BEHEMOTH - The Shit Ov God

The thirteenth album by Behemoth is a concentrate of pure blasphemy raised to the nth power. Not that Nergal's Polish band hasn't always made these themes its calling card, but "The Shit Ov God" (starting with the title) reaches new peaks of provocation and bluntness, pushing the level of outrage against religion to perhaps the highest possible degree.

The album stands out precisely for the extremism of its lyrics and the directness of its sound, always hitting the listener like a shotgun blast to the chest. In many ways this is an advantage given its running time of just thirty-seven minutes, which makes "The Shit Ov God" particularly enjoyable, with no drop in tension across its eight tracks (all between three and five minutes long).

If instead we look at the search for innovative solutions, the glass can only be seen as half empty, since the sound doesn't stray too far from what Behemoth have built and consolidated over the years. In various interviews, Nergal has in fact criticized the overly cerebral turns taken by new metal bands, referring in particular to the black metal of the latest generations.

The title track is quite striking when it comes to its provocative violence ("Mangiate la mia carne, bevete il mio sangue, sono la m... di Dio"), an aspect further emphasized by a very well-crafted video. But while the lyrics are a punch in the gut, the music is actually less extreme than on other works by the Polish band, with not-too-fast death rhythms, black metal themes and consistently convincing riffs. The idea of man as the discarded byproduct of creation has its own appeal and explicitly helps clarify Nergal's philosophy.

The brevity of the album and the choice to skip any preamble and go straight to the point, without seeking any kind of experimentation, means the record can only work if it's packed with potential hits. And hits are not in short supply: from the title track to "The Shadow Elite" to "Lvciferaeon", every song is a good example of what Behemoth have become today. Sure, there's a lot of craftsmanship at play, but there's also still a coherent idea of what metal should be, according to Nergal. That's no small thing, after thirty years of career.

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27/09/2025