Demigod

Oh...my...fucking...god. This CD (bought straight from them at their recent Houston appearance) will annihilate anything and everything in its path. And I do mean anything, it is that industrial strength badass. It has everything you could ever want from a modern death metal CD and then some; the intelligent, occult-based lyrics are a nice bonus given that our man Nergal is very, very serious about his craft. The music is top-notch to the extreme, tight as a duck's arse, impeccably produced, and delivered with every ounce of conviction in their bodies and souls from start to finish, and did I mention it is the most relentless and brutal CD yet from these Polish warriors of modern death?

After getting a good up-close view of Inferno playing live I have even more respect for the man, because his playing on this album is positively inhuman in its precision and intensity. I can imagine his legs pounding madly throughout every song as he mercilessly batters his drums into so much wood pulp. His overly-triggered drum sound is the one thing I don't like about this CD, one reason there were points deleted. His frenzied blasting really powers this album up into a juggernaut of unstoppable speed and power, but his blast beats are *so* fast at times that the music has a weird floating feel to it, another reason I deleted a couple points from the score. But that aside, the man deserves props for helping take the music to the next level as well as he does.

Nergal's vocals are downright frightening on this CD! His voice has gotten noticeably deeper and uglier, and his vocals will make poseurs everywhere fill their pants in terror! Screaming and roaring his occult message to the world, his is a most intense and comitted vocal performance. Even better than Steve Tucker's performance on "Gateways To Annihilation", on a par with David Vincent's greatest moments, he is. His playing has gotten even better, the riffs, harmonies, melodies and soloing reek of confidence. Seth gives a good account of himself too in that department with his acoustic playing and not inconsiderable lead prowess, and Orion's bass guitar is ballsy and deep, anchoring it all with effortless ease. The band sounds unified and awe-inspiring, more than they possibly ever have in the past.

Standouts? Try "Sculpting the Throne ov Set", the title track with its military-sounding intro, "Xul" (with emotional guest lead guitar from some guy named Karl Sanders from a little band called Nile you may have heard of), and "Slaves Shall Serve" with its eerie vocal sounds in the beginning that put "Demon of the Fall" to shame and easily *the* most violent and aggressive three minutes and change you'll hear so far this year. "SLAVES! SHALL!! FUCKING SERVE!!!"

Behemoth have well and truly arrived, make no error there. And if they come to your town, go see them and see what I'm talking about, because they also happen to be a stellar live band! This is their best album yet, IMO, and I am so glad they are hitting their stride with such authority and power unrivaled by most bands in the field. Give 'em your hard-earned dosh, they have earned it and then some with this CD.