Release Date: EU - 8/7/2009; US - 8/11/2009
Website: Behemoth.pl
My Rating: 4 out of 5
1 - Daimonos 2 - Shemaforash
3 - Ov Fire And The Void
4 - Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti
5 - He Who Breeds Pestilence 6 - The Seed Ov I
7 - Alas, Lord Is Upon Me 8 - Defiling Morality Ov Black God
9 - Lucifer
Evangelion is the ninth full length album released by the polish heavy hitters Behemoth. Starting out as a Black Metal act in 1991, and later turning into what is described as Blackened Death Metal, Nergal and his guys have been known to create some stellar musical pieces.
The new album was recorded at Radio Gdansk studio with long time friend and sound engineer Arek "Malta" Malczewski, the Wieslawscy Brothers (Vader, Decapitated), and Daniel Bergstrand (drum engineering) in the producers' chairs. The mixing was done in England at Miloco Studios by Colin Richardson (Carcass, Napalm Death).
After reading what Nergal had to say about Evangelion I was really anxious to give it a listen.
“I think it’s our defining work to date. And that’s not just me trying to sell the record. I honestly think that this is the finest Behemoth album."
Evangelion,….wow I thought to myself. The new album title is a great continuation to the prior releases Demigod (2004) and The Apostasy (2007).
To me it portrays a declaration that there is another God like being; the call to denounce the One; and now the ‘gospel’ of a better way. But that’s just my personal opinion.
Behemoth’s newest release is modern Death Metal at it’s finest but it incorporates those epic, doom like elements that characterized the last couple of their albums. The use of a choir, random sounds, acoustic guitar and the incorporation of orchestral instruments gives it that extra little push where otherwise it would be categorized as your average run of the mill Death Metal piece.
Bam, …the first song gives you a sense of what to expect for the next 42 minutes.
The intro to Daimonos is building up to a fast and frantic song that is marked with blistering drums, crowling vocals and catchy clean guitar riffs.
From here it gets a bit more brutal in Shemaforash; a classic death metal piece, with an in your face attitude, angry, fast and furious. The same quality of song structure is also found in Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti and Defiling Morality Ov Black God, which is the shortest song on the album and reminds me somewhat of Slaves Shall Serve.
The other tracks are more mid paced, well that would be mid paced Behemoth style.
Ov Fire and the Void, The Seed Ov I, and Alas, The Lord Is Upon Me all have the speed but with a doom-like feeling, the chaos in the solos, and the relentless drumming. These elements combined make way for an epic masterpiece of unprecedented proportions.
The last track on the album Lucifer is a mostly instrumental song with Nergal singing in his native language. With its 8 minute length this track is an epic, ballad like monster that not just pleases the ear but makes for a nice ending of a very well recorded, produced, mixed and mastered album.
Inferno shows us what kind of versatile drummer he truly is during the entire album. His drumming is intense and precise with speed and power. The triggers are heavily used on all of the songs but are not overpowering. A healthy dose of fast blast beats and a more traditional “80s style” pounding makes the mix of the drums a delight for the ears.
Orion does a phenomenal job on his bass guitar. Especially in He Who Breeds Pestilence where his skills will kick your ass throughout the song. Unfortunately the bass is not very predominant on the album. That’s too bad because his live performance really adds to the heaviness of the songs.
I somehow appreciate Nergal’s vocals better on Evangelion then on prior releases. He seams more focused and intense. Some songs are still a bit over layered like on Demigod but overall this is one of his strongest albums in regards to his vocal range.
But the proof is in the pudding. Nergal and Seth respectively show us that they pulled all of their tricks out of the hat for this album. Both deliver a flawlessly executed and sometimes unpredictable array of riffs, while utilizing pinch harmonics and lots of intense tremolo picking. The use of power cords and slow palm muting elevates the songs to a groovy and epic, doom-like atmosphere. Evangelion is a very riff oriented album and both guitarists play their instruments in such a technical manner that it really ties the whole enchilada together, without ever getting too progressive.
Still haven’t decided what my favorite track on the new album is. Every time I listen to it I discover a new element in a song that lets makes me raise my eyebrows. Doesn’t matter if it’s the sudden strike of a guitar string, the sound of a crow, you name it. But I am leaning toward “The Seed Ov I”. For me it combines everything I love about Behemoth. (He Who Breeds Pestilence is a close contender though.)
So in closing I have to agree with Nergal’s statement that this is Behemoth’s most defining work yet. I am looking forward for even greater things to come from Nergal & Co., who will Conquer All if they stay on the path that lays before them.
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Review also posted on Sonic Excess