Opvs Contra Natvram

For the past three decades, no band - from any genre - has made such tremendous waves quite like Behemoth did. Over the course of their legendary 30-year tenure, the bands extensive musical library has stood as an unrelenting act of protest and defiance against everything that is socially and morally limitative, thus turning the sociopolitical points of view of the band's frontman, Adam "Nergal" Darski, into blasphemous and unapologetic fine prints of what many like to call "blackened death", a healthy mixture between the two most extreme subgenres of metal.

2014's "The Satanist" is, without any doubt, the Magnum Opus of modern black metal - and, rightfully so, the Magnum Opus in Behemoth's discography. The blasphemous majesty, the unbridled guitar work, the defiant gestures of songs like "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" or the closing act "O Father, O Satan, O Sun!" still remained on its successor, 2018's "I Loved You At Your Darkest", but their delivery was nowhere near as consistent on the latter, with Nergal starting to drift towards more experimental, atmospherical, tempo-changing approaches. Thus, "Opvs Contra Natvram" arrives during a bountiful year for heavy releases, but, just like the case of ILYAYD, the hype didn't match the final result.

And the reason for that is clear as water: Every song from the record, from the opener "Post-God Nirvana" to the epic closer "Versvs Christvs" is good. However, they are only good on their own. When placed together, the album becomes a work of inconsistency, a record that lacks sonic uniformity and definitely does not present any fluidity. The fury that emanates from "Malaria Vvlgata" and "The Deathless Sun" is suddenly stopped by the monotonous nature of "Ov My Herculean Exile"; then the rageful, rebellious vibe of "Neo-Spartacvs" and "Disinheritance" is taken away by the pop-punk akwardness from "Off To War!" and so on. Just when the album seems to be back on track, there's always something - whether it's a full song or just a little detail - that throws him off. As a result, we never get to see the band retrieve the iniquity that made not only "The Satanist" but works like "Demigod", "The Apostasy" or "Evangelion" absolute extreme metal powerhouses.

Apart from the musicianship, the lyrical topics also seem kinda repetitive. "Malaria Vvlgata" continues the same trail that songs like "If Crucifixion Was Not Enough" or "Angelvs XIII" from the previous record have paved. We know it is a common topic for Nergal to explore - and it shall be until Behemoth is done, but at this point every Behemoth fan - and even those who don't listen to the band that much - knows that the rebellious Polish frontman doesn't bond well with religious folks. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate and admire Nergal's artistry, but just like he proved to be a versatile man in the composition department, perhaps it's time for that versatility to pass over to the lyrical department.

Long story short, the best phrase that can describe this album is "What Could've Been". There are still a lot of songs and elements that resemble Behemoth's golden times, but at this point you can see the sucess of "The Satanist" was too much for the band to bear, as they seem to be favouring the same formulaic approach that ILYAYD encompassed than going for something really mindblowing. It is not an unlistenable album at all, but I wouldn't even dare to describe it with a "good" or "solid" either. Because at this point of Behemoth's career, "Opvs Contra Natvram" needed to be an improvement over "I Loved You At Your Darkest". Sadly, it wasn't.