Review by Ben for Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon (1993)

It's hard not to get excited about listening to an album so highly rated in a genre you adore. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and delve into its supposed darkness. To say that I'm a tad disappointed is an understatement. Drawing Down the Moon is so bad that I thought I must be listening to the wrong album. Or perhaps statements below like "most evil and hauntingly ritualistic album I've ever heard" had given me expectations that could never be met. Or maybe, this is just average, terribly produced, ridiculously overrated black metal that doesn't come remotely close to bands like Burzum, Darkthrone or even Xasthur when it comes to raw, atmospheric, evil sounding black metal. I think probably it's the latter.

The production is always crap on these sorts of albums, but in this case it really is dodgy. The drum sound is quite upfront and bassy yet the riffs are completely thin and powerless, not to mention utterly simplistic and lifeless. The vocals seem completely out of place, like they're from a totally different recording and just stuck on top. Nuclear Holocausto's (yes, seriously) lame attempt at pure evilness fails entirely no matter whether he's speaking, growling or screaming. Tracks such as The Gate of Nanna and Summerlands are clearly supposed to get the hackles on my neck rising, but instead they have me cringing in disbelief. Down There... and Thou Angel of Gods are so simplistic, an 8-year-old (freaky 8-year-old admittedly) could have written them. Oh well, I guess Rate Your Music can't really be wrong, as it's based on fan opinions. But I just don't get this one and I'd love to hear from anyone out there that can explain to me why this album deserves to be considered a classic black metal album. If I had to pick highlights, I'd say Nocturnal Evil (which is not too bad) and Werewolf, Semen and Blood.