BEHEMOTH - Slaves Shall Serve EP

BEHEMOTH
Slaves Shall Serve EP
Century Media
10/10




Here's a crusher of a collectors item that will be a must-own for diehard Behemoth fans. Featuring a foil-embossed digipak presentation that's complete with full color interior panels, this is a disc that looks badass as hell and sounds even better. Back in '92, the Polish group emerged with a raw style firmly rooted in black metal, but over the course of seven full length albums their sound has evolved into a hybrid of black and death metal, with the band's 2004 release "Demigod" being their most pulverizing manifestation of undiluted aural evil yet. Behemoth has pretty much turned into the Morbid Angel of the new millennium, utilizing familiar occult concepts in tandem with uber-brutal death metal riffing to create a torrential storm of diabolical sonic warfare.

Limited to five thousand copies, the EP is highlighted by a wicked version of “Until You Call On The Dark” by Danzig. From the response that Behemoth generated on last fall’s “Blackest Of The Black” tour, it’s safe to say that many Danzig followers are receptive to the Polish illumes’ music so this most excellent cover track makes a lot of sense. Another nod goes to The Nephilim, the post-Fields Of The Nephilim project of Carl McCoy, as the Polish war machine takes on an excellent rendition of “Penetration.”

Fans also will enjoy “Entering The Pylon Ov Light”, a maze of squealing licks, relentlessly pounding drums and deep, hellish growls. A tastefully melodic solo overtop a blasting pattern leads into a militant, black march of death as Behemoth once again prove why they are one of the predominant, elite acts in extreme metal today. In there current moment, there is perhaps no band around that manages to sound so fucking evil and so fucking heavy yet retains an identity of their own.

Two live performances, “Demigod” and “Slaves Shall Serve”, are culled from last year’s Sweden Rock Festival and each offering does the original justice and underlines the group’s ability to completely kill in a live setting. A bit more low-end would have been nice during these mixes, but of course it has to sound “live”, thus the slightly trebled production. The guitars sound a bit more like old Slayer live as opposed to the group’s studio tone and the result is distinctly harsher sounding on the live version of “Slaves.” Nergal incites the crowd with forceful chanting here, building into a blistering crescendo.

The EP also includes a video of the title track as a CD enhancement and for those that may have heard this group, but not had the opportunity to see them live or catch any video clips, an awakening is due. Behemoth is a very visual band and this clip does much to give you an impression of what black musical assassination is like as a full package. The evil eye-candy rounds out this whole release, giving the fans a little bit of everything as the group prepares their next hellish audio manifesto.

It is well recommended that you rush to buy this one, as it won’t be long before these are all snatched up. Generally, between album EP’s such as this are pure filler and not generally intriguing, however every move this band makes simply fucking slays.


ERIN FOX © 2006 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED