Behemoth’s newest record is affectionately named ‘The Sh*t Ov God’— from that alone, most listeners should know exactly what they’re getting into with this one. Nergal and company have long been the edgy teens of black metal, decrying Christianity since the band’s inception: their ambition to be even more blasphemous with each release has led us, inevitably, to an album as melodramatic and ridiculous as ‘The Sh*t Ov God.’ The real disappointment is not that the band’s latest record is so hammy though. Rather, it’s that the group are still cowering in the shadow of 2014’s ‘The Satanist,’ pumping out yet another by-the-numbers collection of tunes like they’re on autopilot.

An album with a name as boisterous as this one demands special attention be paid to its lyrical choices: for Behemoth, their mainstay ideas of blasphemy, lost faith and the occult are as prevalent as ever. ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ is about as far inside the band’s thematic wheelhouse as it could possibly be, content to dwell on the same sacrilegious musings that Nergal has been spitting out since the 90s. The sheer flamboyance of the record’s visions of apocalypse fits their garish aesthetic well, even if we’ve heard it all before— simply put, this is Behemoth as you know them.

“I skulk among thee in prodigious silence

I wear your skins and know your hearts

I preach not peace but carnality and violence

Woe and shame to you all”

The group only ever manage to draw attention to their lyrical choices in a negative light: some passages from ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ cut closer to outright parody than ever, only adding to the nonsensical insanity of the project. The title track is (by a considerable margin) the worst offender, seeing Nergal rattling off a spelling test like he’s auditioning for Matilda. Though a certain level of campiness is to be expected, moments like these wholeheartedly cross the line into cringe-worthy, standing as some of the weakest in the Behemoth catalogue.

“I for ingrate

E to eradicate

S for the scorn

U for useless”

Of course, Behemoth have never been a band flocked to for their insightful criticisms of religion— despite its off-putting appearance, ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ will ultimately live or die by the quality of its writing and performances. Fans will be pleased to see that, in terms of tempo and aggression, the group have still got it. Nergal’s vocals, though not quite as jaw-dropping as they once were, retain an unhinged, overwhelming aspect, providing gravitas to even the weakest moments of the album: it’s a similar story for Orion, Seth and Inferno, who all bring the furious chops we know them for. These veteran performances really do elevate even the most meandering of material— opener ‘The Shadow Elite,’ for instance, benefits massively from the brutality of its screams and desperation of its guitar parts.

‘The Sh*t Ov God’ is at its best when Behemoth really let themselves off the chain, delivering the unstoppable barrage of blast beats and grinding riffs we know them for. The title track is certainly the most momentous on the record, amping itself up to staggering heights via some soaring choral elements that make this a real head-banger. Truthfully, the majority of riffs found throughout the album exhibit a commendable level of aggression— cuts like ‘To Drown The Svn In Wine,’ ‘Lvcifaraeon’ and ‘Nomen Barbarvm’ are chock-full of wickedly evil note choices and infectious percussive twists, make each one a welcome addition to any upcoming setlist. At a base level, Behemoth’s newest record accomplishes what it sets out to do, even if it isn’t the most ambitious of projects.

Even under threat of gunfire though, we’d honestly struggle to differentiate most of these cuts from one another. The entirety of ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ dwells in a single mood— bland, unfocused anger— and expresses it very singularly: gone are the varied and intriguing sound inclusions of ‘The Satanist,’ replaced with an array of interchangeable trem-picked riffs and ho-hum choruses. The writing on songs like ‘Sowing Salt’ or ‘O Venvs, Come!’ sees the band on autopilot, plowing through increasingly forgettable material without letting any of it breathe: Behemoth’s latest record is one of their most dispensable to date, and it’s shocking to have to call it boring at times. In spite of its ridiculous lyrical content, the album feels very insular— though closer ‘Avgvr (The Dread Vvltvre)’ attempts to bring some gravitas to the project, ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ feels quite small for the most part. This is not a definitive statement from Nergal, or at least not a positive one. If Behemoth have anything to say in 2025, it’s that their creative well is running dry.

Nergal and company have been unintentionally recreating ‘The Satanist’ over and over again for a decade now, and 2025’s ‘The Sh*t Ov God’ may be their most disconnected attempt yet. The unstoppable force that made ‘Demigod’ is long behind us: in their place, modern Behemoth seems determined to be the laughing stock of the black metal scene, pushing their lyrical choices to outright ridiculous levels. Outside of a select few moments, the new record is a tepid, safe affair, housing some of the band’s blandest material to date. The group are most certainly in need of a course correct after this one— there is nowhere further to take ideas like these.