Behemoth’s Nergal On Discovering Ghost During A Difficult Time

Behemoth frontman Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010, but he underwent treatment to receive a bone marrow transplant in less than three months. During those times, the musician needed a distraction to help him with this unexpected diagnosis. As it appears, a band helped him with his emotional state, and Nergal recently talked about this in a conversation with Revolver.

“I discovered Ghost when I was going through a very difficult time in my life,” disclosed Nergal when asked about his favorite song from the band. “I was having chemotherapy at a hospital in Gdańsk and had picked up a copy of ‘Terrorizer,’ which included a compilation CD that featured Ghost. It could have been the song ‘Ritual’ or maybe another track from the debut record, but I was straight-up blown away.”

Ghost didn’t only help him during his days in the hospital, but they also impacted Nergal for the rest of his life. He continued, “Hooked from day one, I was an instant Ghost fan! I remember trying to buy Ghost merch from my hospital bed and managed to grab a jersey. By the second album, the band was on tour in Sweden. I traveled to Stockholm especially to see them.”

After becoming a huge fan, Nergal continued attending Ghost’s shows and eventually became friends with Tobias Forge. “Tobias and I had become friends, and he hooked me up with tickets. It must have been a 500-cap room, maybe 1,000 people top. It was very early on in their career, yet already very, very impressive.”

As for his leukemia, Nergal was discharged from the hospital on January 16, 2011, following his bone marrow transplant. Though the musician was readmitted to the hospital six weeks later due to an infection, he was later much better in terms of his health. The rocker even talked to MetalSucks a few months later, saying that his health was improving.