Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vaderimg, Decapitatedimg, Vesania and Hate. Over the years, Behemoth moved from traditional black metal into death metal, and have since perched in the middle of the two. They have released 11 full-length albums so far.

 

 

The band was formed in 1991 as a trio, starting with raw and primitive black metal rehearsal tapes (Endless Damnation) and demos (The Return of the Northern Moon), the most significant of which was the second one—…From the Pagan Vastlands (1993)—showing the growing potential of the then teenage Nergal. Tomasz Wróblewski likes to announce that his metal influences sprung from Black Sabbath for giving him his ideas of "demonic" chords.

 

 

This tape was released by Polish label Pagan Records and later on by the American Wild Rags. Signing with a little-known black metal bands from mid-eastern Europe with enormous potential. Consequently, stepping forward, the band (as the three piece with Nergal, Baal, and Les) recorded their second album Grom.

 

At the same time they recorded Grom, Behemoth finally got a chance to play live shows in its native country and finally tour around Europe, gaining stage experience as well as positive feedback from the audience. Two years later, the band recorded a third album, titled Pandemonic Incantations which was a "breakthrough moment" in Behemoth's short career. The reactions of their ever-increasing fanbase 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.

 

 

The label also secured two European tours for the band in support of Deicide and Satyricon respectively. During that period, Behemoth had to go through some line-up changes and problems with their ex-Polish label. The new members then were Novy (formerly known from Devilyn, now in Vader, Dies Irae) who handled the bass duties and Havok who became the band's guitarist. The new line-up resulted in Behemoth signing with Mystic, a Polish label. The next follow-up release to Satanica was Thelema.6. Massive guitar parts and precise drumming, with influences from different sources, showed that Behemoth were there to offer something really varied and innovative once again, complete with characteristic fierce brutality and speed. Arrangements and technical invention on individual compositions made the album an ultimate one for the blackened death metal genre.