Behemoth - Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond) - guest review
Behemoth - Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond) - guest review
Tracklist
01. Horns Ov Baphomet02. Modern Iconoclasts
03. Here And Beyond
04. As Above So Below
05. Blackest Ov The Black
06. Hekau 718
07. The Harlot Ov The Saints
08. No Sympathy For Fools
09. Zos Kia Cvltvs
10. Fornicatus Benefictus
11. Typhonian Soul Zodiack
12. Heru Ra Ha: Let There Be Might
Guest review by
Clintagräm May 05, 2008
With their fifth release, 'Zos Kia Cultus,' Behemoth transcended the accepted definition of "Blackened" Death Metal at the time, and still define it today. The album is full of what many still consider to be Behemoth's finest moments: crushing guitar production and riffing that suffocates the listener; drumming so tight and fast that it's hard to discern whether Inferno is man or machine; some of the most inhumane, evil vocals ever put forward in the realm of Metal as a whole; and imagery and lyrical content that straddles the line not only between Black and Death Metal but between contemporary art and the occult past that humanity has left behind.
While this album is technically proficient, and the signs and symbols will get your human intuition of curiosity boiling, and the overall attitude and primal nature of such tracks as "Blackest ov the Black" and "No Sympathy for Fools" is ferocious, the album does suffer from a few faults. The first five tracks are what I consider to be some of the best songs to ever open an album, but that is somewhat a problem when they are contrasted with the latter five (excluding two interludes which some might find tasteless or just a waste of time.) In the latter half, the songs become a bit less creative, yet still manage to be worthy slabs of Metal. They come off a little uninspired, but there are still pieces of the songs to get your blood pumping, especially the whole of the song "No Sympathy for Fools" as mentioned or the almost deranged chant by Nergal of the word "slain" in "The Harlot ov the Saints."
So I guess you could say I have a "soft" spot in my heart for this album, seeing as I "grew up" with it, but I still believe it to be a great piece of contemporary Death Metal than can be enjoyed by any fan of extreme music along with Metal in general. Behemoth cast off the chains of their black past and entered a new age of the monolithic Death Metal machine they are known for today, and even today still seem to keep in mind the lyric "no rest for conquerors."
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Clintagräm | May 05, 2008
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
9
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 Posts: 13427 |
Posts: 13427
Nice review, great album. Ranks only as my fourth or fifth favourite Behemoth album, but that's only because I have warm feelings for the other albums - the same feelings as you. Behemoth's "Thelema.6" was my introduction to Death Metal and I will never forget how extremely overwhelmed I was by that album. My spectrum had only one colour in the weeks after that purchase: the blue of the cover art. Other favourites are Demigod, Pandemonic Incantations to a lesser extent but most of all: Sventevith. That is pure brilliance. Zos Kia Cultus is a top-notch album too, listening to it right now.
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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 Posts: 1018 |
Posts: 1018
Since the first time I put the cd in my stereo, I've been blown away! Great riffs, great rhythm sections, amazing songs!
---- "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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| Opium
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Opium
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To me, this album was mediocre, but hey, everyone's entitled to thier opinion and are also allowed to express it. However, this is the weak point in the review (if this part wasn't included, it would have been a brilliant review, IMHO): "rival to the glorious albums of the past which most of us still drool over". Metal nowadays can still be good, even great, but never match that of the oldschool (I'm aware I've given some newer albums 10's, but I do have my reasons/criteria that allow for it  ). The original is always the best and older bands are/were no exception. They created what more contemparary bands replicated, thus can't match that.Also, no matter what, you'll always find influences in modern bands. It's just the way things are. Even the band which experiment are bound to have something striking about them at their core which was extracted and modified, then inserted into their own sound. Sorry if I seemed like a real hard-ass/elitist, this just bothered me a little :/ Otherwise, congrats and keep up the good work man!
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Posts: 5777 Written by [user id=12867] on 05.05.2008 at 15:12 Thanks and I understand where you're coming from. I'm just glad people enjoy Metal like I do. The only thing that bothered me about my own review is that I put "Metal as a hole" instead of the word "whole." Oh well. Thanks again.
---- The force will be with you, always.
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 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071 Written by Clintagräm on 05.05.2008 at 19:08 And that's taken care off now.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Posts: 5777 |
Posts: 5777 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.05.2008 at 22:12 Yes but is it taken care of? Damn grammar! Damn it to hell!
---- The force will be with you, always.
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| Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071 Written by Clintagräm on 05.05.2008 at 22:13 Damn me for misspelling off... the "Metal as a hole" has been taken care OF 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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 Posts: 2437 |
Posts: 2437
This album is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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 Posts: 2955 |
Posts: 2955
Way overrated. The music quality is there, it just lacks the power and atmosphere of the previous (and subsequent) albuns. And the stop-paced riffs became annoying after a while. Still.. I liked ''Here and Beyond'' and ''Blackest ov the black''.
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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