Finally released domestically in the U.S., GROM, Behemoth's breakthrough 1996 sophomore release, offers a wellspring of metallic creativity and blackened ambience. One of the most controversial and diverse albums in the band's career, the album is intriguing for several reasons: it not only featured keyboards and female vocals, but showed Behemoth's uniqueness from the start, with their novel combination of black, Viking, and thrash metal. GROM (Polish for "thunder") is also the only album in Behemoth's catalogue with completely Polish lyrics. Although Poland's evil sons have since grown beyond the stringent confines of black metal, GROM remains a pinnacle moment in Behemoth's evolution.