Behemoth – The Shit Ov God
Release Date: 9th May 2025
Label: Nuclear Blast
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal.
FFO: Rotting Christ, Nile, Hate.
Review By: Jeff Finch
When did it become cool to hate Behemoth? Purveyors of some of the most visceral and punishing blackened death metal in the scene today, the band has reached legendary status and continues to be spoken of, in large part due to their frontman Nergal, who has had some skirmishes with Poland as a result of his “blasphemy.” He’s outspoken on these topics, but he’s brilliant and finds ways to incorporate those into the music of Behemoth. Anyone expecting The Satanist II from this band doesn’t know who they are; they’re a dynamic band that doesn’t pigeonhole themselves or listen to elitist criticism, instead opting to go into every album like the slate has been wiped clean, and after listening to this new one, The Shit Ov God, it’s clear the band made sure that slate got punished.
The first single, whose response was mixed at release, The Shit Ov God, is a blistering track that tackles, once again, Nergal’s thoughts on religion; but instead of a standard diss track, or something in that vein, Nergal utilizes his encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, and religion in general, to craft a song rife razor sharp commentary to match the intensity of the band. It’s not the best work he’s done lyrically, which is likely where most of the criticism lies, but it’s scathing and his delivery is damn near perfect. Criticize the lyrics all you want, but no one can deny that Nergal’s vocals are just as powerful as ever, acting as its own instrument in the grandiosity that is Behemoth.
Opening as if on the frontlines and ready to go to war, opener The Shadow Elite sees the band up their intensity and speed, at points harkening back to their pure black metal days, with the tremolo riffs, blast beats, and swift tempo shifts that annihilate listeners with little regard for what gets caught in the crossfire. The chorus leaves a bit to be desired, if it could even be called a chorus, but the dynamism in the music makes up for any lacking lyrically, the drums shifting from mid-tempo to half-time, allowing the riffs to break through before the band immediately shifts back into the main black metal groove. An instrumental break hammers us with power, blast beats the consistent rhythm but the riffs switching from lighting quick tremolos to punishing, hell driven dissonant, unsettling chugs before one final trip through the main groove.
Though earlier it was postulated that a sequel to the Satanist is likely an impossibility, there are a bevy of moments on this record that sound like they’re ripped from those sessions, a great example the punisher To Drown The Sun In Wine; at its opening it almost sounds like a cut from Evangelion, vocally this sound can only be described as visceral hatred, the layering demonic in nature but Nergal’s pure vocals pulling growls of discontent straight from the bowels of Hell. The atmosphere created by the instrumental break about halfway through could easily be mistaken for something from The Satanist, a haunting yet contemplative time meant for reflection.
Where the band may have been critiqued for simplifying the music and not bringing as much attention to dissonance and melody, and even being a bit inconsistent with their soundscapes, especially after the masterclass on The Satanist, no such thing can be said of The Shit Ov God. The band sounds reinvigorated, as if the last two albums were a buildup to the present day. Tribal percussion and thick tremolo tones cluster together, promising an epic end to the album, on finale Avgvr (The Dread Vvltvre), the song very much in the vein of Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer in terms of its pacing and intensity, Nergal sounding more vicious here, though, chants and operatic female vocals in the background expounding up the already despondent atmosphere, similar to epic finale O Father, O Satan, O Sun but far more pained, his screams towards the end of the song a man in agony, pleading to the sky. With such a performance, this is a finale that shouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.
While I can understand the disappointment people felt after the last two albums, it’s disingenuous to expect them to recreate an undeniable masterpiece. However, what the band has done here on The Shit Ov God might be enough to appease them: the unbridled fury seen on that album has nearly been matched here and, believe it or not, Nergal has never sounded more savage than on this record. Sure, there are some questionable lyrics, as with any band, but most Behemoth fans aren’t here for that, they’re here for pummeling, relentless blackened death metal. And they’ve got it.
(5 / 5)
