Artist: Behemoth
Label: Olympic Recordings
Release Date: 9/14/03
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Title: Conjuration EP Artist: Behemoth Label: Olympic Recordings Release Date: 9/14/03
Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Lugubrious (3/19/04):
In the world of metal, so many bands that saturate the scene seem to have no originality whatsoever. Even some of metal's top bands constantly get compared to other great acts of the past. Exhumed's comparison to Carcass is a great example, and take a large chunk of black metal and you will find many examples of bands that imitate their favorite bands such as Mayhem, Emperor or Darkthrone. At one point, in my opinion, Behemoth was one of those bands, and while they did it well, the originality was still lacking.As time went on, things, as they always do, changed. Behemoth began to find their own sound. While it still may be similar to other bands, something about it stands apart. This is what makes Behemoth one of the top bands in metal today, and with a few major tours under their belts they have proven this. With the release of Satanica in 2000, Behemoth began to show a Death Metal influence. While you might be thinking mixing Black and Death Metal isn't the most original thing you can do, it is a vast improvement from the recordings on Fisher-Price equipment of the earlier days.
Since the release of that album they have had added two more mind-numbing albums, Thelema.6 and Zos Kia Cultus, and have vastly grown into the ranks of metal gods. They have gained multiple fans, and lost a few who miss the old days. Speaking for the new fans, we anxiously await a new album, but until then Behemoth have released an EP titled Conjuration.
This EP is ten tracks long, seven of which are live, two are covers, and one is a new song. The first track is a new song titled "Conjuration of Sleep Daemons." This is the only brand new track that is written by Behemoth on the album. The purpose of the song is to show fans the direction they are heading with the next album, and let me tell you - if the whole album is like this song, it is going to shock the metal underground. These riffs are so thick you can feel them in your stomach.
The next track, and the first of the two covers, is "Wish." Yes, this is a Nine Inch Nails song, and yes, I am as shocked as you that they would cover this track. They took this song and made it their own, adding some amazing guitars and drums that did not previously exist, including a wicked solo two and a half minutes into the track. I must say I did enjoy this very much, even though Nergal's clear vocals are a little hard to get use to. I personally can respect Behemoth for having the balls to do this, much to the dismay of a lot of metalheads.
The second cover is "Welcome to Hell," a Venom song. I love Venom, an incredible and influential band, but I think it should be outlawed to cover any more of their songs - them and the Sex Pistols, it becomes redundant. Besides this I do enjoy the track, it is nothing unexpected, but good.
The following seven tracks are all live, and cover albums such as Sventevith and Thelema.6. I really enjoyed this for it is difficult to capture the true brilliance of a live band onto an album, and I feel this was done here. Each track is so full of energy and hate you can close your eyes and feel as if you are actually at a Behemoth show. I must say considering I have never seen these Metal Giants, this EP is somewhat of a tease. All I can do is look forward to the next tour, for I already know the power they hold in a live setting.
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