Me And That Man: Nergal And John Porter Sing Out Their Darkness

“Me and That Man is a side dish,” says Nergal. “A salad.”

“A dessert,” says John.

“Some songs are like a fuckin' thick, bloody steak, while others are desserts,” says Nergal. “Others are appetisers. Does that make sense?”

I squirm. “Erm…yeah?”

“That means no!” says John.

“So, which song is a steak?” asks Nergal.

“Steak? I don’t eat meat,” says John.

“I’ll tell you,” says Nergal, pausing for thought. “Shaman Blues is a steak.”

Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski and John Porter are chatting in Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel during a stereotypically dreary January lunchtime. They’re feverishly signing vinyl inserts and coming over like a double act from an obscure comedy you never caught on Netflix. As they scribble over the artwork for Me and That Man’s debut LP, ‘Songs Of Love & Death’, they devilishly try to trump one another’s answers.

Nergal is 39 years old. Having fronted blackened death metal band Behemoth since his teens, he’s somehow also found time to be a coach on The Voice of Poland, open a chain of barber shops, go on trial for “offending religious feelings” – he tore up a Bible onstage, yawn – and kick leukaemia’s arse.

Porter is 66 years old. His career began in 1980 with the new wave influence of Porter Band’s ‘Helicopters’ and has more recently encompassed acoustic rock records released with Anita Lipnicka. Those 66 years haven’t been wasted. And that’s before we get to the ‘side-dish’ in question today.

‘Songs of Love & Death’ is proof that Me and That Man’s country-blues hybrid suits both men to the bones. But, given their disparate beginnings, it’s still one of the most unlikely collaborations we’ve seen since Metallica and Lou Reed linked arms for ‘Lulu’ in 2011. Albeit better executed.

“We originally met around three years ago,” Porter says. “Adam - I mean Nergal, sorry - called and said he would like to meet me. I didn't know why, so I was quite fascinated. Intrigued. We met in some restaurant and he suggested we should do something together. Then he disappeared for about 50 years to do his own thing, became an extremely famous global star and then he came back. We started jamming together and found a very common language, musically.”

Even from this basic setup, it’s a wonder ‘Songs of Love & Death’ ever happened. In 2014, Porter released his most recent solo album, ‘The Honey Trap’ while Behemoth unveiled their 10th studio record, ‘The Satanist’, to universal acclaim. The touring cycle for the latter has been unyielding and it was easy to assume that Nergal would then hunker down in the studio and deliver a follow-up to capitalise on the momentum.

Well, it’s not as simple as that. ‘The Satanist’ is an important record not just for metal fans, but for music fans in general. Its artistic clarion call, its five-pointed branding iron gets to most who listen to it, even those who aren’t into metal. Porter falls into that category.  

“I bought ‘The Satanist’ to check it out, and I thought, 'Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?'” he says in mock horror, eliciting a faux scowl from Nergal. “I’m not a metal fan. ‘The Satanist’ is quite a radical record, at least for my tastes, but it's really professionally done. Whether you like it or not isn't important. What's important is that you appreciate what he does and know he does it well. It's like a garage mechanic. If he's shit on the job then he's shit on the job and you're not gonna respect him, but if someone does a good job then, y'know, you're my man. I'd seen what he's doing, so at least I'm not going to be messing around with an amateur.”

Nergal’s clearly been excited about this project for some time now, having drip-fed his Instagram following for ages before Me and That Man even had a recording contract. But they always knew what they were going to do. ‘Songs of Love & Death’ is a document detailing love, death and everything in between. Sonically, you could pin it down, at a glance, as a Satanic American Recordings-era Johnny Cash. Or a bit like King Dude. Or Wovenhand. Or Nick Cave. Or maybe even a bit of Springsteen, Led Zeppelin…actually, no, it’s really difficult to describe.

“You can't really describe a sound somebody hasn't heard, can you?” says Porter. “It’s like trying to describe the sound of one hand clapping. You can't really say it's like Johnny Cash or Nick Cave, you can just say it's an atmospheric reinterpretation of what they do. It sounds pretentious, but I'll go with it. And there's other stuff, there's a bit of Led Zeppelin in there. There's a bit of everything in there. It’s like what John Peel said, isn't it? You like to hear what the band’s listening to, so you know where they’re coming from and where they're going next.”

Judging ‘Songs of Love & Death’ purely on its musical and lyrical standpoints, it’s unclear where Me and That Man could go next, so different are the strands shooting from its bluesy core. Better The Devil I Know is a moody, swelling piece accompanied by strings and Hammond organ, while On The Road is a feel-good dose of outlaw excess and Ain’t Much Loving perfectly captures the electric/acoustic dynamic stretched over the record. But, more importantly, it pits Porter’s experienced storytelling against Nergal’s uncouth vocals in the most straightforward way.

And that’s one of Me and That Man’s greatest assets: Nergal doing what he wants to do. The record’s been labelled as his ‘dark country’, ‘dark folk’, ‘insert sub-genre here’ project by just about everyone, to which Porter responds: “Why can't people just say that he's having fun?” He does sound like he’s having fun and his clean vocals here are more refined than those on his Danzig-worshipping side-project Wolverine. And with that in mind and Porter at his side, you’d think Nergal would be the epitome of confidence. Apparently not.

“I was [scared] and still am,” he says of performing vocals in this manner, a far cry from the guttural bellows of Behemoth. “I hope I can expand it and eventually perfect it, but I'm also aware of my abilities. When I write songs, I know exactly what I can and can't do, and if something can't be done then I won't go there, because that's not me. I really like to say that this is a very imperfect album, because I'm super fed-up with these processed, Pro-Tools records that sound very robotic, especially in the metal genre. It's all about perfection.

“When I hear that, I want to be imperfect. There's no click-track for this music. Every take is different. Even when John is singing, I will stick to my parts, but he's more loose about it, more free and improvisational. Even if he's singing songs from the record, he's always changing them. It's cool. It's unheard of in metal bands. If Ian Gillan changed the lyrics to Smoke On The Water they'd crucify him on the spot. Here, it's all about blues, so it's loose and relaxed.”

Nergal and Porter have taken to Me and That Man like ducks to the deepest, darkest of waters. It’s a shame that it took so long for this project to come to fruition, but then we might not have the wealth of music they’ve churned out in their respective careers. The move is most drastic for Nergal, though, whose inclusion could be likened to former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent’s decision to relocate to Texas and play country music.

“My first thoughts [on Vincent] were 'I could do it better, but it's cool. Thumbs up. He's good at this',” Nergal says. “And I'm definitely not your typical 'metal' guy – not anymore, anyway. Once I discovered that life is more than just six strings and screaming, it was enlightening. I just wanna process all these different forms of art – grab it, embrace it. There are some die-hards but I'm not there for them. I've got to be happy with my own needs and aspirations, just go for it. You always win when you're honest with yourself. I understand that some people might be confused, but I've come out of the box. And I love that.”

Everything about Me and That Man points towards something more than just a side-project. The kinship between Nergal and Porter, for one, could fool anyone into thinking they’ve known each other for decades. And the choice to self-produce the album rather than draft in some high-profile knob-twiddler is proof that ‘Songs of Love & Death’ is solely the vision of these two men. That extends to the album’s artwork, which was painted by Daniel P. Carter, who’s got previous with Behemoth.

“I wanted to have something cast and made by a human being,” Nergal says. “Something real. There's also this magical aspect to his works, because he's got his own technique which is just super unique. He did an amazing job.”

Judging by the amount of Carter’s covers they’re signing today, a fair few folks have already invested in Me and That Man, despite Porter saying “Nobody's gonna mortgage their house for it.” After their upcoming live dates to promote the record, Porter and Nergal will return to their main courses and leave this side-dish under some cling-film for a while, it seems.

“We'll see how it works, because it's going to become a full band on stage,” Nergal says. “It must be a band – a solid, tight band. Let's see how much fun we have playing live, because we haven't played live yet. So there's going to be some…deflowering involved. I'm a virgin when it comes to this sort of music.”

'Songs of Love & Death' is out on March 24 via Cooking Vinyl.

Me And That Man Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Sun March 26 2017 - LONDON Jazz Cafe

Click here to compare & buy Me And That Man Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

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