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It is incredible that this album is merely a bonus disc in the Evangelia Heretika DVD boxset, as it could easily stand on its own as one of the absolute best modern metal live albums. Behemoth are captured in prime form here, on tour for their 2009 studio album, Evangelion, in Warsaw, Poland. The band's between-song banter and crowd interaction is entirely in Polish, but this is only a small drawback to an otherwise impeccable performance.
The tracklist here is nearly flawless. Opening with the anthemic Evangelion single "Ov Fire and the Void", the band relentlessly tears through what adds up to their "greatest hits" up to this point in their career. Rippers like "Decade of Therion", "Slaves Shall Serve", "Antichristian Phenomenon", and more totally slay their primary, studio incarnations. The rendition here of the setlist staple "Chant for Eschaton 2000" is possibly the best that the band has ever recorded, and the epic "Lucifer" ends the affair on an epic, unsettling note (literally). To be fair, the setlist isn't totally balanced , as Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond) and The Apostasy only offer one track apiece, but the only viable complaints one could have is that there is only one song from the band's entire black metal phase in "Wolves Guard My Coffin", and the "Intro" and "Drum Solo" might seem superfluous.
Vocalist/guitarist Nergal commands his homeland crowd like only a select few metal frontmen can. While not as pristine as in studio, his scream is incredibly powerful and multi-faceted, and the general lack of vocal layering proves Nergal's prowess as a death growler more than ever before. Plus, this show was recorded the year before he was diagnosed with leukemia; his recovery from the disease has significantly impacted his vocals in the concert setting in years since. The rest of the band is a well-oiled machine: Orion's backup vocals and Seth's guitar solos mesh perfectly with Nergal's, and Inferno holds everything together from behind the kit with irrepressible energy and raw power.
The only reason that I can think of for this not being a separate CD is because the band had released At the Arena ov Aion - Live Apostasy from the previous tour cycle (the footage from which was subsequently included in this DVD, as well). Nevertheless, Evangelia Heretika is an almost perfect primer for one of best extreme metal acts in the world. If you're new to Behemoth, try The Satanist first; that one's in a class of its own. If you're interested in their prior material, look no further.
The tracklist here is nearly flawless. Opening with the anthemic Evangelion single "Ov Fire and the Void", the band relentlessly tears through what adds up to their "greatest hits" up to this point in their career. Rippers like "Decade of Therion", "Slaves Shall Serve", "Antichristian Phenomenon", and more totally slay their primary, studio incarnations. The rendition here of the setlist staple "Chant for Eschaton 2000" is possibly the best that the band has ever recorded, and the epic "Lucifer" ends the affair on an epic, unsettling note (literally). To be fair, the setlist isn't totally balanced , as Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond) and The Apostasy only offer one track apiece, but the only viable complaints one could have is that there is only one song from the band's entire black metal phase in "Wolves Guard My Coffin", and the "Intro" and "Drum Solo" might seem superfluous.
Vocalist/guitarist Nergal commands his homeland crowd like only a select few metal frontmen can. While not as pristine as in studio, his scream is incredibly powerful and multi-faceted, and the general lack of vocal layering proves Nergal's prowess as a death growler more than ever before. Plus, this show was recorded the year before he was diagnosed with leukemia; his recovery from the disease has significantly impacted his vocals in the concert setting in years since. The rest of the band is a well-oiled machine: Orion's backup vocals and Seth's guitar solos mesh perfectly with Nergal's, and Inferno holds everything together from behind the kit with irrepressible energy and raw power.
The only reason that I can think of for this not being a separate CD is because the band had released At the Arena ov Aion - Live Apostasy from the previous tour cycle (the footage from which was subsequently included in this DVD, as well). Nevertheless, Evangelia Heretika is an almost perfect primer for one of best extreme metal acts in the world. If you're new to Behemoth, try The Satanist first; that one's in a class of its own. If you're interested in their prior material, look no further.