Evangelion (album)
Evangelion is the ninth studio album by Polish extreme metal band Behemoth. The album was released on 7 August 2009 through Nuclear Blast Records, and on 11 August 2009 through Metal Blade Records in the United States.
| Evangelion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 August 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 16 February – May 2009 | |||
| Studio | Radio Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:54 | |||
| Language |
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| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Behemoth chronology | ||||
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| Behemoth studio album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Evangelion | ||||
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Background Edit
The album title refers to the Good News in Christianity; the message of Jesus Christ.
Evangelion comes from a Greek word 'Spreading the word of God' or 'spreading the good news'…oh well, you already know that we love to play with the meanings and symbolism. We're here to show you our interpretation of what Evangelion really is.
The album's cover artwork is a depiction of The Great Harlot of Babylon, the figures of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
The picture is of The Great Harlot of Babylon riding the seven-headed beast. Saints bow before her in worship whilst the tablets of the Ten Commandments lie broken at her feet. It represents our vision and the interpretation of the New Testament parable where the "Whore of Babylon" is a symbol of rebellion and resistance against God.
Recording and production Edit
In January 2009, the band was in the final stages of the songwriting and rehearsal process for the album. Behemoth entered Radio Gdańsk studio in Poland to begin work on the album on 16 February 2009. The band managed to tap Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Dark Funeral) to produce drums on the record. Bergstrand used some unconventional techniques—a big room for the drums to create ambience and 22-channel recording for a more "organic and natural" sound.[16][17]
In March they were close to finish recording the guitars, with help from Wojciech and Sławomir Wiesławski from Studio Hertz. Within five days they completed three songs and laid down three rhythm guitars on each side, after which they worked on the bass, solos and vocals simultaneously.[18][19]
The band also managed to tap Colin Richardson to mix the album. The band had tried to book him before for their previous album, The Apostasy, but he wasn't available then.[20]
In early May, tracking was completed and on 12 May Nergal flew to the United Kingdom to join Colin Richardson to mix the record at Miloco Studios, London.[21] Also in May, Metal Hammer was given the opportunity to listen to three fully completed songs in Miloco Studios.[22] Nergal stated that this was the most relaxing and at the same time the most creative studio session he had ever been a part of.[18]
Track listing Edit
All lyrics written by Nergal, except where noted. All music composed by Nergal.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Daimonos" | 5:15 | |
| 2. | "Shemhamforash" | 3:56 | |
| 3. | "Ov Fire and the Void" | 4:27 | |
| 4. | "Transmigrating Beyond Realms ov Amenti" | Krzysztof Azarewicz | 3:27 |
| 5. | "He Who Breeds Pestilence" | 5:41 | |
| 6. | "The Seed ov I" |
| 4:58 |
| 7. | "Alas, Lord Is Upon Me" | 3:15 | |
| 8. | "Defiling Morality ov Black God" |
| 2:49 |
| 9. | "Lucifer" | Tadeusz Miciński | 8:06 |
| Total length: | 41:54 | ||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Total Invasion" (Killing Joke cover) | Jaz Coleman | 7:22 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Making of Evangelion" (documentary) | 44:09 |
| 2. | "Evangelion Photo Session" (documentary) | 6:40 |
Credits Edit
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[23]
Personnel Edit
Behemoth Edit
- Nergal – vocals, guitars
- Inferno – drums, backing vocals on "Daimonos"
- Orion – bass, backing vocals on "Daimonos"
Session musicians Edit
- Seth – guitars, backing vocals on "Daimonos"
Additional musicians Edit
- Siegmar – samples, synthesizer
- Hevelius Brass quintet
- Boris "Hatefrost" Kalyuzhnyy – backing vocals on "Daimonos"
- Maciej "Manticore" Gruszka – backing vocals "Daimonos"
- Arkadiusz Malczewski – backing vocals "Daimonos"
- Tomasz "Ragaboy" Osiecki – sitar on "Shemhamforash"
- Maciej Maleńczuk – spoken word on "Lucifer"
Production Edit
- Behemoth – production
- Daniel Bergstrand – co-production
- Sławomir Wiesławski – co-production
- Wojciech Wiesławski – co-production
- Colin Richardson – co-production, mixing
- Arkadiusz Malczewski – engineering
- Janusz Bryt – engineering
- Kuba Mańkowski – engineering
- Ted Jensen – Audio mastering
Visual art Edit
- Nergal – cover concept
- Tomasz Daniłowicz – cover concept, cover design, artwork, mask design
- Macifj Boryna – photography
- Grupa13 – photography
- Kasjopea Michorowska – costume design
- Behemoth – make up
- Gellaturo – mask
Studios Edit
- RG Studios, January 2009 E.V. - May 2009 – recording
- Musikbox, Miloco Studios, London, May 2009 – mixing
- Mastered in Sterling Studio, New York, May 2009 – mastering
Charts Edit
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] | 45 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] | 17 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[26] | 111 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] | 59 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[28] | 1 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 88 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[30] | 25 |
| US Billboard 200[31] | 55 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[32] | 5 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[33] | 5 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[34] | 17 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[35] | 7 |
Certifications Edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Poland (ZPAV)[36] | Gold | 10,000* |
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history Edit
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 7 August 2009 |
|
| United States | 11 August 2009 | Metal Blade |
| Japan | 19 August 2009 | Victor |
| South Korea | 24 September 2009 | Dope Entertainment |
| India | 25 September 2009 | Demonstealer Records |
| Russia | 10 January 2010 | Mazzar Records |
References Edit
- ^ "Ov Fire and the Void – Single Behemoth". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ "Behemoth: The "Lucifer" Video". 5 October 2011.
- ^ Marsicano, Dan. . About.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ^ Freeman, Phil. "Review: Evangelion". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ^ Slessor, Dan. . Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Ellis, Graham. . Terrorizer. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Świrkowicz, Marek. "Behemoth "Evangelion" review" (in Polish). Teraz Rock. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Munro, Tyler. "Behemoth – "Evangelion" review". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Donarski, Bartosz. (in Polish). muzyka.interia.pl. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ Kapuściarz, Michał. (in Polish). muzyka.onet.pl. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ Burkart, Gregory. "Behemoth – "Evangelion" review". www.fearnet.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Falzon, Denise. "Behemoth – "Evangelion" review". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ DiVita, Joe (4 February 2014). "Behemoth – "Evangelion" review". loudwire.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ "Behemoth Completes Recording New Album". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 11 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- ^ "Behemoth Reveal New Album Details". Metal Hammer. Future Publishing. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 1 February 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ a b . Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2 February 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ "World Exclusive Listen To New Behemoth Tracks!". Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ Evangelion (booklet). Behemoth. Mystic Production. 2009. MYSTCD 101.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Austriancharts.at – Behemoth – Evangelion" (in German). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Behemoth: Evangelion" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Behemoth – Evangelion". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Behemoth – Evangelion". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Behemoth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- ^ "Behemoth Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Behemoth Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Behemoth Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Behemoth Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2011 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 December 2021.