Behemoth // I, Scvlptor // Album Review

I think it’s fair to say that it feels as if Behemoth are at a bit of a crossroads. There’s no denying that the band have evolved from their initial sound and presentation that garnered huge amounts of fans, and after a few releases that some may argue are not quite where the likes of The Satanist were – Behemoth state that the track I, Scvlptor bridges the gap between the foundational past and the present creative side.

This release is eight tracks: seven new studio recordings, with two brand-new and one live track. ‘Rise of the Blackstorm of Evil’ from The Return of the Northern Moon and ‘In Thy Pandemaeternum’ from Pandemonic Incantations are newly re-recorded versions, whilst ‘In League With Satan ‘, which was originally by Venom but now featuring Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir and ‘The Return of Darkness and Evil’, originally by Bathory and now feat. Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ as they pay tribute to the bands that led to the formation of Behemoth.

If you have heard the title track, you know it has more of an aggressive, raw sound than some of Behemoth’s more modern tracks. The riffs are heavy, the vocals have that bite to them, and the overall sound is that of something that could easily have been located around The Satanist.

As the release progresses, ‘Lord ov the Horizons’ starts in a more serene sound before a blood-curdling vocal begins and a deeper, darker Behemoth rejoin. However, the serene and stripped-back returns. There is a flip-flop between clean vocals and then the usual that you would associate with the band.

Then it is the turn of the re-recorded versions of the two tracks before ‘Begotten ’, which has a more modern feel to it, not that it is a bad thing; it has some huge riffs, some real sections that you know, when played live, there will be massive pyro opportunities.

We then get to the covers, one of them being live, and it’s fair to say that these sound really good and capture Black Metal being Black Metal.

Granted, Behemoth have stated that this is more of a compilation album, which is fair; is it enough to add to your collection? Yes.

It is clearly Behemoth and a band that is trying to provide something to tide people over until the next album, and it feels like they are trying to see where they head toward next. I wouldn’t say that things feel uncertain for Behemoth; however, the next release feels massive, and this release shows that they have everything ready to return darker and more toward their original sound – if that’s the way they decide.

I Scvlptor will be released September 4^th 20266 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Review: Ed Ford