Behemoth is one of my favorite extreme metal bands. I would classify them as blackened death metal, although they are more death than black, at least in their more later albums. Their lyrics have satanic and occult themes, which are common in these styles of music, but also often have deeper, more thought provoking lyrics. Behemoth's early albums, such as Seventh (Storming Near the Baltic) and Grom had a much more traditional black metal sound reminiscent of early Mayhem and Emperor. This changed in 1999 when Behemoth released Satanica, which featured a slightly more accessible blackened death metal sound, which personally, I liked better. This sound further developed until Behemoth released one of their best albums, Demigod, in 2004. Behemoth's sound now distinguished its self with impressive guttural vocals and surprisingly good guitar harmonies and riffs which work well with the rest of the song. The two albums following Demigod weren't quite as good, but Behemoth's most recent album, The Satanist (2014), is another great one with some of my favorite tracks on it.
The cover of this album is a cool one, and I think it works well with the music. Obviously there are some references to Jesus and Christianity. The two finger hand gesture (which Jesus often makes in Catholic art) and the hole in the hand are obviously referencing Christianity. There are also the staff, an Egyptian Phoenix stick (which was used for some kind of religious ceremony), the tattoo with the same symbol from the staff, and the mask, which according to Nergal, the singer and frontman of Behemoth, "symbolizes some kind of inhumanity." Together, I think these symbols represent how this man is a demigod, just like the title says, and holds some kind of dark religious power; the use of both Christian and pagan symbolism suggests satanic power.
Demigod is an album of mostly death metal, but the music still holds some of the black metal influences from their early days. A lot of the songs still have dark, black metal-esque melodies and fast beating drums which are common in the genre. Despite the extreme sound, the songs on this album are surprisingly accessible. My favorite songs on this album are, "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth," "Demigod," "Conquer All," and "Slaves Shall Serve."
The first song on the album, "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth," is a brutal manifesto which has a clear message: there are no gods but ourselves. There are those who conquer and rule like gods, and those who fall and serve as slaves. The song opes with an off-putting plucked guitar melody, which quickly transitions into an overwhelming, heavy riff and rapid beating drums. Throughout the song there are also several cool guitar solos. One of the best parts of the song is the chorus, "Speak ov me not as one/Speak ov me not as none/ Speak ov me not at all/ For I am continual," which greatly adds to the brutality of the song.
Behemoth's black metal origins and influences bleed through in the next song on the album, "Demigod." This song still has the cookie-monster style death vocals present in their other songs, but it also features black metal-esque melodies and instruments. Even though most Behemoth songs have strong black metal influences, this one stands out as especially black. It has things like a gloomy droning melody that threatens to overpower the vocals and horns that play at the beginning of the song to give a false angelic sounding opening. Overall this song has a bold dark feel to it which I like. I'm not to sure what the meaning of this song is, Behemoth lyrics are always hard to interpret, but I think it is about satanism and the downfall of Christianity; not that surprising of a topic considering it is blackened death metal.
"Conquer All" is probably my favorite song on this album. It opens with an awesome guitar riff that just makes you want to headbang along with it, and the whole song has this powerful, doomy feel to it like something evil is coming to get you. I think Nergal, who wrote this song, says best what it's about, "Crowley said 'I will give you a war-engine. With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you. (...) Conquer! That is enough,' and with 'Conquer All' I try to extend the meaning ov these mighty words. these lyrics are about life offering me so many opportunities which are at hand. my passions and determination are unbreakable. unrestrained will has brought me to this path I walk. it's the whole world... it's the whole universe I wish to conquer. it's all or nothing. my music and words I speak are unlimited. I see no boundaries for true art. here and now. here and beyond." This song is about physically conquering all that oppose you, but also about conquering every challenge lift throws your way.
Jumping now to the end of the album, "Slaves Shall Serve," is a rebellion against western culture and civilization, with all of its social norms, religions, ideologies, and politicians who try to enslave us. Those who willfully follow these social and societal restrictions serve as slaves to society. As you can see, this song has a surprisingly deep meaning for an extreme metal song. It seems more like something you'd expect from a punk than a metal song. The music its self is also pretty good. The song starts with the singer shouting "Khrevsu tvahyu gradu tore!\ Khrevsu kvatro midvhu piedhvro!\ Khrevsu kristo midhvu vhradro!\ Medvro vhtrienn utrah vreghgrho!" which is Sumerian for "Slaves shall serve as the crowns are falling!\ As the apocalypse is nearing!\ Slaves shall serve as the inferior!\ Life force and as undead rivals!" This works well as a brutal satanic sounding chant which opens the song. This song is also interesting because it features complicated, almost proggy, melodies throughout the song which make it interesting to listen to. This is kind of unusual for blackened death metal, but works well here.
This album is a necessity for anyone who is an extreme metal fan. This album features some of my all time favorite blackened death metal songs, and the album as a whole is very good. Behemoth is also a great band and this is one of their best albums.
The cover of this album is a cool one, and I think it works well with the music. Obviously there are some references to Jesus and Christianity. The two finger hand gesture (which Jesus often makes in Catholic art) and the hole in the hand are obviously referencing Christianity. There are also the staff, an Egyptian Phoenix stick (which was used for some kind of religious ceremony), the tattoo with the same symbol from the staff, and the mask, which according to Nergal, the singer and frontman of Behemoth, "symbolizes some kind of inhumanity." Together, I think these symbols represent how this man is a demigod, just like the title says, and holds some kind of dark religious power; the use of both Christian and pagan symbolism suggests satanic power.
Demigod is an album of mostly death metal, but the music still holds some of the black metal influences from their early days. A lot of the songs still have dark, black metal-esque melodies and fast beating drums which are common in the genre. Despite the extreme sound, the songs on this album are surprisingly accessible. My favorite songs on this album are, "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth," "Demigod," "Conquer All," and "Slaves Shall Serve."
The first song on the album, "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth," is a brutal manifesto which has a clear message: there are no gods but ourselves. There are those who conquer and rule like gods, and those who fall and serve as slaves. The song opes with an off-putting plucked guitar melody, which quickly transitions into an overwhelming, heavy riff and rapid beating drums. Throughout the song there are also several cool guitar solos. One of the best parts of the song is the chorus, "Speak ov me not as one/Speak ov me not as none/ Speak ov me not at all/ For I am continual," which greatly adds to the brutality of the song.
Behemoth's black metal origins and influences bleed through in the next song on the album, "Demigod." This song still has the cookie-monster style death vocals present in their other songs, but it also features black metal-esque melodies and instruments. Even though most Behemoth songs have strong black metal influences, this one stands out as especially black. It has things like a gloomy droning melody that threatens to overpower the vocals and horns that play at the beginning of the song to give a false angelic sounding opening. Overall this song has a bold dark feel to it which I like. I'm not to sure what the meaning of this song is, Behemoth lyrics are always hard to interpret, but I think it is about satanism and the downfall of Christianity; not that surprising of a topic considering it is blackened death metal.
"Conquer All" is probably my favorite song on this album. It opens with an awesome guitar riff that just makes you want to headbang along with it, and the whole song has this powerful, doomy feel to it like something evil is coming to get you. I think Nergal, who wrote this song, says best what it's about, "Crowley said 'I will give you a war-engine. With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you. (...) Conquer! That is enough,' and with 'Conquer All' I try to extend the meaning ov these mighty words. these lyrics are about life offering me so many opportunities which are at hand. my passions and determination are unbreakable. unrestrained will has brought me to this path I walk. it's the whole world... it's the whole universe I wish to conquer. it's all or nothing. my music and words I speak are unlimited. I see no boundaries for true art. here and now. here and beyond." This song is about physically conquering all that oppose you, but also about conquering every challenge lift throws your way.
Jumping now to the end of the album, "Slaves Shall Serve," is a rebellion against western culture and civilization, with all of its social norms, religions, ideologies, and politicians who try to enslave us. Those who willfully follow these social and societal restrictions serve as slaves to society. As you can see, this song has a surprisingly deep meaning for an extreme metal song. It seems more like something you'd expect from a punk than a metal song. The music its self is also pretty good. The song starts with the singer shouting "Khrevsu tvahyu gradu tore!\ Khrevsu kvatro midvhu piedhvro!\ Khrevsu kristo midhvu vhradro!\ Medvro vhtrienn utrah vreghgrho!" which is Sumerian for "Slaves shall serve as the crowns are falling!\ As the apocalypse is nearing!\ Slaves shall serve as the inferior!\ Life force and as undead rivals!" This works well as a brutal satanic sounding chant which opens the song. This song is also interesting because it features complicated, almost proggy, melodies throughout the song which make it interesting to listen to. This is kind of unusual for blackened death metal, but works well here.
This album is a necessity for anyone who is an extreme metal fan. This album features some of my all time favorite blackened death metal songs, and the album as a whole is very good. Behemoth is also a great band and this is one of their best albums.
Behemoth - Demigod
1.) Sculpting The Throne Ov Seth
2.) Demigod
3.) Conquer All
4.) The Nephilim Rising
5.) Towards Babylon
6.) Before The Æons Came
7.) Mysterium Conuinctionis (Hermanubis)
8.) XUL
9.) Slaves Shall Serve
10.) The Reign Ov Shemusu-Hor
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