Poland’s Behemoth may never top ‘04’s monumental Demigod, but in the intervening years Behemoth mainman Nergal has gone to extremes in an effort to create a catalogue that will not wilt in that album’s shadow. Demigod follow-up The Apostasy was a record that, unfortunately, tried too hard and while Behemoth did yield strong material via that LP, there was a sense of tempered disappointment that the band hadn’t provided another watershed. Well, that slight bitterness has been completely shattered by the devastation that is Evangelion: Nergal, Orion, Inferno and Seth have executed what is essential Demigod part II and we can all rejoice at that idea and Evangelion’s aural manifestation of it. Beginning with the devastatingly epic duo of ‘Daimonos’ and ‘Shemaforash’ (one of Behemoth’s most aggressive and sinister songs, bar none), Evangelion then delivers no less than three songs that are comparable to the wicked ‘Slaves Shall Serve’ (from Demigod): yes, Evangelion is that forthright and uncontrollable. Sometimes experimenting with riffing and song structures that have been heretofore unseen in the Behemoth catalogue, Nergal has outdone himself and graced us with a record that brings his band to new artistic heights, all the while increasing Behemoth’s extreme focus (a feat that at one time seemed unattainable). Just as Demigod impressed us beyond what we felt possible, Evangelion has the listener slack-jawed in amazement that death metal has, yet again, been re-perfected by Behemoth.