I Loved You at Your Darkest

The metal community of these days can be splitted into two supergroups. On one side, we have those who appreciate innovations, originality and uniqueness when it comes to music, because, let's remember it, it's the music, the GOOD music that counts in the end, not the band's image or the adhesion to a model. On the other, we have the so-called "purists", people clinging so hard to the past and to a determined, sometimes obsolete, "standard" of music, that they literally can't see the forest for the trees. Looking to some of the reviews for this album, which, going straight to the point, is an excellent release to say the least, I'm starting to wonder which of the two sides are those listeners on.

By the way, Behemoth's leader, Nergal, is clearly the kind of guy that is blessed, at the same time, by an unmistakable musical genius, by self-confidence, and will to experiment, venture forth, break the boundaries, with the sole purpose of reaching new musical heights, to craft something beautiful and unique. The change in sound that Behemoth experimented with "The Satanist" was honestly like a breath of fresh air for the whole black metal scene, and resulted in the band's most ambitious, beautiful and successful output to date, and also one of my favourite albums of all times.

"I Loved You At Your Darkest" isn't a record as instantly digestible as"The Satanist", but those willing to devote the due time to the listen of this masterpiece, will soon understand this is by no means a lesser copy of its predecessor. With "I Loved You At Your Darkest", Behemoth furtherly developed the elements that made the fortune of "The Satanist", expanding and maturing them, bringing us fourty-six minutes of sheer satanic ecstasy. The gothic rock influences typical of the previous album are still plain for everyone to see, just think to the melodic solos, the clean choral arrangements (see the chorus of "Bartzabel" or "Sabbath Mater", for example), the general atmosphere of the record, the usage of a lighter style of riffing, the production.

Nergal's vocals sound as natural as possible, yet as strong as ever: the overlayering is almost completely abandoned, save for a very restricted number of selected moments: still, he sings the beautifully and carefully written lyrics of the songs (full of references to religion, occultism and Satanism) with as much belief and strength as ever before. Speaking of the production, it sounds lighter, the guitars are still evil and crunchy, but less distorted, something that really fits the musical direction taken with this release; the riffing relies on tremolo picking, dissonances, usage of minor triads, and an increased availment of dissonant arpeggios. There are lots of acoustic and overdrived guitar sessions, something that really adds variety to the album and somehow contributes to its peculiarity: just think to the ending part of "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica", or the whole "Havohej Pantocrator".

Orion's bass grooves play a crucial role in exalting the guitar work, during the rhytmic sessions, but also while the guitars are playing their classic goth-rock solos. Inferno's drumming not only relies on his usual amount of demonic speed, aggression and brutal blast-beated sessions, not to mention his mastery of the double bass pedals, but also slows down in various songs or sessions, to accompany the instruments and serve the general atmospheric and evocative feel of the album, thus proving to be a polyhedral, versatile drummer.

As stated above, this new incarnation of Behemoth doesn't sacrifice the usual sheer brutality and aggression, but instead smooths it, to explore new frontiers of atmospheric, charming and experimental songwriting, and the band completely succeeds in doing so. Every song of the platter is top notch: there are no fillers to be found, each track has something beautiful to convey and it's well distinguished from the others, thus providing variety yet cohesion to the release, and incorporating new elements to the music, perfectly mastering and amalgamating them in Behemoth's new trademark sound. The use of classical instruments, like the trombone, the flute, the strings or the horns, a pleasant addition since the 2014's release, is still present here, and serves as a perfect example of what was stated above, adding epicity and importance to the mix.

Analyzing only certain highlights doesn't entirely make justice to the rest of the platter, but surely some songs deserve a special mention.
"Wolves of Siberia" is a pure black metal blast of ferocity that starts off things really well, completely packed with minor chords, tremolo picking and neverending blast beat sessions; "God=Dog" is one of the most experimental tracks, starting off with an interesting, quasi-rock bass lick, to proceed with furious riffing and pounding drumming at an extremely fast tempo, and incorporating goth rock elements like the melodic solo, the clean choral voices and the children's choirs found also in the intro. "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica" starts with a nice dissonant arpeggio, sticks to a mid tempo with a simple yet effective tremolo-picked riff for most of its duration, and ends with a great acoustic guitar sessions backed by blast beats towards the end. "Angelus XIII" is one of the most furious songs of the whole lot, while "Havohej Pantocrator" might as well be the best track, thanks to the fantastic strummed stanzas in minor chords played by the overdriven guitars, and to the thrilling crescendo towards the end, backed this time by distorted guitars and demonic vocals. "We Are The Next 1000 Years" closes the album in epic fashion, it includes an astounding ambient-sounding session with sampling, keyboards and classical instruments, and it's closely followed by the orchestral outro "Coagvla". What better way to end this fantastic work of art?

Really, for the listener possessing an open mind, good musical taste and love for originality, this album is nothing less than an eargasm, and for the fans of Behemoth, especially those who loved "The Satanist", this is a must-have CD. Go out and get it now, this is one of those albums that deserve to be owned, enshrined and listened to in its physical version, and respected for what it is: a musical masterpiece.