 
Polish death metal. No wait, Polish death metal with a flair for Middle Eastern melody. Shoot, start over. Egyptian-motived death metal, performed by a Polish band... um, whose face-painting-leather 'n spikes get up is quintessential Scandinavian black metal. There. Huh? Puzzled? Good. So am I. Clearly you see the dilemma I'm facing; trying to homogenize the sound and imagery of Behemoth's new album Demigod. Since 1991, Warsaw's prolific warmongers have been finely honing their craft. By releasing albums on a near annual basis, Behemoth have pretty much covered the extreme metal gamut. Traditional black metal? So 1993. Experimental? Yawn. Technical wizardry? Technical schmechtical. Demigod represents a culmination of eclectic tendencies which can only come from years of experience. With fourteen years under their respective bullet belts, Behemoth have delivered a most impressive musical juggernaut!The tomb-raiding acoustic intro of "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth" sets the stage for a cardio-intensive paddle down the Nile. Inferno (God-given name, I swear!), Behemoth's frighteningly fluid drummer, leads the aural assault. His seemingly effortless double-bass delivery is as precise and unrelenting as a coaliton-led shock-and-awe attack. Returning to Nile, the Florida Pharaoh himself, Karl Sanders, lends his mummified hands with a guitar solo on the track "XUL". Guitarist/vocalist Nergal delivers a Tutankhamen-ressurected croak which is simply one of the best death metal performances I've ever heard. He combines the Morbid Angel-Steve Tucker-era baritone bark with a rather Vader-esque clarity, leaving even the most hardened headbangers with goose-bumps. Speaking of Vader, the Polish icons are now in serious danger of relinquishing their death metal crown. Nothing like media-created competition! Minor gripes : Nergal's solos sound a bit tedious at times. He's got the Erik Ruttan-esque melody thing happening, but tends to get hung up on repetitive phrasing. Also, the slick production of Daniel Bergstrand (Strapping Young Lad, Meshuggah) is almost too slick. Everything is so constantly loud and crystal-clear that any sense of dynamics is lost. I'm more into the caustic sound of early '90s Morrisound/Sunlight recordings, but I'm just old-school like that. Like an ancient finding, Behemoth have methodically whittled through layers of metamorphic rock to discover their identity. Demigod is death metal for the 21st century. It's unpredictable and uncompromising. All the elements of a classic album are there, but I reluctantly leave that for the listener to decide. Enthusiastically recommended. -- Andrew Andermatt
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Behemoth