Behemoth Cancel Shows In Ukraine and Russia

Although this probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone following the news, Behemoth are the latest band to cancel shows in Ukraine and Russia due to the Russian invasion and war on Ukraine.

In an Instagram post, Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski announced the following:

Legions!

We announce the cancellation of our shows in Ukraine and Russia This April. We condemn the attacks on the lives and freedom of the Ukrainian people and continue to support the resistance efforts being bravely carried out.

Future Rescheduling is not possible so please seek refunds from your point of purchase.

So yeah, not surprising. Until the war in Ukraine is over, it’s probably a safe bet that no bands will be touring in either country. Several bands have already cancelled shows and tours in Eastern Europe, and several Ukrainian bands, such as Jinger and 1914, have cancelled tours to stay in their country and help.

There is a bit more to unpack here, though. Although we agree with Nergal’s sentiment that the attacks on Ukraine are senseless, we can’t help but notice that this statement feels questionable given some of Nergal’s previous shit-stirring.

On March 2, 2022, Nergal posted on Instagram a picture of Vladimir Putin’s face in front of a swastika, complete with a Hitler mustache. He did something similar only a few days ago. So although he has no issue condemning Putin’s attack as an act of fascism parallel to the Nazi invasion of Poland, he also has no problem writing a pass for his NSBM pal Rob Darken from Graveland, as he did when MetalSucks questioned him about his friendship with Darken. Meanwhile, Nergal has also said that “there’s Adolf Hitler in all of us”, so his sudden decision that Putin has more Hitler in him feels questionable (what, no “there’s a Putin inside all of his” line?). Maybe the line of morality is that people who only sympathize with fallen regimes bent on exterminating the human race are cool, but world leaders actively doing it are not?

You can see the posts below and draw your own conclusions.