Behemoth - Pandemonic Incantations
Review: The middle period of Behemoth saw primary creator Nergal having weathered a few political and artistic storms over the condition of Polish blackmetal, even the rare band with PC beliefs like Behemoth, and in their last bid for a niche this band created a technical black metal with death metal influences in structure influenced by the best of the previous generation of European metal. Slickly harmonized riffs flow into one another before abrupt chords drop a chopping end to the process; gruff voices of harsh hoarseness follow the melody unfolding beneath a song made of buffeting power chords and the instantly changing signals of adrenaline lead playing. Little about this album will please the black metal purist, as it reveals its inner desire to explore metal in older styles, but the strength of its riffs and some of these more vibrantly aggressive songs qualifies it for repeated if infrequent listens.
