Crush.Fukk.Create: Requiem for Generation Armageddon

One of life’s greatest mysterious right alongside the great Pyramids of Egypt, the Lost City of Atlantis, and Stonehenge is the divine query of what would Lucifer/Hell/Suffering sound like if man was given the chance to witness it live. Many Death and Black Metal bands attempt to manifest such an enigma with their anti-Christian lyrics and Satan worship. Fortunately, Poland’s Behemoth are not of this mold as Nergal and his cronies aspire to enlightenment and philosophy which one can readily view if they pick up the liner notes too any of their most recent albums. This fresh and intelligent approach to metal is captured with the two live performances on this magnificently packaged DVD.

I’ve purchased my fair share of metal DVD’s and many of them lack quality packaging and presentation (see Death’s Live in LA, or Cannibal Corpse’s Live Cannibalism). Crush.Fukk.Create is beautifully packaged with a slipcover DVD case and beautiful artwork. Additionally, the content is nearly as slick as the presentation. The two DVD’s cover two live concerts and nearly two hours of interviews and other crazy shit as we’re offered a glimpse into the personal lives of the members of Behemoth.

The first live performance is notably the better of the two and is entitled “Live Pandemonium.” It was filmed at the Party San Festival in 2003, which means it features several cuts off of Zos Kia Cultus-which most would agree is the best Death Metal album these guys have put out. Their performance at the fest occurred at night and allows us to view the aural carnage in a deep and foreboding atmosphere adding to the overall effect of the show. As soon as the band rips into the first song (Antichristian Phenomenon) the crowd gets into it thrashing about and banging their heads as flames erupt at the corners of the stage making it hard for the viewer at home not to do the same. The sound quality is above average on this performance and one can relatively clearly make out each and every instrument. Even if there were audio issues they would readily be dismissed once one experiences how tight and clean Behemoth’s performance is. The guitars shred and rip through the air intermingling with the thumping of the bass, all supported by the amazing work of Inferno behind the kit. It is particularly satisfying seeing Inferno pound away at the skins as one can’t help but wonder how he achieves such speed on those triggered bass drums. Nergal’s vocal performance is also well for the most part, although in several instances it becomes hard to hear him (these moments are short and few however). The most gratifying part of this performance to me was being able to hear the killer material off of Zos Kia Cultus performed live. As Above So Below is absolutely my favorite song from Behemoth’s material (barring their Black Metal records which are superior in the eyes of this reviewer) and is performed flawlessly. Truly a rush to see these guys jump out at you and tear at your throat, hungry for blood.


The second performance is taken from the Mystic Festival in 2001 and is entitled “Mother Khaoz on Stage.” The title suits it well enough as we are treated to more of the same. The performance is relatively identical to that at the Party San Festival barring the newer material from Zos Kia Cultus. Most of the songs will have already been viewed in the earlier (sic) concert so it can become quite redundant if all viewed at once. This concert does differentiate itself first and foremost from the previous concert as it is held during the daytime. Not a big difference but it does change the atmosphere, albeit it slightly. The quality is on par also and no noticeable difference in sound or video. I do not have nearly as much to say about this show as the tracks hit me as slightly repetitive and featured their weaker material (still strong compared to other DM bands though).

Ok, so you finished watching two spectacular live performances and spent a good hour and a half thrashing about and just listening to good quality metal when you put in the bonus material on the second disc. I for one would have liked to view some behind the scenes footage as well as a couple serious interviews concerning Behemoth’s inspiration and what they’ve set out to accomplish with their career. I certainly was not expecting to view three guys with their dicks’ whipped out pissing on car windows and people piss-ass drunk acting like idiots. Given, there was a warning on the DVD case about the bonus material, but I still was not prepared to view such worthless and stupid material. It came across as a complete waste of an hour as I fast-forwarded through half of the scenes. Completely disappointing and ultimately lowering my image of Behemoth as a whole. The reason I could conceive why they would even include such footage would be to show their lighter side and that they do have a lot of fun on and off the stage, but that hardly came across upon first viewing. I have to admit the experience was overall very similar to a certain Heavy Metal icon’s utterly embarrassing reality show were he dethroned himself as the Prince of Darkness in my eyes.

In the end I would recommend this DVD as the live performances, particularly the first, are essential to any Behemoth fan. The second disc did inflict some damage to this viewer and hence a point deduction. I would suggest viewing the second disc with caution and perhaps just once to satisfy curiosity, I however will refrain from placing it back into my DVD player.