Review of Behemoth - Conjuration

Hot off the toes of their already highly acclaimed release Zos Kia Cultus, Behemoth brings forth an EP entitled Conjuration containing covers, a new song, and live material. As mainman, Nergal has stated, this EP is for the fans, which it pretty much should be, because mostly the only people that will be picking this one up are the big Behemoth (something about those two words together just seems redundant, but anyways…) fans. I will tell you off the bat, I’m not the hugest fan of live albums as I’ve said before and honestly, I can’t think of one live album I own. With that said however, this band does throw together a good set on here, which finished off the album. The seven tracks span from a few different albums and are all definite crushers. I don’t think it really does them justice, as their live show is definitely a spectacle to take in. On to the covers, “Welcome to Hell”, originally done by Venom, is done well, but for some reason it just doesn’t feel right with Behemoth doing it. Nergal’s voice is crushing when paired with the strength and power of Behemoth’s music but feels restrained with the Venom cover. As for the other cover, “Wish” (I don’t know who this is originally by), I don’t like it at all. The song itself is decent, but once again it doesn’t feel right with Behemoth doing it. Nergal’s voice doesn’t fit this at all. It’s a strange mix of him doing semi-clean, old-school trash style vokills and his usual menacing growl, but it doesn’t mesh together well at all. Some bands can pull off amazing covers, but I don’t think Behemoth is one of those bands. They should stick to what they do best, and that’s steamroll you with their doomsday concoction of black and death metal. Lastly, the previously unreleased track, “Conjuration” is actually really cool and a definite Behemoth crusher. With their usual wicked harmonics, starts and stops, and a killer breakdown it’s sure to please all you Behemoth nuts out there. If you’ve never really heard Behemoth before I recommend you start out with one of their other albums first so you get a better taste for what their about, because if you don’t already own Zos Kia Cultus you should pick it up immediately because it’s one of the best releases this year. So, in the end, if you’re a die-hard Behemoth fan I would say pick this one up as it is in rather limited quantities in both the US and Europe, anyone else however I would say let this one slide by and keep listening to their back catalogue until they’re ready to crush with another brand-new full length release next year.

Release Details

Behemoth

Conjuration

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