BEHEMOTH BRING THEIR “UNHOLY TRINITY TOUR” TO LONDON’S O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY

★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

BEHEMOTH PERFORMING AT LONDON’S O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY
PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI

For fans of black metal, a line-up like today is like a dream come true, with Poland’s, Norway’s and Greece’s finest bands uniting for a concert that rewrote history. Hosted in the iconic O2 Brixton, masses of black metal worshippers congregated around the block early on, with Rotting Christ set to hit the stage just before 7pm.

I may be slightly biased to say this, but Rotting Christ are one of the best bands in the scene – and have been for the better part of the last 25 years. As part of the originals (meaning part of the Norwegian black metal scene since its start), Rotting Christ have spread their message across the globe. They are a band well loved by black-metallers in all corners of the world, conquering Europe and South America as icons in the scene, underground and mainstream alike. With a ritualistic entrance, the words ‘Non Serviam’ (meaning ‘I will not serve’) as their slogan since the mid-90s, the band entered the stage to a full venue. With people on the barricade screaming before the first notes echoed in the room, Rotting Christ delivered a short but incredible set.

Headbanging went hard as the band started off with ‘ΧΞΣ’ (the Greek letters for 666), continuing to ‘Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy’, ‘Elthe Kyrie’ and ‘Like Father, Like Son’ from their newest album ‘Pro Xristou’. The themes of Rotting Christ’s music have long been censored in their home country as ‘heresy’, yet the atmospheric sounds mixed with raw black metal made the crowd swirl. The rest of the setlist consisted of none other ‘Non Serviam’, one of their anthems as a band, ending with lots of chanting to ‘Grandis Spiritus Diavolos’, another fan favourite. London welcomed the band very warmly, as everyone got ready for the next band on the bill.

Satyricon are not only black metal royalty when it comes to Norwegian black metal, but also know very well how to put on a good show. With their famous members Satyr and Frost leading vocals and insane blast beats, the rest of the band was restless on stage since the first song. Keeping on the theme of Satan and heresy, the band brought the original Norwegian twist to the gig reminding everyone where the essence of true black metal lies. Kicking off the set with ‘Now, Diabolical’, arguably their most famous song, the crowd was screaming when the rest of the set followed. Performing ‘Black Crow on a Tombstone’, ‘Black Wings and Withering Gloom’, ‘The Pentagram Burns’ and ‘K.I.N.G’, there was no denying that Satyricon know exactly what they’re talking about. Despite their intense stage presence, the intense hair whirlpool coupled with heavy riffs and restless screaming, Satyr also spoke to his audience, urging them to sing along and admitting that the O2 Brixton is a venue that leaves him in awe even 20 years later.

Finally, the room was filled with the smell of incense and an otherworldly feeling as Polish titans Behemoth entered the stage. For those who have not seen Behemoth before, you don’t know what you’re missing. The production of their show is immense, with a lot of pyro, ritualistic theatrics, high balconies and intense sound. The band came on stage to intense fire springing from every direction, starting their set with ‘The Shadow Elite’, enticing the crowd not only to sing along but to go absolutely crazy. Crowd surfing, circle mosh pits, a sea of hair swinging and deep growl vocals to set the soundtrack of this madness, Behemoth’s set had it all. The band performed a set that was a journey through the ages, with older anthems such as ‘Demigod’, ‘The Shit ov God’ and ‘Conquer All’ captivating every single fan, as well as newer songs such as ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’ and ‘Christgrinding Avenue’ keeping on the theme of anti-Christianism that made the band famous. Highlights of their set were not only the borderline scary facial expressions of the band, but also songs that brought chaos such as ‘Ov Fire and the Void’, ‘Christians to the Lions’ and ‘O Father O Satan O Sun!’ as encore.

It is to be noted that frontman Nergal has a stage presence that pales other bands in the scene. Dressed like a dark magic monk and a unique variation of corpse paint, the lights illuminating him like a godly figure, and body movements that make him seem like he is possessed by a spirit, he not only brings the show to a whole other level but also keeps the audience engaged and going hard. Occasionally addressing his fans to stir more moshpits, Nergal was restless in the performance of the set, not even stopping to take a breath. The band’s performance is testament to the fact that even after a 20-year career they are still ruling in the black metal scene and definitely know how to bring on the heat (pun intended cause every single song in the set had intense pyro, you could feel your eyebrows sizzling even up in the balcony). The Behemoth tour continues on in Europe so if you’re on the fence for going to see them – just go!