Behemoth, one of Poland’s biggest black metal bands, returns yet again after the successful release of their 2014 record, The Satanist. The new album, I Loved You At Your Darkest, is another album of a fully-realized vision by Behemoth frontman, Nergal, and is nothing short of atmospheric, offensive and melodic. Imagery is something that Behemoth has really been going all out on recently and it makes it possible to reinforce the lyrical themes in a way that’s rarely ever possible; think of Ghost but bloodier and even more blasphemous. I Loved You At Your Darkest is an album that isn’t surprising to a listener of Behemoth’s past material but it is very well written, performed and executed. If anything, it’s the most confident album vision-wise they’ve released to date.
From beautiful guitar passages to terrifying vocals, this album is very well executed and is as fully-realized, if not more fully-realized than The Satanist. There are several standout tracks such as the first two singles they released leading up to the album’s release such as “Wolves Ov Siberia” and “God=Dog.” The biggest thing that helps Behemoth actually get their message across and what makes the lyrics blend with the music so well is that Nergal has an overwhelming knowledge of Thelema, Satanism and everything in between. Make no mistake, this is a very atmospheric and theatrical album and every aspect of their image, sound and lyrics have been completely impressive. If you visualize it, you can almost imagine what a show of theirs would be like, without even attending, if you know the music and image of Behemoth.
The Satanist proved to be a breakthrough for Behemoth and a follow-up that would surpass it felt very unlikely but Nergal has successfully shown that he has a fully visualized vision and he can create quite impressive material. From ungodly vocals and lyrics to blast beats and tremolo guitars, I Loved You At Your Darkest, is yet another step in the right direction for Behemoth and you’d be sorry to miss this one.
https://behemoth.lnk.to/ILYAYD
