Behemoth (band)

Behemoth
Behemoth in 2004, from left to right: Tomasz Wróblewski, Adam Darski and Zbigniew Robert Promiński
Background information
Origin	Gdańsk, Poland
Genres	Blackened death metal death metal black metal (early)
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Metal Blade Nuclear Blast Wild Rags Pagan Avantgarde Music Regain Century Media Mystic Production
Associated acts	Blindead
Website	www.behemoth.pl
Members	Adam Darski Zbigniew Robert Promiński Tomasz Wróblewski Patryk Sztyber
Past members	See "Former members"

Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.

Until the late 1990s, the band played a traditional black metal style with heathen lyrical content, but soon changed to that of occult and thelemic themes written by their lead vocalist Nergal and Krzysztof Azarewicz. With the 1999 release of Satanica, the band demonstrated their presence in the death metal scene, while retaining their own signature style characterized by the drum work of Inferno, multi-layered vocals and Middle-Eastern influences. Despite Behemoth having been labeled as death metal or thrash metal-influenced, Nergal has mentioned that he does not like the band to be labeled.

Behemoth was formed in 1991 as a trio, with Nergal on guitar and vocals, Baal on the drums, and Desecrator on the guitar. They started with the demos Endless Damnation, and The Return of the Northern Moon. The most significant however, was the third demo—...From the Pagan Vastlands (1993). This tape was released by Polish label Pagan Records and later on by the American Wild Rags. Their next release was Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic) in 1995. A year later, they recorded their second album Grom, which was released in 1996. Grom features many different influences and musical styles, using female vocals as well as acoustic guitars and synthesizers. At the same time, Behemoth finally got a chance to play live shows in its native country and finally tour around Europe, gaining stage experience. Two years later, the band recorded a third album, titled Pandemonic Incantations. The culmination of their increasing presence and metal media set a new standard for them. However, due to a lack of promotion, the album was not well-publicized. After another extensive tour, Behemoth signed a two-album deal with Italy's Avantgarde Music in the fall of 1998. The first result of this new collaboration was the successful album Satanica, on which the black metal sound had evolved into blackened death metal.