Nergal and his hordes are back with new twelfth studio full length opus. I must admit that I became a fan of Behemoth with last two albums, the previous was just too death metal for me in the newer phase and too poor black metal in the old school Behemoth phase. The grandiose Satanic black death metal that they evolved into last three albums including this one is just fantastic. Here, the band continues where they left off delivering mighty strike of brutality, aggression, blast beats and precise breakdowns, courtesy of superb drummer Inferno, the whole unit delivering atmosphere, anger, war and inner peace at the same time. Those are the feelings I enjoy while listening to the record. Great plus to Nergal´s singing is that I can understand what he is singing about, despite brutal vocals and his voice is so fantastic, ranging from growl, angry shouting, spoken word, clean singing and reciting, depending on the atmosphere. Post-God Nirvana opens as kind of intro, a weird mixture of Slavic and Nordic ritualistic chant, courtesy of guest performance by none other than Einar Selvik of Wardruna. Relentless crushing is at hand with Malaria Vulgata, The Deathless Sun, but first highlight of the album comes with Ov My Herculean Exile, being mid tempo anguished anthem with blast beat crescendo at the end and melancholic melody. Besides traditional instruments the song structures include piano, tuba, timpani and orchestral arrangements which are done with majestic supremacy. Off To War! and Versus Christus, the song with creepiest atmosphere on the record, deliver a fist in the eye of hypocrisy and stagnation delivering Behemoth´s charging war cry to new legions and old ones. Great album.

10/10