BEHEMOTH - The Satanist (2014)

Genre: Blackened Death Metal

Label: Metal Blade

Rating: 8.75/10

I love Behemoth's early releases, I will say. Their later releases, though at one time I loved them, no longer. Their sound, style just got to me, and I thought it was played out, tired, and boring. I was really waiting to see what 2014 would bring, as Nergal said it heralded big new changes in their sound. And that it did. This album is really more Black Metal than death metal, although of a somewhat too polished kind. Just how much? Follow, and find out.

Opener "Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel" starts off with a repetitive riff. When the vocals come in, they are very obviously Nergal's best. Caustic, phlegm-filled, throat-tearing vocals. Abruptly at 2:24 it cuts to a much faster, blasted section, with the following lyrics: "Hosanna Hosanna/Tribe ov Judah decimate/Hosanna Hosanna/Root ov David eradicate," which immediately brings me back to my childhood singing "Hosanna in the highest" in church. Normally I shy away from bands that use "ov," but these lyrics are just too good. Following this is a very dark, emotive riff that leads to a ferocious outro. The next song, "Furor Divinus," is much faster. When the blasting starts in, it leads to a very intense verse. Inferno's drumming is killer, very effective here. The lead behind the following lines, "In my hour ov pious wane/I turned to boundless catechism/Behold the anathema ov benediction/Sacrilege in Gethsemane manifest" is wonderful, and again, reminds me of my churchgoing days. Of course, being Behemoth, this is sacrilegious.

"Messe Noire" is my favourite track off this album. My favourite lines open the song, "I believe in Satan/Who rend both heavens and earth/And in the Antichrist/His dearly misbegotten. It has a mysterious darkness. It's mid-tempo, which is odd for Behemoth, though in its chorus it picks up, with machine-gun guitar punctuations and blasted drums. After the second chorus is felt a dark, although in a Behemoth way, lead on guitar. It then returns to the mid-tempo verse. Some very nice solo-work by both Nergal and Seth close up the song. "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" sounds like it could be off of Satanica in the verse, though the chorus is genuinely more sinister than most anything on that album. At 2:46 a horn solo comes in, followed by a riff that might get stuck in your head (that frequently occurs on this album). 

"Amen" is a blastfest. An overwhelming song on drums, the guitars are simple and fast. The lyrics, utterly blasphemous, a reworking of the Hail Mary prayer. The song slows down dramatically at about its halfway point, and then picks back up to lightning speed at 3:10 after a drum build-up, and ends abruptly. The title track starts off quiet and gentle, with semi-clean guitars being strummed. This is another mid-tempo number. The lyrics to this song, as with most of the album, seem to be taking the band in an Orthodox Satanic bent, which I'm happy to see, I must declare. They're highly symbolic and poetic, but there are clear moments of dedication to Satan as lord, master, and deity. The end of this song reads:

I decompose in rapture ov hells

Dissolve divide disintegrate

I am yours

In euphoria below

I cast my halo from perdition's clay

Behold my bliss profane

Born ov a lie

Condemned to lurk

Live in denial

Yet coiled aflame...

I am the great rebellion

Neath Milton's tomb I dwell

An existence even sin would not pardon

No guilt, no reason, saviour, or shame

After the final verse, Nergal lets loose a heartfelt, bluesy solo, followed by Seth, and then both of them calling each other back and forth in solo form. Horns along with a tremolo picked arpeggio and blasting on the drums carry out the end of the song.

"Ben Sahar" starts off quietly as well. Guitars don't kick in until 0:19, and there's even an acoustic line behind the electric. Again, mid-tempo rules this roost, at least at first. At 1:29 it speeds up, not by a lot, but some, with the double-bass thudding away at a high rate of speed. Then it apparently goes back to the verse, where an acoustic guitar can still be heard arpeggiating behind the electric. I would like to give another extended quote.

Hearken dogs ov Nazarene

Linger at St. Peter's door

Partake from the well ov nothingness

Bite the withered hand ov god

Ascend shall I unto the heavens

Exalt my throne above his celestial display

Sit shall I upon that mount ov congregation

Far toward the north

The lead that follows "With fire in hearts!" is a satisfyingly dark one, and a different, yet still dark, riff ends the song.

"In the Absence ov Light" is a very fast song, with a simple, tremolo picked riff and blastbeating behind it.  At approximately 1:15, the song cuts to acoustic guitar, with some sax distantly behind it, and Nergal reading off in Polish. Following "ludzkim," it immediately kicks into high gear. From this verse, I most like the lines 

Oh Lord, whence came this doubt?

Thou doth know I am all and everything

Let loose my shackles

Let chaos reign

Infecting moral arteries...

Then a sort of mesmerising, hypnotic riff comes in behind that to terminate the song.

Lastly, we have "O Father O Satan O Sun!" At 7:13, it is the longest song on the album. The verse also has perhaps the catchiest rhythm. It is mid-tempo, yet again. At about 2:25 is the solo section, a highlight of the song. It's a fairly exalting song, perhaps best showcased in the following section of lyrics

Hear me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me;

so that every Spirit of the Firmament and of the Ether:

upon the Earth and under the Earth,

on dry land and in the water;

of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire,

and every Spell and Scourge of God

may be obedient unto Me.

The riffage behind these last verses mires in the murk and is certainly catchy, but final. This may be Behemoth's most diverse song so far, and a landmark track at that.

This album brings Behemoth back into relevance. The production is on the ultra-clean side (though the guitars are definitely grittier than,, say, Demigod), so I'm going to have to deduct from its final score, but for the lyrical content, and showing that Behemoth can do something drastically different and still be a vital force, a force to be reckoned with, as the cliché goes. Congratulations to Nergal and co. for stellar performances all around.

I own this on CD, and the layout is great. It is available on vinyl as well, if you prefer. You can find everything you need Behemoth-related here, where the money will all go to the band themselves, and there are actually some signed copies of the vinyl remaining.