Behemoth: Opvs Contra Natvram (Nuclear Blast) [Erick Willand]
Love them or hate them it can not be denied that Behemoth are a massive creative force in the Metal world and will clearly remain so for many years to come. Band leader Nergal (Adam Darski) has become a lightning rod of controversy for his outspoken attitude and take no shit stance on almost any subject. However, I’m not here to write about Nergal.
Love them or hate them it can not be denied that Behemoth are a massive creative force in the Metal world and will clearly remain so for many years to come. Band leader Nergal (Adam Darski) has become a lightning rod of controversy for his outspoken attitude and take no shit stance on almost any subject. However, I’m not here to write about Nergal.
Opvs Contra Natvram is Behemoth’s 12th studio album and comes after two highly regarded albums, 2014’s The Satanist and 2018’s I Loved You At Your Darkest. So right from the start Opvs Contra Natvram pushes to escape the shadow cast from those two albums with a grandiose intro track, Post God Nirvana. With instant hints of Heilung inspired tribal vibes this short track grows in splendor and intense full voiced spoken words, no, statements. When “We worship the devil, we hail the beast!” it feels exclaimed from a mountain top, the orchestration comes to a booming conclusion, fading to almost distant chanting. This only lasts for a second before a guitar lick hums through chants, seconds, then again.
The tension is built and released with the skill that only Behemoths experience can pull off without feeling over done or cliche. That tension break comes with the blistering opening salvo of Malaria Volgata, an aggressive speed assault anthem that I’m thinking is going to be a fan favorite for the live shows, especially “Begone, all ye fucking cowards!” Many horns up I’m sure. Track 3, Deathless Sun doesn’t miss a beat of course and keeps the fierce pace going full ahead, and although it is a ripping good track, it doesn’t hold any surprises either. Enter Ov My Herculean Exile, one of the more interesting tracks on offer, it is a slower, more purposeful and personal song. Despite the deliberate pace the urgency is still here and that’s good, it gives the song life.
Neo Spartacus is track 5 and dare I say, the best song on the album. Rolling in with all weapons blazing, the opening line “No god reigns over me!” says it all. When Behemoth combines instrumental lightning and inspiring fight song lyrics they can not lose. Another addition to my personal playlist and I’m sure it’ll be another live hit too. Now comes Disinheritance I’m reminded of Deathless Sun in the sense that this is a good song by a top tier band, it rips but it holds no mind hooks for me. Unfortunately, this goes for Off To War as well, a proper gallop but no weight.
Once Upon A Pale Horse brings things back from the brink in that there is meat here, weight and intent and for me feels a bit like an older Behemoth song. A crisp clear opening with the line “I ascend” and I’m listening. This is the Behemoth I enjoy and Thy Becoming Immortal keeps the vibe moving, brings back the energy from the first half of Opvs and adds backing vocals and a vibrant swirling riff. And this brings us to Versvs Christvs, the final track of the album and what a track. All of Behemoth’s grand designs are poured into this piece, it’s driven, pointed and lyrically visceral. The slow calculated opening moments that lead you, excited, into the song proper as it lifts you to the purpose of battle. A stellar ending indeed.
Anyone who’s read some of my reviews knows that I’m a sucker for theatrics, outlandish costumes, pyrotechnic stage shows, anthem style songs and grandiose occult lyrics. All of this is part of the experience and Behemoth brings the show strong here. On Opvs Contra Natvram they’ve created a sonic and visual piece of art, plain and simple. The album cover is a departure from the normal for Behemoth but it works, especially how the theme and color palette are carried throughout, top shelf design work here. There are a few sonic moments that just feel like filler, that’s absolutely true, however when even your filler songs are still well built rippers you’re clearly doing something right. After many listens and taking the whole package into consideration, I’m giving Opvs Contra Natvram 8/10
God Alone - ETC (Prosthetic Records) [GC]
Another new release week and another review of a Prosthetic artist for me! This week it is Irish mathcore quintet God Alone with their new release ETC. Starting with Tinfoil In The Walls they try to build up some tension with an echoey drum fill which then adds in some delicate guitar work before some gang chants vocals fade in and make their presence felt, however I am already running into an issue here, we are 3 minutes in and nothing of note has happened? Sure, setting a mood is ok but there needs to be some sort of end product, around the 5-minute mark we get the first real riff of any note and while its ok, it just kind of goes nowhere and then the song ends and I feel like this could be a swing and a miss kind of release as next track Kung-Fu Treachery clocks in at almost 11 minutes and doesn’t fill me with hope!
Another new release week and another review of a Prosthetic artist for me! This week it is Irish mathcore quintet God Alone with their new release ETC. Starting with Tinfoil In The Walls they try to build up some tension with an echoey drum fill which then adds in some delicate guitar work before some gang chants vocals fade in and make their presence felt, however I am already running into an issue here, we are 3 minutes in and nothing of note has happened? Sure, setting a mood is ok but there needs to be some sort of end product, around the 5-minute mark we get the first real riff of any note and while its ok, it just kind of goes nowhere and then the song ends and I feel like this could be a swing and a miss kind of release as next track Kung-Fu Treachery clocks in at almost 11 minutes and doesn’t fill me with hope!
It does however begin a bit more positive and has some nice guitar work and sound promising and around the 4-minute mark we get a nice heavy guitar and bass break which adds some filling to the otherwise empty track but after this it all seems to fade into self-indulgent art rock and almost feels like some sort of performance piece rather than a song and ultimately at a gargantuan almost 11 minutes it just doesn’t deliver anything and one last minute of blasting drums and screeching guitars to finish off is not enough for me, ETC continues with the echoey picked style of guitars and jazz like drums with soft and background gang chat vocals and the use of electronics is a bit more noticeable here and adds something interesting which has been lacking up to this point and that is what the problem is I think, when something of note does actually happen it is quickly stamped out and more nothingness happens and it’s frustrating to listen to.
TSK TSK TSK is by far the most minimal sounding song so far and in all honesty is just boring and adds yet more frustration as it does nothing for its entirety, by track 5 15BM1989 I have actually given up all hope of hearing anything I can personally connect with and at almost 9 minutes I could probably do without it BUT there are some decent parts of hard/noisecore thrown into the mix here but it’s all just come a little to late really, to its credit it is the best song so far but that’s not really saying much and more of this sooner would have been a godsend!
Finally, Peony is the last song, and it has an almost hypnotic quality to it and does add some much-needed intrigue to the song and is almost reminiscent of The Locust at times and the dense, thick layers do make this a good song and add in the atmospheric and gloomy ending and we finally have a plus point but alas its all just a little to late to save this from disappointment. After listening to God Alone my run of good Prosthetic reviews comes to an end and any hopes of a job offer also disappear in smoke as this is just far too overblown and arty and really tries to challenge the listener but in reality, there is nothing challenging and interesting here and it just sound like self-indulgent wankery! Shame, a complete swing, and a devastating miss. 3/10
Boundaries - Burying Brightness (3DOT Recordings) [Matt Cook]
Boundaries has that ability to hit you both in the feels and the teeth…at the same time. Burying Brightness is evocative and genuine in its lyrics and simultaneously hard-hitting and furious in its execution. It’s unassuming hardcore music that is raw to the bone, an open book of emotion and aggression. Resent And Regret especially encapsulates the band’s mission. Incredibly raw, it gets down to the very core of multiple themes and does so in a way that feels honest. "I miss all the people that weren’t supposed to die yet. Life isn’t fair / it’s meaningless without someone to share it with."
Boundaries - Burying Brightness (3DOT Recordings) [Matt Cook]
Boundaries has that ability to hit you both in the feels and the teeth…at the same time. Burying Brightness is evocative and genuine in its lyrics and simultaneously hard-hitting and furious in its execution. It’s unassuming hardcore music that is raw to the bone, an open book of emotion and aggression. Resent And Regret especially encapsulates the band’s mission. Incredibly raw, it gets down to the very core of multiple themes and does so in a way that feels honest. "I miss all the people that weren’t supposed to die yet. Life isn’t fair / it’s meaningless without someone to share it with."
Burying Brightness is one of those records that blurs the line between what the instruments are actually providing. There are chuggy riffs, pick sliding and disorienting pacing. The screams are Nick Diaz-level angry - terrified, desperate, trembling. The heart of this album’s immaculate presentation is how the guitars and drums never distract from the lyrics. They never compete and instead are effortlessly fluid. The Tower, the longest track and also the closer, features nearly four minutes of empty space filled only with droning electronics. Though it returns in earnest for the final 1:45, and lashes out at whomever (or whatever) one believes in: "What has God ever done for me?"
It also makes sense the titular song is a wide-open journal entry: "If the time that we spent was all that we had / I hope you know / A part of you will always live in me / I’ll never forget you or the brightness we buried." Without missing a beat, Boundaries smashed through the walls of the hardcore zeitgeist. The punishing rhythms coupled with the punished words being screamed into the microphone coalesce and make for an attractive product which begs to be listened to over and over again. 9/10
Madrost - Lost Lives Volume 1 (Lost Wisdom Records) [Ben Baljak]
Lost Lives Volume 1 is the first of a series of live recordings planned for release by South California progressive thrash band Madrost. The songs selected for this release were recorded during an October 2009 performance at High Barmichael’s in Newport Beach, CA. The album opens with Desecrator. An old punk style of thrash. The guitars aren’t quite in tune and the music is messy but you can smell the sweat and feel the energy of a young Slayer fan smashing a can of beer against his skull in a dilapidated slap up skatepark.
Madrost - Lost Lives Volume 1 (Lost Wisdom Records) [Ben Baljak]
Lost Lives Volume 1 is the first of a series of live recordings planned for release by South California progressive thrash band Madrost. The songs selected for this release were recorded during an October 2009 performance at High Barmichael’s in Newport Beach, CA. The album opens with Desecrator. An old punk style of thrash. The guitars aren’t quite in tune and the music is messy but you can smell the sweat and feel the energy of a young Slayer fan smashing a can of beer against his skull in a dilapidated slap up skatepark.
This is a fairly apt description of what’s to come; sloppy, aggressive, good old thrash. Aggressive Nihilism, the art of believing in nothing aggressively , which may be paradoxical. Chucks in some nice almost Mastodon esc type riffs before going all out Slayer. Unfortunately the guitars are in serious need of a tuning , making it sound more like it’s being played by the porcupine Kerry King fisted for the Seasons In The Abyss video rather than Mr King himself. Crypt Keeper. Love how when shouting the chorus CRYPT KEEPER , Tanner Poppitt sounds like an angry honey badger with a charred biffin … which is pretty metal. Also, that one friend/fan screaming at the end of the song is reminiscent of any band’s early work. So glad they kept it in.
And now for Some Good Ol’ Fashioned Violence. Some tasty drum fills from drummer Mark Rivas! One doth approve. The penultimate song Zombie Grinder may accidentally contain a riff from White Zombies Thunder Kiss ’65, ending with Under The Hammer. We start off with a nice groove and some crowd engaging Hey Hey Hey! The guitar parts nearing the end of the set are full of ambition, unfortunately, as they were beyond the players capabilities at the time it sounds like Kerry’s violated porcupine is back and this time it’s attempting to harmonise with another violated spiny mammal. Lost Lives Volume 1 is an interesting album. It’s great to see where bands started off and it’s great that MADROST haven’t shied away from showing us such performances. I personally know bands who have deleted their entire back catalogues once they’ve improved as musicians. This kind of interaction and honesty is a treat for music lovers and fans of the band which takes a certain amount of sweaty thrash balls from the musicians. Regardless of the sloppy playing and tuning issues, you can feel the energy and ambition in these early performances.
At the time you can tell that they’d become accustomed to playing with speed and that once they worked on their progression they’d have something . Unfortunately this isn’t a great introduction to Madrost. However, I’ve checked them out properly now and would like to suggest their song The Rotting Earth to any thrash fan reading this review. On the approved heaviness index I’d say that Madrost Lost Lives Volume 1 comes in at about the weight of 7 bears. Although, some of those bears have mange and one of them is missing an eye. Once again , check out some of their newer stuff if you’re into thrash.
I really enjoyed the album, reminded very much of those drunken teenage gigs with friends. Nevertheless, as it’s a fairly messy performance and I didn’t hear any prog riffs, this particular album can’t receive higher than. 6/10