Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH will release their 12th studio album, “Opvs Contra Natvram”, on September 16 via Nuclear Blast. The official music video for the LP’s first single, “Ov My Herculean Exile”, directed by Zuzanna Plisz, can be seen below.
The ten chapters of fury that make up “Opvs Contra Natvram” were written and recorded over the course of a very strange year for the globe — a situation which only heightened the level of craft seen in these 43 minutes and 15 seconds of searing wrath. As with previous studio outings, “Opvs…” was produced by BEHEMOTH, with mixing handled by acclaimed studio legend Joe Barresi (NINE INCH NAILS, TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ALICE IN CHAINS).
Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail and absolute creative control of BEHEMOTH‘s world, frontman and band visionary Adam “Nergal” Darski reveled in the depressurized environment afforded by the pandemic. It meant that for nearly the first time since the band’s inception over 30 years ago there was no deadline to observe, allowing for a nearly unprecedented level of attention to the process of writing and recording.
Beyond any confines of genre, BEHEMOTH have grown to become nothing less than the personification of rebellion, individuality, and unflinching self-expression informed by a literate worldview and worldliness that’s resulted in a locking of horns with everything from the mainstream press to the Polish Catholic church — most notably manifesting in Nergal’s trial for blasphemy in 2010 that only served to expose the deep-seated hypocrisies that his music seeks to challenge.
“The album title means going against the current,” Nergal states. “It’s the negative of the values and morals and ethics that I stand against. I’ve seriously been wrestling with destructive tendencies in pop culture — cancel culture, social media, and tools which I feel are very dangerous weapons in the hands of people who are not competent to judge others. That’s something which I find very destructive and disturbing — and extremely limiting coming from an artists’ perspective. This is my middle finger to that. There’s a song on the record called ‘Neo-Spartacvs’. Spartacus was one of the most iconic rebels in history who went against the most powerful empire of all time. In the end, it’s me screaming, ‘I Am Spartacus, and so are you!’ I want to spark that flame of rebellion. If something seems wrong then stand up to it!”
“Opvs Contra Natvram” features twin cover art available in both black and white and will be released in an array of physical formats designed by Bartek Rogalewicz (Lodge.Black),certain to thrill collectors of limited editions.
“Opvs Contra Natvram” track listing:
01. Post-God Nirvana
02. Malaria Vvlgata
03. The Deathless Sun
04. Ov My Herculean Exile
05. Neo-Spartacvs
06. Disinheritance
07. Off To War!
08. Once Upon A Pale Horse
09. Thy Becoming Eternal
10. Versvs Christvs
BEHEMOTH is:
Adam “Nergal” Darski – Lead vocals, Guitar
Zbigniew “Inferno” Promiński – Drums, Percussion
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – Bass, Backing vocals
Patryk “Seth” Sztyber – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Photo credit: Sylwia Makris and Christian Martin Weiss
