Polish Metal Band Behemoth Arrested In Russia

Polish metal juggernauts Behemoth have become the latest act to join the ranks of musicians and artists to have a hard time in Russia of late, though their alleged infringement is apparently a little less incendiary than what we're used to hearing about these days -- it seems the band are being held over visa issues.

In a statement posted to (and then translated by) Facebook, the group's frontman, Nergal, wrote: "We were detained by immigration services under pretext of bad [visas]. When I said I do not move [from] the Club without the presence of someone from the Polish Embassy, [I was] threatened with [force].

"They took us [by] bus in the company of about 10 officers to the FMS (Federal Migration Service). We tried to [phone] the Polish Embassy in Jekaterinburg but no one picks up. If you can, please copy this message and to share it wherever you can. Now we probably [face] several hours of questioning. The concert certainly does not take place. Now I just want to quietly return to the hotel ..."

Nergal later provided an update to his original post, which seemed to indicate that it now appears the band is likely to face deportation over the incident. "It looks like it's going to be a normal jail. As soon as we receive the phones. At 9 am we have court, then the judgment and possibly deportation," he wrote.

It's safe to say that Behemoth's experience is a far cry from that of fellow musos AlithiA, who have been having a whale of a time over in Russia - despite the early lack of vodka on-hand - and consequently blogging about it for theMusic's series of Tour Diaries.

Keep an eye out for further updates; in the interim, show some internet-era support for the band by watching their creepy, mildly terrifying video for their super-intense 2013 track Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel: