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 Demigod (2005) Olympic Recordings HMM Rank: 
Since I do not really consider myself to be a fan of "brutal death metal", I can't say I had high expectations for this CD. With the exception of a select few bands, I find most brutal death metal/grind to just be a sloppy wall of noise. Variety, melody, and creativeness are usually rarities when it comes to this style of music. There are some bands who are so set on just slopping together the heaviest thing they can come up with that the instruments aren't even on time with each other. With that said, it has recently been my pleasure to induct Behemoth into the "select few bands" category I mentioned earlier. They basically defy every negative aspect of brutal death metal that I just listed while still managing to maintain constant, unrelenting brutality throughout the album. Now, don't let my overuse of the term "brutal death metal" throw you off, because that is by no means the proper way to classify this band. They can be more accurately described as a heavy mix of both death and black metal with a very apocalyptic atmosphere and hints of Eastern/Egyption influences. Try to picture the heavy death metal aspects of bands like Dying Fetus and Cryptopsy and combine them with the more recent black metal sound of Immortal (Damned In Black on up). Now throw in a pinch of Nile and you should have a pretty good idea of what these guys sound like. If any of the bands I've mentioned so far are up your alley, then you shouldn't have any doubts about picking this up. However, if you are still skeptical because you are like me and don't really have a strong taste for the more extreme side of metal, I would still suggest giving this a whirl anyway. One of the reasons people feel this way about extreme metal (as mentioned earlier) is because many bands are just loud, irritating slop-fests. This album, however, is quite the opposite. The songs are structured, organized, well thought out, intelligible, and are also very tight and skillfully played. For example, the drummer's cheese-tastic stage name (Inferno) is actually very fitting, as his insane work on this disc could be described as an "Inferno". The guitar work is also fairly decent, with some nice solos and arpeggios being displayed every now and then (there are even some guest solos from Nile's Karl Sanders on "Xul"). Ironically, the solos are also one of the things I don't like about the album, mainly because of the lack of variety in them. They are essentially all played using the same Egyptian styled scales (which are still cool, just not all the time). The album opens with a brief acoustic intro before exploding into a chaotic rage which stays fairly consistent up until the acoustic outro of "The Nephilim Rising". The insanity starts back up again with one of my personal favorites, "Towards Babylon", and doesn't give you a break until the epic closer, "The Reign ov Shemsu-Hor". I believe the disc also features an enhanced video for "Conquer All" (another good track), which I haven't had the chance to watch yet. It also states that they either currently are or eventually will be on tour with Suffocation on the front of the CD, so if you're a long time fan of these guys or Suffocation, be sure to check that out. To wrap things up, this ended up being a pretty pleasant surprise for me. If you normally prefer the heavier side of death metal, there shouldn't be any question about whether or not you should check this CD out. If you tend to lean towards the more melodic side of metal, give it a try anyway. While I normally prefer melody over brutality, I still enjoy a good dose of craziness every once in a while (as long as it is organized and well written and not just a wall of noise), and this album is sure to earn a couple of spins when I'm in the mood for something a little heavier than usual. Recommended.
Reviewed 02/06/2005
Official Behemoth Website
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