Behemoth - The Satanist
Nuclear Blast
Black/Death Metal
9 songs (44'22'')
Release year: 2014
Behemoth, Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Jared
Major event

A big regret I had at a concert a handful of years ago was the opportunity to meet Nergal back in 2008 that I missed. Leaving early to dodge traffic, I came to find that after the show he walked right down off the stage and talked to a close friend of mine who apparently was the only one at the venue who knew who he was without the corpse paint. The audience at the time was rather bleak for a Behemoth concert six years ago, but with the release of The Satanist and Nergal’s triumphant and inspirational return from battling leukemia, I, like many, are more than happy to see this band make its homecoming.

Going into this album expecting a “Demigod” is bound to disappoint. After conversing with others and reading some articles prior to the release, the song writing style would be changed up, and indeed it has. The slow riff that opens Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel might sound like the Behemoth I’ve become accustomed to in the past, but as the track progresses, the use of symphonic elements and a hellish choir was an unexpected but fine touch.

The Satanist still remains both black and death metal influenced for a Behemoth album. Furor Divinus is more along the lines of sounding black metal with great production. Blast beating is pretty much relentless here and Inferno showcases once again that he may very well be one of the finest drummers in metal today.

A lot of tracks were hit or miss such as Messe Noir, which I found to be a tad boring until the great rock sounding solo located at the end that you know Nergal put a lot of feeling into. A track that gave me the most enjoyment out of the entire record came with the song Amen. Sounding more along the lines from one of the more aggressive tracks from the previous album Evangelion, the initial intensity and the rising dark choir sent me into hell and beyond and little could pull me back out.

The main title track, The Satanist, started out with a pretty unique sound for Behemoth and contained a great buildup. However the buildup only came at a bit of disappointment, as the slower tempo just didn’t have its way for me. It’s not a bad track, but just lacked the vigor I was expecting for a song entitled “The Satanist.”

For being a pretty big Behemoth fan over the years, I have to say that this album was one of the hardest for me to enjoy. It is indeed a good album, but I don’t find it being anything better than just that. However, the return of Behemoth is a triumphant fact no doubt. They’ve been tearing up stages since the album’s release and no other band does it like Behemoth does. The energy they give off is something that is hard to forget.

Killing Songs :
Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, Furor Divinus, Amen, In the Absence ov Light
Jared quoted 70 / 100
Goat quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Behemoth that we have reviewed:
Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Behemoth - ...From The Pagan Vastlands reviewed by Goat and quoted no quote
Behemoth - Satanica reviewed by Khelek and quoted 92 / 100
Behemoth - Evangelion reviewed by James and quoted 92 / 100
Behemoth - The Return Of The Northern Moon reviewed by James and quoted no quote
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