ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Promotional Video Review: BEHEMOTH God=Dog by Dave Wolff

God=Dog
From their upcoming full length I Loved You At Your Darkest, to be released on Metal Blade Records (North America) and Nuclear Blast Records (Europe) October 5, 2018
Place of origin: Poland
Genre: Black/death metal
Produced by Behemoth
Drum co-production by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames)
Mixing by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Children Of Bodom)
Mastering by Tom Baker (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson).
Orchestra arranged by Jan Stoklosa and engineered by Tomasz Budkiewicz
Release date: August 2, 2018
Behemoth have come far since their early demos (Endless Damnation, The Return Of The Northern Moon, Thy Winter Kingdom, From The Pagan Vastlands). Those tapes were typical black metal when Bathory and Darkthrone inspired new bands to take up the mantle. Consistently releasing singles, splits, full lenghts and live albums since then, they progressed far beyond the expectations of the times and became one of Poland’s leading metal bands with Hate, Decapitated and Vader. The 2000s in particular saw them redefine death and black metal with Demigod (2004), The Apostasy (2007) and Evangelion (2009). This decade was of importance to extreme music, as bands were committed to confirm their capacity for evolvement, and validate their art as more than a momentary act of rebellion. I would say Behemoth have carried through with a vengeance, considering the mainstream success they acquired in the process. Their promotional video for God=Dog, made to herald the October release of I Loved You At Your Darkest, is described by frontman Nergal as the band’s most blasphemous, heretical work to date. It’s likewise described as a response to their political and social environment in their home country of Poland, replete with religious imagery intended as inspiration for thought. Abstruse and disquieting, the video approaches symbolization as art closer than their previous promotional videos. In many ways it’s a short film with the song serving as the soundtrack. The lyrics are as thought provoking as the video, I should add, and from what I have seen on social media people are already talking about the band and their current work, mulling over the symbolism of the video and considering the deeper ramifications of this song (one example is a new video from Vin and Sori). While God=Dog is the bombastic, thunderous death/black metal we’ve come to anticipate from them, the choral and orchestral ingredients further elevate their talent. Nergal also states some elements of 70s rock are brought into the song, adding that AC/DC is one of the bands he holds high regard for of late. The entire package will certainly psych you up for the album. -Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Nergal: Vocals, guitars
Orion: Bass, vocals
Inferno: Drums, percussion

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