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BEHEMOTH ‘Demigod’ (Regain Records) (2004)
For some bands the creation of a new album is a time-consuming process. For bands like the Polish Death Metal outfit Behemoth, though, recording a new album seems to be the easiest thing to do.
The beginning of Behemoth’s vicious Metal attack started in 1992 with 'The Return of the Northern Moon', and since then the band has been releasing a new album year after year!
I assume that most of you are probably better acquainted with the band’s most recent releases like 'Satanica' (1999), or 'Zos Kia Cultus' (2002), and have already decided whether you are fond of them or not. Well, whatever your decision has been so far, it is not of great importance, since the band has just released their latest album 'Demigod' – an album capable of changing the attitude of those who were initially against this very inspiring trio.
It is not often that I stand in front of such an important release, and I have to admit that I find it quite difficult to find all the right words that will help me explain why I find this album so fascinating.
'Demigod' has everything that I believe that an extreme Metal album should in order to be seen as complete.
If the short acoustic introduction of 'Sculpting the Throne of Seth' is not the kind of thing that you expected to listen to in a Behemoth album, and makes you insecure and a little bit frustrated, I urge you to be patient. It will take only fifty seconds for Nergal (guitars and vocals) to unleash the inner demons, which of course are translated to fast Death Metal riffs, evil grinds and technically impressive double-bass drumming.
'Demigod' is the ground where the extremity of Deicide and Malevolent Creation meets up and joins forces with the technicality of bands like Morbid Angel and Atheist – the result is, of course, mind blowing! Behemoth is a band that pays tribute to some of the greatest artists in the scene, not by 'borrowing' riffs and ideas, but by absorbing all the positive elements of their music, and applying them to their very own well-established and quite characteristic sound.
The band has managed to squeeze all their creativity into ten tracks that are forty minutes long. Don’t be bothered about the album’s short duration though – it is more than enough to prove both the musical abilities and the general value of the Eastern European noisemakers.
'Demigod' has a great variety of compositions to choose from, but regardless of whether you’re going to fall for a fast song like 'Towards Babylon', or a more rhythmical mid-tempo composition like 'Mysterium Coniunctionis (Hermanubis)' you will definitely realise that this release is destined to be appreciated as a collective effort, and not as an album with individually strong or weak compositions.
Behemoth are about to hit the road, so if you want to find out for yourselves how good this album is, I suggest that you pay them a visit at one of the venues where they will be performing. You will definitely make them happy, and something tells me that they will find a way to repay you for the honour.
Review by John Stefanis
****½
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