Up next is another rewind review and the band that is being put back on the chopping block is Behemoth. Now since the last time I reviewed them, they’ve put out at least one new album and at the time of this review they’re about to release another so with that let’s take a look………
And The Forests Dream Eternally- so I had forgotten that their early works were pretty much straight up black metal. When you listen to their early albums, they’re very atmospheric and a lot of it sounds like it came out of an old horror film set in medieval times. It’s really cool and this is their first EP.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Pure Evil And Hate, Transylvanian Forest
Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)- ok so this one is their first full length and kind of like the EP, it’s very atmospheric and it’s a straight up black metal album. It does have some medieval themes/elements which I would say make it unique compared to most other black metal albums.
Previous Score: 6.5/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Entering the Faustian Soul, Wolves Guard My Coffin, Ancient
Grom- so there’s kind of a lot going on here. For starters, it has some female vocals in the background and aside from the black metal there’s also Viking metal and a little bit of thrashiness. Again this is a lot different than most other black metal bands and you can tell at this point that they were going to at some point go in a different direction.
Previous Score: 9.5/10
New Score: 9.5/10
Standouts: Dragon’s Lair (Cosmic Flames and Four Barbaric Seasons), Rising Proudly Towards the Sky, Spellcraft and Heathendom
Pandemonic Incantations- I feel like this one it’s kind of a placeholder or I guess a transition record would be a better word to describe it. You can tell that they are going away from the black metal sound and going into more of a blackened death metal. Or at least trying to with this album. I would say it’s less of a black metal and less of a blackened death, metal album and more of a straight up death metal record. Either way it’s a really good record and the only way to really listen to it is on YouTube.
Previous Score: 8.5/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: Satans Sword (I Have Become), The Past Is Like A Funeral, With Spell Of Inferno
Satanica- so here we get more into the blackened death metal territory. The tone on this album is freaking badass. You can tell that they just went to 11 on the gain and distortion (could be the way the album was mixed or produced) but I forgot how crushing the guitar tone is on this one. Definitely a great album to revisit and again you gotta stream it on YouTube but definitely worth a listen.
Previous Score: 7.5/10
New Score: 8.5/10
Standouts: Ceremony of Shiva, The Sermon to the Hypocrites, The Alchemist’s Dream
Thelema.6: I feel like this is the start of what would become the “Behemoth sound” for at least the next few albums. Like if you enjoyed the later albums, I’d say that the sound on those started with this one. This also gave us the badass song Christians To The Lions which I consider a classic Behemoth song.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: The Act Of Rebellion, Antichristian Phenomenon, Malice
Zos Kia Cultus- ok so this has one of my favorite Behemoth songs on it that being Horns Ov Baphomet. I mean the intro to it is so damn good! Aside from that, there’s just so many great songs and I really wish they would play songs off this album live. This is more on the death metal side of things but it’s absolutely badass. Definitely one of the more overlooked albums by them.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Horns Ov Baphomet, Modern Iconoclasts, Zos Kia Cultus
Demigod- I feel this is the album that broke them. Like this is the era where I started seeing people wearing their shirts at shows or maybe that’s when I started noticing more I don’t know. Whatever the case may be, this album is another one of their classic albums and there are some medieval elements which kind of remind me of their earlier work. Definitely a classic Behemoth record
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Demigod, Towards Babylon, Sculpting The Throne Ov Seth
Demonica- again this is just a compilation album of songs from the earlier days when they were strictly a black metal band. It’s one of those if you really liked them when they were black metal or are a diehard fan then check this one out otherwise it’s not necessarily an essential listen.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Thy Winter Kingdom, Transylvanian Forest, The Dance Of The Pagan Flames
The Apostasy- so I feel like this one and Demigod can most definitely be listened to back to back. They both are similar yet different at the same time. Not sure how to put it any other way. Again they seem to be on this upward trajectory because this and the albums previously are all great. This is another example of a classic Behemoth album and I feel like this one and the last one are the two that made them big.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Kriegsphilosophie, Be Without Fear, Qadosh
Evangelion- since Demigod, I feel like the production on these albums has been grander. Like they sound epic and just have that wall of sound which makes them all the more badass. This one has that same thing going on but as a whole, it’s maybe not as strong as the last few. Yes it’s a great album but there are some moments that are kind of boring.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 8.5/10
Standouts: Ov Fire And The Void, Daimonos, Alas Lord Is Upon Me
The Satanist: ok so here we go!! This to me is easily their quintessential album! It’s got elements of everything they’ve done up until now. It’s got the blackened death metal stuff as well as the grand production that we’ve had on albums since Thelema. The songs from this live are also great live and this would be a great album to start if you’re just getting into this band. Plus this also has a lot of my favorite Behemoth songs.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, O Father O Satan O Sun, In The Absence Ov Light
I Loved You At Your Darkest: this one has an atmospheric tone to it and it kinda reminds me of the first couple albums except the production is better and it’s not a full on black metal record. I remember I didn’t enjoy it as much when I first heard it but now it’s kinda grown on me more. Definitely glad to have given it another chance.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica, Sabbath Mater, Rom 5:8
Opvs Contra Natvram- so if you take the last two albums and mash them together, this probably would be the end result. Overall, I found this one to be ok. I think I would prefer other Behemoth albums but this one is a damn fine entry in their catalog. I’ll give this one 8/10
Standouts: Once Upon A Pale Horse, The Deathless Sun, Disinheritance
The Shit Ov God- ok so on this day May 9th 2025, this review is being written on the day OV its release. I gotta say first impressions, if you like albums like The Satanist or Evangelion, then you’ll like this one. I enjoyed it a lot and it just proves that 13 albums in and these guys still have it. Definitely a great release for this year and for Behemoth. I’ll give it 9/10
Standouts: Nomen Barbarvm, The Shadow Elite, Avgvr (The Dread Vvltvre)
This is definitely one of those bands that after being around for as long as they have can still put out badass albums and this new album definitely proves it. At first they were a black metal band and that genre can get tired but even those albums are great and aren’t like every other black metal album. Also if you’ve never seen them live definitely do so they are amazing live and one of the best live bands.
Final Grade: A+
Previous Album Rankings:
- The Satanist
- The Apostasy
- Demigod
- Zos Kia Cultus
- Grom
- Pandemonic Incantations
- Thelema 6
- Satanica
- Evangelion
- Demonica
- Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic)
- And The Forests Dream Eternally
- I Loved You At Your Darkest
New Album Rankings:
- The Satanist
- Demigod
- Zos Kias Cultus
- The Apostasy
- Grom
- Thelema.6
- The Shit Ov God
- Pandemonic Incantations
- Satanica
- Evangelion
- Demonica
- Opvs Contra Natvram
- Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)
- And The Forests Dream Eternally
- I Loved You At Your Darkest
Sinister Reviews 