Demigod

Let me first bore you with a personal anecdote. If you don’t care about such things, or are here just to read a music review, skip to the following paragraph.

When I was an innocent thirteen year old just dipping my toes in the vast ocean of metal, and still utterly convinced that latter-era In Flames and Amon Amarth was the heaviest shit out there, a more learned friend of mine loaned me this album by Behemoth. He warned me that it was a bit more out there than what I was already familiar with, but recommended I try it out with an open mind. I remember taking it home and studying the album cover and sleeve. Everything about it looked so foreign to me. What did all these symbols mean? What did the band name mean? What did he mean by “out there”? Intrigued, I popped it into my newly bought huge sound system which I use frequently to this day, and sat on my bed and listened. That moment was certainly one of the most significant experiences of my metal-listening career. Needless to say, I was blown away, but not necessarily in a good way. Behemoth didn’t so much open the door to actual extreme metal for me, but rather hurled me in head first and naked, unarmed, and entirely ill-equipped. Dumbfounded, I sat there listening with a certain traumatized fascination. How could human beings, such as myself, create sounds like this, and more importantly, what on earth would possibly drive them to do so? I knew that what I was listening to was so far beyond my understanding, and that’s what intrigued me most; the fact I simply couldn’t understand this. It wasn’t something I enjoyed listening to right off the bat, but I knew there was something about it that was so real, so honest, and so brutally powerful - key word being “brutally”.

For the sake of clarity, I’ll refer to this album, Demigod by Behemoth, as a death metal one. The exact genre has been debated, but analyzing it in that sense isn’t what I want to focus on here. What I will do, though, is offer you my proposition as to why it’s a modern classic. It seems to have become commonplace to praise a modern album based on its likeness to a previous classic. You often hear people saying things to the effect of “the sound of this album clearly harkens back to Entombed’s Left Hand Path” or “The savage guitar tone is definitely inspired by Dismember, and is therefore awesome”. Well, Behemoth on Demigod sound about as much like Entombed and Dismember, or any other “classic” death metal band for that matter, as they do Killswitch Engage, ie not alike at all. And that’s exactly why this is a “modern” classic. In days of yore, death metal was known for its filthy production, but you won’t find that here. The sound is clean and massive, just as it should be. Bands that aim to play in the style of past successes might put out good music from time to time, but their motives are about as authentic as the American Godzilla reboot. That said, I’m really not sure what inspired Behemoth on this album. I’d like to believe their main inspiration was their confidence in themselves to top Demigod’s already magnificent predecessor, Zos Kia Cultus, as the sound is actually a fairly clear continuation from that record, though tone and overall delivery is decidedly quite different and much more aggressive.

It’s hard to pinpoint just where the foundation of the distinctive sound on this album lies. When Sculpting the Throne Ov Seth opens up into the explosion of eastern-sounding melody, you’ll initially be blown away by the sheer memorability of the guitars, but listen closer, it’s actually Inferno’s sharp lead into blastbeats at 37 seconds that gives the music such a triumphant edge. It’s useful, of course, to elaborate on more examples like this, but really, the entire album is built up of these kinds of moments. The band works like such an intrinsic unit that without each member flawlessly backing each other, the isolated instruments would be without meaning, or at least not nearly as effective. Even Orion’s bass nicely adds to the overall heaviness. True, you can’t hear it very prominently, but you’re not supposed to, and I can’t imagine what the songs would sound like with a really heavy bass production.

Elsewhere, the drums have an excellent, crisp sound, and by the gods Inferno is a beast behind the kit. I suppose the legendary Slaves Shall Serve is the first track that comes to mind when I think of Inferno’s incredible endurance and precision, but really, each song is a testament to his immense abilities. Whether it’s the crushing, warlike, beats of Conquer All or the ceaseless blastbeats which are the backbone of just about every song, his performance here is enough to earn him a truly notable position in the history of extreme metal drumming. Listen loudly with headphones to the nuances of his fills and general performance in Sculpting the Throne ov Seth, Demigod, XUL, or Slaves Shall Serve and I dare you to keep your mouth from gaping.

The lyrics on this album are also my favourite from Behemoth. The subject matter is essentially the same as always; potent images of vast conquering armies, invocations of long forgotten deities, and other musings upon the occult, yet there’s a great continuity throughout the lyrics. Each song seems to interpret or expand upon the theme of mortality/immortality, hence the album title. There are simply some very memorable lyrics here, and I often find myself muttering the last verse of Conquer All under my breath:

I am the pure flame that burns,
I am Sirius’ son,
I am the infinite space,
I am the most conquering one.

The vocals that spew forth these scriptures of blasphemy are the most controversial aspect of the album. While Nergal’s technique is basically the same as on Zos Kia Cultus, his throaty death growls are heavily layered. I personally love them, because not only do they sound unlike anything I’ve heard elsewhere, but it makes him sound like some enraged entity somewhere between human and… something else. A demigod? Ah, now you’re following me. They’re also more varied than most people give them credit for. Always seethingly aggressive, but the range between songs like XUL and the more blackened death metal tracks like The Nephilim Rising or Before The Æons Came is very noticeable.

Some have accused this album of being mallcore, which is an argument so unfounded and ridiculous that I’m not even going to explore it. The popularity of it is definitely noteworthy, though. While I’d hesitate to call the music accessible, it is definitely memorable. I have most of the riffs engrained in my mind, and I often play the intro to The Reign Ov Shemsu-Hor in my head, as if meditating. Despite what you think of Demigod, there’s no denying that it was/is a very important extreme metal album. Not only did it catapult Behemoth further into the death metal mainstream, but it also became a gateway album for people who had just been discovering death metal but hadn’t yet wrapped their head around the depth of the genre.

All this time later, this album still gives me chills. I suppose the million dollar question is: would I still consider it in a league of its own had it not had such an impact on my virgin ears back in the day? Well, that’s impossible to say, and I’m not sure it’s entirely important. What I do know for certain is that I love this music with all my heart, and will probably listen to it for the rest of my life. I’ve never binged on this album too hard, lest its magic one day eludes me, but it’s been a steady mainstay in my listening appetite since I first listened to it. So whether you’re a newcomer to extreme music, or a seasoned fan, submit to Behemoth. Submit to Demigod.