The Apostasy

The Apostasy is the eighth full-length album by Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth. The album was released on July 17, 2007 through Regain Records. It was recorded at the Radio Gdańsk Studios from November 2006 till March 2007. The record was then mixed by Daniel Bergstrand in the Dug Out Studio in Uppsala, Sweden in March 2007. Then it was mastered by Bjorn Engelmann in the Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm, Sweden also in March 2007.^[3]

Unlike Behemoth's previous studio albums, the piano and a horn section (a trio of trumpet, trombone, french horn) were used in several of the album's songs. During the recording sessions, the band re-recorded a new version of "Chant for Eschaton 2000" – originally released on their album Satanica – which was released on the band's 2008 EP, Ezkaton. The Apostasy is Behemoth's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, having debuted at #149. The album was also put out in vinyl format limited to 500 copies.^[4]

The album title refers to "apostasy", the state of having forsaken one's professed belief set, often in favour of opposing beliefs or causes. The album cover artwork is a depiction of the Hindu goddess Kali.^[5]

Moreover, a part of the Wikipedia article about Automatic writing has been printed and cited inside the booklet.

Track listing

Explanation of song titles

• "Rome 64 C.E." – the Great Fire of Rome occurred in 64 C.E., in which Peter from the bible (and possible other apostles as well), were allegedly killed. This explains the name of the song "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa".
• "Slaying the Prophets ov Isa" – Isa is the Arabic name for Jesus.
• "Prometherion" is a portmanteau of Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς; "forethought") and Therion (Greek: θηρίον; "wild animal" or "beast").
• "At the Left Hand ov God" is referring to the Left-Hand Path (Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path)
• "Kriegsphilosophie" is German for "philosophy of war".
• "Pazuzu" – the Pazuzu was a much-feared creature of legend in Mesopotamian mythology, with a deformed head, wings of an eagle, sharp claws of a lion on its feet, and tail of a scorpion. It is the personification of the south-east storm wind, which brings diseases.
• "Christgrinding Avenue" talks about the Via Dolorosa and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Charts

Personnel

Behemoth

• Adam "Nergal" Darski – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars, vocals, choir arrangements
• Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński – drums and percussion
• Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski – bass guitar, additional vocals
• Patryk Dominik "Seth" Sztyber – rhythm and lead guitars, additional backingvocals

Guest appearance

• Leszek Możdżer – piano on Inner Sanctum
• Warrel Dane – vocals on Inner Sanctum

Additional musicians and production

• Poitr Gluck – trumpet
• Jacek Swedrzynski – french horn
• Marcin Dziecielewski – trombone
• Hanna Kwiatkowska – soprano
• Anna Asmus – soprano
• Sylwia Falecka – alto
• Tamara Hejka–Grom – alto
• Grzegorz Zieba – tenor
• Franciszek Iskrzycki – tenor
• Piotr Macalak – basso
• Piotr Gluch – trumpet, trumpet arrangements
• Krzysztof Azarewicz – incantations, spells
• Kuba Mankowski – choir arrangements
• Piotr Banka – trumpet arrangements
• Arkadiusz "Malta" Malczewski – sound engineering, co–production
• Marcin Malinowski – assistant engineer
• Daniel Bergstrand – mixing
• Bjorn Engelmann – mastering
• Tomasz Danilowicz – cover concept, design and artwork, mask design
• Krzysztof "Sado" Sadowski – band photography
• Zbigniew Jozwik – mask sculpture
• Sharon E. Wennekers – grammatical consultations

References