Kev Rowland Here we have a deluxe reissue of Behemoth’s second album, 1996’s ‘Grom’. Following on from a series of demo tapes, with 1994’s ‘...From the Pagan Vastlands’ being widely acclaimed, they released their debut, ‘Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic)’ in 1995, with a line-up which at the time only had founders Adam "Nergal" Darski (lead vocals, guitars) and Adam "Baal Ravenlock" Muraszko (drums and backing vocals) plus a couple of guests. However, by the time they went into the studio for this they had been joined by bassist Leszek "Les" Dziegielewski, plus guests Piotr Weltrowski (December's Fire) on synthesizers and singer Celina. This was the last album to feature Baal, and the only one for Les, with the band stretching their black metal wings even further.

I am not sure why they have decided to reissue this in 2023, as that makes it 27 years as opposed to 25 or 30 but given this has been reissued multiple times it is nice to see it finally get the approach it deserves. This is available digitally, as a 2 CD media book, and a gatefold 2 LP. Physical formats include bonus audio material and booklets containing exclusive archival content. Rare bonus material contains cover versions, rehearsals, and live tracks and while I would have preferred everything to have come from the original period, I can fully understand why they finish with a modern take of “Lasy Pomorza”. What makes this album so interesting from a casual listener’s point of view is the way they are bringing in so many diverse elements, with the acoustic guitar on the title cut being a nice way of changing the approach, while Les’s bass is clear and distinct as he adds melody against Nergal’s buzzsaw. It is the diversity which makes this so interesting, although there is an argument for the guitar to be a little higher in the mix and for Celina not to have been used at all as she is not the best singer in the world. The additional tracks will certainly be enough for those who already have this album to purchase it again, while it is interesting to hear that Nergal is already itching to get back into the studio to follow up on ‘Opvs Contra Natvram’.

Kev Rowland I enjoyed Behemoth’s last studio album, 2018’s ‘I Loved You At Your Darkest’, but did not exactly warrant it as essential, while I was also not exactly gushing about their more recent live ‘In Absentia Dei’, so what would I think of the latest effort? With a Latin title (Work Against Nature), an inverted crucifix on a starkly white cover, it certainly appeared that we were off to a good start, and it is great to be able to report that it continued through to the music with the result being one of the most complete Behemoth albums one is likely to find. Bassist Orion is still the newbie of the trio as he has only been there 20 years, while drummer Inferno has been there for 25 and of course the mighty Nergal has now been there for more than 30, and in many ways they have managed to combine that history and legacy into something which is both commercial and Black Metal at the same time.

The production has smoothed over the rough edges while never truly removing the menace, and there is much more of a wall of sound than one would normally associate a with a trio as there has been multi layering of guitars. There is also a good use of dark and light (or at least dark and less dark), and while some people may view this style of BM as buzzsaw guitars without end there is a great deal going on, with the three musicians fully locked together in a way which only comes from playing together for so very long. We get some nice atmospheric touches here and there, all of which provides more emphasis when they really kick off. Nergal’s vocals still contain the grit and menace one has come to expect, and even when the arrangement is more symphonic that never wavers in its approach. I can understand some people saying the production has somewhat sanitised the overall impact, and that they are not the band who hit the ground running with the mighty ‘Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic)’ all those years back, but are any of us the same as we were back in 1995? This release is one which will appear to long-time fans of the band such as myself, but will also entice many others who have yet to investigate Behemoth and their back catalogue. Inferno is playing out of his skin on this one, with incredible fills and rolls, while Orion and Nergal play as one and the result is something quite special indeed.

UMUR "Thelema.6" is the 5th full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Behemoth. The album was released through Avantgarde Music in November 2000. It´s the successor to "Satanica" from 1999. There´s been one lineup change since "Satanica (1999)" as guitarist Leszek "L-Kaos" Dziegielewski had a rather short tenure with the band. He is replaced here by Havoc. The bass on the album is handled by session musician Novy. Drummer Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński and lead vocalist/guitarist Adam "Nergal" Darski complete the lineup.

"Thelema.6" is a continuation of the blackened death metal sound on "Satanica (1999)", but with an increased focus on the death metal part of the band´s music. Nergal´s intelligible growling vocals are high in the mix and they are quite brutal and effectively convey the anti-christian/occult themed lyrics. Much of the album is played at a high pace, featuring high speed tremolo picking and blast beat drumming, but Behemoth do lower the pace on occasion and play heavy mid-paced sections too.

"Thelema.6" is relatively well produced although the drums feature a clicky artificial sound, which could easily have been replaced by a more organic drum sound, and the album would have greatly prospered from the that choice. The high in the mix growling vocals are probably also an aquired taste, but personally I appreciate their dominant place in the mix.

Upon conclusion "Thelema.6" is a quality death metal album by Behemoth, which further strengthened their position as one of the leading Polish acts on the scene. I can´t help feel that some of the tracks flow together and lack a bit of identity though. It´s like the same features are repeated again and again on every track, and there aren´t many tracks off "Thelema.6", which truly stand out after listening to the album. It´s not a major issue because each track individually are as strong as they are, but more variation in the songwriting could have made the album even more interesting. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still more than deserved though.

UMUR "Satanica" is the 4th full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Behemoth. The album was released through Avantgarde Music in October 1999. It´s the successor to "Pandemonic Incantations" from 1998. There´s been one lineup change since "Pandemonic Incantations (1998)" as bassist "Mefisto" has jumped ship. Lead vocalist/guitarist Adam "Nergal" Darski plays the bass instead, while a new second guitarist has been added to the ranks in Leszek "L-Kaos" Dziegielewski. Drummer Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński completes the lineup.

Behemoth started out as a black metal act, but on "Pandemonic Incantations (1998)" they played a blackened death metal style, and "Satanica" sees them moving even further into death metal territory and away from their black metal past. In fact I don´t hear a single black metal trait on "Satanica". This is through and through a death metal release. Artists like Morbid Angel and Nile come to mind at various times during the album, but at this point Behemoth began to sound a little more distinct and forge an original style. The material on the 8 track, 35:11 minutes long album is predominantly fast-paced and technically well played death metal. It´s rooted in early 90s US death metal but it´s not old school in a derivative fashion. Nergal has a mighty roar and his intelligible growling vocal style is incredibly potent. He has a passionate aggressive edge to his growls that´s greatly enjoyable and it´s one of the great assets of "Satanica". In addition to the guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, the music also features some keyboards, but they are usually placed relatively low in the mix, and are predominantly used for atmosphere enhancement rather than as a lead instrument or as a symphonic element.

The material is generally well written too, although not that many tracks stand out. The playing is on a high level and although the sound production could have been better, it´s still a relatively powerful sound, which suits the material reasonably well. So "Satanica" is upon conclusion a quality death metal album by Behemoth, although the relatively one-dimensional nature of the material, and a sound production which could have been more defined and powerful, do slightly drag the rating for the album down. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though, and it might even be a bit too low.

Kev Rowland Polish trio Behemoth surely need no introduction, having been at the head of the black metal scene for well over 25 years. Given that bassist Orion is the new boy, and he has been there for 15 years, it is of no surprise that they all know what they are doing. Singer/guitarist Nergal has been there since the beginning, and is showing no sign at all of slowing down, while drummer Inferno is still bashing those skins as if his life depends on it. Mind you, there are times during the first real song, “Wolves Of Siberia”, where the snare seems to be a fraction behind where it needs to be, which gave me quite a cause for concern as I found it incredibly offputting.

Luckily the rest of the album doesn’t suffer from the same issues, as the band bring in both choral and orchestral elements to show that they understand their legacy yet are going to continue to drive forward. “I really wanted to redefine ourselves with this record”, Nergal explains. “’I Loved You At Your Darkest’ is a more dynamic record. It’s extreme and radical on one hand, but it’s also more rock-oriented than any other Behemoth record.” Nergal doesn’t view the heightened rock influence as a conscious creative decision so much as a renewed interest in the historical origins of the music he makes. “We don’t give consideration to musical direction, we simply create what naturally comes to us” he says. “But 15 years ago, if you had asked me who I thought was the best band on the planet, I probably would have said Mayhem or Morbid Angel. Today if you asked me, I’d say AC/DC. That should give you a clear indication of why this album is more rock-based. It all comes down to the song writing.”

The album title may also upset some people if they understood the origins as well. “It’s a verse from the Bible,” Nergal reveals. “It’s actually a quote from Jesus Christ himself. For Behemoth to use it as the basis of our record, it’s sacrilege to the extreme.” No strangers to controversy, Behemoth are back with an album that while not exactly essential, is still pushing all the buttons in the right place.