Warthur Pandemonic Incantations is the tipping point, capturing Behemoth right in the middle of their transition from a straight-ahead black metal group to a blackened death metal band. The inclusion on the front cover of imagery from the Simon Necronomicon (a fake black magic grimoire produced for the mass market in the 1970s) hints at a connection to the music of Morbid Angel, who have also used such stylised pentagrams on their album covers, and indeed in the death metal leaning parts of the album it does seem that Morbid Angel are the primary point of reference; other songs, particularly in the second half of the album, harken back to the band's black metal fury of old.

On the whole, it's a rather transitional piece; the band haven't yet become comfortable in a death metal context, and the black metal tracks at points seem to betray just how tired they were of that particular genre. Despite this, the band are able to craft a perfectly listenable and enjoyable experience which will appeal to most fans of black and death metal, even if it's not likely to be hailed as a classic of either genre.

UMUR "Pandemonic Incantations" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Polish blackened death metal act Behemoth. The album was released through Solistitium Records in March 1998. There´s been a couple of lineup changes since "Grom (1996)" as drummer Baal Ravenlock has been replaced by Inferno and bassist Les has been replaced by Mefisto. This means that bandleader/guitarist/lead vocalist Nergal is now the only remaining founding member of the band.

The music on the album is blackened death metal. While the band haven´t shed all the black metal elements from their sound, they´ve taken a giant leap in the direction of a more brutal blackened death metal sound. One of the things they have kept from the early albums is the epic atmosphere of their music. The addition of new drummer Inferno to the lineup is really an asset to the band´s sound. His precise and innovative drumming style really boosts Behemoth´s sound. The tracks are generally very fast-paced and brutal yet relatively memorable. Most feature hooks of some sort which make them stand out from each other. A song like "Driven by the Five-Winged Star" prove that Behemoth also master the mid-paced and epic death metal style to perfection. The sound production works relatively well but it´s not really a great sounding album. The sound production is a bit too muddy which is a shame as the album could have prospered from a clearer and more powerful sound production.

"Pandemonic Incantations" is still a positive surprise to me as I didn´t expect such a high quality release this early on after Behemoth changed their style from black metal to blackened death metal. The band seem more than at home with the new style though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.