Last I heard from Polish death metallers Behemoth was on their previous record Demigod. While Demigod had its moments, it didn’t retain my interest that long. This isn’t to say it was a bad record, but it wasn’t going to hold my interest in Behemoth as long as their black metal days did. And frankly I wasn’t expecting much at all from The Apostasy. I figured Behemoth would continue down the semi-technical road they were going with something yet again in the vein of Zyklon and Nile. Indeed, that road is still the path that Behemoth decided to take, but hot damn they have improved!

I’m actually enjoying the shit out of The Apostasy. Right from the opener "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa" down to the finale "Christgrinding Avenue" (which, by the way, wins my vote for coolest song title this year), Behemoth rip out with a record that is brutal, fast, and maintains its catchiness throughout. The real showstopper here is the drum performance by Inferno, who demonstrates his ability to craft war-like, complex percussion parts throughout the record, giving The Apostasy the feel of an ancient battle elephant storming into bloody conflict on the grounds of massive, eldritch massacres. Nergal’s deep growl companies the music well, and the riffs- while not amazing- are more than rhythmic enough to keep the Roman war atmosphere going. The guest performance of Warrel Dane from Nevermore surprisingly fits on "Inner Sanctum" and a Nevermore vibe in the guitar playing can even be seen throughout "Inner Sanctum" and its previous song "Libertheme". However, these vibes don’t fall into the practical thievery found on Demigod’s "Conquer All", making them all the more enjoyable.

Ultimately, Behemoth has really excelled with The Apostasy. Behemoth’s performance on this album is considerably superior to their last endeavor and I can see myself listening to The Apostasy over and over again for months as opposed to the merely decent Demigod. Good show, Behemoth, good show.

Written By: Necro-tron