BEHEMOTH
Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic) Reissue
Metal Blade Records
BEHEMOTH has begun to embody the definition of their name. So much so, that a younger generation of Metalheads may think they are a new act. They secured support spots on large venue tours in the past few years that displayed them and their sound to an ecclective and diversified audience.
However, many black metal fans identify more with the band’s earlier catalogue ov music. The emerged from the depths of the polish music scene in the early 1990’s and were immediately catapulted into the fray of the worldwide phenomenon that was black metal.
With their ominous tones and typical black metal subject matter, BEHEMOTH began to attract attention from even the most jaded of black metal elitists. In the near future, Nergal and his cohorts Orion and Inferno, are setting up for a Halloween livestream called “XXX Years Ov Blasphemy” and a new live album, In Absentia De will be available in a wonderfully currated set for the diehard fan this December.
Not only is all this dark greatness looming in the distance, but there are also re-issues hitting the shelves courtesy ov Metal Blade Records. The label has been home to the band for some years and there is no better time to unleash these albums onto the masses!
If we take ourselves back to 1995 and the release of Sventevith, we remember an album with the traditional black metal formula. This reissue has been digitallyl remastered and we hear the band’s full length debut album with new ears and new appreciation for their contributions to black metal. It is available on CD or Vinyl in a limited run of some colors and features.
The album has twenty songs with the second portion ov the release being live renditions ov the songs on the album. It kicks off strong with “Chant From The Eastern Lands” and moves swiftly into “The Touch of Nya/Into The Pagan Vastlands”. My favorite tune on the album, “Hidden In a Fog” takes us to another time and place; particularly those ov us that were around during the black metal scene ov the late 80’s and 90’s and saw first hand the way the events of that time affected the genre as a whole. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you may not be old enough or are new to the genre. Either way, the impact of black metal was historic for metal fans around the world.
“Ancient”, “Entering The Faustian Soul” and “Forgotten Cult ov Aldaron” keep up the pace as we near the middle of the studio album. These songs firmly cement the band into the black metal genre while over the years BEHEMOTH has grown and morphed into a band that could be considered multi-genre and more commercially appealing. There is much evidence that people who may not generally enjoy typical black metal offerings actually like BEHEMOTH.
“Wolves Guard My Coffin” and “Hell Dwells In Ice” are traditional in their sound, while “Cursed Angel ov Doom” has that grating, tinny, black metal tone and the screams we so love. The final song, “Dark Triumph” is ever faithful to the black metal formula and the album goes out with a bang....You know, bang...dynamite...church which equals the black metal formula...it is what it is. And it is a solid, gutwrenching throwback to the years of mayhem and destruction that have become synonymous with black metal. I loved it. A lot. And it is nice to file it next to my original release on my bookshelf. Metal Blade wins the day with this one!
5.0 Out Ov 5.0
