Jump to content

Behemoth


satan 59

Recommended Posts

Re: Behemoth limitations on freedom of speech and expression, doesn't that violate several United Nations treaties? if he'd done the same thing in Australia he would also be in this positionas much like Poland we do not hve any constitutional protection of fundamental human rights, nor any legislation to prevent the blatant disregard of these rights

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

What's your opinion on this album?

I've really been enjoying it, but opinions seem split. On its fastest, thrashiest tracks it's really good and empowering, in an almost Motörhead-like way. The vocals are fantastic and heavy, and parts of the album are absolutely pummeling. The backstory with Nergal's struggle with cancer is also really interesting.

That said, it does feel somewhat light weight and bright, especially for a blackened death metal album. It lacks the dark atmosphere of black metal, and again it's a little light, at least in tone, for death metal. There are also a couple bluesy hard rock solos that feel sort of goofy in the mix.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Amebix said:

What's your opinion on this album?

I've really been enjoying it, but opinions seem split. On its fastest, thrashiest tracks it's really good and empowering, in an almost Motörhead-like way. The vocals are fantastic and heavy. The backstory with Nergal's struggle with cancer is also really interesting.

That said, it does feel somewhat light weight and bright, especially for a blackened death metal album. It lacks the dark atmosphere of black metal, and again it's pretty light for death metal. There are also a couple bluesy hard rock solos that feel sort of goofy in the mix.

 

I think overall it is a good album and I am not dissapointed. After Behemoth's tour this year they are recording another album. Personally I prefer albums like Evangelicon, Los Zios Kultas and The Apostacy. I think Nergal's voice changed for the worse after his cancer. You notice this as when live he often breaks his screams/growls by shouting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just an amazing album, there is just something that got its hooks on me right away from the first listen, and the attraction haven´t gone away. Messe noire is not just my favourite track on the album, but one of my favourite tracks of all time. Definitely bit of an "odd" album, but that just makes it special to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, GrayscaleDawn said:

Just an amazing album, there is just something that got its hooks on me right away from the first listen, and the attraction haven´t gone away. Messe noire is not just my favourite track on the album, but one of my favourite tracks of all time. Definitely bit of an "odd" album, but that just makes it special to me.

This basically.  I revisit it regularly and can play most of it in my head such is its level of memorability.  I only owned "From The Pagan Vastlands" prior to this record from a Behemoth point of view.  2 very different releases indeed.  "O Father, O Satan, O Sun" is one of my favourite tracks ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried out some tracks of it. I did not enjoy them. It felt like Hollywood black metal. When I want Hollywood, I get me some hair metal. When I want black metal I get me some first wave stuff... or stuff like the track posted above.

Polished polish black metal (sorry for the pathetic pun) ain't my thang.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never been a huge Behemoth fan, and until I saw this thread I hadn't thought to put the album on in about a year, but I do enjoy it. It doesn't feel like a black metal album to me - more like blackened DM with symphonic elements. I agree that the solos stick out like a sore thumb. I don't think the production is "light", but it is bright and modern-sounding, and with the predictable nature of some of the parts and transitions, and the hooky songwriting, it can make the whole package come off as a bit shallow. I think that's unfortunate, because there's some cool stuff going on there, and (somewhat ironically) it's easy to miss that behind the slick production and bombastic vocal delivery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I should get around to hearing this album, but I find it hard to get excited by Behemoth. I own maybe three or four of their albums and I only really like a couple of songs on each. 'Demigod' is an ok album. I hardly ever spin them though.

Amazing live band when I saw them maybe ten years ago. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried out some tracks of it. I did not enjoy them. It felt like Hollywood black metal. When I want Hollywood, I get me some hair metal. When I want black metal I get me some first wave stuff... or stuff like the track posted above.

Polished polish black metal (sorry for the pathetic pun) ain't my thang.

 

They have some pretty first wave material on their early albums, the newer ones don't have much to do with black metal. This song is their ode to Venom and Bathory, I'd bet you'll dig it.

 

 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! I did not know this song and I am fucking loving it indeed!

It's like the speed metal tracks sung by Nocturno Culto in the Darkthrone albums from FOAD onwards! Might be even better!

I wish Behemoth had stayed true to this... Of course, they can play whatever they want and that Nergal dude has turned into a celebrity, so money and fame wise he cannot be blamed... but wait a second? Money? Fame? We are talking black metal, screw that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Skull_Kollektor said:

I wish Behemoth had stayed true to this... Of course, they can play whatever they want and that Nergal dude has turned into a celebrity, so money and fame wise he cannot be blamed... but wait a second? Money? Fame? We are talking black metal, screw that!

I also feel strange about Nergal's celebrity, but in a way it makes sense. Metal is one of the most international genres, and Anglophone countries like the US and UK don't have the near monopoly on the metal market like they do in, say, alternative rock (there are of course lots of exceptions, but speaking for the majority). Polish pop music doesn't seem to have any international reach. Because of this, I wouldn't be surprised if Behemoth is Poland's most internationally successful music act, or at least one of them. So because of black metal's international appeal, Nergal was elevated to possibly Poland's biggest rock star. It's a little weird, I know, but I could see the same thing happening to Rotting Christ in Greece. I'm sure if it weren't for Nergal, I never would've heard of Voice of Poland. 

That said, I've watched clips of Nergal cleaned up like an American idol judge, guitar soloing next to pop singers, and the whole thing makes me cringe really hard. His appearance on such an awful show and his tabloid relationship with a pop star add some strange background when listening to an album with drums that sound straight out of 80s pop rock.

Honestly, I really like this album. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. But as I listen to it more, the criticisms of it become clearer and clearer, like the ones pointed out in this thread (i.e. the slick production). The "Hollywood black metal" comparison is an interesting one.

I guess this all raises one question I doubt anyone previously saw coming: what does going mainstream mean for blackened death metal?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 13/03/2017 at 1:37 AM, Amebix said:

I also feel strange about Nergal's celebrity, but in a way it makes sense. Metal is one of the most international genres, and Anglophone countries like the US and UK don't have the near monopoly on the metal market like they do in, say, alternative rock (there are of course lots of exceptions, but speaking for the majority). Polish pop music doesn't seem to have any international reach. Because of this, I wouldn't be surprised if Behemoth is Poland's most internationally successful music act, or at least one of them. So because of black metal's international appeal, Nergal was elevated to possibly Poland's biggest rock star. It's a little weird, I know, but I could see the same thing happening to Rotting Christ in Greece. I'm sure if it weren't for Nergal, I never would've heard of Voice of Poland. 

That said, I've watched clips of Nergal cleaned up like an American idol judge, guitar soloing next to pop singers, and the whole thing makes me cringe really hard. His appearance on such an awful show and his tabloid relationship with a pop star add some strange background when listening to an album with drums that sound straight out of 80s pop rock.

Honestly, I really like this album. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. But as I listen to it more, the criticisms of it become clearer and clearer, like the ones pointed out in this thread (i.e. the slick production). The "Hollywood black metal" comparison is an interesting one.

I guess this all raises one question I doubt anyone previously saw coming: what does going mainstream mean for blackened death metal?

Firstly, nice use of 'anglophone'.

Secondly, I just see Behemoth joining the more mainstream bands like Dimmu and Cradle. Remember when Dani Filth was on Never Mind the Buzzcocks? There's a certain novelty for sure but it never really leads anywhere. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Requiem said:

I just see Behemoth joining the more mainstream bands like Dimmu and Cradle. Remember when Dani Filth was on Never Mind the Buzzcocks? There's a certain novelty for sure but it never really leads anywhere. 

 

I think the thing that might make this less comfortable, though, is that the symphonic black metal of those bands is such a different animal from the underground black metal sound. Of course, even among the tougher black metal bands, Behemoth is far from the first to use clean, slick production, Rotting Christ again coming to mind as a good example.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 17/03/2017 at 11:16 PM, Amebix said:

I think the thing that might make this less comfortable, though, is that the symphonic black metal of those bands is such a different animal from the underground black metal sound. Of course, even among the tougher black metal bands, Behemoth is far from the first to use clean, slick production, Rotting Christ again coming to mind as a good example.

Despite the first few albums, I have a hard time even considering Behemoth as black metal. Even the awesome 'Satanica' back in 1999 wasn't really black metal. I guess they are blackened death metal, but I'm not sure if I'm even keeping their albums in the black metal section of my CD collection. 

For the record I own: 'Satanica', 'Demigod', 'The Apostacy', 'At the Arean of Aion - Live', and 'Evangelion'. I guess I got them at their death metal end. I have the first albums on a hard drive somewhere but I'm not counting that as ownership. Some tracks like 'Ov Fire and the Void' are amazing though. I need to drag a few of these CDs out and put them in my car for the weekly commute to relive them a little bit. I usually get a bit bored with them after three or four songs though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 17/03/2017 at 11:16 PM, Amebix said: I think the thing that might make this less comfortable, though, is that the symphonic black metal of those bands is such a different animal from the underground black metal sound. Of course, even among the tougher black metal bands, Behemoth is far from the first to use clean, slick production, Rotting Christ again coming to mind as a good example.

Despite the first few albums, I have a hard time even considering Behemoth as black metal. Even the awesome 'Satanica' back in 1999 wasn't really black metal. I guess they are blackened death metal, but I'm not sure if I'm even keeping their albums in the black metal section of my CD collection. 

For the record I own: 'Satanica', 'Demigod', 'The Apostacy', 'At the Arean of Aion - Live', and 'Evangelion'. I guess I got them at their death metal end. I have the first albums on a hard drive somewhere but I'm not counting that as ownership. Some tracks like 'Ov Fire and the Void' are amazing though. I need to drag a few of these CDs out and put them in my car for the weekly commute to relive them a little bit. I usually get a bit bored with them after three or four songs though. 

 

Yeah, you definitely have the death metal side of their discography, but they were black metal for the first few years of their existence.

 

 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Join Metal Forum

    joinus-home.jpg

  • Our picks

    • Whichever tier of thrash metal you consigned Sacred Reich back in the 80's/90's they still had their moments.  "Ignorance" & "Surf Nicaragura" did a great job of establishing the band, whereas "The American Way" just got a little to comfortable and accessible (the title track grates nowadays) for my ears.  A couple more records better left forgotten about and then nothing for twenty three years.  2019 alone has now seen three releases from Phil Rind and co.  A live EP, a split EP with Iron Reagan and now a full length.

      Notable addition to the ranks for the current throng of releases is former Machine Head sticksman, Dave McClean.  Love or hate Machine Head, McClean is a more than capable drummer and his presence here is felt from the off with the opening and title track kicking things off with some real gusto.  'Divide & Conquer' and 'Salvation' muddle along nicely, never quite reaching any quality that would make my balls tingle but comfortable enough.  The looming build to 'Manifest Reality' delivers a real punch when the song starts proper.  Frenzied riffs and drums with shots of lead work to hold the interest.


      There's a problem already though (I know, I am such a fucking mood hoover).  I don't like Phil's vocals.  I never had if I am being honest.  The aggression to them seems a little forced even when they are at their best on tracks like 'Manifest Reality'.  When he tries to sing it just feels weak though ('Salvation') and tracks lose real punch.  Give him a riffy number such as 'Killing Machine' and he is fine with the Reich engine (probably a poor choice of phrase) up in sixth gear.  For every thrashy riff there's a fair share of rock edged, local bar act rhythm aplenty too.

      Let's not poo-poo proceedings though, because overall I actually enjoy "Awakening".  It is stacked full of catchy riffs that are sticky on the old ears.  Whilst not as raw as perhaps the - brilliant - artwork suggests with its black and white, tattoo flash sheet style design it is enjoyable enough.  Yes, 'Death Valley' & 'Something to Believe' have no place here, saved only by Arnett and Radziwill's lead work but 'Revolution' is a fucking 80's thrash heyday throwback to the extent that if you turn the TV on during it you might catch a new episode of Cheers!

      3/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 10 replies
    • I
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/52-vltimas-something-wicked-marches-in/
      • Reputation Points

      • 3 replies

    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/48-candlemass-the-door-to-doom/
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • Full length number 19 from overkill certainly makes a splash in the energy stakes, I mean there's some modern thrash bands that are a good two decades younger than Overkill who can only hope to achieve the levels of spunk that New Jersey's finest produce here.  That in itself is an achievement, for a band of Overkill's stature and reputation to be able to still sound relevant four decades into their career is no mean feat.  Even in the albums weaker moments it never gets redundant and the energy levels remain high.  There's a real sense of a band in a state of some renewed vigour, helped in no small part by the addition of Jason Bittner on drums.  The former Flotsam & Jetsam skinsman is nothing short of superb throughout "The Wings of War" and seems to have squeezed a little extra out of the rest of his peers.

      The album kicks of with a great build to opening track "Last Man Standing" and for the first 4 tracks of the album the Overkill crew stomp, bash and groove their way to a solid level of consistency.  The lead work is of particular note and Blitz sounds as sneery and scathing as ever.  The album is well produced and mixed too with all parts of the thrash machine audible as the five piece hammer away at your skull with the usual blend of chugging riffs and infectious anthems.  


      There are weak moments as mentioned but they are more a victim of how good the strong tracks are.  In it's own right "Distortion" is a solid enough - if not slightly varied a journey from the last offering - but it just doesn't stand up well against a "Bat Shit Crazy" or a "Head of a Pin".  As the album draws to a close you get the increasing impression that the last few tracks are rescued really by some great solos and stomping skin work which is a shame because trimming of a couple of tracks may have made this less obvious. 

      4/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 4 replies
×
×
  • Create New...