For the few minority of readers who don’t know who Behemoth are, Poland’s premier extreme export began as a black metal outfit and moved swiftly onto a uniquely tight brand of blackened death metal. This EP follows on from their 2007 album ‘The Apostasy’, but the main track ‘Chant For Ezkaton 2000 e.v.’ is in fact a re-recording of a previous effort of a similar name on the album ‘Satanica’. A great song initially, there was little real point in redoing it, but it stands as a faster, slightly more direct assault on the senses, and it will be sure to bring a new host of fans to the track.
 

    In terms of new material, there is one completely original song in the form of ‘Qadosh’, which brings the kind of blasting intensity we have come to expect from the band, alongside some trumpet-like synths midway through which bring Behemoth into slightly new territory. There are a couple of covers also, one of ‘Jama Pekel’ by Master’s Hammer, featuring Root members, and the other of ‘I’m Not Jesus’ by The Ramones. Whilst the latter is the most incongruent with the band’s normal style, using the original’s punk attitude to create an almost grind-like intensity, both tracks twist Behemoth’s traditional heaviness into new monsters, and provide interesting deviations from the norm.
 

    Throw in a couple of covers including the title track,  ‘From The Pagan Vastlands’ and ‘Decade Ov Therion’, which show why Behemoth are one of the best live acts out there, and there you have half an hour of devilishly good material.

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