REVIEW: Behemoth - The Shit Ov God

There are very few bands in extreme metal that provoke, confront, and transcend like Behemoth. For over three decades, the Polish juggernauts have carved a path of sonic destruction and spiritual defiance, blending blackened death metal with a fiercely theatrical and philosophical edge and yet here they are again with their new album, The Shit Ov God .

Put simply, The Shit Ov God might not immediately feel like a quintessential Behemoth record, but at its core, it still bears the band’s unmistakable ferocity, theatricality, and a flair for blasphemy. That said, the evolution it represents doesn’t land as naturally or convincingly. If there is any way to suggest how it comes across whilst listening, it feels like Behemoth are caught somewhere between reinvention and repetition, unsure whether to plunge deeper into the esoteric or cling to a now-familiar formula.

There are attempts to claw it back, particularly on the title track, which comes the closest to recapturing their signature blend of ritualistic power and sonic drama. It brims with fire and ceremony, and for a moment, it feels like Behemoth are reaching for something transcendent again. But too often, the production becomes overbearing. On ‘O, Venvs Come!’, the band tease a more atmospheric direction with what sounds like choral elements at its opening, but those textures are buried so deep in the mix they barely register, more like faint echoes of something that could have been. Instead of haunting the track, they vanish almost instantly, like the ghost of a spirit of a wisp. The result is an album that wants to sound massive and mythic, but too often just sounds muddled and impenetrable.

However, on the tracks like ‘To Drown the Svn in Wine’, their performance verges on overpowering - blasting with such force and speed that everything else in the mix feels steamrolled in the process. There’s little room left for dynamics or texture; it’s all fire, no oxygen. Ironically, when the band finally strikes a more balanced, measured approach on the song ‘Avgvr (The Dread Vvltvre)’, a track that reins things in with a clearer structure and more deliberate pacing; it’s too late because that’s the end of the album and by then, the damage has long since been done.

While The Shit Ov God is undeniably bold and unrelenting in its execution, it ultimately fails to live up to the standards Behemoth has set in the past. While the album is conceptually layered and brimming with venomous energy, it often feels more cluttered than captivating. The intensity that once elevated the band now risks overshadowing the more nuanced elements that made their previous work stand out. Though it aims to be a rebellious and incendiary statement, The Shit Ov God falls short of the greatness that fans have come to expect.

Score: 5/10

The Shit Ov God was released on May 9th 2025.

Words: Ciara Hicks-Evans

Photos: Behemoth