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Music

Listen to the First Single from Behemoth Frontman Nergal's Sinister Folk Project, Me and That Man

Watch the NSFW video for "My Church is Black," taken off the upcoming album, 'Songs of Love and Death'

Nergal (AKA Adam Darski) is an interesting character. The imposing black metal frontman, anti-religious rabble-rouser, best-selling author, cancer survivor, occasional actor, and tabloid celebrity in his native Poland has just added another line to his resume: Southern gothic folk balladeer. His new project, Me and That Man, is a far cry from what we've come to expect from him—it's far more Nick Cave than Nargaroth. The project (in which he's joined by British/Polish musician John Porter on guitar and backing vocals) channels the likes of Wovenhand and Leonard Cohen to summon forth brooding, bluesy folk with a spaghetti Western flourish and an inherent darkness that wouldn't sound out of place slotted between King Dude and Danzig on a record shelf.

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We're stoked to be premiering the first taste from the project's upcoming debut, Songs of Love and Death (out 3/24 via Cooking Vinyl) below, as well as the video for "My Church Is Black," which is both a standout track and a pretty tidy summary of Nergal's general worldview.

As Nergal told Noisey, ""My Church is Black" was the first song for Me and That Man. I wrote the main theme and instinctively started singing these lyrics, it flowed organically and I embraced it. I picked the song as first single, and opening track of the record. This song is a statement. It's a new energy, exploring new dimensions of the genre I've not known before… but somehow, naturally, the song builds a bridge between these two worlds, the radical scene where I originally come from, to this new domain… full of shadows and question marks. Yet the trip is highly exciting and inspirational." For the video, I decided to work with Olga Czyzykiewicz. She's known for more artistic approach to her productions—it's not direct, it's metaphorical and metaphysical. The script tells the story of a man lost in the carnal world, searching for some sense and light on the way to enlightenment. There are revelant signs and scenes throughout. He's there all alone, facing his demons… with the ultimate goal being to "know thyself". The Greek maxim "GNOTIS AUTON" is a key theme."

Watch (and listen!) to "My Church Is Black" below; the song is also available on a variety of streaming and download platforms here.

Kim Kelly is dying slow on Twitter.