Evangelion (album)

Evangelion is the ninth studio album by Polish extreme metal band Behemoth. The album was released on 7 August 2009 through Nuclear Blast Records, and on 11 August 2009 through Metal Blade Records in the United States.

Background
The album title refers to the Good News in Christianity; the message of Jesus Christ. Evangelion comes from a Greek word 'Spreading the word of God' or 'spreading the good news'…oh well, you already know that we love to play with the meanings and symbolism. We're here to show you our interpretation of what Evangelion really is.

The album's cover artwork is a depiction of The Great Harlot of Babylon, the figures of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. The picture is of The Great Harlot of Babylon riding the seven-headed beast. Saints bow before her in worship whilst the tablets of the Ten Commandments lie broken at her feet. It represents our vision and the interpretation of the New Testament parable where the "Whore of Babylon" is a symbol of rebellion and resistance against God.

Recording and production
In January 2009, the band was in the final stages of the songwriting and rehearsal process for the album. Behemoth entered Radio Gdańsk studio in Poland to begin work on the album on 16 February 2009. The band managed to tap Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Dark Funeral) to produce drums on the record. Bergstrand used some unconventional techniques—a big room for the drums to create ambience and 22-channel recording for a more "organic and natural" sound.

In March they were close to finish recording the guitars, with help from Wojciech and Sławomir Wiesławski from Studio Hertz. Within five days they completed three songs and laid down three rhythm guitars on each side, after which they worked on the bass, solos and vocals simultaneously.

The band also managed to tap Colin Richardson to mix the album. The band had tried to book him before for their previous album, The Apostasy, but he wasn't available then.

In early May, tracking was completed and on 12 May Nergal flew to the United Kingdom to join Colin Richardson to mix the record at Miloco Studios, London. Also in May, Metal Hammer was given the opportunity to listen to three fully completed songs in Miloco Studios. Nergal stated that this was the most relaxing and at the same time the most creative studio session he had ever been a part of.

Track listing
All lyrics written by Nergal, except where noted. All music composed by Nergal.

Credits
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

Behemoth

 * Nergal – vocals, guitars
 * Inferno – drums, backing vocals on "Daimonos"
 * Orion – bass, backing vocals on "Daimonos"

Session musicians

 * Seth – guitars, backing vocals on "Daimonos"

Additional musicians

 * Siegmar – samples, synthesizer
 * Hevelius Brass quintet
 * Pawel Hulisz – trumpet
 * Piotr Kowalkowski – trumpet
 * Michal Szczerba – horn
 * Bogdan Kwiatek – trombone
 * Lukasz Gruba – tuba
 * Boris "Hatefrost" Kalyuzhnyy – backing vocals on "Daimonos"
 * Maciej "Manticore" Gruszka – backing vocals "Daimonos"
 * Arkadiusz Malczewski – backing vocals "Daimonos"
 * Tomasz "Ragaboy" Osiecki – sitar on "Shemhamforash"
 * Maciej Maleńczuk – spoken word on "Lucifer"

Production

 * Behemoth – production
 * Daniel Bergstrand – co-production
 * Sławomir Wiesławski – co-production
 * Wojciech Wiesławski – co-production
 * Colin Richardson – co-production, mixing
 * Arkadiusz Malczewski – engineering
 * Janusz Bryt – engineering
 * Kuba Mańkowski – engineering
 * Ted Jensen – Audio mastering

Visual art

 * Nergal – cover concept
 * Tomasz Daniłowicz – cover concept, cover design, artwork, mask design
 * Macifj Boryna – photography
 * Grupa13 – photography
 * Kasjopea Michorowska – costume design
 * Behemoth – make up
 * Gellaturo – mask

Studios

 * RG Studios, January 2009 E.V. - May 2009 – recording
 * Musikbox, Miloco Studios, London, May 2009 – mixing
 * Mastered in Sterling Studio, New York, May 2009 – mastering