The Satanist (album)

File:BEHEMOTH - Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer - Official Video.webm

The Satanist was recorded between February and June 2013 in Hertz Studio in Białystok, and RG Studio in Gdańsk, both in Poland, produced by Behemoth, Daniel Bergstrand, and the Wiesławscy Brothers. The album was mixed by Matt Hyde at Hydeaway Studios in Los Angeles, and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. Colin Richardson was the initial producer for the album, but stepped down after four weeks due to creative differences.{{cite web|title=Behemoth: 'The Satanist' Cover Painting To Include NERGAL's Blood|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-the-satanist-cover-painting-to-include-nergals-blood/|work=2014-02-05|date=12 September 2013|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net}}

A music video was shot for the song "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" which was produced and directed by Grupa 13, and Dariusz Szermanowicz.{{cite web|title=BEHEMOTH: 'Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel' Video Released |date=4 December 2013|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-blow-your-trumpets-gabriel-video-released/|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net|accessdate=3 February 2014}} The video premiered on the Behemoth YouTube channel on 3 December 2013.

On 7 January 2014, Behemoth released the first part of their video prologue for this album.{{cite web|title=Behemoth: First 'The Satanist' Trailer|date=8 January 2014|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-first-the-satanist-trailer/|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net|accessdate=3 February 2014}} Subsequently, the second part was released on January, 14, the third part was released on January, 21, and the fourth part was released on January, 29.{{cite web|title=Behemoth: Third 'The Satanist' Trailer|date=22 January 2014|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-third-the-satanist-trailer/|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net|accessdate=3 February 2014}}{{cite web|title=Behemoth: Fourth 'The Satanist' Trailer|date=29 January 2014|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-fourth-the-satanist-trailer/|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net|accessdate=3 February 2014}} Earlier, on 28 January, the official lyric video for the song "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" was released.{{cite web|title=Behemoth: 'Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer' Lyric Video Released|date=28 January 2014|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/behemoth-ora-pro-nobis-lucifer-lyric-video-released/|publisher=www.blabbermouth.net|accessdate=3 February 2014}}

The song "In the Absence ov Light" contains a spoken word quote from the Witold Gombrowicz drama The Marriage (pol. Ślub) which states:

{{cquote|I reject all order, all ideas / I trust no abstraction, no doctrine / I don't believe in god, nor in mind / Forget all gods! I don't believe in God. Give me man! / May he be like me, troubled and immature / confused and incomplete, dark and obscure so that I can dance with him!/ Pretend to him! Ingratiate myself with him! / And rape him, love him and forge myself / Anew from him, so I can grow through him, and in / that way / Celebrate my marriage in the sacred human church!.For original quote in Polish: Behemoth, The Satanist, Nuclear Blast, Catalogue No. 27361 31040, NB 3104-0, Europe, 2014
For translation: Shallcross, Bożena (2002). Framing the Polish home: postwar cultural constructions of hearth, nation, and self. Ohio University Press. p. 71, {{ISBN|9780821414361}}}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 92/100{{cite web|title=Behemoth "The Satanist" review|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-satanist/behemoth|publisher=www.metacritic.com| accessdate =28 March 2014}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-satanist-mw0002577883 | title = Behemoth "The Satanist" review | last = Heaney | first = Gregory |work=Allmusic | date = 4 February 2014 | accessdate = 4 February 2014}}

| rev2 = Exclaim!

| rev2score = {{Rating|7|10}}{{cite web | date =31 January 2014|work=Exclaim!|first=Sarah |last=Kitteringham| url = http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Metal/behemoth-satanist | title = Behemoth "The Satanist" review | accessdate = 3 February 2014}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/30/behemoth-the-satanist-review | title = Behemoth "The Satanist" review | last = Lawson | first = Dom | website = TheGuardian.com | date = 30 January 2014 | accessdate =3 February 2014}}

| rev4 = Loudwire

| rev4Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web | url = http://loudwire.com/behemoth-the-satanist-album-review/ | title = Behemoth, The Satanist Album Review | last = DiVita | first = John | website = Loudwire | date = 4 February 2014 | accessdate = 7 February 2014}}

| rev5 = Pitchfork

| rev5Score = 8.2/10{{cite web | url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19021-behemoth-the-satanist/ | title = Behemoth The Satanist Album Reviews Pitchfork | last = Currin | first = Grayson | website = Pitchfork | date = 26 February 2014 | accessdate = 26 February 2014}}

| rev6 = PopMatters

| rev6score = {{Rating|9|10}}{{cite web| date =4 February 2014|last=Brown|first=Dean|title=Behemoth "The Satanist" review|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/178783-behemoth-the-satanist/#more|website=PopMatters|accessdate=4 February 2014}}

| rev7 = Rock Sound

| rev7Score = {{Rating|9|10}}{{cite web |first=Kevin |last=Stewart-Panko| url = http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article/behemoth-the-satanist | title = Behemoth "The Satanist" review | date = 26 January 2014 | accessdate = 3 February 2014}}

| rev8= Spin

| rev8Score = {{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web | url = http://www.spin.com/reviews/behemoth-the-satanist/ | title = Behemoth, The Satanist Review | last = Kelly | first = Kim | date = 5 February 2014 | accessdate = 7 February 2014}}

| rev9 = Teraz Rock

| rev9score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Babula|first=Jordan|title=Behemoth "The Satanist" review|url=http://www.terazrock.pl/recenzje/czytaj/Behemoth-The-Satanist.html#more|website=Teraz Rock|accessdate=3 February 2014|language=Polish}}

| rev10 = Terrorizer

| rev10Score = {{Rating|9.5|10}}{{Cite web | url = http://www.terrorizer.com/news/album-reviews/behemoth-satanist-stream-album-review/ | title = Behemoth The Satanist Stream and Album Review Terrorizer | last = Dare | first = Tom | date = 4 February 2014 | accessdate = 7 February 2014}}

}}

The Satanist received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 92, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 10 reviews. Joe DiVita of Loudwire noted that the album "sees the band shed away that skin as they simultaneously get back to some of their blackened roots while exploring new areas with… dynamic songwriting".{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} The album claimed the top spot on Loudwire's list of the best metal albums of 2014, with Loudwire hailing it "a masterpiece from beginning to end, with absolutely no filler".{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/best-metal-albums-2014/|title=20 Best Metal Albums of 2014|website=Loudwire|date=15 December 2014 }}

Grayson Currin of Pitchfork wrote: "The Satanist is a terrific coil of most everything Behemoth have ever done well, a strangely hopeful vision of hell wrested away from its very grip." The editorial staff of Dutch webzine Lords of Metal named it the third best album of 2014,{{cite web|url=http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/specials/view/id/637|website=Lords of Metal|accessdate=1 January 2015|author=Evil Dr. Smith|title=The Lords Of Metal Top 30 – 2014}} after a score of 93/100 for the initial album review.{{cite web|url=http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/reviews/view/id/26644|website=Lords of Metal|accessdate=1 March 2014|author=Vera|title=Behemoth – 'The Satanist' review}}

In 2019 the album was voted the "Best Metal Album of the Decade" by publications such as Loudwire, Consequence of Sound and others.{{Cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/best-metal-albums-decade-2010-2019/|title = The 66 Best Metal Albums of the Decade: 2010 - 2019|website = Loudwire| date=7 September 2022 }}{{Cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/11/top-metal-albums-of-the-2010s/4/|title = Top 25 Metal Albums of the 2010s|date = 8 November 2019}}

"It's a really intense album," observed comedian Bill Bailey. "And the music is so orchestral, almost: the guitars layered on and this sort of tornado of drums… It's epic. I listen to it when I'm cycling."{{cite magazine|first=Polly|last=Glass|title=Q&A: Bill Bailey|magazine=Classic Rock|date=January 2018|issue=244|page=24}}

All music composed by Nergal. All arrangements by Behemoth. All lyrics written by Nergal, except where noted.

{{track listing

| title1 = Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel

| lyrics1 =

| length1 = 4:25

| title2 = Furor Divinus

| lyrics2 =

| length2 = 3:06

| title3 = Messe Noire

| length3 = 4:04

| lyrics3 = {{flatlist|

• Nergal
• Krzysztof Azarewicz

}}

| title4 = Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer

| lyrics4 = {{flatlist|

• Nergal
• Azarewicz

}}

| length4 = 5:35

| title5 = Amen

| length5 = 3:49

| lyrics5 =

| title6 = The Satanist

| lyrics6 =

| length6 = 5:33

| title7 = Ben Sahar

| lyrics7 =

| length7 = 5:34

| title8 = In the Absence ov Light

| lyrics8 =

| length8 = 4:58

| title9 = O Father O Satan O Sun!

| length9 = 7:13

| lyrics9 = {{flatlist|

• Nergal
• Azarewicz

}}

| total_length = 44:17

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Australian edition bonus track

| title10 = Ludzie Wschodu

| note10 = Siekiera cover

| music10 = Adamski

| lyrics10 = Tomasz Adamski

| length10 = 4:11

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese edition bonus tracks

| title10 = Ludzie Wschodu

| note10 = Siekiera cover

| music10 = Adamski

| lyrics10 = Tomasz Adamski

| length10 = 4:11

| title11 = Chant for Ezkaton 2000 E.V.

| music11 =

| lyrics11 = Krzysztof Azarewicz

| length11 = 5:10

| title12 = Qadosh

| music12 =

| lyrics12 = Azarewicz

| length12 = 5:00

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Special edition DVD (Live Barbarossa – Behemoth 26 September 2012, Ekaterinburg, Russia)

| title1 = Intro

| note1 = instrumental

| length1 = 2:44

| title2 = Ov Fire and the Void

| lyrics2 = Nergal

| length2 = 4:38

| title3 = Demigod

| lyrics3 = Nergal

| length3 = 4:11

| title4 = Moonspell Rites

| lyrics4 = Nergal

| length4 = 7:20

| title5 = Conquer All

| lyrics5 = Nergal

| length5 = 4:09

| title6 = Christians to the Lions

| lyrics6 = Nergal

| length6 = 5:05

| title7 = The Seed ov I

| lyrics7 = {{flatlist|

• Nergal
• Krzysztof Azarewicz

}}

| length7 = 5:40

| title8 = Alas, Lord is Upon Me

| lyrics8 = Nergal

| length8 = 3:59

| title9 = Decade ov Therion

| lyrics9 = Azarewicz

| length9 = 3:46

| title10 = At the Left Hand ov God

| lyrics10 = {{flatlist|

• Nergal
• Azarewicz

}}

| length10 = 5:11

| title11 = Slaves Shall Serve

| lyrics11 = Azarewicz

| length11 = 3:37

| title12 = Chant for Ezkaton 2000 E.V.

| lyrics12 = Azarewicz

| length12 = 6:50

| title13 = 23 (The Youth Manifesto)

| lyrics13 = Nergal

| length13 = 4:33

| title14 = Lucifer

| lyrics14 = Tadeusz Miciński

| length14 = 9:34

| title15 = The Satanist: Oblivion

| length15 = 25:04

| note15 = documentary

|}}

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Behemoth

• Adam "Nergal" Darski – lead guitar, vocals, lyrics
• Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski – bass
• Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński – drums

;Production

• Wojciech Wiesławski – producer, engineering
• Sławomir Wiesławski – producer, engineering
• Daniel Bergstrand – producer
• Matt Hyde – mixing
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Urban Näsvall – drum technician
• Denis "Forkas" Kostromitin (Денис "Форкас" Костромитин) – cover art
• Metastazis (Jean-Emmanuel "Valnoir" Simoulin) – additional design
• Zbigniew Bielak – additional design
• Arkadiusz "Malta" Malczewski – mixing, mastering (DVD)
• Grupa 13 – producer (DVD; Documentary)
• Aga Krysiuk – filmmaker (DVD; Documentary)
• Iwo Ledwozyw – filmmaker (DVD; Documentary)

{{col-2}}

;Additional musicians

• Patryk Dominik "Seth" Sztyber – rhythm guitar
• Michał Łapaj (Riverside) – keyboards, hammond organ on "O Father O Satan O Sun!" and "The Satanist"
• Krzysztof "Siegmar" Oloś (Vesania) – samples
• Krzysztof Azarewicz – lyrics
• Jan "Dziablas" Galbas (Octopussy) – backing vocals on "O Father O Satan O Sun!"
• Artur Jurek (Sanacja) – orchestrations
• Marcin Janek (Durys Band) – saxophone on "In the Absence ov Light"
• Grażyna Michalec (Polish Chamber Orchestra Sopot) – cello
• Magda Miotke-Bajerska (Polish Chamber Orchestra Sopot) – cello
• Alicja Leoniuk-Kit (Polish Chamber Orchestra Sopot) – cello
• Pawel Hulisz (Hevelius Brass quintet) – flugelhorn, trumpet
• Michał Szczerba (Hevelius Brass quintet) – French horn
• Łukasz Lacny (Hevelius Brass quintet) – French horn
• Bogdan Kwiatek (Hevelius Brass quintet) – trombone
• Adam Sierżęga – percussion (uncredited, track 10; DVD)

;Note

• Recorded at Hertz Studio in Białystok, Poland, Feb–June 2013
• Additional recording at Dug-Out, Radio Gdańsk, Soundsgreat Studio
• Mixed at Hydeaway Studio, Los Angeles, Aug–Sept 2013
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City, Sept–Oct 2013
• 'Live Barbarossa' was filmed during Phoenix Rising tour in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Sept 2012

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Behemoth}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satanist}}

Category:2014 albums

Category:Behemoth (band) albums

Category:Metal Blade Records albums

Category:Nuclear Blast albums

Category:Mystic Production albums

Category:Polish-language albums

Category:Albums produced by Adam Darski

Category:Articles containing video clips