Week Of Evil Day 5: Behemoth - Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer

Band:  Behemoth
Song:  Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Album:  The Satanist (2014)
Genre:  Blackened Death Metal

Honestly, I love quotable people who commit to their art.  If the frontman of Behemoth, Nergal, is anything, he is quotable.  Other than getting me in some trouble with people who need to mind their own business, the man has done a pile of interesting things.  Unlike Watain who actually spray pigs blood on people as their shows go on, Behemoth takes a more artistic step.

Full costume is one thing they manage to do well.  While corpse paint is a very traditional move in the Black Metal community, other things are not so much.  Robes, face paint, and stage names?  Good deal Behemoth.

Then there's the stage show.  While they may not have crucified people on stage like Gorgoroth, and they don't douse the crowd with blood, they have ripped up a bible on stage while on stage in Poland while calling the catholic church "The most murderous cult on the planet".  So yeah, not too cool, eh?

Firstly, I wanna point out that this is a free speech thing.  I feel it was in poor taste, but I don't feel it should have hit courts like it did.  That's just me though, feel free to hold your own opinion.

But yeah, that's the tip of the iceberg for our good buddy Nergal.  Outside of saying things like "Satan is the only important thing in my life (paraphrased)" and other such things, he's actually a cancer survivor as well.  You know how some people get cured from some horrific disease and they find faith or something?  Well Nergal doesn't seem to feel that way.

"Satanism is about life and liberation and love for freedom. I have Satan in me, flowing through my veins and through my music." - Nergal

Enough of me making assumptions about people's personal life, let's stick to the music.

Behemoth started out as a heavily pagan metal band.  That was their thing, and honestly I don't really care for the sound of their old music.  Thing is though, they switched over to a satanic theme and I can't be sure that they didn't switch it up because of money.  Satan is huge in Metal, not so much general paganism.

I dunno, maybe I'm off there too.  Regardless, they talk a good game, so I hope you dig the song.  The title is Latin for "Pray For Us Lucifer", cause everything is more evil if you say it in Latin.

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Title Track Tuesdays: Behemoth - The Satanist

Band:  Behemoth
Genre:  Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal
Content:  Some Blasphemy.  Ya know.

I wasn't originally going to kick off my nre Tuesday idea with something like this, but dude, it's post 666.  I've been waiting for this post to swing around for almost two years and I almost missed it like a putz.

So I'll give a quick run down of the concept here.  I'm going to post a song on Tuesdays that was the title track of an album.  It stands to reason that if you've got a track that you're naming after the album (or vise versa) that it's gonna be really good.  I'm going to judge that.  I will give you my opinion on whether it actually measures up to the hype I've assigned it or not.  It's gonna be a blast.

Ok, Behemoth.

I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but these guys were detained in Russia a few months back for being "too evil".  Like, their Russian tour was canceled due to this and they were detained by the authorities.

So this is their most recent album, The Satanist.  It had a lot of hype going into it because the vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the band, Nergal, was diagnosed with leukemia.  It was really up in the air whether the band would actually continue because of this.  Well he apparently got better, because they're touring again.

So let's compare this track to the rest of the album.  I personally think it represents it quite well.  They didn't try to make in a contemplative track that stands at odds with the rest of the album, they didn't try to make it the intro to the album, they just let it be it's own song.  If you were to pick this song to try and figure out what the album sounds like, it's honestly a good bet.  I can't honestly recommend listening to the band because they're a little iffy, but my personal opinion is that this song represents the album and, just as importantly, conveys the message of the album.

Boom, first TTT done and knocked out.  Enjoy!

Behemoth - Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel

Now I'm gonna throw this out there.  This is a horrible song.  This is dark, vulgar, and the video has satanic imagery and mild nudity.  Ok then, here goes.  You have been warned.

Behemoth is the band.  They are considered to be the most evil band out there right now by a good many people, and for good reason.

Forming in 1991, their themes ranged mostly on paganism, though in recent years they have turned toward satanic content (as that is what's "in" right now).

They were also one of the first (or the first) band(s) to be banned from Russia.

The lead singer and guitarist Nergal did almost die of leukemia in 2010, but did manage to make a full recovery though his doctors told him he was beyond healing.  A bone marrow transplant and many other such procedures later, Nergal went home in January of 2011, and by summer was up and going again.

One actually funny thing about the bad is that their corpse paint is just toothpaste.  That is all that the base of it is.  There is some black around the edges as well, but seriously, who is ingenious enough to use toothpaste?  It's literally everywhere too, so it's not like their gonna run out.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I really like the sound these guys have.  They have good solid musical talent and a really good sound.  Still, It's just a little too much for me to take a lot of the time.

On a side note, Nuclear Blast records has some of the best bands I've heard in a while.