Behemoth Opvs Contra Natvram

Behemoth, the high priests of extreme metal, have announced their 12th studio album, Opvs Contra Natvram, their most thought-provoking and arresting collection to date. The album is set for release on September 16 via Nuclear Blast. The video for “Ov My Herculean Exile” has been directed by Zuzanna Plisz.

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, QOTSA, 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.

1 Post-God Nirvana
2 Malaria Vvlgata
3 The Deathless Sun
4 Ov My Herculean Exile
5 Neo-Spartacvs
6 Disinheritance
7 Off To War!
8 Once Upon A Pale Horse
9 Thy Becoming Eternal
10 Versvs Christvs