an investigation after the Norwegians performed on a stage surrounded by animal blood and sheep-heads on stakes. This recollection could still trigger protests or even force the Marduk show to cancel.