I Loved You at Your Darkest

Here is it, I Loved You at Your Darkest.

Behemoth released The Satanist in the year 2014. It had capable songwriting, fantastic production, and impressive emotional resonance. Nergal had, in my opinion, captured the best vocal performance he had ever produced. Their popularity blasted them into some mainstream attention and even conjured more ire from the Polish government. Advertisements were even seen, and the social media concoctions from Nergal were apparent - The Satanist had blown up and conquered the world for a few weeks. The next four years were like any other average wait for the next metal album, but it was fruitful with live performances from Behemoth.

Was it worth the wait?

I Loved You at Your Darkest begins with "Solve", a track that shows Behemoth introducing a strange (for them), although structurally generic opening track. It has a children's choir reciting a few lines over and over until the end. This is pretty disappointing and rather odd for the Polish heavy-weights. It can even be viewed as a little cringe-worthy, if I am being fully transparent. Does this subtract from the rest of the music? No, but not the other songs in a vacuum, it just reduces the overall package quality AS a package. Further in, Behemoth begins to utilize the same guitar tone, tuning, and stylized playing we have heard on The Satanist. This type of playing has become their mainstay sound and it doesn't subtract from the music because of how they use it to craft atmospheres of punctuality. Besides, repetition is not inherently negative.

I won't be highlighting too many tracks except for the ones I think define this album's sound. Fortunately, they are all frontloading the god damn album. So, any who gruel at having to listen to Behemoth will be happy about this, as it gives them an excuse to bail early. Onward anyway.

"Wolves Ov Siberia" is the first real song and comes in with power. The song begins with a rather expected (but not bad) drum pattern, then breaking into a few darkened guitar passages. This track is moderately enjoyable due to the simplicity and the rather punchy, layered mix. For all intents and purposes, this track is intended to not fool, but convince you of Behemoth's permanent stylistic change. It is probably the best one on the album and it doesn't overstay its welcome. Consistency and a welcoming, blasphemous ego tries to convince your ears.

"God = Dog", the name gathers a lot of (rightly deserved) strange stares. It isn't startling when Nergal hams up his edginess, but it is always disappointing. The man with supposed schooling in examinations of theology has a flare for the dramatic and it isn't always respectable. Look, the concept of ideological resistance against religion, or at least an evil deity, is always novel and will forever be when done right. But, sometimes it is too juvenile to be really captured with authenticity. However, moving into the music content, Behemoth immediately pronounces the more flamboyant aspects of Nergal. The song goes back and forth, lulling for a few moments, then building up and unleashing a fury of tremolo picking and blast beats. Ugly (in a good way) groaning leads in guitar riffs that sound like they are chopping meat. The drums carry the music overall with some enjoyably clean and powerful octopi-like banging.

A stronger focus on choir support is the black sheep of the soundscape here, with Nergal straining his throat without much reward. His vocals are more damaged in tone and seem to be thrown with more attack than usual in the past five years. It can be concluded that his vocals are, indeed, getting worse. Candidly, he's seemed to have lost some of his power from The Satanist. Also, while at this track, I must say that the lack of instrument focus is a real downer. Motivations for a declining youth and voice aside, the second cut could use a distinct revamping.

I must praise the album for it's distinct and well-kept production values. The guitar, drums, and even the bass sound pretty. They are bright and burning, audibly (with exception of the bass) searing the album's canvas. The first song to jump out at me with this was "Bartzabel". This song is unique to Behemoth, as it dictates a more careful, laidback listen. Although, as I hear the instrumentation, the guitars particularly, I notice the underwhelmingly isolated tremolo picking. I haven't listened to the 90s Behemoth material much, with the exception of Satanica, but I am sure this is a rather interesting divergence in the method for them. There is a quirk with this track, and it isn't necessarily a good one. It highlights a problem I have had, and continue to have with Behemoth, and that is the sheer lack of bass consideration for most cuts. I really would like to hear Orion pluck away on his axe, but I can't seem to find much of it outside of introductions and less intense choruses.

The bass is there, just not audible enough, and I am willing to die on that hill.

"Angelvs XIII" has a few surprising elements and helps it stand out. The intro to the track is quite malicious. Nergal experiments a bit with his higher range and yelling instead of screaming. He gags, cackles, and even gives us some of his more desperate bellows from his very gut. After a little while of this, the song breaks down into a sonically compelling acoustic interlude, with some spicy guitar soloing in the onion. If they did this sort of thing more often, like past delves into this on Demigod and The Apostasy, but just went all out for every other part of the track, it'd be more enjoyable than over half the track-list here. They obviously have a latent talent for deconstructing riffs and drum rolls. Now, only if they'd use it.

"Sabbath Mater" is on the level and caliber as the first few tracks, with the notable exception of a 'interesting' choir section. Nergal is involved in it, and it is clear that he wanted to implant some quirky holistic vocals. Is this part of the song a make-or-break? To me, it is decidedly a distinct and strong breakage of the flow. It isn't very convincing, and it could be confused for another band's musings, as if Nergal sent this track to them to mess around on. Further in, there are some mild guitar solos with no real purpose of being there, as the song drags on a little too long. Five minutes is a bit much for the same hyper repetitive riffs that aren't capable of enduring longer than a few minutes each song, let-alone for two (now three in 2023) albums. Really, the only thing keeping any attention here is the oddities from Nergal's throat.

"Havoheh Pantocrator" reminds me of a previous track - I wonder which one? Anyway, this song is paced rather well, compared to the rest. It has an endurable melodic center that I, oddly, do not find very exhausting like other cuts have prolonged until the fifth or sixth minute mark. Nergal has much better pacing with his pronouncements and the clean acoustics in the background and forefront lend a GREAT deal to the likeness. A little more than half, the song ups the intensity and divulges in some soloing from the guitars. The solos themselves are decent and the drums are still the pinnacle of the soundscape. Furthering the melody whilst going out, a pretty, repeated acoustic strum and sudden miasmas of guitars, cymbals, and other instruments bookend the track.

"Rom 5:8" and "We Are the Next 1,000 Years" are middling/decent/good tracks that entertain as long as you don't listen to them back to back. Behemoth's new sound simply doesn't have the novelty to keep me listening to the same thing over and over again without boredom. Although, with this said, these tracks, if not included here, would've fit right into the theme and dimensions of The Satanist. These are 'good', but not great, and should've been optional extras, not mainline songs to pad the length. I think it comes down to the production, which is technically awesome, yet utterly monotonous if continuously banked on.

The album closes out with one of the most straight-forward outro tracks I think Behemoth has done. It's not trying to achieve a magnificent closer like "O Father O Satan O Sun", nor does it end like Evangelion with a dynamic change in style. I am disappointed by this, as I expected something more at the end. Something of true glory or hellish soundscape. Neither of those desires are met. The highlight of the cut is the rather rolling and energizing opening riffage. But, that is here and then not as fast as an average death metal intro. The rest is, sure, nefarious, but nothing utterly unholy like from previous material. It isn't an interesting stylistic change. It isn't even a particularly powerful and outlandish ending. It is just a closer, and that is it.

What would've been awesome is if they had actually taken it all back to Evangelion, or The Apostasy, and given us an utterly crushing death metal bout. Although, I doubt Nergal will ever sacrifice his overall production cleanliness to get all the fuzz back.

I Loved You at Your Darkest is not the tribulated affair The Satanist was, but I do think it is okay. However, to top The Satanist is no easy feat, and if they had it would be most surprising. Honestly, topping Evangelion or The Apostasy isn't easy, either. I find a decent amount of enjoyment from some of this package; some songs, the composition, the instruments. It is just that Nergal has gotten too wrapped up with being an iconoclast or some kind of martyr in the internet age. I think it has spiritually poisoned him, if not physically. The decline in (his) the music is ultimately what is identifying and marking this.

M favorite tracks on the release:
- "Wolves Ov Siberia"
- "Bartzabel"
- "Angelvs XIII"
- "Havohej Pantocrator"

My disliked tracks:
- "Solve"
- "Dog = Dog"
- "Sabbath Mater"
- "Coagvla"