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Rating: What a great band Behemoth is.. Born in Poland as a Black Metal band, they gradually evolved, eventually reaching a point where they abandoned their roots and dedicated themselves to an intense Death Metal!
"Grom" was released in 1996, when Behemoth still played black.. and what black!! The only thing that really saddens me is that Nergal and the gang have disavowed these early works.. oh well.. But now let's move on to the album, the first thing that stands out when listening to "The Dark Forest" is the production, very strange, there are even parts where the guitars sound like synths or something like that!! The song starts as expected, blasting away and very melodic; but then something changes, a clean guitar arpeggio and then there's an atmospheric moment and... a girl singing, soon joined by Nergal in clean vocals in what seems like a pagan hymn... Very, very beautiful!!
Let me preface this by saying I do not care much for symphonic black and tiresome music, so the defenders can rest easy! It kicks off on all cylinders, and given that until now I had only adored Behemoth's death metal oriented CDs, it's really a nice surprise to discover that they were able to play such great black metal! Even the next track, "Spellcraft And Heathendom", is no less, like the previous one the style cannot be classified as simple black, in fact, with moments more death-black oriented, others more properly black, and outbursts reminiscent of Absu, I really don't know how to express myself!
In any case, moving from a track-to-track analysis to a more comprehensive one, it's worth saying that this album was more than a surprise for me, it had been a long time since I've heard a black album sound this way, which mixes so many influences that it even becomes original passing through vocal passages à la Attila from De Mysteriis.. in "Dragons Lair, Cosmic Flames And Four Barbaric Seasons" by Nergal, with arpeggios that couldn't be more Swedish and parts where there's even a faint presence of Enslaved and other bands from the future viking scene.
Again, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and the likes are not for me, and this is a work that I believe will drive die-hard black fans wild, but it might also attract many newcomers to the aforementioned genre! Highly recommended!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
03 Spellcraft and Heathendom (04:50)
I've met in surrounding me nature
spirits and deities wielding the element,
in a field, in a forest, in rocks and caves
and I won their goodwill with sacrifices.
Horses carried me to the skies,
White, beautiful steeds ... beloved.
I was attacking brushwood violently
I touched motherland...
Percus ! Magic cirkles and black stones
Percus ! Forest spells and damned souls
Percus ! I find worship in you
PERCUS !!!
They will return, dance like fire, as before
They will return, to the trees,
to the forest of mine... to the kingdom !
The thunderer demons
guards the sacred spot
during those cold nights
they found peace and consolation.
I rediscover the power and charm
to defeat like a sorcerer,
like thousands years ago,
Oaken castles from millenium before,
They will rise once again... as a sign...
Percus !
04 Dragon's Lair (Cosmic Flames and Four Barbaric Seasons) (05:56)
Where the magic stream flows,
Through the shining woods,
Blue grass of wisdom grows
Around the oaken roots...
Where golden dragons fly
And the sorcerers gather,
Four wooden statues stand
And the fog lays thick
Dreamthrone of amber cosmic source of might,
Reflection of wisdom, Power of the darkside
Ceremonial steel drinks the blood,
Painting pearls and gold
Mystic flames burn bright
Around the oaken lord...
Forgotten sorcery storms from the skies,
From the golden hall of the ancient ones
...The Pagan awaits for the equinox...
Cosmic sorcery - the gift of the skies
Magic nature - stronger than your lies
..Stone demigod shines proud...
...The cult of the barbaric seasons,
Pagan pride forever,
Born todie in honour, not to serve on knees
Snowcovered, wild vastlands -
My beloved fatherland...
I see the tears of the oaken one,
My heart is like a stone,
My sword became sharp -
Crosses to break, bodies to dismember,
Flowers to burn ...
05 Lasy Pomorza (06:26)
Kiedy moc piorunow tnie niebiosa w cieple letnie dni,
Zwracam swe oczy ku Bogom,
wspanialej i poteznej naturze,
dzlekujac za dar, ukryty w blyskow potedze...
Zimna noc zalegla nad prastarym borem,
ulewne deszcze wypelniaja drogi mej wsi,
ukrytej gdzies w glebi pomorskich lasow.
Jak strugi, deszcz oczyszcza nasza rzeczywistosc,
mamy rok dziewiecsetny...
Lasy Pomorza...
Wiem, ze urodzilem wlasnie tam,
zeby czynic mych ojcow kulture piekniejsza.
Wiem, ze oddalem im swoje serce,
bolem i trwoga przepelnione...
W srebrnych pasmach ksiezycowego swiatla,
woje moi przeszywaja debowe knieje,
podazamy ku rozstajom drog,
by w krwawej walce zlozyc swa ofiare.
Kolejne grzmoty burza w zorzy wieczornej,
upewniaja nas w swej sile,
To ojcowie towarzysza nam od samego poczatku,
raz pozdrowienia, raz gniewy z sinego nieba nam slac...
Lasy Pomorza...
Dobrze, ze bory zwierza sa pelne,
pozwala to utrzymac ma druzyne na nogach, i topory, i tarcze, i miecze ich ciezkie,
a futrzane obuwie nasiakniete krwawoczerwonym blotem.
Mijamy mile kolejne, by zdazyc do lasow,
pod skrzydlami nocy sie schowac, jeszcze jeden blysk w ciemnosci,
jak ojcowskie "dobranoc" uklada nas do snu... jak wilki...
Lasy Pormorza...
07 Thou Shalt Forever Win (06:37)
I break the chains of unbelief
Burden of millenial slavory
Forest, eternat wander
Extending beyond earthly dimensions
Gods will return to their graces together with me
They'll find their oaken kingdoms as before
I free my powers when yelling silently
When I fight... thousands of demons, follow me !
And my strength, and my spell...
And my beautiful pride,
Will find and wrap you will raise majesty to the skies...
From the depths of the earth, deep and black
Through the forests, woods and shadows,
(It) Will penetrate lakes and wolfish mountains...
On the wings of demons to skies !
I denude golden gates of my Nawia
Shrouded in thick smoke of burnt bodies
I show my love... I praise the might
... And destroy with the power of thunders
constantly destroy
On my right hand - fire, eternaly devoted
Together with the strength of thunders
Will dance as before
The conflagration, death and misfortune, let it beget
Rebuild what was ruined,
Destroy what was created by the cross
And my strength, and my spell
08 Grom (05:28)
Ty, ktory lasy ogarnales piorunow plaszczem,
Ty, ktory wichrem karmisz dzieci swe,
Wzbudziles morze nienawisci w ich umyslach,
Jak Baltyk brzegi swe, Ty otuliles swiete gaje...
Stare deby pochylily grzbiety swe w poklonach,
Piorunowy, swiety ogien konczy taniec...
Plasy milkna, strzygi chyla lby ku niebu,
Czekajace nagie wilki...
Slodycz Twa i cieplo czuje coraz blizej,
Tys lonem matki mej i sila,
Ziemia, lasem, polem, laka, gajem...
Esencja zycia, magia, ktora zyje.
Ciemnoscia zwa Cie Ci, dla ktorychs wrogiem,
zblakana owca, wezem, smiercia w trwodze,
Ramiona meznych wojow pna Twoj posag wzwyz,
Tys nie herezja ale prawda plunal w krzyz!
Stare deby pochylily grzbiety swe w poklonach...
Grom niech bedzie Twym zwiastunem,
brzaskiem imperium w chwale czekanego,
Dzwonem w poganskie serca bitym,
Oltarzem prawdy, duma oraz krwia okrytym.
Niech Grom zapowie Twe nadejscie,
Godzine zemsty, boskiej rozpaczy,
nadejda nowe, potezne czasy,
O sile Twej szumia pomorskie lasy...
Majestatycznie...
Stare deby pochylily grzbiety swe w poklonach...
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