Poland's BEHEMOTH is a perplexing beast. The confusion they raise doesn't necessarily have to do with genre placement ("Are they black metal or death metal or somewhere in between?") or whether their philosophies lie closer to Satanism or paganism. The real question is why metal fans go so gaga over these guys. Whether we're talking about their early days (when they were more or less a DARKTHRONE clone), their mid-period (when they jumped on the VADER-led Polish death metal bandwagon) or their last few albums of low-tuned, multi-layered experimentation (which show very strong MORBID ANGEL influence), the fact remains that what we're hearing is more often than not stuff we've already heard before.

That being said, there is something to be said about doing what you do well. "The Apostasy" is a very high-quality disc, and while this is a band that's not breaking new ground, they can still play. Nergal's maniacal riffs and Inferno's powerhouse blast beats are going to have metalheads banging heads and raising horns worldwide. The near-inhuman grind of "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa" and "Prometherion" showcase just what kids see in these guys - ruthless, unrelenting heaviness. Sometimes, that's all you really need, isn't it? From there, the battling acoustic/electric intro of "The Left Hand ov God" chills the bones, and the mid-paced rhythm of "Be Without Fear" sounds like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping through the Vatican. The real highpoint of this album, though, is "Inner Sanctum", which matches the tortured vocals of NEVERMORE frontman Warrel Dane with haunting piano plinks and pounds. Yes, MORBID ANGEL may have established this kind of progression within extreme metal, but they haven't followed through with it for a long, long time.

No, these guys may not be the picture of innovation that so many folks out there have painted, but at least BEHEMOTH exerts the right amount of effort in the right places to make something satisfying and worth your hard-earned dollar. You now have permission to continue headbanging and horn-raising.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.behemoth.pl

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