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Behemoth - Demigod review



Reviewer:
8.4

972 users:
8.49
Band: Behemoth
Album: Demigod
Release date: October 2004


Disc I
01. Sculpting The Throne Ov Seth
02. Demigod
03. Conquer All
04. The Nephilim Rising
05. Towards Babylon
06. Before The Æons Came
07. Mysterium Coniunctionis (Hermanubis)
08. XUL
09. Slaves Shall Serve
10. The Reign Ov Shemsu-Hor

Disc II [DVD] [2010 limited edition bonus]
[Live in Leeuwarden, Holland 10.12.2007]
01. Slaying The Prophets Ov Isa
02. Antichristian Phenomenon
03. Demigod
04. From The Pagan Vestlands
05. Prometherion
06. Conquer All
07. Christgrinding Avenue
08. As Above So Below
09. Decade Ov Therion
10. Chant For Ezkaton 2000
11. I Got Erection

Oh Demigod why do I have so many conflicting opinions on you?

It is a good album; it catapulted Behemoth into the superstar ring of death metal. It is widely accepted as their best release. I'm not going to debate about it being what it is, an entertaining and damn fine album by a talented band, but I don't think it delivers as much as the hype would tell you. They lost a lot of the black metal influence, (Demigod is pretty much a straight death metal album) but I think the problem for me with this album is the drastic difference in quality between songs.

I don't mean any of the songs are bad, in fact I enjoy all of them, but when you listen to "Conquer All" or "Demigod" then listen to "Mysterium Coniunctionis (Hermanubis)" there is a gap between them. The 3 - 4 songs that stick out as the best of the album, dwarf the rest of it. Those songs carry the album like Atlas carries the Earth. It's almost like they were written at different times, years apart.

The other part that keeps this album below Zos Kia Cultus (I consider that to be their best album) is the over-saturation of the heavily tracked vocals. Nergal has an awesome voice, but on Demigod and The Apostasy these over produced vocals are way too common place. There are parts on this album where it works great like the chorus to "Slaves Shall Serve" but it's too much. It's tiring on my ear canals. They crave diversity.

Great songwriting, great performance, meh vocals, and a bit overproduced; that's Demigod.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Production: 7

Written by Svneatr | 13.04.2012




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Guest review by
Asylum #9
Rating:
9.2
Behemoth - Demigod (2004)

Virtuosity, action and technique. There are many ways of describing Demigod, although it must be experienced if you are to fully understand it. Demigod, nothing less than another melancholic masterpiece, darkly triumphing the world of Brutal Death Metal.

Session guitarist Seth ironically opens up the album with his fragile, still mysterious guitar-theme in "Sculpting the Throne ov Seth." It's the breath before the plunge. The song practically explodes. BAM! Your ass is ravaged by blast beats and Nergal's dynamic riffs that'll begin the historic and brutal madness of Behemoth. The title track, one of my favourites, also starts off more calmly. Only this time you'll hear the muffled trumpets of a frenzied roman army, that even this time, expands into something dark, fast, brutal and at the same time very poignant.

Read more ››
published 28.11.2006 | Comments (29)


Comments

Comments: 4   Visited by: 84 users
16.04.2012 - 01:53
Rating: 8
Unhealer
Eclecticist
Agree on Zos Kia Cultus being their best record. I feel the vocal overproduction works perfectly at times but yeah, it mostly irritating.
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16.04.2012 - 03:57
Svneatr
Vitharr
Written by Unhealer on 16.04.2012 at 01:53

Agree on Zos Kia Cultus being their best record. I feel the vocal overproduction works perfectly at times but yeah, it mostly irritating.


Well that's the thing, the dubbed vocals work great with Nergal. He has the perfect voice for it, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
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27.05.2012 - 04:30
Rating: 10
Passenger
Lost To Apathy
I also agree Zos Kia Cultus is their best album. Actually, I thought most people did!
----
You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it ~ Mean Streets
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29.05.2013 - 20:00
popmik

"Great songwriting, great performance, meh vocals, and a bit overproduced; that's Demigod."

possibly the best quote that sums up Demigod
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