Prior to the release of 2008’s Ezkaton I honestly hadn’t paid much attention to Polish death metallers Behemoth. I’d been aware of their existence for more than 15 years, but never sought out their music. More than a decade of being subjected to the hype machine surrounding Decapitated and Vader, and the disappointment that came with actually listening to their boring, uninspired work, caused me to ignore the praises directed towards their fellow countrymen Behemoth, writing them off as another boring band not worthy of my attention.

That opinion changed the day I received a copy of Behemoth’s Metal Blade Records debut EP Ezkaton in my post office box and decided to give them a listen. When I tossed the disc in I fully expected to be bored to tears and write a scathing review, but that all changed when I first heard “Chant for Ezkaton 2000 e.v.”, a re-recording of “Chant for Eschaton 2000” from 1999’s Satanica. Having never heard the original I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly did not expect the catchy high paced blackened death metal that screamed from my speakers. Then I listened to the track again. And again. And again. And again. By the time I wrote the review of the album I’d already listened to that single track more than 50 times and the album as a whole more than 20 times. Needless to say, I was impressed and looking forward to more.

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long, as a mere 9 months after the release of Ezkaton, Behemoth unleashed Evangelion, the band’s ninth full length studio effort in their lengthy 18 year existence. Evangelion picks up right where Ezkaton left off as Behemoth unleash 9 tracks of up tempo melodic blasting blackened death metal splayed out over 42 minutes, with the band’s clearest production to date, courtesy of the renown Colin Richardson. The effort is filled with choppy riffs, catchy melodies, pummeling blasts and the raspy barks of front man Nergal.

On previous efforts Behemoth have occasionally sounded a little loose, but on Evangelion Behemoth are tighter than a pair of extra small spandex bicycle shorts on my bulging girthy package. Technically this may be Behemoth’s sharpest studio effort to date with no obvious flaws and a very fluid performance by all four musicians. In some ways the group have simplified their sound, abandoning much of the theatrics prevalent on prior efforts, focusing more on letting the music speak for itself.

Despite having his kit triggered to shit, Zbigniew Prominski, unlike many death metal drummers who use a triggered kit, doesn’t rely solely on relentless blasts and has proven himself to be a highly capable drummer with a good ability of mixing up rhythms. On so many death metal albums the drummer seems to settle into one specific performance style and sticks to it throughout, but Prominski is able to blast like a maniac when needed, slow it down to a gentle crawl when needed and plays a surprisingly varied percussive assault.

The riffing and songwriting of Nergal and studio musician Patryk Sztyber of Nomad and Vesania is top notch. Both are very capable guitarists and combined have created a new layer of depth to the band’s sound with their sharp technical shredding, catchy melodic segments and entertaining trade-off solos spaced throughout the release. Backed by the powerful rumbling bass of Tomasz Wróblewski, and a much clearer and more natural vocal tone for Nergal and this quartet delivers some of the most entertaining and varied death metal released this year.

From beginning to end it’s clear Behemoth have taken a big step forward from being just a mere face in the crowd to one of the frontrunners in the genre. While Evangelion is clearly not as vicious and the band’s earliest studio efforts, it is by far their most varied, best produced and best written.

2 years ago, I couldn’t give two farts about Behemoth, but with the release of Evangelion and Ezkaton, I’m a converted fan and eager for more. While I won’t go as far as to say Evangelion is worthy of being regarded as a classic, it is a damn fine release and will remain in rotation for quite some time to come. Definitely a worthwhile purchase, even if the band does still dress like a bunch of World of Warcraft nerds who take their hobby far too seriously.  They look like gay He-Man villains in all of their press photos, what the fuck is up with that?

Review byTeufel