Let’s review. Behemoth hit the scene in 1991 and, for all intents and purposes, they were a black metal band. Over the course of the next decade, the band would endure multiple lineup changes, as well as varying degrees of growth on their albums. 2002’s Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond) saw Behemoth find their voice. The album was relentless, but hovering behind it were new ideas with melody. Vocalist Adam “Nergal” Darski also expanded his arsenal. The crushing power of his vocals remained, but he humanized his wails, a stark contrast to the usual cookie monster death metal growl. I’ll be honest; I didn’t much care about Behemoth until this album.
The next twelve years were artistically interesting for Behemoth, but also trying. 2004’s Demigod, 2007’s The Apostasy and 2009’s Evangelion, all sounded a bit better, were a bit more interesting, and showcased Behemoth’s growing palette within the confines of traditional death metal. The trying times came in 2010, when Darski was diagnosed with leukemia. Behemoth stepped back from making music, so Darski could be treated, and in 2013 the band was struck another blow when drummer Zbigniew “Inferno” Prominski underwent appendix surgery.
Apparently time away meant time to regroup and attack the world with Conan style slashing and pillaging. The Satanist, the band’s latest studio offering, is beyond what I would have expected from the band, and a slap to the mouth for anybody seeing death metal as having to be one-dimensional. The songs are still an out of control truck, filled with dynamite, smashing through a warehouse of jet fuel, but beyond the power is some really interesting songwriting. Behemoth has decided to be more melodic than in other albums, and they keep a harsh rattling punk esthetic throughout. Not to the point of Darkthrone perhaps, but that middle-finger punk crackle is in there.
Prominski is on fire here. Not just with his onslaught of blast beats, but also his decision to dig into the groove. Prominski’s foot is a weapon, and when he focuses it on the groove, the entire song becomes meaner than even the blast beat. “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” opens with Darski’s melodic guitar notes over Prominski’s rhythmic bashing. Behemoth build massive tension in this song, tension that builds to a release that’s keeps being held off. By the time Behemoth open the jam into speed and power, you’re ready to kill somebody. Behemoth plays with dynamics here, and it draws you right into the record.
“Amen” sounds like Satan’s declaration to the world during the violent apocalypse. “The Satanist” brings in some of that punk edge, especially during the opening, which sounds like a mid-eighties hardcore band intro, except with better drumming. Overall the song holds onto an interesting eighties hardcore vibe, which I appreciated. Behemoth ends The Satanist on a massive high note. “O Father O Sun” is one of the best songs the band has ever written. Dynamic, potent, brimming with crashing drums and harsh riffs that stay interesting, “O Father, O Sun” is the jam people will be talking about, and one I can’t wait to see live.
Behemoth has put the rest of the death metal world on notice with The Satanist. Either bring your artistic A game, or get run the fuck over.
