I hadn’t intended to review The Satanist; Behemoth has long been a favorite band of mine and I had planned to enjoy their first new recording in five years purely as a fan. Sometimes it’s good to just kick back and blast an album at top volume without having to analyze its every nook and cranny, and I was looking forward to doing just that. But the thing is, while I certainly didn’t expect Behemoth to disappoint, I also didn’t expect them to take such a stunning turn, releasing one of their best albums to date a full twenty-three years deep into their career.
What the fuck is going on in Poland?! I can only assume that the water supply has been tainted with the blood of Lucifer, because the country is responsible for some of 2011’s gnarliest metal albums. The likes of Stillborn, Vader and Iperyt have all managed to rip my head off repeatedly this year, but there is one band among their Polish brethren that blows them all out of the water. That band is Azarath. Blasphemers’ Maledictions is their fifth album, and I’m quite ashamed to admit that it’s also my first exposure to them. But after listening to this recording thoroughly and repeatedly, I can tell you that you needn’t be familiar with their back catalog in order to know that Azarath is creating some of the most devastating (not to mention most addictive) black/death metal out there today. Continue reading “Azarath – Blasphemers’ Maledictions (Witching Hour, 2011)”
Being previously unfamiliar with Poland’s Stillborn, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when the folks at Godz of War Productions (the band’s PR reps) offered to send me the band’s latest album, Los Asesinos del Sur. However, knowing full well that Polish metal has an uncanny tendency to kick copious amounts of ass (see: Vader, Behemoth, Azarath, Iperyt, Graveland, Decapitated, etc), I couldn’t resist the opportunity to potentially add another name to my list of elite metal practitioners hailing from the country. If Los Asesinos del Sur is any indication, Stillborn not only deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as their more well known countrymen, they’re also damn near the top of the heap.
Stillborn’s approach to death/black metal can be likened to that of a mixed martial arts fighter. The band hits hard and often, alternating between clubbing blows and precision strikes. The songwriting is sharp and tightly coiled, but often explodes into flurries of violence. Clocking it at just a little over thirty minutes, the band switches up its attack frequently throughout the album’s ten tracks, making it difficult to determine when and where they’ll hit you next. Get in, kick ass, get out is the philosophy of Los Asesinos del Sur. There isn’t an ounce of fat to be found here, songs such as “Hymn of Destruction” “Antonym” and “Kot Wolanda” last just long enough to break bones, rip tendons and fracture skulls. When the band does stretch songs out past the three minute mark, as on “Blood and Dust” and the title track, they’re still all muscle, never deviating from their intention to inflict as much pain as possible.
To put things in more musical terms, Los Asesinos del Sur is an exercise in concise songwriting with an extremely high level of craftsmanship. Stillborn are able to fit more cool, crushing riffs into a two-minute-and-forty-second song than most bands are able to muster in twice that amount of time. Given the band’s nationality, it seems natural to assume that Stillborn learned the lessons of brevity and badass-ness from Vader, but the quartet are by no means a carbon copy of herr Piotr Wiwczarek and Co. Instead, Stillborn plays a hybrid of a black and death metal that’s largely all their own, leaning more heavily to the death metal side of things in terms of power and production, but seething with pure malevolence and hatred (and the occasional tremolo riff) that most certainly comes from black metal. In this respect, the sound is probably closer to Behemoth, but Stillborn come off as leaner, meaner and hungrier than Behemoth have been in years.
An album as devastating and ambitious as Los Asesinos del Sur can’t be viewed as anything other than a statement of intent. The intent is to put other bands on notice. No more resting on your laurels or coasting on your reputations. No more pretentious, self-indulgent songs and bloated, overly long albums. No more “Radikult” and no more bullshit. Stillborn have arrived and they want you fucking dead.
The news of Behemoth frontman Nergal (aka Adam Darski) being diagnosed with leukemia hits more than close to home (much like Ronnie James Dio’s diagnosis of stomach cancer in 2009). In metal, we often venerate men like Nergal and RJD to the level of superheroes, invincible warriors fighting the good fight in the name of our beloved music. We must remember that they are also human beings, susceptible to the same rules and laws of nature that effect us mere mortals. They are someone’s Father, Brother, Uncle, Cousin, Son, Grandson or best friend.
Although I do not know Nergal or his family personally, I have experienced firsthand the hardships that I imagine them to be going through in this difficult time. I’m guessing many of you out there have similar stories involving loved ones, or may even be cancer survivors yourselves.
I lost my Grandma Betty to cancer in 2005. Not only did she help raise me, she was in many ways my best friend. She was the one person on this Earth that I felt I could always confide in, the one person that would always listen to my thoughts, ideas and harebrained schemes and offer nothing but support and sound advice. My Grandmother was by no means a metal fan (her favorite singers were Patsy Cline, John Denver and Elvis Presley), but she always wanted to know the names of the bands I was listening to or going to see in concert. I seem to remember her being quite amused by the fact that I liked a band called Goatwhore.
I have also lost a Cousin, an Uncle and Great Uncle to battles with cancer. My wife’s Uncle is recovering from having a brain tumor partially removed as we speak. He is a Vietnam veteran, a Purple Heart recipient and one of the friendliest and most genuine people you could ever hope to meet.
It is for this reason that I encourage all of you to learn all you can about cancer, what can be done to prevent it and how you can help those that are struggling with this terrible ailment. Cancer is a horrific disease. It causes immeasurable pain and suffering, often taking our friends and loved ones from us before their times. It’s about time we all started working together to kick the shit out of it.
Behemoth’s music videos of late have been delightfully, unapologetically over the top. Their latest clip for “Alas, Lord is Upon Me” from last year’s Evangelion is no exception. You know the drill; breasts, blood and blasphemy, but Behemoth presents these tried ‘n’ true metal visual accoutrements in a way that is at least somewhat fun and interesting to watch. Besides, anything is better than yet another drab performance clip. There aren’t too many bands out there doing much of anything to justify the existence of music videos in the post-“real MTV” era (by “real MTV” era, I mean back when the channel was relevant and actually had quite a bit to do with music), but at least Behemoth are giving it a shot. I also recommend their equally entertaining video for “Ov Fire and the Void”, which features Nergal and the boys feasting on angel’s wings.
In other Behemoth-related news, frontman Nergal was recently rushed to the hospital, to be treated for an undisclosed illness. This has forced the band to cancel all upcoming tour activities. THKD wishes Nergal a speedy recovery.
THKD 