BEHEMOTH Announces 12th Studio Album 'Opvs Contra Natvram', Shares 'Ov My Herculean Exile' Video

May 11, 2022

Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH will release their 12th studio album, "Opvs Contra Natvram", on September 16 via Nuclear Blast. The official music video for the LP's first single, "Ov My Herculean Exile", directed by Zuzanna Plisz, can be seen below.

The ten chapters of fury that make up "Opvs Contra Natvram" were written and recorded over the course of a very strange year for the globe — a situation which only heightened the level of craft seen in these 43 minutes and 15 seconds of searing wrath. As with previous studio outings, "Opvs…" was produced by BEHEMOTH, with mixing handled by acclaimed studio legend Joe Barresi (NINE INCH NAILS, TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ALICE IN CHAINS).

Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail and absolute creative control of BEHEMOTH's world, frontman and band visionary Adam "Nergal" Darski reveled in the depressurized environment afforded by the pandemic. It meant that for nearly the first time since the band's inception over 30 years ago there was no deadline to observe, allowing for a nearly unprecedented level of attention to the process of writing and recording.

Beyond any confines of genre, BEHEMOTH have grown to become nothing less than the personification of rebellion, individuality, and unflinching self-expression informed by a literate worldview and worldliness that's resulted in a locking of horns with everything from the mainstream press to the Polish Catholic church — most notably manifesting in Nergal's trial for blasphemy in 2010 that only served to expose the deep-seated hypocrisies that his music seeks to challenge.

"The album title means going against the current," Nergal states. "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!"

"Opvs Contra Natvram" features twin cover art available in both black and white and will be released in an array of physical formats designed by Bartek Rogalewicz (Lodge.Black),certain to thrill collectors of limited editions.

"Opvs Contra Natvram" track listing:

01. Post-God Nirvana
02. Malaria Vvlgata
03. The Deathless Sun
04. Ov My Herculean Exile
05. Neo-Spartacvs
06. Disinheritance
07. Off To War!
08. Once Upon A Pale Horse
09. Thy Becoming Eternal
10. Versvs Christvs

BEHEMOTH is:

Adam "Nergal" Darski – Lead vocals, Guitar
Zbigniew "Inferno" Promiński - Drums, Percussion
Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski - Bass, Backing vocals
Patryk "Seth" Sztyber - Guitar, Backing Vocals

Photo credit: Sylwia Makris and Christian Martin Weiss

Find more on Behemoth
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).