Behemoth frontman not doing good

[GL]

Looks like we're on the watch here for another performer:

Adam "Nergal" Darski, the 33-year-old guitarist/vocalist from Poland's greatest extreme-metal export, BEHEMOTH, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia, a cancer of blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow. The disease, for which Adam is currently receiving treatment at the hematology division of the Gdansk Medical University Hospital, has advanced to the point where he is in urgent need of a bone-marrow transplant. (A bone-marrow transplant is when special cells [called stem cells] that are normally found in the bone marrow are taken out, filtered, and given back either to the same person or to another person.) In light of this, Darski wants to remind everyone about the need to be on the marrow registry. The more people get tested and donate, the more of a chance for life there is for him and others in the same situation.

Every year, more than 10,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma, and a bone-marrow transplant from an unrelated person is their best or only hope for survival. There is no data available on how many people die waiting for a match, but only four out of 10 patients receive the needed transplant.

BEHEMOTH and the band's U.S. record label, Metal Blade, would like to thank everyone for their support and well wishes during this difficult time. The best thing we can all do right now is learn about the marrow-donation process, not only help save one of metal's leaders, but to also do the same for countless others out there struggling with the same disease.

More info on the story is available HERE.

[abraxas]

Dont like the band but thats sad news

[GL]

I think they're awesome, so this definitely a little sad. Not in the sense of Dio's passing, but still pretty bad.

[abraxas]

Yeah I don't think Ive recovered yet from that, still cannot believe it

[GL]

Well, we've got our first update on him:

The inaugural episode of the Focus On Metal weekly podcast features a brand new interview with bassist Orion (real name: Tomasz Wróblewski) of Polish bands BEHEMOTH, VESANIA and BLACK RIVER.

When asked about the current condition of Adam "Nergal" Darski, the 33-year-old guitarist/vocalist from BEHEMOTH, who was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia, a cancer of blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow, Orion said, "[Nergal] remains in the hospital. He's going through chemotherapy now. And they're planning a bone-marrow transplant, possibly this year.

"He's doing fine. His attitude is just winning everything. He's with fighting the illness and we're all sure that he's gonne be fine.

"We're still in touch, we're still working on new BEHEMOTH releases — we're working on a DVD now. So he's doing as good as possible [under] these conditions."

On how fans' support has lifted Nergal's spirit:

"It's been just massive support that we get from the fans that he gets, and I'm sure it helps him a lot."

On what fans can do to help:

"To register in a bone-marrow bank, it's just a sample of blood, so that's the least that anybody can do. So if there is any chance for anybody to just go and do it, then go ahead, and that's a huge help. Even if it doesn't help Nergal directly, it helps some other person, most likely. So that's what people can do in order to [show their] support."

On how not all transplants will require the donor to undergo surgery if they are approved as a match (for those people who are afraid of surgery):

"The surgery of a bone-marrow donor, it's just a simple surgery — it takes two weeks to be 100 percent cured and recovered. So it's not a serious thing. And to be a match for somebody, it takes months of testing and everything at the bone-marrow bank. The chance for a person who is unrelated to be a match for somebody is 1 to 40,000, as far as I know, so being afraid of going under a knife, it sounds a little ridiculous to me if you can go through a little surgical [procedure] and save somebody's life. It takes two weeks to get recovered 100 percent — that's it."

Podcast mentioned in text available HERE.

[abraxas]

Sound promising

[HNT]

You think? Sounds to me like a typical press release trying to downplay the severity of the situation. I mean, they aren'ty going to come right out and say "well, he's gonna die pretty soon" but reading between the lines it isn't hard to see that this pretty clearly the case

[GL]

So you caught it to then? I figure he'll be gone by the end of the month at the earliest, but most definitely he'll be by the end of the year. Like I said earlier, he's on the watch for when he'll go.

[abraxas]

Do you really think anyone cares enough about some Black Metal singer to lie about how he is really doing?

[HNT]

Yes, I believe that his band and his managers do.

[abraxas]

Doubtful, what would it matter anyway most Black Metal bands sound the same anyway, they will just replace him.

[FireStar]

Love how that bit about how simple the sugery is, leaves out one very important thing. It is indeed a very simple procedure to go thorugh but incredibly incredibly painful from what I understand. I mean think about it, someone sticking a huge needle into your hip bone cannot be all that great to endure.

Hopefully he can find a match and get the transplant he needs.

[GL]

Sept 9, 2010 13:50:22 GMT -5 @abraxas said:

Doubtful, what would it matter anyway most Black Metal bands sound the same anyway, they will just replace him.

You're forgetting the fact that Behemoth actually has a foothold here in the US, most Black Metal bands here don't, and they have a distinctive sound that will be quite hard to duplicate. Not saying it won't happen, but it's highly unlikely to happen.

And when you read enough of these lame-ass press releases trying to down-play potentially-threatening situations into something lighter and less pessimistic, you learn to sift out the bullshit and see what they're really trying to say.

[abraxas]

Sept 10, 2010 9:55:07 GMT -5 GL said:

Behemoth actually has a foothold here in the US, most Black Metal bands here don't, and they have a distinctive sound.

Well then I just may have to check them out

[GL]

Here's a good example of them: