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If there's a more vile, evil looking and sounding band than
Behemoth going today, I implore you to let me know about them.
Check out the lead video for “Ov Fire and the Void”
from Behemoth's 2009 album, Evangelion. According
to their official bio, “Evangelion” is a Greek
term meaning “good news.” It usually refers to
the biblical stories of God saving humanity, Jesus and his
substitutionary death on the cross, and resurrection from
the dead.
The odds are good on Evangelion—no, literally,
the odd-numbered songs are the ones that will have your hair
standing on the back of your neck, whilst pumping your fist
and praising the dark lord Satan for yet another triumphant
and apocalyptic Behemoth record. The devastating opener, “Daimonos,”
convincingly lets fans know that Behemoth is back. Vocalist
Nergal is the extremist of extreme and also one scary looking
motherfucker. On the opener, he bellows in his trademark,
layered Satanic growl, “All hail! St. Lucifer! All hail!
Daimonos!" The even-numbered songs here aren't fodder;
they're just more blast-beat-oriented and dwell in the upper
levels of extreme, hellbent on ripping your face off. Behemoth
possesses the fastest blast beats in current extreme metal,
courtesy of Inferno.
The aforementioned “Ov Fire and the Void” has
a “Where the Slime Live” tempo, a steady double
bass, headed by a slower, heavy, chugging rhythm. Nergal's
vocals will have you pumping your fist as if you were a disciple
to an unholy throne. What is he barking and screaming about?
Who the fuck knows, but it certainly sounds legit, whatever
it is. Lead the way, Nergal, and I will follow. The album
is laced with shredding solos—from Nergal and Seth—that
mimic the best guitar tandems of Megadeth's Rust in Piece,
only heavier and at a million miles per hour, as on “Shemaforash”and
“The Seed Ov I.” “Alas, Lord is Upon Me”
features one of those triumphant Behemoth endings, as if they
were single-handedly welcoming in the apocalypse. The aptly
named “Lucifer” closes the album. It's eight-minute-plus,
brooding piece, ending one of the most extreme pieces of work
in years.
What can we take from this? The answer: Don't fuck with
Behemoth. If these guys aren't the current kings of extreme
metal, I don't know who is. For my review of Behemoth's last
effort, The Apostasy, I wrote that the album “defines
the new era of extreme music.”After hearing Evangelion,
clearly I was wrong.
®2009 Live-Metal.net
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