The waiting is over, and Ghost Cult Magazine is delighted to announce that our official Album of the Year for 2014 is Behemoth‘s modern day classic The Satanist (Metal Blade / Nuclear Blast).
Released on 3rd February to immediate critical and fan acclaim, the bands tenth album progressed the blackened death metal sound that had formed the background of their successful career to date and propelled them to even greater heights.
Even back then writer James Conway predicted the album would do well in terms of our end of year list:
“It’s clear that a whole lot of thought and talent has gone into the crafting of The Satanist. The songwriting is clear and consistent, the band sound tight and utterly in control and the album feels like a glorious declaration of victory. Far from rehashing old ideas, Nergal and his cohorts have crafted a concoction of songs with a stunning level of variety, power and bite. This is their best album to date and an early contender for album of the year. Welcome back and fuck cancer!” You can read the 9/10 review in full here
Speaking to Senior Editor Ross Baker, main man Nergal said at the time:
“The fact that I am healthy and I have the deadliest weapon that Behemoth has ever created in my hands makes my life complete. When people listen to The Satanist, it will stimulate them in many different ways.”
It isn’t just the fact that Adam “Nergal” Darski had successfully recovered from leukemia, this is no award given out of sympathy, but a celebration of an excellent record. In an age of good, The Satanist is great, an album of significance. Starting out with the writhing ‘Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel’ through to the epic closer ‘O Father O Satan O Sun’, not just the best track Behemoth have ever produced but one of the best extreme metal songs of the modern age, The Satanist is a dark, complex, aggressive, challenging and intriguing record that ticks every Extreme Metal box imaginable.
No hyperbole, a truly great album, worthy of the title of Album of the Year 2014.
Well done Nergal, well done Behemoth.
Read our Album of the Year countdown: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-16, 15-11, 10-6, 5-2
Compiled and words by Steve Tovey