I have wanted to see Behemoth live for years. For some reason though every time they rolled into San Francisco the stars were not aligned, and inevitably something would always come up that would prevent me from witnessing their brutal assault. Not tonight, however. After more than a few missed opportunities I was finally able to experience a Behemoth show, and needless to say, it was well worth the wait.
Walking into an already packed Warfield, I made my way down to the floor just as Norway's Keep of Kalessin were wrapping up their set. I was really hoping to catch these guys, as I've heard so much buzz about them, but unfortunately it’ll have to wait until next time. Any band with former Satyricon guitarist Obsidian C. at the helm has to pretty much rule, so I think it's safe to say they must have put on a pretty fuckin' awesome set.
As the stage was being broken down I stood on the floor and began to take in the excitement that was in the air. It felt like every person around me was waiting for Behemoth to appear, and judging from the random cries of "Behemoth!!!" and "Fucking Metal!!!" it was obvious that more than a few were hardly able to contain themselves. Adding to the brewing tension was drummer Inferno, who walked out on stage in all his corpse painted glory and proceeded to sound check his own drums. As the lights finally dimmed and the band made their way onto stage to the roar of the now-going-fucking -nuts crowd, Behemoth pretty much conquered The Warfield from the opening riff of leader Nergal's guitar, and together with bassist Orion, Inferno, and live/session guitarist Seth, the four of them showed why they are at the forefront of today's Death Metal scene. Nergal and Seth were absolutely shredding on guitars, and together they made the band sound frenzier than ever, while constantly thrashing around yet at the same time playing with machine-like precision. Orion was an eerie figure in black and draped in chains, and his pounding of the bass gave the music its visceral, stomach wrenching heaviness. With Inferno pounding the skins, Behemoth quite simply ruled, and left everyone inside The Warfield wanting more from them. I personally thought every song was damn near epic, but if I had to pick standouts they would have to be "Slaves Shall Serve," "At the Left Hand Ov God," "Demigod" and "Chant For Eschaton." I am so stoked that I finally got to see this band live, and am looking forward to the next time they hit S.F., hopefully as a headliner.
More on Behemoth here: myspace.com/behemoth and www.behemoth.pl
Download – "Slaves Shall Serve" from Demigod – [mp3]
