Behemoth - The Satanist review
| Band: | Behemoth |
| Album: | The Satanist |
| Style: | Blackened death metal |
| Release date: | February 03, 2014 |
| A review by: | wormdrink414 |
Disc I
01. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
02. Furor Divinus
03. Messe Noire
04. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
05. Amen
06. The Satanist
07. Ben Sahar
08. In The Absence Ov Light
09. O Father O Satan O Sun!
10. Ludzie Wschodu [Siekiera cover] [Australian bonus]
Disc II [DVD] [deluxe box set version]
01. Live Barbarossa
1 - Intro
2 - Ov Fire And The Void
3 - Demigod
4 - Moonspell Rites
5 - Conquer All
6 - Christians To The Lions
7 - The Seed Ov I
8 - Alas, Lord Is Upon Me
9 - Decade Of ΘΕΡΙΟΝ
10 - At The Left Hand Ov God
11 - Slaves Shall Serve
12 - Chant For ΕΣΧΗΑΤΟΝ 2000
13 - 23 (The Youth Manifesto)
14 - Lucifer
02. The Satanist: Oblivion
Not too many bands could throw a spoken-word, Kenny G sax muzak thing into the middle of a song called "In The Absence Ov Light" and not get laughed away into obscurity. Behemoth can get away with shit like that. They're just too cool to be dismissed. They sound cool and, with a theatrical sense that rivals well over half a Lady Gaga, they LOOK cool. I mean, I'm not gay, but I'd let Nergal and Orion double team me if they still want to.
The Satanist hasn't changed any of that. The already slightly precarious balance between their style and the substance of their music has changed. Since Thelema they've been making some of the most vicious and furious blackened, anti-Christian death metal around, all with an extravagant dramatic flair. With Evangelion they started emphasizing the evil mood creation bits and the ambient bits of their tunes more than they had before. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing when it came down to it, but the sheer testosterone of what they'd done on their earlier discs did feel a little watered down.
They did what they do and made it work on Evangelion. "Lucifer" is boring, but goddamn is "Shemhamforash" a neck breaker. That balance is almost completely gone here. The Satanist feels a lot like a bunch of "Lucifer"s. Sure, there's still some DM fury, but it seems to come secondary to all the build-ups. And while the build-ups can sound juicy, they never lead to any kind of exploding that's to be expected from the band that gave us The Apostasy not too long ago.
The extreme bits on this get boring quick. Every time you think, "shit, this is about to get good," songs will peter out and fall back into "just wait for it" mode. It either goes back to what feels a lot like filler, or the faster riffs are bland and melodramatic enough that you'll pine for any of their earlier albums, even the overrated ones like Demigod.
None of this is to say these guys are sounding bad necessarily. The mix is robust and the guys still play tightly; Inferno is still distractingly good at what he does and now the bass gets accented more, so Orion's chops are more audible, Nergal's voice is as powerful as ever, and so on. What they've put together here is tedious enough to surprise even their casual fans, in other words. It sounds like the kind of stuff made for expensive music videos, not the other way around.
Highlight: "Amen"
 | Written on 12.02.2014 by Wormdrink's real name is George and he's an American. |
Rating:
10
10
|
Rating: 10 |
What's my favorite scary movie? The Shining. With its subtle, psychological terror and slow-build that only Kubrick can pull off, it's a masterpiece. Sure, I get down with the gore-ridden creature features too. Everything from Evil Dead to Friday the 13th is cool in my book. Why is this relevant? Aliens. Okay, now you are more confused. Let me elaborate further. I think a lot of long-time fans come to a Behemoth album expecting a certain level of violence. Demigod, Thelema.6, Zos Kia Cultus; these classics are the "Aliens" of the Behemoth discography. Explosions, flame-throwers, disembowelment, "Game over man, game over!" I'm right with you, popcorn ready. The Satanist, on the other hand, is "Alien." Swarms of xenomorphs are replaced with a single, lurking threat in the shadows. The emphasis is on tension as each innocent is picked off one by one and dragged to their grim (and unseen) demise. While both styles are equally valid, I find the imagination to be a far darker place than anything directly fed to my senses. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 216
Visited by: 1040 users
| Hex_Omega Gem Seeker Posts: 1178 |
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6107  |
Written by Hex_Omega on 12.02.2014 at 13:23 What storm?
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| boo-boo Posts: 208  |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 13:49 I think the real storm began (and hopefully ended) in the album page, it won't be so long or hard in here I guess.
---- World won't end today - it's already tomorrow in Australia.
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| boo-boo Posts: 208 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 14:00 Ah, you mean posts directly criticizing the staff and people who dislike the album generally?
---- World won't end today - it's already tomorrow in Australia.
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| boo-boo Posts: 208 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 14:04 There's not much to argue about in this case, so I find it difficult to imagine.
---- World won't end today - it's already tomorrow in Australia.
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| Skl3ros Posts: 149  |
When trolling reached a new level. so basically every song that doesn't have insane speed like amen is automatically bad. why don't you just listen to a drum computer if that turns you people on so much?
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| Karlabos Posts: 5744  |
Written by Skl3ros on 12.02.2014 at 15:02 Or cybergrind 
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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!J.O.O.E.!
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| Unhealer Eclecticist Posts: 2311  |
So this is definitely Daniell + users vs. the rest of the MS staff, alright 
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| Karlabos Posts: 5744 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 15:11 Sometimes it is. And if the fake drums sound very artificial it's even better xD
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| Rulatore Posts: 1108  |
Apart from this Quote: It couldn't be more accurate. Hell, Lucifer is one of the most borings songs I've heard from them. These new elements, if done well, would sound better, but it just don't work here. Some people complained about the sound of the guitars, but I don't think you'ld be happy hearing better those bland riffs. The only good thing about this album is the vocals, Nergal put out his best performance on this one. Also Written by [user id=109376] on 12.02.2014 at 13:45
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
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Is Nergal considered sexy?  I mean, come on, you could land a helicopter on that forehead.
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| s_t_s Posts: 1208  |
I agree with this review except for the first boring and brainless paragraph... I mean, I only discovered Behemoth with Evangelion but it sounded so ear blasting and powerful ! I love Demigod and The Apostasy for these same reasons but it just doesn't work with The Satanist. The first 2 tracks are good enough but the rest makes me feel like I'm in back metal retirement house ^^ Not saying this album is any bad, just that it doesn't work for me.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by Skl3ros on 12.02.2014 at 15:02 I smell butthurt. So people aren't allowed to have their own opinions? Remember reviews are not objective, it's the reviewer's thoughts on the album. Just because the album may have 229 votes for an 8.9 average doesn't mean we're just going to go with it. As I'm sure you saw in the review since you're paraphrasing it, George here isn't so much complaining about a lack of speed as much as he is saying that when the speed does does come, it feels anticlimactic compared to all the time it took building up to it. Which I agree with.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7584  |
Well, Worm you could have added one line to your review. The Satanist is groovy.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6107 |
Written by Unhealer on 12.02.2014 at 15:16 Not really interested in siding with any factions, thank you.
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| Slyfang Posts: 409  |
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6107 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 12.02.2014 at 15:52 To be honest, I had the same impression while reading the review: "boring 'cause slow". So he's not the only one. Or I need to improve my reading comprehension.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6107 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 17:09 People tend to call reviews lame when they disagree with the ratings. No clue what one has to do with the other, but here we are.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 17:11 What I pretty much said
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669  |
Written by [user id=4365] on 12.02.2014 at 15:28 +1 ROFLCOPTER all around the floor. That was priceless. With Satanist being my first impression of Behemoth's music, I'm kinda left with the impression that it's something. 
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