You know what Monday mornings need more of? Nergal looking pensive. Thankfully, this week, we get that. It’s been a couple of years (already?) since Behemoth released The Satanist, regarded by many — including the die-hard fan that is myself — as the best Behemoth album to date. Despite that span of time, they continue to work off that masterpiece in the form of tours, videos, etc. Of course, they are in the middle of touring that album in full internationally. And as we continue to count the days until this very tour graces our respective cities, we get the new video from “Ben Sahar” to keep us entertained.
Everyone is familiar with The Satanist. And if you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the album as many of us are here at Nine Circles, you at least know a few tracks off the album. I am, of course, referring to the likes of “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel”, “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer”, and even the closing “O Father O Satan O Sun!” But nestled within all these tracks was the captivating “Ben Sahar”. Perhaps lesser-known when the album originally dropped, it was a song that eventually grew in popularity, partly due to its inclusion in their 2015 tour with Cannibal Corpse I would imagine. And now, we get a solid new video that is as equally entrancing as the song to go with it. Good news for me, as this was one of the songs that stood out to me when I first heard The Satanist.
Behemoth have long been masters of applying visual art to their music, and that is no different here. As the music of “Ben Sahar” wanders about, we focus on a parallel wandering Nergal, clearly focused, through a vast landscape filled with cloaked and masked figures that apparently belong to a cult of some sort. He makes eventual contact with them and appear to guide him onward on his journey. The scene cuts to a barrage of various figures in different settings — most frequently around a ritual bonfire — before we close with Nergal wandering off again on his own towards a standalone building or temple in the distance.
As with all Behemoth videos, no expense was spared on the costumes or imagery. The pace was slow moving, designed in a way that makes an audience think through the absorption of the scenes playing in front of us. The black and white element makes the complexity on the content far more accessible from a visual standpoint. Is it over the top? You’re damn right it is. That’s how these videos work. But the deliberation of the music successfully allows a viewer to match Nergal’s level of isolation in his travel through this ritualistic scene because of how it all unfolds visually. Is it as good as other Behemoth videos? I don’t think so. But it’s an awesome video to match an equally awesome track. Check it out below and catch Behemoth touring The Satanist on tour in the very near future. I’ll be doing the same. Twice.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– Corey
Nine Circles 