RSS Feed


BEHEMOTH
The Satanist

Nuclear Blast (2014)
Rating: 8.5/10

Unholy crap. It seems a long time since Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic) rasped my ears. Sure, it was back in 1995 when that grim expression ruled the wasteland as part of the vile black metal wave, but how Behemoth has progressed has become a rather remarkable journey.

Like all music, I guess that there is always a degree of progression. Those black metal acts that refused to remain as stagnant forces daubed in corpse paint tended to inherit icier technology, with Behemoth transforming into far deathlier structures.

The long-awaited The Satanist is the tenth – yes, you read that correctly – opus from these Polish purveyors of evil. The trio of terror will no doubt please those fans that latched onto the band via the meatier grumbles of Satanica (1999). While they are now removed as an act from those frost-laced lo-fi murmurs, Behemoth still do their utmost when it comes to expressing blasphemous quality.

As expected, The Satanist is a hostile rant of blackened death metal, and boasts nine unholy chunks of darkness. The doom-laden strains of ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’ begin the effort and move with harmful intent, just waiting for the flesh to be chewed off and spat out by Nergal, narrator of all that is wicked.

As his putrid rasps introduce themselves with guttural aplomb the music remains pensive, plodding with menace as moody drum and grim guitar for some time, all before reaching a rather messy climax of blistering speed and blackened blazing. It’s not Behemoth at their most structured or even deadly, but the track contains some nice gothic orchestration amid the flailing drums and furious guitars, before leaking back steadily towards that far greater evil of foreboding plod.

‘Furor Divinus’ follows and regains the speedier element, harking back to their work from over a decade ago as the icy guitars race behind Nergal’s wicked snarls of satanic angst. Structurally it’s still slightly predictable, but lyrically this is one of Behemoth’s strongest volumes, especially as ‘Messe Noire’ begins with Nergal’s exclamation of “I believe in Satan” amidst Inferno’s foetid percussion and those ungodly bass strums of Orion. Nergal continues his praise of the nether regions, bellowing “Who rend both heavens and earth, And in the Antichrist, His dearly misbegotten, The anguish ov our future, A Bastard spawned from lie, Born ov a harlot nun, Reign high in luxury, Aloft the kings ov man”.

‘Messe Noire’ mixes hateful pace with threatening lower tempo as drums, vocals and guitar collide in one unholy cauldron. ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’ then spirals into earshot as another foreboding amalgamation of stark drums, simmering guitar and rumbling bass, resulting in the grisly barks of “Voice ov an aeon, Angelus Satani, Ora pro nobis Lucifer, You alone have suffered, The fall and torment ov shame, I’ll smite heaven’s golden pride”.

‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’ offers a tad more variety this time, bringing catchy, melodic guitars and sturdy bass which rattles alongside those deadly drums, before ‘Amen’ rises out of the black pit as a scorching cacophony of monstrous riffs and frothing drums. Nergal sneers, “Hail Mary full of disgrace, the Lord has fornicated with me”; the slithering arrogance is displayed for all to hear with those blazing solos and cascading drums, the track subsequently taking on a sinister turn with the slowing of speed.

Throughout The Satanist, Behemoth showcase their eye for the ominous and prove that it’s not merely about fiery pace. With its melodic entrance, the grotesque title track is a prime example of this foreboding gesture. In fact, ‘The Satanist’ is probably the catchiest track on the opus, vocally and not just musically. The chorus is infectious over a simple yet effective drum slog – in fact, the drums are key throughout – and eventually gives way to ‘Ben Sahar’ with its gothic entrance, yet ruled further by the foreboding percussion and remote chug of Nergal’s guitar.

The track comes into its own once it picks up the pace; it stands arrogantly like some king of evil rising from his lofty throne of thorns, before stampeding on those who do not deserve to be in such a presence. Technically it’s a clever track of varying shades and pace, filtering cold grey guitars and transforming them into meatier chugs of intent until ‘In The Absence Ov Light’ pummels all in its wake with scathing guitars and blasting drums. Nergal vomits “Ever since the Devil breathes, My steps never outweighed the gravity ov hell” as the percussion thrashes around him like wolves secured upon a chunk of meat, but the unexpected twist into mere trickling acoustic guitar and poetic narration is a welcome turn before further spouts of ungodliness.

‘O Father O Satan O Sun!’ leads us into the final reaches of this opus; it oozes from the citadel with true menace, something which we’ve come to expect as the norm when it comes to the complex nature of Behemoth’s tumult. The gloriously epic strains give way to a catchy bass trickle, and then Nergal’s grandiose poetic statements. “Bring down the rain, Drain waters ov Styx, Faustian luminary Redeem, Blaspheme” he grasps, as we’re lead away like lambs to the slaughter to a soundtrack of traditional metal guitar and gothic orchestration.

Behemoth part ten is a tome we’ve all been salivating after; now it has passed like a violent storm, we can only be thankful of such a titanic force within any genre. Through all the (mainly health-related) issues over the last four or so years, Nergal and his unholy colleagues have churned out another masterful record. Yes, there are messy moments on this platter, but the mix of speed and slower potency enables the record to writhe and cavort like some sickening serpent which revealed its glimmering coils on those last few outings. The Satanist is darkly melodic, sporadically experimental and above all, a return to form.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share