Sea Of Tranquility



The Web Source for Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal & Jazz-Fusion
  Search   in       
Main Menu




Behemoth: And the Forests Dream Eternally (remaster)

Behemoth is not a new band to those that are only becoming aware of the bludgeoning power that the group possesses. Yes as far back as 1994 the band existed and this remaster of some of their early work on Metal Mind is a good way to educate you on how the band came to be. As soon as you begin to spin And The Forests Dream Eternally, you will find a Death Metal superpower in their infancy. The power and majesty is there with Nergal growling his way through the buzzing guitars and blasting drums but there is a lot of similar style to bands that were coming about during this time as well. To compare this release to how they sound on Demigod will amaze you at the level of technical and powerful difference that came to be as the band matured and grew into their own identity all the more. Drums back then were still handled by the mighty Inferno, but bass and guitars were different citing Frost, Les and Baal as their session help for the recording. Given its age and production budget the remaster showcases some of the recording limitations the band faced back then. Drums are way in the back and bass is almost non-existent. I liked "Moonspell Rites", "Forgotten Empire Of Dark Witchcraft" and "Pure Evil And Hate" (a number which is still performed by the band in 2006) but the rest sounded too similar for me and made me glad I heard about them later in life. This is more for those who enjoy snaring the bands early work especially, but should you be just digging into Behemoth make sure you snare the DVD release Live From Eschalon or Demigod CD first. Once you do, there is no turning back on Behemoth.


Track Listing
1. Transylvanian Forest
2. Moonspell Rites
3. Sventevith Storming Near the Baltic [Version 94]
4. Pure Evil and Hate
5. Forgotten Empire of Dark Witchcraft
6. With Spell of Inferno (Mefisto)
7. Hidden in the Fog
8. Sventevith Storming Near the Baltic [Version 97]

Added: July 26th 2006
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Behemoth Website
Hits: 2538
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend Send to a Friend ]

  

[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]

» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Behemoth: And the Forests Dream Eternally (remaster)
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-07-26 17:12:22
My Score:

Demigod, or even Satanica, this ain't. Metal MInd Productions has been reissuing some of the Behemoth back catalog, and this one, 1994's And the Forests Dream Eternally owes more to the early Scandinavian black metal scene than the thunderous technical death metal style that this Polish juggeraut would later employ. Featuring a raw guitar sound, relentless blast beats, and Nergal's nasally black metal screams, this release shows Behemoth just barely out of the womb, noisy, and searching for the light that would take them to where they would eventually settle down, that being death metal. Not that they didn't do justice to black metal, as songs like "Moonspell Rites" and "Pure Evil and Hate" hammer the listener with evil intent, and "Forgotten Empire of Dark Witchcraft" as well as "Hidden in the Fog" both contain keyboards and acoustic guitar passages, giving each song a real progressive feel. While very raw and at times a little meandering, And the Forests Dream Eternally shows a young band in growth mode, as they slowly found their way to becoming the "behemoth"...., excuse me, "powerhouse" metal band that they are today.



© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility
For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility

SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com