Demigod by Behemoth
February 21, 2007 by Jo Minor
Demigod is Polish Black/Death metallers Behemoth’s latest offering after the brilliant Satanica, and takes the band one step further in their evolution from a pure Black Metal band in their earlier days to a full-fledged Brutal/Melodic Death Metal band today.
In the vein of their counterpart from the United States, Nile, Behemoth brings us on a journey through ancient times, places and events - as historical themes and overtones play a major role in the music of Demigod.
Demigod, up to a certain extent, even has parts that remind one of Nile’s latest studio offering, Annihilation Of The Wicked. Themes such as battles and ancient lore of Egypt take centre stage in both albums, and these themes offer a refreshing break from the countless blood and gore-obsessed ideas set forth by thousands of Death Metal bands. Such is the effect of Nile on Behemoth that the Nile frontman and songwriter extraordinaire Karl Sanders even lends a guitar solo in the track Xul.
Here is the track list of Demigod:
01 - Sculpting The Throne Of Seth
02 - Demigod
03 - Conquer All
04 - The Nephilim Rising
05 - Towards Babylon
06 - Before Aeons Came
07 - Mysterium Coniunctionis (Hermanubis)
08 - Xul
09 - Slaves Shall Serve
10 - The Reign Of Shemsu-Hor
Demigod is a fabulous and entertaining listen, thanks to the creative and fertile mind of Behemoth mastermind Nergal. Having said that, however, there are some songs that stand out more than the others - Sculpting The Throne Of Seth (fabulous opening track), Demigod (strikingly powerful), Conquer All (perhaps the best track in the entire album) and Slaves Shall Serve (fast, brutal and merciless).
Some of the other highlights in the album are Inferno’s powerful pounding of the drums (“Grandpa” just doesn’t stop blasting his drum notes), Nergal’s amazing guitar solos (especially in Conquer All, where the highly melodic solos serve as a pleasant surprise in an otherwise brutal and fast track) and the way the tracks work well together to form a strong, unbreakable link of powerful music, meaningful songwriting and superb lyrical themes.
All in all, Demigod serves as a reminder of how great Behemoth actually is - and while we wait patiently for the band’s next masterpiece (due out sometime this year) entitled “The Apostasy”, us fans are sure to keep Demigod playing on repeat until we can get our hands on the latest CD.
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
