One of the most powerful and well-established acts from Poland, Behemoth has churned out their tenth album, the first after the victory over leukemia that struck Nergal, singer, guitarist and mastermind of the band. And insofar as the recovery is a like a rebirth, as he himself says about the disease which successfully he defeated, so this album seems to represent also something of a renaissance for the group, the beginning of a new course; it is for several albums that Behemoth has tended to move away from their black metal roots by incorporating more and more typical elements of brutal death, but with this album they took a step back. By putting aside the “gratuitous outbursts” to which they had been accustoming us, Behemoth now delights us with arpeggiated parts and much fewer bpm’s, adding several melodies but without losing that aura of evil that has always distinguished them.
A certainly unexpected thing is the solos that are almost reminiscent of classic heavy metal (a good example can be found in “Messe Noire” and in the title track “The Satanist”). This time the band has brought along a whole orchestra that fills the songs with a large use of choruses and unusual instruments such as saxophones, flutes and organs.
Despite the two released singles, “Blow Your Trumphets, Gabriel” and “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” did not completely convince me, the album in its entirety surely did. I was definitely surprised and I can say that probably the two songs are the weakest on the album. Contrary to what almost always happens, I find that the best tracks of the disc are all at the end, thus increasing your listening pleasure as you go along with the playing time. Behemoth has decided to leave the formula in which they had shut themselves with the latest releases, but on the contrary, by daring without restraint across new and old solutions,
has thus avoided a dull, stock record.
The lyrics this time are largely based on the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse of John) and to a large extent on the Old and New
Testaments. Even if at first glance can seem like the classic old story about attacks on Christianity and hymns to the devil, they are built in a manner that is far superior to most of the similar lyrics in circulation.
From the point of view of the texts, Nergal has always been careful to attach importance to them. There are numerous references to the fall of the angel Lucifer and his struggle against the one who banished him: the lyrics of “Furor Divinus” and “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” are linked together by following this pursuit of vengeance and we also find quotations on “Ben
Sahar” (the line “Challenge the Sun” seems to refer to his defiance against God that costed him the banishment from Heaven; besides, Ben Sahar is an Arabic word which we find in the Old Testament and means ‘the shining one’).
My favorite track “In the Absence ov Light” has a text that seems much more personal and introspective than the other ones and contains a passage in Polish quoted from writer Witold Gombrowicz's drama The Marriage which well represents the thought of rebellion against any kind of divinity that he wants to convey:
“I deny any order, any idea.
I don’t believe in any abstraction and doctrine.
I don’t believe neither in God nor in Commonsense.
I’m fed up with these Gods! Just give me a human!
Let him be like me, vague, immature,
unfulfilled, ambiguous and not straightforward,
so that I could dance with him, play with him, struggle with him,
so that I could mislead him, simper in front of him
and rape him, love him, with his help
recreate myself anew, grow with his power and rising this way
I would marry myself in the church of humankind.”
A great album that I absolutely recommend, that should be able to unite both old and new fans thanks to the excellent balance
that the band has managed to create between its old roots and the blind fury of the new course.
Notes:
Released in Europe February 7th, 2014 by Nuclear Blast. Produced at Hertz Studio. Mastered at Sterling Sound.
Released also in a limited boxset. The box includes:
- Black 10" sized boxset (with gold hot foil & UV gloss lamination)
- CD+DVD digibook in silver mirror slipcase (44p booklet, 4c + PMS colour / gold hotfoil / UV gloss lamination).
The DVD includes Live Barbarossa - professionally filmed show in Russia, Ekaterinburg as well as 30 min documentary about The Satanist.
- Supersize Posterflag (1 meter × 1.5 metres)
- Wooden black inverted rosary cross
- Metal pin
- Black envelope with black communion waffles
A video for “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” was made.
Tracklist:
01. “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” 04:25
02. “Furor Divinus” 03:06
03. “Messe Noire” 04:04
04. “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” 05:35
05. “Amen” 03:49
06. “The Satanist” 05:33
07. “Ben Sahar” 05:34
08. “In the Absence ov Light” 04:58
09. “O Father O Satan O Sun!” 07:13
Personnel:
Nergal - Guitars, Vocals, Lyrics
Inferno - Drums, Percussion
Orion - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Seth - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Guest Musicians
Dziablas - Vocals (backing)
Artur Jurek - Orchestrations
Bogdan Kwiatek - Trombone
Łukasz Lacny - French horn
Grażyna Michalec - Cello
Michał Mieczkowski - Trombone
Magda Miotke-Bajerska - Cello
Michał Szczerba - French horn
Paweł Hulisz - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Marcin Janek - Saxophone
Alicja Leoniuk-Kit - Cello
Michał Łapaj - Hammond organ
Krzysztof "Siegmar" Oloś - Samples
A certainly unexpected thing is the solos that are almost reminiscent of classic heavy metal (a good example can be found in “Messe Noire” and in the title track “The Satanist”). This time the band has brought along a whole orchestra that fills the songs with a large use of choruses and unusual instruments such as saxophones, flutes and organs.
Despite the two released singles, “Blow Your Trumphets, Gabriel” and “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” did not completely convince me, the album in its entirety surely did. I was definitely surprised and I can say that probably the two songs are the weakest on the album. Contrary to what almost always happens, I find that the best tracks of the disc are all at the end, thus increasing your listening pleasure as you go along with the playing time. Behemoth has decided to leave the formula in which they had shut themselves with the latest releases, but on the contrary, by daring without restraint across new and old solutions,
has thus avoided a dull, stock record.
The lyrics this time are largely based on the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse of John) and to a large extent on the Old and New
Testaments. Even if at first glance can seem like the classic old story about attacks on Christianity and hymns to the devil, they are built in a manner that is far superior to most of the similar lyrics in circulation.
From the point of view of the texts, Nergal has always been careful to attach importance to them. There are numerous references to the fall of the angel Lucifer and his struggle against the one who banished him: the lyrics of “Furor Divinus” and “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” are linked together by following this pursuit of vengeance and we also find quotations on “Ben
Sahar” (the line “Challenge the Sun” seems to refer to his defiance against God that costed him the banishment from Heaven; besides, Ben Sahar is an Arabic word which we find in the Old Testament and means ‘the shining one’).
My favorite track “In the Absence ov Light” has a text that seems much more personal and introspective than the other ones and contains a passage in Polish quoted from writer Witold Gombrowicz's drama The Marriage which well represents the thought of rebellion against any kind of divinity that he wants to convey:
“I deny any order, any idea.
I don’t believe in any abstraction and doctrine.
I don’t believe neither in God nor in Commonsense.
I’m fed up with these Gods! Just give me a human!
Let him be like me, vague, immature,
unfulfilled, ambiguous and not straightforward,
so that I could dance with him, play with him, struggle with him,
so that I could mislead him, simper in front of him
and rape him, love him, with his help
recreate myself anew, grow with his power and rising this way
I would marry myself in the church of humankind.”
A great album that I absolutely recommend, that should be able to unite both old and new fans thanks to the excellent balance
that the band has managed to create between its old roots and the blind fury of the new course.
Notes:
Released in Europe February 7th, 2014 by Nuclear Blast. Produced at Hertz Studio. Mastered at Sterling Sound.
Released also in a limited boxset. The box includes:
- Black 10" sized boxset (with gold hot foil & UV gloss lamination)
- CD+DVD digibook in silver mirror slipcase (44p booklet, 4c + PMS colour / gold hotfoil / UV gloss lamination).
The DVD includes Live Barbarossa - professionally filmed show in Russia, Ekaterinburg as well as 30 min documentary about The Satanist.
- Supersize Posterflag (1 meter × 1.5 metres)
- Wooden black inverted rosary cross
- Metal pin
- Black envelope with black communion waffles
A video for “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” was made.
Tracklist:
01. “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” 04:25
02. “Furor Divinus” 03:06
03. “Messe Noire” 04:04
04. “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” 05:35
05. “Amen” 03:49
06. “The Satanist” 05:33
07. “Ben Sahar” 05:34
08. “In the Absence ov Light” 04:58
09. “O Father O Satan O Sun!” 07:13
Personnel:
Nergal - Guitars, Vocals, Lyrics
Inferno - Drums, Percussion
Orion - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Seth - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Guest Musicians
Dziablas - Vocals (backing)
Artur Jurek - Orchestrations
Bogdan Kwiatek - Trombone
Łukasz Lacny - French horn
Grażyna Michalec - Cello
Michał Mieczkowski - Trombone
Magda Miotke-Bajerska - Cello
Michał Szczerba - French horn
Paweł Hulisz - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Marcin Janek - Saxophone
Alicja Leoniuk-Kit - Cello
Michał Łapaj - Hammond organ
Krzysztof "Siegmar" Oloś - Samples
Text by Aldebaran