The Apostasy

I became a Behemoth fan with Demigod almost 20 years ago, and after listening to it on a near-constant loop; I had high expectations for The Apostasy. I was so used to the (triggered to hell as they may be) drums of Inferno, the buzz-saw guitar work of Nergal, and the immense, multi-layered, demonic vocals of Nergal. Most people used to scream, “But come on! The album delivers that and more, surely!” Well, times can change it.

At first glance, yes, the album is every bit as technical, as brutal and as immense as Demigod. But something’s missing. There’s an almost unenviable feel of repetition, boredom and a very uninspired Nergal.

The album starts off all well and good with “Slaying The Prophets ov Isa” and yes, the song is promising. It’s brutal, technical and makes you want to kill small animals. However, not long after this song ends and the next song begins, you start to wonder if they hadn’t just made one song and hit “loop” every now and again. The songs are good, but the inventive riffs like those found on Demigod are few and fair between.

The good points for this album however, are really good. The vocal work is more precise and concise, less “I’M SO DEMONIC” and more “FUCK OFF!” The guitar work HAS stepped up in technicality (if not inventiveness). The drums are still insane, I doubt Inferno could ever not be as mad as he is. They have done away with the triggered drums which made me cringe a bit, as their choice of production has left the drums sound too, off in the distance. Almost like a live recording instead of a sound-proof studio.

The highest point of this album is Inner Sanctum, the song with Warrell Dane of Nevermore fame on guest vocals. The song is creepy and brooding with a large feeling of hopelessness. I was very impressed with how they managed to make Warrell Dane’s voice, the strings and a piano fit in with the brutal riffage, but they did it. Pazuzu (with Seth pulling the strings which is a pleasure) and Christgrinding Avenue (dark brutality, wisely guided and a lot of black meat) put the end to a tremendous, raging, incontestably and portentous work with such a technical, magical fierce.

All in all, I used to consider a decent album with nothing really BAD about it, but it grows on me over the years. So, this is essential Behemoth without a doubt.