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.

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The opening track from SATANICA, "Decade of Therion", once became a hit in the Polish speaking part of the web due to a silly yet amusing misheard lyrics video. To this day, the very thought of it gives me a chuckle. Anyway, the fourth album by this Polish band was the first one to truly embrace the sound of blackened death metal, and was a natural evolution from death-tinged PANDEMONIC INCANTATIONS.

I have never been a big fan of Behemoth. Their composition style from later albums relies too much on sheer brutality enhanced by layered guitars, distorted vocals and extremely aggressive and mechanical drumming. SATANICA, however, is a transitional album that contains almost everything that have ever been good about this band. Organic production and dirty, a little blackish sound works perfectly with dark and aggressive blackened death metal riffs. And what an atmosphere Nergal & Co have created here! Distinct apocalyptic feel is the highlight of SATANICA.

Fairly original, well-written and most of all, very atmospheric album and a must-have for Nile and Deicide fans. Recommendable to death and black metal fans alike, as there's much to discover and appreciate for both.

Warthur Behemoth's musical transformation from Poland's answer to the Norwegian black metal masters into a blackened death metal powerhouse is completed on the taut and muscular Satanica, on which the band finally sound as confident and capable playing their Morbid Angel and Deicide-influenced brand of death metal as they did playing black metal in the Norwegian style on their earlier albums. With furious vocals, intense guitar solos, taut drumming and tight songwriting, it might not redefine the death metal game, but it announces Behemoth as a brand new player on the scene, worth watching closely. On top of that, it's catchy as all hell.