Behemoth Performs ‘The Satanist’ In Its Entirety In Orange County

By Jason Williams

behemoth

May 7th 2016, The Observatory, Santa Ana CA: Heroes. What do we consider a hero to be? One of the definitions include: “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.” Throughout our lives, we symbolize heroes in all facets of life. Firefighters, doctors, athletes, law enforcement, and much more. However, as a generation, we also apply that to the music that touches our very soul. When it comes to bands and musicians, we admire and revere their quality albums, remarkable musicianship, generosity to the fans, and how wonderfully passionate the sound of music carves the base and character of our well beings. But through the course of our lives, we can become disappointed with our ‘heroes’, and in my case personally, this was the case with Behemoth, an astonishing powerful black/death metal act from Poland, who has risen through the ranks of the metal world to become one of the most popular underground bands out there. Over time, I found myself distancing from the band, due to what I felt were albums quite lacking in emotion, quality and real, unique substance. Ranging from 2004-2009, Demigod, The Apostasy, and Evangelion were released, and I found myself unable to relate to them, just unable to connect, and surely, was ready to write them off… until Feburary 2014 occurred, and the menacing, provocative, and grand album, The Satanist, was released.

Where has this gorgeous dark passion been hiding from the band since their glorious 2003 album Zos Kia Cultus? It was profound, and ignited my admiration and joy for the band once more. Behemoth of course, founded and created by vocalist/guitarist Nergal, recovered from leukemia in 2010 with a successful bone marrow transplant, and something truly tells me that the horrific experience and recovery, led to the creation of this divine masterpiece. Even greater news, the Blasfemia Amerika Tour 2016 would have Behemoth play the new record in its entirety, something I’ve been personally wishing would come true. And the last date of the successful tour would find its way to the Observatory (formerly The Galaxy) in Santa Ana, CA, where a large horde of fanatic metal fans awaited this remarkable show to finally arrive.

Only one opener would be present for the entire tour, which is nice for a change due to overbooking tours at various times. Myrkur, a.k.a. Amelie Bruun, hails from Denmark and moved to the States, forming her black metal band with a group of live musicians. A lot of buzz was in the building for her, and never hearing a note from her, I was in clear anticipation for it, and I surely wasn’t disappointed. Right at 8:30 PM, Myrkur’s 45-minute set started with “Den Lille Piges Død”, a lovely keyboard introduction with some enchanting and beautifully haunting singing, for which the heavily packed Observatory was already cheering and gazing on. A pianist, guitarist, and singer, Bruun is clearly talented at her craft, and it was a sight to behold. Throughout the set, I found myself enjoying the slow, impactful doom metal influences, with her dark angelic vocals sprinkling in the air, combining with the black metal sound invoking together. A surprise to me and I’m sure many in the audience, she eventually screamed black metal style, which was met with roaring delight and quite the mosh pit as well. While the mix was pretty solid given all the various elements of keyboard and distortion, a few of the songs would have Bruun on guitar, and aside from a few harmonies, her volume level was extremely low in the mix. And as I was on the same side as her guitar amp, I knew it was accurate. Given how talented she was at the keyboard and her wonderful singing, to at least able to hear her guitar sound would have been a nice bonus. Her set flew by, and ended with “Song to Hall Up High”, a Bathory cover that was beautifully well done. I’m proud of Behemoth bringing new bands with such talent, for this amazing exposure. Myrkur truly set the tone for the rest of the evening, and made a new fan out of me.

Myrkur set list:
1. Den Lille Piges Død
2. Hævnen
3. Onde børn
4. Jeg er guden, i er tjenerne
5. Mordet
6. Dybt i skoven
7. Skøgen skulle dø
8. Skaði
9. Song to Hall Up High (Bathory cover)

The Observatory might as well have been officially sold out tonight, with the lower mosh pit area completely packing the audience like a sardine case, and in the rest of the main room too. With the stage setup glimmering dark, radiant lights across the eyes of the audience, the atmosphere was slowly gearing up for what would be a memorable metal experience, as right at 9:45 PM, Behemoth slowly walked to the stage, with the PA invoking the dark sounds of the night, and the enticing tension cutting through like hot butter, “Blow Your Trumphets Gabriel” would start off this 90-minute set of pure evil and hate, enflamed with rage. That signature opening riff lit the crowd on a proverbial fire, still keeping true to “The Satanist” guitar tone that I still cannot get over, and which I can only describe as a frightening, invoking tone that speaks, breathes and devours grit, wholesome darkness, and is musically erotic to the senses.

“Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer”, being one of the more catchy tracks, completely translated live, as it was the highlight for the mosh pit, bodies thrown all across the hands of the audience, guiding them to crowd surfing bliss. Nergal’s frontman skills cannot be ignored, screaming to the audience in delight to sing the words, as everyone knew all the words to the new record, which reinforces me to proclaim to many out there: New records by the bands you love are not always poor. Just hearing the entire “The Satanist” record played live gave me glacial chills and heated goosebumps throughout my body, reminding me how I felt about this band years and years ago. The fantastic ‘support cast’ behind Nergal cannot be ignored, and only brings forth additional positivity and musicianship to the stage, not withstanding Inferno, one of the very elite and most powerful drummers we have in metal, with vicious speed, uncanny precision, and the ability to make it look effortless while headbanging simultaneously. The string attack led by guitarist Seth and bassist Orion, who have both been with the band for well over a decade now, moved around the stage a lot more than I remembered from previous shows. Orion’s sinister gaze to the crowd and Seth’s sonic leads truly added to the experience, especially the backing vocals both provided as well, never taking away but only adding more.

The true highlight of the evening for me was the closer of the album, “O Father O Satan O Sun!” I consider this song to be one of the best closers to an album I’ve ever heard, and quite possibly one of the greatest Behemoth songs ever written. The air itself changed, with that main verse riff silencing the crowd to a paralyzing silence of glory, epicness, and what it means for music to stop you in your tracks. Breathtaking carnage is the only way I can really describe it.

And as the first set ended, the next would be a seven-song set consisting of selections from Behemoth’s back catalog. While “Antichristian Phenomenon” sounded beautifully dynamic due to the intense and swif tempo, “Slaves Shall Serve” was just a blistering collapse of the senses live. That being said, this portion of the set was certainly not as captivating as hearing the entire “The Satanist” record. The songs were also usually what Behemoth play, and having a habit of keeping a rather stale setlist, despite the chaotic amount of energy the bands plays with, it was only a minor letdown in an overall fantastic metal concert.

Heroes truly come in a grand variety of definitions and meanings, and musically, I was almost done with Behemoth due to what I felt was a lack of solid consistency in their music as I was accustomed to before. Now with this sensational record released and finally seeing it played in its entirety, I welcome the band back with wide and undying arms, knocking me back and letting me know that Behemoth truly has returned. “Let chaos reign.”

Behemoth Set List:
“The Satanist”
1. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
2. Furor Divinus
3. Messe Noire
4. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
5. Amen
6. The Satanist
7. Ben Sahar
8. In the Absence ov Light
9. O Father O Satan O Sun!
—————————————-
10. Pure Evil and Hate
11. Ov Fire and the Void
12. Antichristian Phenomenon
13. Conquer All
14. At the Left Hand ov God
15. Slaves Shall Serve
16. Chant for Eschaton 2000

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