Nergal - Rhythm, Lead and Acoustic Guitars, Throat, New Aeon propaganda and War Strategy

Inferno- Drums ov Annihilation and Artillery

Orion - Low End Frequencies and Fornication

Seth- Session Lead and Rhythm Guitarist, additional Vocals

     

distributed in Switzerland by Irascible Distribution

review by Gary Saul  ___   

More atmospheric and heavier

in some way or another. Amazing.

Behemoth is probably one of the most successful Black-metal bands alongside Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Satyricon. Surely for good reason. With no bends about changing, evolving and no fear of experimentation these traits most definitely have been responsible for the groups longevity . Most Black/Death metal purists would argue that this is the farthest thing from a desirable attribute of a good band. For some this could be the case and others not . Behemoth clearly falls into the latter category. With their new album, "The Apostasy", having been released in Europe already on the 2nd of July and due out in North America on the 17Th, Polish Behemoth again prove that they a perfectly capable of maturing and progressing without losing their edge. 

The word "Apostasy" means "abandonment of one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause". Front-man Nergal is obviously no stranger to major life altering changes. After being born and raised catholic and officially being baptized into the church at an early childhood, He plans to go through with his official apostasy sometime this year. Obviously marking this occasion with the title of his new album, they seem to have come back with renewed vigor and their philosophies more deeply rooted then before and they unmistakably wishes to make this statement louder and more clear with more brutal and extreme approaches to their art with increased songmanship. 

This albums production is clearly the best Behemoth has ever done. With all instruments audible on an even plane and each easily heard as the other with none drowning the other out (seriously , you can hear every single note played on the guitar , every single cymbal and drum head struck , crystal clear!). Behemoth in the past has used extra instrumentation but this new album features live vocal choirs and horn sections. Including  guest appearances from the likes of Warrel Dane from Nevermore or even Leszek Możdżer, a famous pianist from Poland, whom appears on the track "Inner Sanctum". This album is very "organic" as Nergal said in the recent interview with Gryphonmetal. They no longer used as much synths ( if any at all) or sound samples as with previous records. Everything is "real". Some may think that by adding such ingredients to their already successful musical mixture they may water down the brutality of the music. This is hardly the case. Though this album is more atmospheric than other releases, this album seems heavier in some way or another. By  adding choirs and horns they have cast a sort of epic feel to the piece. For example , on the first track "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa" , just as the songs is closing Nergal sings the final verse in sync with the choir. That coupled with his classic roar to me is just downright brutal and powerful sounding! Though, as i said before, "The Apostasy" is more atmospheric, of course the album is a little bit more mid-tempo than Demigod or other releases. Don't let this statement make you think it doesn't have it's fair share of blasbeats. The track "Kriegsphilosophie" starts out with a crushing blastbeat and thrashy guitar opeing riff. A handful of tracks also feature siren like female vocals . Their are most prominent on the opening track "Rome 64 C.E" . They are spread here and there through the rest of the album. 

Overall this album, simply put, is amazing. I'm sure it would make great addition to anyone's CD collection. Behemoth has done a grand job indeed!

rating: 9/10

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