Last month, Polish death metallers Behemoth announced their new album Opvs Contra Natvram, and dropped the first single “Ov My Herculean Exile.” Now, the band have released another new song, “Off to War!”, which you can hear below.
Perhaps most notable about “Off to War!” is that it’s a bit faster than much of Behemoth’s material of late. The track definitely utilizes a racket-y thrash gallop for much of its duration. The song also comes via animated music video which is very black metal in its imagery — lots of stark tree branches, witches around fires, and charcoal-ish blacks smeared throughout. There are also exotic bugs everywhere, for some reason.
Says frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski of the track:
“Militant times bring militant music… we’re increasing the tempo with our new single, ‘Off To War!’ — one of my personal favorites from the new record. This song has a killer punk section, one of the greatest Behemoth leads of all time, and a nice extreme metal twist at the end. A true sonic tornado in times of confrontation — enjoy it, legions!!”
As for the themes of Opvs Contra Natvram, Darski says it’s about cancel culture and social media:
“The album title means going against the current. It’s the negative of the values and morals and ethics that I stand against. I’ve seriously been wrestling with destructive tendencies in pop culture — cancel culture, social media, and tools which I feel are very dangerous weapons in the hands of people who are not competent to judge others. That’s something which I find very destructive and disturbing — and extremely limiting coming from an artists’ perspective. This is my middle finger to that. There’s a song on the record called‘Neo-Spartacvs.’ Spartacus was one of the most iconic rebels in history who went against the most powerful empire of all time. In the end, it’s me screaming, ‘I Am Spartacus, and so are you!’ I want to spark that flame of rebellion. If something seems wrong then stand up to it!”
Check out “Off to War!” below, followed by the album’s details. Opvs Contra Natvram drops September 16th via Nuclear Blast, and is available for preorder.
Behemoth’s Opvs Contra Natvram
- Post-God Nirvana
- Malaria Vvlgata
- The Deathless Sun
- Ov My Herculean Exile
- Neo-Spartacvs
- Disinheritance
- Off to War!
- Once Upon a Pale Horse
- Thy Becoming Eternal
- Versvs Christvs
