Reviews

The wise man does not believe in one thing absolute.  The wise man collects his beliefs through the exploration of all available cultures, through centuries of art, religion, and philosophy.  He can then turn his attention inward.  It is only after the accumulation of all knowledge, general and arcane, that a man can interpret it all for himself.  Individuals are not born, they are created.  They also live forever without fear.  One key to eternal life is the creation of music.  Poland’s Behemoth have been collecting, interpreting, and creating art born out of their collective intellect since 1991.  Now with their 9th studio album “The Apostasy” they can safely be labeled as masters.
 
If Nile and Morbid Angel jammed with Enslaved in Tool’s rehearsal space the imaginary sound created would give the uninitiated an approximation to Behemoth’s sound in reality.  Gatling gun kick drums, AK-47 guitars, grenade launcher bass, and surprising clear growls are the weaponry used in Behemoth’s musical assault.  The lyrical vision is spawned by (but not limited to) Hindu, Viking, Christian, Roman, Pagan, and Satanic belief systems.  Every song is a delightful juggernaut of blackened death thrash, all paced perfectly for the modern death metal attention span of about four minutes.  It is brutal and extreme metal that is guaranteed to brighten your summer.  Brighten?  Wait a moment, from THAT kind of stuff?  Yes.  There is a present yet intangible positive current that runs through Behemoth’s music.  It energizes rather than exhausts the listener.  It is uplifting and powerful music that makes Behemoth shine rather than say, Dissection, who slice and segregate the audience with negativity.  The message of Behemoth is not “kill yourself for Satan.”  Rather, the message is to live for yourself and discover your own beliefs.  This is hard to imagine while listening to closing track “Christgrinding Avenue,” but that is the overall theme and truth of The Apostasy itself.  Look for this album to be in top ten lists at the end of 2007.