Behemoth’s Death Metal Cover Of The Cure’s “A Forest” Is Awesome

Behemoth’s Death Metal Cover Of The Cure’s “A Forest” Is Awesome

Back in 1980, the Cure released their sophomore album Seventeen Seconds, an absolute classic of dark, pulsing gothic postpunk. The album’s 40th anniversary was just last month. Today, that album gets a tribute that very few would’ve known to expect. Behemoth, the demonic Polish underground metal institution, have dropped an utterly badass cover of “A Forest,” the Seventeen Seconds single.

Behemoth have been around since 1991, and it’s probably fair, at this point, to call them legends. The band doesn’t like to be put into subgenre categories, but they’ve long walked the line between black metal and death metal. They put on a hell of a theatrical show, going all-out for Satanism at every possible opportunity, and they might have the best corpsepaint in the business. As Revolver reports, Behemoth are gearing up to release a new EP called A Forest, and they’ve just shared the title track, a roiling six-minute black metal take on the Cure’s original.

Behemoth’s version of “A Forest” absolutely rips, beautifully translating the icy throb of the Cure’s original into roiling, ritualistic metal. Behemoth frontman Nergal shares lead-vocal duties with Niklas Kvarforth, leader of the Swedish black metal band Shining. In director Claudio Marino’s frankly awesome music video, Nergal stalks Kvarforth through a misty woodland. There’s snow and torches and at least one blood sacrifice. Nergal’s got a fucking falcon! It rules! (Behemoth videos tend to rule.) Check it out below, along with the Cure’s original.

Behemoth’s A Forest EP is out 5/29 on Metal Blade.

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