Behemoth Album: “Apostasy”

Once again... Behemoth delivers a spectacular album... and continues to surprise the listeners with new elements. I really love the chants and soprano vocals among all the other 'middle eastern' sounding instruments... it adds a lot to the music. The guitar work and drumming still draws from the vein of Demigod, but it lookes like they drew a little bit from their Zaios Kon Kultos album *forgive me all you deadly serious fans if I spelled it wrong*. The vocals aren't as blended together like they were in Demigod, but still have that excellent growl that lets you knew 'yep... this be Nergal and crew....' I pretty much can't name a favorite here because every track is good... no let downs so far.

good death metal makes me feel all nice. The latest Behemoth album is NICE. Extremely awesome brutal death metal is not without various precedents, but Behemoth of Poland has a certain magic and consistency that puts them a step above even the best. This latest album is really just more of the same brutal, brutal awesome death metal like _Demigod_ and _Zos Kia Cultus_ and so on, with incredible riffs and pounding intensity that is weirdly catchy at the same time. but _The Apostasy_ is really, really, really good! from sound to songcraft, every element is just perfectly refined, like a sinister killer's masterful deathtrap. the production is huge as you will know from the massive, imperial intro "Rome 64 C.E". Inferno's drumming gets better with each album, and sound huge on this album, like 500mm assault cannons! They use their worldly influences credibly, like the Egyptian/middle-eastern sounds which are employed with truly brutal emphasis. There are also some choral strikes in some songs are dramatic moments, even these are heavy lacking any pretence or cheese. The ultra-heavy "Inner Sanctum" is also weird and mysterious, with a weird passage of rumbling death, sustained tones, piano, and Warrell Dane's guest wailing. It's pretty messed up as you can imagine. the lyrics are also cool for death metal, like " vultures attack! May hell unlock overpowering might" and "thou art pure in thy sinistry" and "raise Thy sword of judgment, release the iron rain". Really the songs are just great though. Riffs and arrangement and execution are flawless. The closing track, "Christgrinding Avenue" is perhaps the most brutally catchy death metal anthem in my collection, it's so awesome that politicians will probably try and ban it because it inspires dumb kids to become Satanists the way Henry Cow's "Living in the Heart of the Beast" probably inspired dumb kids to beome Marxists. but those dumb kids would at least have great (not to mention out-there) taste in certain musical selections, obviously! This review has to end but I really think this album will take your breath away.

With the release of "Demigod," Behemoth took death metal to a new level of musicianship, intricacy, creativity, speed, and brutality. Though Behemoth did not further raise the bar with "The Apostasy," this album further cements their status as one of the elite death metal bands of the current generation. Furthermore, "The Apostasy" is an excellent album for many reasons:

1) As with their previous three releases, "The Apostasy" displays the one element that (unfortunately) many death metal bands lack: distinctiveness between songs. Behemoth has an amazing ability to write very memorable songs that are distinct from one another. By this I mean, that the songs do not sound like one another. One of the biggest criticisms faced by death metal bands is that each of their songs sound similar to one another. Even as a fan of extreme metal, I have to admit that there is some degree of truth to this criticism. However, Behemoth does not fall into that category, as each of the songs on "The Apostasy" are clearly distinct entities from one another.

2) Excellent songwriting. As odd as this will sound, "The Apostasy" is fairly listener-friendly (for a death metal album). Don't get me wrong, those who do not like extreme metal will not like this album. But, for those who are looking to expand their horizons to more extreme metal, this is an excellent album to start with. Once again, Nergal, Orion, and Inferno are all in outstanding form on their respective instruments.

3) Perhaps one of the better aspects of "The Apostasy" is the fact that the vocals are not overproduced (like they were on "Demigod"). As much as I love "Demigod," the fact that the vocals were multilayered and dubbed over one another, made the album sound somewhat overproduced and artificial (as far as vocals go). "The Apostasy" does not suffer from this flaw. Though there are some parts where vocals are dubbed over one another, this element is not overdone.

4) Creativity. Behemoth added some new elements to their music, some of which are fairly unique in the death metal realm. Most notably is the use of operatic vocals, which are clearly discernable on the track "Slaying the Prophets of Isa." They also utilize a piano for a haunting introduction on "Inner Sanctum." Finally, they enlist the help of Warrel Dane from Nevermore as a guest vocalist on "Inner Sanctum." Dane's vocals add a unique element to the album, as he has a clear singing voice, as opposed to a death metal growl. However, his vocals fit nicely with the eerie ambiance of "Inner Sanctum."

As with most albums, there are some flaws, and "The Apostasy" is no different. One that stands out is the instrumental opening track "Rome 64 C.E." Though it is an excellent opener for the album, it plays more like the beginning of "Slaying the Prophets of Isa," as opposed to a song of its own. Whenever I hear a short instrumental bearing an actual song title, I am left with the feeling that it is a filler meant to add an additional title to the album to give the appearance of more songs on the album. Second, I feel that one of the chanting on "At the Left Hand of God" sounded out of place on the album, in addition to not fitting Behemoth's style in general.

Overall, this is an outstanding album. Each of the songs are an amazing display of musicianship and songwriting. Fans of extreme metal will not be disappointed with "The Apostasy," and I highly recommend the album. Though I do not feel that Behemoth took their music to the next level with "The Apostasy," they nonetheless managed to release another solid album.

I first got into Behemoth when I bought their 2005 album "Demigod" a couple years ago, and I quickly became a fan instantly. However when I bought their latest album 2007's "The Apostasy" I was blown away even more. This album has quickly risen to be one of my favorite extreme death metal albums of 2007, and I listen to it almost every day and every week. Behemoth have also risen to become one of my favorite death metal bands as well. Produced by band member Nergal and mixed by Daniel Bergstrand, "The Apostasy" is a brutal, slamming, headbanging blackened death metal assault of absolute inhuman violence that any fan of extreme blackened death metal will definately enjoy. This album is also considered to be very experimental as well, featuring vocal choirs, the piano and a horn section (a trio of trumpet, trombone, french horn) are used in a handful of songs on here. Nergal's vocals are just raw, visceral, throat ripping, and absolutely commanding throughout. Let's also not forget the incredible guitarwork that Nergal and Seth do as well. Their riffs are just brutal and heavy, and the solos are just fantastic and jaw dropping as well. Orion's bass lines are heavy and very powerful, and of course Inferno's lightning fast earthshaking blast beats are just dare I say absolutely wickedly incredible.

Every song on here is just awesome. The opening instrumental "Rome 64 C.E" has a slow yet powerful mounting energy build up and then moments later, track two "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa" immediately blasts right throught the doors with a barrage of rampaging blast beats fast brutal riffs and Nergal's visceral roars come in to play. There's also a pair of wicked solos near the end as well. The next track "Prometherion" (my favorite song on here) continues the brutal assault with more scorching riffs, bullying drumwork, Deicide-esque vocals, wild solos, and a throat ripping chorus that's just commandingly catchy. "At the Left Hand ov God" starts off with a brief but haunting accoustic intro before a barrage of slowly yet booming riffs and blast beats thrust onto the scene. This song is mostly mid tempo that also has some nice melodic solos to boot. Track five "Kriegsphilosophie" features more slamming blast beats and double bass, driving riffs and shredding leads, as well as another pair of killer solos to boot. The sixth track "Be Without Fear" has more headbanging riffs, two more great solos, and some clobbering double bass drum kicks throughout. Another one of my favorite songs on here track nine "Inner Sanctum" starts off with a haunting piano intro before thrusting in with slow booming riffs and double bass. This song also features guest vocals from Nevermore lead singer Warrel Dane as well as some more great melodic solos. The closing track and another one of my favorites "Christgrinding Avenue" quickly opens up with a barrage of fast blowtorching riffs, ear bleeding leads, jackhammering blast beats, clobbering double bass, and a wild careening solo. Nergal's vocals just dominate on this song. A great album closer indeed. Please read on for the song list and my ratings.

Jeremy's song ratings:

1. Rome 64 C.E." (1:16) - 5/5

2. Slaying the Prophets ov Isa (3:23) - 5/5

3. Prometherion (3:03) - 5/5

4. At the Left Hand ov God (4:58) - 5/5

5. Kriegsphilosophie (4:23) - 5/5

6. Be Without Fear (3:17) - 5/5

7. Arcana Hereticae (2:58) - 5/5

8. Libertheme (4:53) - 5/5

9. Inner Sanctum (5:01) - 5/5

10. Pazuzu (2:36) - 5/5

11. Christgrinding Avenue (3:50) - 5/5

Overall "The Apostasy" is without question among the BEST and I DO mean BEST extreme death metal albums of 2007 along with Nile's "Ithyphallic", and Vital Remains's "Icons of Evil" (I still need to get those albums) and among others. Bottom line is this, if you're a fan of Behemoth, blackened death metal, extreme metal, or just metal in general, then by all means you must own "The Apostasy". Later Dudes!!

FINALLY THE NEW BEHEMOTH MY FIRST ALBUM BY THEM WAS DEMIGOD AND FROM THEN ON I WAS HOOKED THE GUITAR PLAYING ON THIS ALBUM IS EXCELLENT AND INFERNO IS A DRUM MACHINE IF YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT THIS ALBUM I RECCOMEND IT TO ANY BLACK METAL/DEATH METAL FAN YOUR COLLECTION WON'T BE COMPLETE WITHOUT IT BUY IT NOW!!!