Beherit – Engram (2009)

Upon hearing that Beherit had reformed I more or less just sat here in my computer chair scratching my head thinking, “Why?” I mean don't get me wrong. Its cool when bands reform, assuming they still have the right motivation and drive to make the same music they did in their heyday. In the case of Beherit, well they are for one thing considered to be one of (if not) the first black metal band from Finland, and besides that their brand of ugly raw blackened death metal violence has served as inspiration for countless bands since. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that 'Drawing Down the Moon' is one of the best black metal records ever conceived either. And so its fourteen years later and Beherit is back on the scene. Riding along with Holocausto is original drummer Sadomatic Slaughter as well as Sami Tenetz (Thy Serpent) handling guitar and Twisted Baptizer (Chaosweaver) with bass duties. The music as you might expect is raw and barbaric at times and brings to mind those old demos, but it also has a strong atmospheric quality to it which makes me think back to DDTM era. 'Engram' is a strange record though, at times it sounds like classic Beherit, but perhaps more modernized and actually the production is a bit better than those old cult demos and albums. I must admit at first this album didn't do much for me, but after about five or so spins its really started to grow on me, in fact songs like 'Pagan Moon' and 'Axiom Heroine' are goddamn excellent. The vocals are delivered quite well too ranging from Holocausto's classic growled shrieks to hypnotic sounding clean vocals, which sound like some sort of spirit from the beyond speaking to you. As I understand it this album charted and sold like a motherfucker in Finland upon its release. I suppose that makes it all worth while then. Apparently he’s also a Buddhist. A Buddhist who writes songs about Satan. Kind of weird, no? While Engram may take a few spins to get it into I do still recommend checking out the Beherit of 2009 and hopefully beyond.