L'Enfant Sauvage - An Interview with Gojira

Joe Duplantier of Gojira 

Gojira are a band that perhaps had one of the worst chances in European Metal history, and still made the most of it. How? First, they came from a country with a very small Metal scene (with a few cult bands like Trust, Sorteliege and the whole Black scene, I know) not to speak of a Death Metal scene in the time of its inception. Second, they went into one of the most overcrowded genres in Metal, and tried to make something unique without it being pretentious. . Third but not least, they have managed to maintain a band that has been growing naturally for over 17 years. From the small town of Bayonne, which has around half the residents of Tel Aviv, the band has grown to become an international phenomenon opening for giants like Metallica and selling out venues all across the world. Now, they bring their sophisticated brand of Groove infused Death Metal to Israel, and I took great joy in interviewing non other than singer and mastermind of Gojira- Joe Duplantier



Benek- Hey Joe! What’s up man?


Joe- Um, not much! I’m good man, I’m at a good place in my mind, really comfortable. I’m in France, we just played a show here in France in Hellfest, and this year was really good for us because we were in a really nice slot on the bill. We played with Jason Newsted and Stone Sour and Volbeat, and it was really good.

Benek- Did you catch any other bands? anyone you were looking out for?

Joe- I wanted to see Swans, very, very experimental with this one guy who’s been doing this for thirty years and he’s a crazy mother fucker kind of alcoholic strange poet with a guitar and it’s all based on feedbacks and weird sounds and chords, it’s very hard and it’s very loud but it’s very interesting, it was a really experience and I was glad to see them onstage for the first time. Other than that we were doing some interviews and signing sessions so I didn’t really have time to see other bands. I saw Napalm Death really quick onstage and they were amazing but that’s it. Last time we play Hellfest almost every 3 years, because if we go to often it’ll spoil the French fans so it’s important to be rare.

Benek- So, it’s been almost exactly a year since L’Enfant Sauvage, how do you feel about it, and about the reception it got?


Joe- I feel very good, the way people received it was really good, everyone was very enthusiastic about it and it’s been great man. From day one, people seemed to be happy and the hardcore fans even were a little scared before the release of the album because we signed on Roadrunner and stuff but they understood we kept what makes Gojira intact you know? we didn’t put water in our wine, like we say in France.


Benek- What was the idea behind the album, are there any underlying themes? I know there was the whole thing about the impact of death in The Way of All Flesh, is there some consistency?


Joe- The Way of All Flesh was mostly about death in general, there’s a lot to say about it and nothing to say because we know nothing about it. But at least we know our fears, you know, about the unknown when there is something we don’t know we become petrified and useless so it’s a big challenge for humans in general, or at least for me. I’ll speak for myself; it’s a big challenge to overcome the fears in general. That’s the most important thing in the lyrics, the main theme I want to say, before the environmental concepts, is mostly dealing with the fears and the difficulty of being at peace in general. For me, when we did L’Enfant Sauvage, there was not a real idea behind it but more of a state, a state of mind and a feeling, an intuition, I would say these words instead of an idea. There’s never an idea, a precise idea, sometimes at the end of the recording or the pre production I realize there’s a theme to give a title or a direction to the artwork but usually it’s being spontaneous and being in a present moment.

Benek-How is L’Enfant Sauvage different from the rest of your records, except for the phenomenal amount of response it has gotten, what do you think sets it apart?

The exposure is a big thing, the perception you have on an album is also based on how the promotion is made. For the first time we had a real international release, that was a huge difference, and everyone is influenced by this. Even when they listen to the records, exposure is becoming a part of the landscape on the Metal scene internationally and The Way of All Flesh, for example, was released in Europe , and then we found a deal in the US and was released it there later, then we found a deal in Asia so we were more independent at the time working with small labels, small record companies struggling to find deals and negotiating as we go. For L’Enfant Sauvage there was a big preparation for the release and that makes the perception different, the press was writing about it and they tried to be original in their critiques and stuff so the surrounding was very different, a different context. The music is pretty similar to what we’ve always done, we started 17 years ago and it’s been just growing very naturally, organically and there’s no real big difference in composition or the state of mind, the intention is pretty much the same. It’s another page that we turn but it’s the same book, it’s like we’re telling the story of our lives as we go. It’s good to have your own sound, but it’s hard to reinvent yourself, sometimes we decide, like consciously lets make a song that is super different, like this or like that but we fail because we always come back to the same energy that is guiding us. There’s an energy guiding us, we make ourselves available for this music, we get together in the practice room and we start to play and then the music is coming, we don’t really decide from where it’s coming.




Benek- What was the working process like for L’Enfant Sauvage? Who writes most of the riffs?

Joe- We work together you know, it’s like Mario and me find most of the ideas but we need to be the four of us somewhere to form this entity that is Gojira. We form a certain entity together and I’ll be the eyes, Mario will be the mouth, Jean Michel (Labadie) will be the legs, and Christian (Andreu) will be the arms and without the legs we can’t go very far. People from the outside will say “oh Joe and Mario are doing everything” but in fact we’re like a body together. Mario and me are very active when we compose, we talk and we play a lot we throw ideas all the time, and the two other guys are more quiet and patient but their listening and participating in a way. It’s very important for them as well.

Benek-In their own way, such as sleeping (we both laugh)

Joe- yeah, obviously, taking a nap, sometimes I think about it, about how would it be if it was two different guys? Staying quiet, in the same room instead of them ,the music would be different so somehow they influence but Mario and I do most of the writing . That’s the short answer (laughs)

So by now…do you have a favorite track off of it?
Pfft, yeah I like the song Pain is a Master for the lyrics and the music, I would love to play this track live. This song is special to me, and a little more personal than the other songs. I talk about pain, and how you can learn from experience, pain is a very very intense experience when you suffer, and you’re alone for example , the notion of time seems to change and everything becomes harder and longer, you don’t knokw if you’re going to survive when you have very difficult moments in your life. I think when you have to go through these moments in your life it’s because there’s something you don’t understand about yourself and life will make you understand, painw ill make you understand and teach you something if you stay awake and listen, and feel then you will learn something and get stronger. I’m not inventing anything you know, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

How do you feel the artwork conveys the theme of the music?
It’s the same thing, you know? the same effort, the same movement, it’s one creation. The visual, the music, the sound and even the production and mixing its all in one and done in the same time. Usually when I write lyrics I do drawings at the same time and sometimes I’m inspired by the drawings I make and sometimes I don’t know what to say, I have an idea I want to express but it just doesn’t come out and it feeds the lyrics you know, it’s really you know it comes together as one. We do it ourselves, I do the covers and Mario helps me with some of the stuff, he does some of the stuff. He sent me the sketch of a head with a tree inside of it I thought it was cliché but I thought it was simple and strong so I repainted it somehow but it comes with the music, sometimes I don’t understand what we’re doing but I know it’s one energy expressing itself and one same effort.


How did Gojira start?When we started we didn’t have big plans we just wanted to play music. That’s the old school approach, of things, now with bands that find the logo and the haircut then they think “maybe we should compose songs.” Where I come from is more, “lets play!” lets do music, so one day we wanted to record so we took a shitty ghetto blaster and we pressed record, we did a bunch of demoes on cassettes and then we did a proper demo in a studio, then a second one and three and four demoes before even thinking “Maybe we should release an album?” so we started very naturally. Like a plant growing, the plant doesn’t think , “I’m going to become a tree” it’s just growing. So it was very organic, I like how we started. My brother and I were jamming in our family house, he was like 10 and I was 15 basically, and we started with a shitty acoustic guitar and he was drumming on pans and pots, and that’s how it started. A brotherhood thing, then we started to hang out with these two other guys and we formed a band. Just like that, so it just happened, it was never a decision, never “lets be a band! Lets get some chicks!!! And go on tour and make money, lets be famous!” was never in our mind.


Benek- Silly Joe, Death Metal bands don’t get chicks, they get fat sweaty guys running at the stage

Joe- I know! ugh! (laughs)

Benek- How do you feel you’ve grown as a musician since the early days of Terra Incognita?


Joe- I would say, there’s so much to say each time you ask a question I’d have like a thousand answers but we have a limited time so I’m gonna say one thing. From a kid in high school trying to be Metallica or Sepultura I became a producer more than a great musician or a great singer or a rock star, I see myself as a producer. I have ideas, intuitions and inspirations and I like to produce albums, I see them like objects almost we create this objects so for this I need to play guitar, I need to put these ideas together or damn now I need to scream into this microphone but I’m always driven by this intuition and this inspiration but I’m not really into guitar, I don’t care really. For me to play guitar is more of a way to go a certain place , I’m not a guitar player or a guitarist, I have friends that are so into guitar all the time and they love playing guitar, for me it’s just a way to get somewhere. I would like to make a movie, to create something with dance, Ballet or anything, something that will be bigger than me and more powerful than me. I like this , you know? with a lot of work and a lot of time you can create something that is so powerful that it can take care of you somehow.

Are there any plans to make a movie or anything in motion?

Nothing at all, there’s something in my mind I feel attracted by , I Feel attracted to creative things. Even building a house, creating something bigger than me is how I’d describe it. We give life to an album just like you give life to a child. But you didn’t do anything, you just had sex and then your stomach grows and someone grows out and it’s perfect. But you didn’t do anything you just dedicated energy, time and patience . Then something happens, beautiful.

Benek- What was the French scene like when you started, how has it changed?

Joe- I don’t know man, shitty? It was pretty shitty. We had some good bands in the 80s but then no one was able to cross the borders and it died for ten years, when we started there was no one around. There were a very few doing a good job like Loudblast and now it’s starting again, there’s a scene, some very very good bands, respected Black Metal bands here in France but they’re so underground that even I don’t know these bands personally. All sorts of bands emerging . We were one of the first French Metal bands to travel abroad and start to play in the U.S and I think it inspired other bands like “damn it’s possible!” If those guys can do it, we can do it too. We’re part of the moment it started to change.

Benek- Speaking of the U.S, you recorded L’Enfant Sauvage in the U.S, in New York, how did that come about, and why?

Joe-We wanted to be in a different environment, something exciting with a lot of people and producers, engineers our record company is in NY so its’ very exciting to do it this way. Usually we record our albums here in France, in the countryside in our family house in kind of a small studio there with you know, it’s an old house, a lot of spiders and bees everywhere. It’s where we grew up and stuff, but for this album we wanted something different, we still composed the songs here in this house and that’s where I am right now , um but for the recording process we need gear, engineers , knowledge and when we do it here it’s a big challenge we need to rent gear , fly people here and it’s very difficult. So doing it in NY, at this time when we’re signing a contract with Roadrunner was it just made sense because they were around.

Benek -what is it like working with a brother in the band?
Joe- I had a very short experience before that of being in a band with different guys, so I can compare just with that but for me it became so natural, for me it’s normal to be in a band with my brother. But I can say it’s very powerful, it’s very intense and sometimes it’s hard, but sometimes it’s awesome but it’s always intense.

Benek- Do you feel a musical connection?

Joe- Yes, we don’t need to use words, I don’t even know how to start talking about it it’s so big man. What started this band you know? my relationship with my brother, we would disagree on a lot of stuff and he was much younger than me , at the itme it was important because I was 17 and he was 12, when we were recording our first demoes, and I was hanging out with my friends drinking wine and smoking pot , but he was just a kid so he was always around and annoying and stuff , he wanted to hang out with bigger guys. But when we start to play there’s nothing else, just a pure powerful connection between us, we could play for an hour and a half straight, not jamming really because in Metal the patterns are always different and a lot of tempo changes. We would follow each other in a heart beat, I’ll be like “ok he’s going there” , damn that’s interesting and when something started being solid and great we’d be like “yep! This is good.” Instant connection all the time, and we stopped together. Like (makes sound of palm muted guitar coming to a halt) and we just stop.
Benek- Gojira is one of those bands that can’t go wrong you know, like Mayhem or Meshuggah, that don’t h have a single bad release. How do you stay so creative and full of ideas? What inspires you?


Joe- Like I told you, really this is important to me, they’re not ideas. It’s energy and this energy is always there, it’ll never end because on a certain dimension, time and space don’t exist. If you’re connected to this dimension, I know it sounds a little pretentious and I’m not pretending to be a higher spirit or a master or anything, but through music I can pass to this dimension when there is no time and space. If you stay healthy, and don’t do drugs basically , because a lot of people do drugs to open doors and compose , and it’s amazing oh my god, but if you avoid that then the connection stays good. The connection can be forever, you don’t lose connection if you stay centered, healthy, grounded, and focused. Happiness is also very important to me, it’s not just like we’re going on tours all the time, doing drugs and being lost when we go back home, a lot of bands fail after a couple of albums because they get lost. For us having a healthy happy lives with our own families with projects that are not related to music are very important so when we get back together we feel like kids happy to play together. We keep this port open to certain energy. I feel confident, I don’t think we’re going to lose this it’ll change, it’ll be slower and faster or darker and lighter but this energy we have accessed .


Benek- What does Gojira mean to you in your life ? How would you define your music and message? How central is it?

Joe- It’s very important, I could say it’s saving me from despair and chaos, misery I’m a very sensitive person. When I was in school, I suffered a lot, I thought the world was shit. People were so cruel and I had a hard time to have a real friend, one day this guy would be my friends and the next day he’d go with a bigger guy, a cooler guy and spit on me. So at a very early age, I had this hate for people, I really thought the world was not a good place, and music was a very important thing to me. I didn’t have a difficult childhoods, I didn’t grow up in a poor country and my parents were very cool and loving people so I cannot really complain but I’m telling you it was really hard for me to confront the world. For me the music was almost a reason to be alive. At some points it was my best friend and a platform for me to stand on, my home, my country and my planet.

Benek- Planet Joe heheehe… Anyway, you’re very outspoken in your lyrics about environmental damages, why is that?
Joe- You’re asking me? Well I’m sure you have the answer…

Benek- ….What do you mean?

Joe- I understand the question but it’s obvious, we have one planet. Not planet Joe, planet earth is our spaceship and there’s nothing else than that right now unless someone has a great idea to go live on the moon or something we need to take care of this place, it just makes sense. For me it’s the number one thing in politics. I always thought we weren’t doing politics, just music and poetry, but if you have one idea it can become politically involved. Expressing this was just natural, I grew up in the countryside in the old house I’ve described earlier, I grew up with a proper education, my parents taught me how to put my trash in a trash can rather than throwing it in the ground, Very simple education, the big polluters didn’t receive education it seemed. I have a lot of anger and fire in me and I need to express it, when I start to scream in the microphone that’s what comes sometimes this subjects.

Benek- On the other hand , it’s probably something that will not effect our planet for as long as we live, is this important for you because of your children? Or the love of the planet?

Joe- It’s important because everything is important. Every single word, every single movement and day or action has a repercussions. You do something and everything has an impact on a deep level, and it’s spiritual what I say now. If you throw your chewing gum in the grass it’s not going to effect a lot of people but when you throw your chewing gum in the grass there’s something that is happening in a spiritual and energetic level. There’s a lot of this happening on the planet and it sucks.

Benek- Do you believe the world still has a potential for saving? Is it not too late to change the force of habit?


Joe-Yes, I have hope in people, even if I hate them, I still think there’s good in people you know?

Benek- Why do you work with the sea shepherds in particular?
JoeBecause they’re cool man, they have a great logo laughs (laughs) but I like how their pretty unique, they’re great inspiration for me and for us in the band , the way they do things they don’t ask for permission or anything. They just do what they have to do according to what they think and feel, a lot of people are going “ ahhh the world is going down and it’s bad” you know but they do something about it. They’re not scared.

Benek- Is Paul Watson a fan?

Joe- He doesn’t have time to think about this, he’s very busy and dedicated , his dedication is very interesting. I see myself in him in some ways, he’s not available to people because he’s giving himself to his ideals and to his ideas and dreams. He’s completely dedicated, it’s a sacrifice, but these kind of people don’t have a choice, they to do this.

Benek- What happened with the Sea Shepherds EP?


Joe- I feel very uncomfortable when someone asks me about it because it’s so pathetic, I feel almost ashamed to talk about it because we we’re on fire with this EP. We did all the hard work, we composed four songs, we called a bunch of well known singers, we went to LA , my brother and me to record this and to mix it, just a few things missing to release it. But then something happened with the computer, we had a computer crash and we lost a lot of files, and it was really hard on us because we we’re signing a deal with Roadrunner, taking care of the new album, so it was a lot of work especially while on tour. So the EP was on the side because I had to recover all these files, and re record all those files but it would just be one week here, two weeks there, few days in a hotel, and on tour, I’m like I should work on this EP but I didn’t find the time and the energy to work on this. It’s there, it’s gonna come out some day.

Benek- Many many years in the future hehehe

Joe- Yeah maybe in 25 years , the plan was to put the spotlights on sea shepherds more than making money, the point was to sell it and make money for Sea Shepherds and give them all the money. We released one song called Blood and Salt on Roadrunner Magazine with Devin Townsend and Fredrik Thordendal , that’s already something. The name comes from the blood of the whales and dolphins in the salty water. It’s really inspired by why Sea Shepherds are doing what they’re doing, and Devn Townsend is singing and Fredrik is playing guitar, these people coming together is already a statement so of course we didn’t raise any money so far but a lot of Metalheads know Sea Shepherds through us so some of the goal has been achieved.

Benek- Do you also support Veganism?

Joe- ummm, I’m not a Vegan, but I’m Vegan friendly, some Vegans are so annoying though…but myself I was vegetarian for a few years but I gave up because I was on tour and I’m a mess, also I love meat that’s another thing, meat is so good you know what I mean? But it’s a little crazy when I start to think about it that we’re eating animals when we could just eat plants and seeds and beans you know? We could live healthier and happier without doing this traffic animals, the treatment of them is completely insane I would like to go back to this and I have Vegan friends who try to convince me and I’m like, “yeah I’m convinced already but I’m just too lazy…”

Benek- how do you feel about coming to Israel??
Joe- I feel so happy man! It’s a little impressive because of the history, and the conflicts and all that you know, when you’ve never been to a country you have this fantasy about it, each time I hear about Israel or Tel Aviv you hear about a bomb that exploded or of war, so our vision as Europeans is of a warzone. But I heard a lot of great things about it too, so I’m always very happy and excited to discover a new country and place . How is it now?

Benek- It’s just very hot…but no bombs hehehe. Do you feel your live show has changed over the years?

Joe- It changed a lot, now we’re more confident on stage, more mature and we accept what we are more. I feel like we got rid of a lot of layers we used to have, we thought we needed to look or sound like these guys , or I’m too fat or thin, you get onstage and full of complex as a teenager. As you grow older you accept , that’s how I am, and that makes you a better performer when you accept yourself.

Benek- What’s in the near future except for the Israeli gig ?

Joe- We have other shows in August, we’re going to tour all over Europe and then more touring. We’re basically in the middle of the album cycle, we have another year of touring easily on this album. We have a lot of new territories to go to, there’s life for this album still, people want to see and hear us. So touring and touring, and worrying about this damn EP!


Benek- Any sort of signing session planned?

Joe-There is something planned but not finalized yet, also, I think even the date of the show will probably change a day forward or after because of Anthrax
Benek- Any last words to the Israeli fans?

Joe- We cannot wait to be there, we cannot wait to meet you guys , we’re very, very excited and feel blessed to be able to travel like that and to discover Israel. I’m sure it’s a very beautiful place and I’m looking forward to visiting.

Epitome of Torture- Sodom Review

Epitome of Torture - Sodom

Band name- Sodom
Album name- Epitome of Torture
Origin- Gelsenkirschen , Germany
Label- Steamhammer
Website- sodomized.info
Rate- 5/5


I'm going to state a fact about this review and about myself in general before I start. I'm not one of those guys who just loves being unique for the sake of being unique. I'm not one to take an album everybody likes, yell “this is shit!” and post a status on Facebook about it to see how many comments i'll get. But with that said, when I found out that the new Sodom album, Epitome of Torture, was only on a few lists of “top of 2013,” I was shocked and even a little disappointed. Being the big Sodom fan that I am, (in my top 3 bands, ever) I wasn't expecting massive, all engorging bellowing of support for the new album. But hell, I even saw Evile's Skull on more lists!

Alas, if i'm to be the one guy going nay against the masses, I guess this is it. For me, Sodom's Epitome of Torture was not only a great album, but one that saw the Gelsenkirchen trio step into refreshing and interesting territory. Now, as a fan, when I first received those ominous declerations by Tomas “Angelripper “ Such (vocals/bass) that the album will be much more melodic, my mind started racing (you can spot that same fear in my Watain review.) What does this mean? Are they going to try to sound like Metallica? Are they going to make a (yes it wasn't out at the time, sue me) Super Collider-esque Sodom album? Then I reassured myself by listening to their previous albums, and my heart was given some comfort. They simply couldn't go in the Megadeth direction, Angelripper's voice simply wouldn't be able to handle it.

Luckily, Sodom took the meaning of melody in an entire different direction. Rather than make the whole album more melodic as a whole, and kind of tone their direction that way, they simply made the songs snappier and more memorable. This can already be seen in the opener for the album, “My Final Bullet.” A happy song about suicide on the battlefield (not the game.) Basically, the song itself is a Thrash stomper, but rather than slow down at the chorus for a “melodic chorus” of some sort, they simply keep going into a super catchy hook of sorts, with this riff that keeps momentum but lets Angelripper's vocals sink in.



In the last few Sodom albums, you could see that they were trying to find a clever way to integrate a less primal level of musicality to their music. With songs like “The Art of Killing Poetry” standing as particular milestones in the way, they found a way to do it organically, genuinely and most of all, to not compromise any sort of headbangability (bam, Webster dictionary will owe me compensations for new words) along the way. But again, during the album, there are points that are melodic, but they are not the main event, and are not the majority of the album.

The following song, S.O.D.O.M, and Epitome of Torture are a masterclass in what Sodom is known for doing best. The uncompromising Thrash Sodom is so world renowned for returns in these two, and doesn't let off the gas for a minute. S.O.D.O.M (no, they didn't actually come up for words for the acronym) being the faster of the two tracks, is kind of the headline that is supposed to tell the listener that they haven't in any way, shape, or form deviated from course. Meanwhile, the title track, Epitome of Torture (fun fact, Epitome is pronounced as epi-to-my, which Angelripper mispronounces on the album as epi-tome) shows off Sodom's groovier capabilities. Don't get me wrong, this is still faster than your daddy's car, but the chorus kind of drops into this groovy midsection that bulldozes through the way.

The album goes then into the songs Stigmatized and Cannibal. Which much like the two opening tracks, show the two parts of this album intertwined. If you made the recording on Stigmatized shittier, and put Angelripper's balls back up when they were when he was a teenager, it could have easily been on earlier Sodom albums. Again, not in a bad way,but in a way that shows them cruising from power to power, much like Slayer being both melodic and powerful on Seasons of the Abyss. Meanwhile Cannibal is easily one of the more melodic songs on the album, with both a melodic opening and bridges, while never ditching the upper mid-tempo.

Well, it's been a quick ride but we're already on the second part of the album! Insert here the first promotional track released by Nuclear Blast off the album, Shoot Today, Kill Tomorrow. I don't know whether I grinded it out of proportion or it's just not as incredibly strong as the other tracks on the album, but it's probably my least favorite track on the album. Don't get me wrong, it's not a shitty song in any which way, it's just the only song on the album that you could really catalog as “ok, another Sodom song.” Not bad, not medium, not amazing, just another Sodom song. Like pizza, even if it's not the best one you ever ate, it's still pizza, and that’s already better than many other foods.

Then the album proceeds to cascade into the second part of the album, which is my favorite one. After a strong first half that finished off with Shoot Today, Kill Tomorrow, comes an even stronger second half which really blew winds in my Sodom boat's sails (yes, I have a Sodom boat.) Invocating the Demons is less war focused, and is alongside Into The Skies of War, harkening to Angelripper's statements and the organic melodic vibe on this album. It took a little bit of Kreator's antics on Phantom Antichrist, yet it didn't inject the whole dose of NWOBHM into their veins (feel free to see this as a Tapping the Vein reference,) only half.

Katjuscha, the song that followed is, alongside Into The Skies of War, one of my two favorite tracks on the album. The subject matter of the song and the grittiness with which it is portrayed is a part of what I really like about Sodom classics such as Agent Orange and Nuclear Winter. While it is not as melodic as the latter, the immortal chorus of “Katjuscha, clawing at the eyes of god!” simply hit that same spot in my heart that movies like Full Metal Jacket do. Which is the absolute opposite spot which Into The Skies of War touches. Probably the most melodic track on the album, is a really epic headbanger that reminds you of those less realistic and more grand in scale war movies where you see fiery projectiles dashing through the skies and onto the poor opposing army. If we are to continue the metaphor, the awesome guitar melodies and riffage laid down by none other than trusty guitarist Bernd “Bernemann” Kost, alongside the vocals of Angelripper, gives the same sensation as does the Flight of the Valkyries scene in Apocalypse Now. Vietnam references with Sodom, now 11 albums after Agent Orange (well to be fair, only 4 after M-16.)

Well, closer, Tracing the Victim seems to start very melodically and slow paced, it climbs into a stomping beast, and a fitting end to this album. I imagine it as somewhat the credit song of the album, has a little bit of everything without making it an 11 minute fuck fest of “lets play every shtick we know.” This track is by no means the raw brutality of S.O.D.O.M or Stigmatized, but has a little bit of everything to close this album.

In all and all, I greatly enjoyed the new Sodom offering. Maybe i'm just a sucker for them, maybe I picked a tack in it that others have not, or maybe it was just largely under the radar as they're smaller in the the USA than their counterparts. Who knows, but what I do know as that i'm already rooting for the next album, while confidently saying that since April 2013, this mother fucker has not left my regular play list. Well, you could look to your left for the score...but I bet you already know it by this review and the fact it's in my top 3 of this year.

Extremely Aggresive, Violently Revolutionary, and Terribly Certain- an Interview with Mille Petrozza of Kreator

Mille Petrozza of Kreator

When producer and Raven Metal personnel Yishai Sweartz told me I’d get the chance to interview Kreator frontman, and lets face it, Metal legend Mille Petrozza I didn’t even know how to react. I mean how does someone stomach that? I mean, how does that even begin? How do you start a conversation with a childhood idol? “Oh hi Mille, I have heard all of your CDs, saw you guys three times live and saw all your DVDs, your music got me through really tough shit, by the way my name is Ben, what’s up?” Obviously first comes the happiness, the honor and the verbal agreement, “it’d be an honor” I said whole-heartedly. But then, comes a daunting task. How do you interview such a man as Mille Petrozza? Longstanding Thrash hero that penned albums such as Pleasure to Kill, Violent Revolution, and Extreme Aggressions, an open minded and highly opinionated, individual with more than double the history and story of most common bands, daunting? Daunting doesn’t begin to cover it. But alas, this Friday (2/11/12), following the release of the wonderful “Phantom Antichrist”, and right before “the Kreator” returns to Israel, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with none other but personal hero, Mille Petrozza.






B- (Ben Astrachan, Metalist)
M.P- Mille Petrozza, Kreator

B- Hello Mille, how are you? Where are you on the globe?

M.P- Umm, I’m ok. We just played first show yesterday of the tour. Yeah, I’m in my hotel room, relaxing.


B- I know that right now, you’re touring with other heavyweights, Morbid Angel, Nile and Fueled by Fire, how’s that tour going?


M.P- It’s a nice line up, a great combination of bands. Every band stands for its own part of the history of Metal. Most, all of the bands on the bill, except for FBF, mean something in the scene. Some of them even have legendary status so it’s great.

B- Also, around 5 months back you released the new opus- Phantom Antichrist, how do you feel about it so far?


M.P- To me it’s, a great album. I like it a lot and I think my fans like it as well, which is the most important thing to us. We play the songs live and the reaction is just as good if not better. I know a lot of bands when they play live a lot of people wanna hear the old songs. For us it’s the same but they also wanna hear the new songs, which is a testament to their quality.

B- What do you feel makes it different from say, Hordes of Chaos? What new ground you feel you’ve treaded?


I think it’s an extension of what we’ve done in the past, especially in the last 10 years with Violent Revolution. It’s a very nice next step for us, we tried some new stuff, some more melodic stuff, some heavy stuff, some really fast stuff. Full on Kreator treatment. Anyone who picks it up, if its their first Kreator album, can get an idea of what we’re about. That’s how I would put it.

B- As a band which inspired generations of Thrashers, how do you keep innovating?


M.P- its important to not let it get to your head that your inspirations. It’s hard work man. I’m a musician and I think I take my craft very serious. What we do inspired many but we are inspired by many as well . We always keep track of what happens in the metal world, we love checking out new bands and being inspired by others. I really enjoy being a part of this whole world of music and I’m happy I’m still able to create something that matters. It means a lot to other people. As long as you can stay focused and do whatever you love , it helps. If you can focus on the music rather than on the ego or party factor. A lot of bands are shooting themselves in the knee that way. It’s mainly about the music in my opinion.

B- also, Kreator is on the verge of releasing a new video for Civilization Collapse, how do you feel about it? what is it about? I heard your using the archives of this Greek photographer, Lolos, can you tell me about him?


M.P- Yes, that guy is the photographer. He got into trouble for being in the wrong place, he was pissing people off for taking pictures during the riots . It perfectly fit the theme for civilization collapse. He was nice enough to let us use his archive, so its gonna be a combination of visuals and the music, and we tried to make it look like those two elements come together. We think it fits and maybe supports the meaning of the lyrics and the meaning of the song. I’m really, very very curios as to how it’s gonna look like, as I haven’t seen it yet.

B- hehe, so it’s almost like a baby, what’s it going to be like?



M.P- haha, yes. What’s it going to come out like? But I have faith in the director, its in his hands.



B. Do you think the Civilization Collapse is imminent? Do you think it’ll pass all through Europe?


M.P - That’s a tough one, In general, I mean to answer this question would take longer than the time frame that we have, so I’ll try to sum it up. In my opinion, capitalism is at its ends. We have to come up with a different concept, its just one of the things that happens in the future, its one of the things that has to happen. There’s nothing to stop it. I don’t have a solution or a clue know what’s next, I don’t think were on the verge of that something yet. I personally believe that, (pauses) I’m a big star trek fan. I believe in the future there’ll be no more money, that the human race has to find a new way of making that happen, the whole concept of funds. The world would be a better place if we could come up with a different concept. A different structure of how to deal with things, how to exchange culture, exchange goods. The capitalistic system has failed in my opinion.



B- The title track from, at least how I interpreted it, is about the blood shed in the Middle East and religion in politics, but what would you say are the strongest lyrical topics and themes in this album?


M.P- I think it’s basically, the lyrics that I write are mostly a reflection of what I think about when I watch or read the news, or go on the internet do some research. I think people tend to think Kreator is a political band, but I don’t think so. I think we are just writing about things in the world that are not right. In my book, the government is supposed to take care of its people. Yet the governments take advantage of their people rather than help this the injustice of the world, the problems that people on the streets have matter a lot more to us than people would think. That’s a big force of inspiration, source of our lyrics and try to read between the lines rather than accepting whats fed to you by the mass media. Phantom Antichrist’s lyrics talk a lot about- just be critical, be aware, that not everything you read on the news and the internet is true. There are many sides of the coin and many different ways of seeing things. Basically, as on any album of Kreator, use your own mind and own brain, take your life in your own hands.

B- take your life in your own hands, kill yourself hahaha

M.P- some people should hehehe


B- I also know you recently had a costume guitar made by Jackson?

M.P- I was working with Jackson for ages and always had, always bought Jackson guitars, and they were like endorsing me since 2005, and I was like “ you gotta give me a model”. Every time another artist got one I was like “where’s mine?” then it finally happened. My concept was to bring a model for people who are starting, who can’t afford a very expensive guitar, people who in my opinion can buy one of their first guitars yet can play it all their lives. Has all the fatures to play a live show as well. If you wanna play Metal it’s a guitar to get. Not just because its my signature model, but I play it live. I don’t play one of the American costum shops live, the model that you get when buy this one. Of course I got a few costumes at home…

B- what inspires you to write a riff or ylrics?


M.P- Anything from literature to movie to art, to conversation to whatever. There’s no filter, I use everything for lyrics, everything for music. All sorts of music also, not only Metal, I listen to all kinds of music, I take inspirations from all sources. Its hard to define how creativity is actually coming into play, it’s a long process where you have to get into the right mode and start writing. You have to come up with something cool. The only filter is if I like it, when we demo, I take it into my car and live with it for a little bit, let it play in the background. And if I get into it, then it would work. If I like it than other people can like it as well and if not just throw it away.





B- Speaking of lyrical topics, I know you’re very outspoken both in your antifascist beliefs and your animal rights beliefs. How have you encountered fascism? What brought it and made you so passionate about it’s hatred?



M.P- Just, I donno man. It’s common sense to me, I don’t wanna make it a big issue or a big deal. Any thinking individual should be anti racism/fascism to me. Two things that I hate are organized religion and fascism, and or racism. But its beyond my understanding of living life as a human being, I know some people have personal issues and that’s why they believe in that stuff. They should see a psychiatrist in my opinion, but then again tis a global thing, it’s a global phenomenon. It’s a part of being human, which to me in the year 2012 shouldn’t exist. But that’s being too optimistic; I’m too realistic so I know that it’s not going to happen. .


B- and what about Veganism? How did that come about? how long have you been a Vegan?

M.P- 4 years or so, though I was a vegetarian for a long time before that. It’s a personal choice, I just feel better. You know, to me it’s - I I have to stay healthy on the road. Being vegan helps a lot. Animal cruelty also has a lot to do with it, in 2012 these things should not happen. It’s just my personal belief, not everyone has to agree with it. On the other hand, anyone who wants to get into it, feel free to ask. Otherwise do whatever your happy with. I chose just for me, it’s a personal choice and makes me feel energetic for my touring, my life in general and to focus and keep sane. It’s a part of my overall life style. There’s a lot of info in the Internet.


B- I appreciate the fact you don’t push it on people, a lot of other bands tend to do that

M.P- no no no, it should be your own choice. You should do whatever you feel like and whatever your happy with.



B- But now, lets go a bit to the origins of Kreator. I know you guys formed in Essen which was in West Germany, what were the early days of the band like ?

M.P- “Early,” I guess. Looking back at these things it’s hard, to remember its been a while. Been very chaotic, very young, we were teenagers when we started. People tend to ask me about the early days, it was more chaotic, more disorganized, less professional. That’s what a lot of people like you know, when you start out, the energy you create- trying new things, trying out just being a band, sometimes it gets the best results and best music, by bands who just start. When you look back at the Kreator catalogue, the first 5 albums are very important for others. Looking back now, I I can’t imagine how we did 5 albums in 5 years now a days. I guess it’s a part of the history of Kreator. Its great.

B- what was the scene like at the time? Was Kreator central to it?


M.P- I remember Tape trading as there was no internet, there was no such thing as a global network of people. The scene had to be organized, you had to make an effort, actually send something to a pen pal, to send a new demo tape, to receive something from undergrounds bands in the U.S, or from Brazil. We were a part of that scene. We were so happy when we got a record deal, so we could stop sending our music from the post office every time

B- I can just imagine young Kreator packing and licking stamps


M.P- (laughs) All the bands were doing it though



B- what was it like to play East Berlin, to be the first proper Metal Band to play there?


M.P- Umm, that was to us- looking back- was a historical experience. At the time it didn’t feel like it, it was something special. But it’s been a huge concert, many people of the eastern part of Germany got to see their metal show ever. There was a certain excitement in the air, historical excitements The only reason they couldn’t see a show from the west is because of their political systems . It was the music that got people together at the time.

B- I can only imagine, a crowd that has never seen a Metal gig ever. You know how they say a starved crowd is the best crowd

M.P - The crowd there showed there was definitely some truth to that. If you get to see a concert every week it gets boring, more of the same kind of. Not only the east Berlin show, any place you go to for the first time when people don’t get to see that many bands. You can also have that in other places, where there are many bands. It’s about delivering it.. We try to make the crowd enjoy the show, and there’s like an energy exchange, and everyone gets to leave the hall happy

MB- Also, here comes question that’s more overused than cocaine in Lindsy Lohan’s apartment, what happened around the time of Renewal and Cause For Conflict?


M.P - I think it was just times, the band was kind of burnt out. We shouldn’t have released records at all at the time I think. Record companies tried to get records from us. I like those albums, don’t get me wrong, but I think we needed a break, we were fighting because we wanted to have a break for 2 years between Coma to Renewal. Before that we had to release 5 albums in 5 years, it was obvious we ran out of ideas and we wanted to come up with something new and fresh, I think you have some great songs but they could be better. It was just what we wanted to do at the time, its how we felt at the time. When you hear a Kreator record it’s a reflection of the times it came out.

B- a certain reflection of how you felt…

M.P - A certain feel, we got tired of always being labeled the most brutal band in the world, but then we wanted to be that again. Its what were strongest at, its what were best at, it was necessary for us to get away from extreme metal for a while, to come back even stronger. Its how I see it if I listen to the albums from Violent Revolution onwards, those are the best ones in my opinion. In the end of the day it made sense.



B- So, lets delve a bit into the particular gig here! Yishai has been posting pictures from your gigs here along the ages on Facebook, what do you remember about your shows here in Israel? Any good stories?


M.P- All the shows we played in Israel were great, we even did a mini tour the first time we came, we played. Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv. I think that’s very rare that bands do that, we also shot a video for Renewal in the desert, so we have great memories, and we love coming there, its always very intense and brutal audience, its good.

B- In addition, I know you did guest work on his album with Nail Within, how do you feel about that? What brought it on? Must’ve been very different than working with Kreator

M.P- Yishai asked me to do it, we did it with Tompa from ATG, it was one of those obscure little things that I didn’t know how it’d come out. It’s definitely one of my guest appearances. Many of those I’ve done in the past, some of those are ok, but that one sticks to me

B- what’s in the nearby future for Kreator?


M.P- First off we will do a lot of touring, and that’s basically it, second I donno we’ll see. We don’t plan ahead for too long, we’re scheduling a lot of festivals for next year, we’ll be busy.




B- so! I know this was a rigorous interview, very all encompassing and long, I thank you very much for being patient and being a sport . Any last words to the Israelli crowds before the show?


M.P- We’re looking forwards, were definitely are. Be there, and we’ll have like a night of intense Thrash and extreme Metal.


B- Will the ambulances be waiting outside?

M.P- Yeah, hopefully

Maveth- Coils of the Black Earth Review

Maveth - Coils of the Black Earth

Band- Maveth
Album- Coils of the Black Earth
Origin- Helsinki, Finland
Mark- 4/5
Label- Dark Descent Records









I sure hope this gets posted after my Sorcery “Arrival At 6” review because this can be the ying to it’s yang. The good to it’s bad. The old Metallica to it’s new. Well, but where are my manners? First let me speak of what we’re dealing with here. Remember the time Finland was crucial to Death Metal? Me neither, but Finland was one of those countries that when Death Metal came out of it, it kicked your ass back to second grade, wherein your priest molested your ass back into your mom’s womb. From Demigod, to Demilich to Abhorrence, while not as popular as their Swedish counterpart , they always offered a unique and innovative listening experience. But now fast forward 20 years, and what’s new and brewing within Finland? Well, much, but it certainly has not become the Death Metal mainstay that is Sweden. While a Metal capital for all things such as Folk Metal (ala Korpiklaani, Turisas, Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Ensiferum, and every other band that can hold a myriad of acoustic instruments) , Black Metal (ala Behexen, Impaled Nazarene, Horna, Sargeist, Archgoat and any other band who can’t afford proper amps/guitars/heating system) and of course, probably their biggest export, Melodic Death/Power Metal ( Children of Bodom, Norther, Wintersun and any other bands who’s guitarist can shred and wail at the same time.)

But oddly enough, this gem of a Blackened Death Metal band comes from Finland. Who are our brave troubadours? None other than the Hebrew named Maveth! (because fuck yeah adding an H to Hebrew words makes perfect sense! Just ask Katatonia…Elohim Crystal Meth) While I disagree with the odd Scandinavian way of adding h’s to Hebrew words (ala Meshuggah, Elohim Meth, ETC ETC,) this band takes rough, ugly, dirty (no, I’m not listing adjectives regarding Devon Townsend’s visage) and uncompromising BDM and does it right. If Arrival At 6 brought nothing new to the table, Coils of the Black Earth does everything to both be oldschool and refreshing at the same time. Right off from the samples of rain on “The Devourer Within The Gulf” (Saddam Hussein-Ben) one can see the beginning of the V’s on his Metal checklist . Dark? Yes, moody? Fuck yes, Evil? To quote Nergal, “blacker than the devil’s ass” and we’re only on the first song. What I like about this band is that their versatile. The band manages to install their grim, vicious brand of DM both on the slower mammoth like tracks, or the fast blastbeaty ones such as the aforementioned opener.

Hymn To Azazel is a mix of both. Mostly sticking to the super fast core of this album, by this track you can somewhat feel the line the band draws between Black and Death Metal. How so? Secret, nananana, you can’t make me tell. No but, you can notice the DM styling via the distortion and drumming which is very reminiscent of oldschool Euro Death with some very Taake/Marduk esque riffs and screechy guitars , with the Slayer a-melodic solos throw in. Sounds familiar? Of course, but Maveth again, gives it there own twist. In the modern world of oldschool DM where pretty much everything has been tried (or declared poser ;) ) it’s refreshing to see band with a taste. This is why, at least I think, bands like Maveth and Necrowretch, who are on their first release, garner so much success.

Remember how I mentioned slower hulking tracks? The first of these is Hymn To The Black Matron (black matron…Oprah Winfrey?) it’s a slow track, with those churning blastbeats and guitars that smell of evil. It gets faster at times, but it really somewhat reminds me of a more evil, a bit more Swedish, lower tone Asphyx slow track. And hey ho we’re in the last 4 tracks!

Stating Eritcho is of the more melodic tracks on the album, while nothing to gawk at and yell Metalcore, the guitar line is memorable and the vocal patterns are reminiscent of Nile/Behemoth to me. It is also one of my favorite tracks on the album, so you know it’s quality (I am the say all and end all, the alpha and the omega.) Before the last two parter track of the album, there’s a quote that goes “dream, dream so the day may come” (major Barack Obama points to you there) that then kicks into the Blackened Death Doomy goodness of this track. Definitely the slowest track on this album, the power of the bands American vocalist “Christbutcher” (couldn’t find his real name anywhere.) While he supplies good vocals all along the album, his Ross Dolan (Immolation) esque vocals really shine on this one. The album ends on a two parter named Terminus( no, not Where Death is Most Alive.) So they basically took my “oh my fucking god burn it with fire” hatred for “throwing all our tricks at one song and making it super long” and took it to a wholeeee new level. But by doing this, it feels like two more normal tracks. Which are a fitting close to this album. Grim, uncompromising , and gritty as the rest of it.

Burn the cats and draw the pentagrams, it’s one of those kind of nights.  

Behemoth - The Satanist Review

Vinyl Cover of Behemoth's new opus, The Satanist 

Band- Behemoth
Album- The Satanist
Origin- Gdansk, Poland
Score 10/10



For the sake of full transparency, i'll get this off my chest right off the bat- Behemoth is my favorite band. I think that ever since my taste in music really reached the point where it became solidified, and I became invested in the world of Metal, Behemoth began speaking to me. The sense of real grandeur, the heaviness, and the fact that everything the guitar tone, to Inferno's monstrous blastbeats and Nergal's vocals sat perfectly with me through pretty much every release, gave these Polish monsters the status of crown jewel in my musical pantheon.

Yet, there was always a concern. You see, Behemoth are not the type of band which is comfortable with settling. Every release sounds different, at least slightly from its predecessor. From the Pagan/Black Metal style of Sventieth (Storming Near The Baltic) and Grom (which means Thunderclap in Polish,) to the unpolished Blackened Death style of Pandemonic Incantations and Satanica, to their steady upwards slope in Death Metal through Thelema 6 (my personal favorite) to Evangelion. This is not a band which is comfortable staying in one spot. Now, while this is one of the main reasons I love them, it is also always a risk. I have faith in the lads, and much security in their ability to keep evolving well, you never know. For every Enslaved, Amorphis and Watain, or bands who made transitions successfully, there are about 3 Morbid Angels gone trance, Satyricons gone Black N' Roll and Opeths gone Progressive Rock.

So of course, when it came to my attention that my nearest and dearest were having a new album, so soon after Nergal, thank Satan, won his battle with Leukemia, I was both incredibly happy, and incredibly afraid. Especially when Nergal kept throwing around words like “innovative” and “sincere.” Usually when artists start saying that i'm afraid they're going to go on to make a heart breaking and frankly uninteresting record that capitalizes on the “we're trying to be interesting” rather than actually being interesting through the music. Yet, being a believer, I kept my faith in Nergal. The man who brought me Demigod and Thelema 6 deserves some kind of trust, so trusted him I did. So the months went by, promotional images and materials were released , and come December 7^th, there it fucking was.

The first single and video which opens the album, Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel. Of course, first came the video from them preforming it in Brutal Assault (a Metal festival in the Czech Republic,) there it already sounded good, but damn it, I needed to hear it properly! So, with trepidation, and a heart beat reaching the 200's pretty easily, feeling like my bullets were trying to shoot out of my chest, I clicked on the link to the video on YouTube. Thinking to myself “ this better be good.” Slowly, the songs starts into a mammoth of an opener. The stomping, burgeoning riffs sounded like the gates of a sinister temple opening, with Inferno's drum beat sounding like a beat to this mesmerizing trance. With Nergal supplying the text for this ritual, it became abundantly clear. Behemoth are back, baby.

Fast forward two months of me tapping my table and looking at the calendar like an anxious idiot, the day finally came. February 4^th was a cold, snowy day in New York City (where I was at the time,) and while I knew of the what was happening that day, I initially didn't plan to take place. My resolve was “yeah, I have this and that editions waiting for me at home, I'll just wait. I don't have to get it at launch.” Now that held pretty nicely, but a thought occurred to me “wellllll, I might as well pop into a Best Buy to take a look at it.” Popped in I have, and my resolve last around 4.5 second with the CD in my hand. 10$ are not worth the pain of being in NYC for two weeks and not knowing what this fucker sounds like until after everybody else has.

So, after two months of hearing Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel (and Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, but that doesn't fit the order of this review so we'll talk about it later,) I was finally treated to the track which follows that grand entrance into The Satanist's pandemonium. Furor Divinus does justice to its name (Divine Fury) as Nergal sounds enormously angry, as if he was enraged by his time away. The track breaks forward full speed, and begins to shed light on the differences between this album and the few before it. This album, to me, rather than being the per-ordained evolution from Evangelion, is actually closer to a more perfect vision of Satanica. An intelligent, Blackened Death release that is organically mastered and cooked to the point of perfection.

Yet, I feel that the biggest achievement Behemoth have made with this album, disregarding the circumstances which were not easy, is that it is enormously varied. For example, passing onto the third track Messe Noire (French for Black Mass,) you can already see the dynamic of the album. A mid-paced to slow track, with the vocals sounding like a sermon on the street of a Black Plague infested Europe. The tracks open with the line “I believe in Satan!” and the slow guitars laid down behind the vocals somewhat support a “sick” or “plagued” atmosphere. Messe Noire and it's following track, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer are a show of the exact beauty in the duality of this release. While Messe Noire is one of the least catchy and hardest to digest tracks on the album, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer is the exact opposite. Easy to digest, beautifully quick and with a unique rhythm, it is absolutely no wonder that this song was picked as the second single from the album. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer (or, in translation, Prey For Us Lucifer,) starts off sounding almost a bit like Chant of Ezkaton without the the melodic over-layering, but the sound and the drum beat make all the difference. Inferno keeps this really cool and irregular tempo throughout the whole song that actually gave this song the majority of it's personality. Then of course is the epic slow down. Around midway through the song, Orion does this groovy bass bend and Inferno sticks his drum just once as Nergal kicks into a crushing part near the end. Invoking nearly any demon you can think about, the lyrics end with another phrase that stuck with me from this album “the black sun will never set, because it never rose.”

Reaching now into the middle of the album (5^th track out of 9), is the track Amen. Amen is kind of a touch back with newer Behemoth and I actually thought that it purveyed a strong point of brutality that I really enjoyed. In all and all, it is one of the angriest, shortest and heaviest tracks on the album, with lyrics that would turn a nun into a prostitute and a prostitute into Cee Lo Greene. This track kind of takes the other newer Behemoths into the Satanist's era. The Satanist's title track closes what to me is the first part of the album. An epic if softer track, it shows one of the many new “shades of Behemoth” so to speak. For me, the Satanist, alongside with the closing track, O Father, O Satan, O Sun, shows Behemoth bringing a new instrument into making their pieces sound larger life. They do so by making big sounding yet gritty pieces. That are both at once cataclysmic yet relate-able. This is to me is the personification of what Nergal meant by a more personal album. It's not meandering, it's not full of coded messages or lyrics that you have to watch interviews to understand, but rather, it takes some of the earlier philosophy of Behemoth and applies them to a much more personal basis. It is a manifesto in that it applies to people and individuals rather than to specific topics like earlier topics taken up by the band. The album then continues to Ben Sahar (a track title that has my name in it? Supreme points!,) a mid paced romp that most closely is linked on the album with Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer. Fun, and like the track I paired it up with, beautifully headbangable to the point of breaking several joints in your neck. I also think the usage of choirs near the end was an enhancing touch, and unlike when many other bands use it, was done with a great sense of elegance that doesn't feel exaggerated. .



A moment before the end, a breath before the last track of the album I waited a whole 6 years for, comes my favorite track of the album, In The Absence Ov Light. A barrage of The Satanist era heaviness opens this mammoth of a track with a blast, and Nergal wastes no time growling his decayed and grim heart out within moments. This track, like most of the album, is a contradiction. While (alongside Amen,) it contains without a doubt some of the fastest and most brutal riffing and drumming of the album, it also contains a curious and almost Shining-esque acoustic part mid song that changes the whole atmosphere. From a furious attack , the song mellows out almost entirely into the acoustic guitars, with a saxophone accompanying Nergal reading a spoken word speech of sorts in Polish. When the speech reaches it's end, the song takes a split second of a breath before kicking right back into high gear to close off the strongest and for me, one of the most memorable Behemoth songs of recent memory. It absolutely cracked my top ten Behemoth song list of all time, and that list has only been cracked by two The Satanist tracks ( alongside Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer.) Here we are, at the last track. So far, not only Behemoth fulfilled my expectations for their comeback, but they have far exceeded expectations. But now come the last check on the list, the cherry on the icing on the cake, will the last track be great? Will it leave a taste for more? Will it suffer from a “longest track on the album, lets put everything together incoherently” syndrome?

Yes, yes, and obviously, no. O Father, O Satan, O Sun, the closing song, is Behemoth's equivalent of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir (or Immortal's Tyrants, take your pick.) A track that you'd imagine was played in a movie as the camera zooms out onto the sprawling wastelands while the army marches. The track sounds like what you'd imagine describes a conflict, yet the lyrics take that conflict into an internal spot rather than an external spot. On no track on the album, or matter of fact, in Behemoth's career, has the the representation of Satan's philosophical importance in their music been any clearer. An incomplete deity, a deity which is perfect in its imperfection, the Satan described in O Father, O Satan, O Sun represents human rebellion, represents humanities' conflict internal conflicts to develop and seek enlightenment. An allegorical champion for the duality of existence, to show that divine and complete perfection is but an invention used to limit the mind as to stop it from understanding it's own ability to grow in an imperfect state.


As you might've guessed at this point, I believe The Satanist was not only worth the nail-biting 6 years wait, but then some. For 6 years I didn't know what was going to happen, from the band facing the danger of losing it's leader, and to be honest its essence to disease, to the general doubts one has before his favorite band releases a new album, not to mention a comeback album. 6 years later, I realize that it's moments like these, when I can smile such victories rather than sigh a relief, when I got not only the joy of it scratching by and being decent, but the roaring thunder of it being an absolutely excellent release that marks a new chapter in the history of my favorite band, is why i'm so deeply attached to music in the first place. While there's the sadness of failure and the moments of disappointment, the happiness and emotional relevance of seeing the music that you love prevail, is legitimately a feeling which is hard to match.