Behemoth engulf us all with a triumphant display of power

Behemoth were a force to be reckoned with even before the release of their new opus ‘The Satanist’, but now, they’re absolutely formidable and leave others quaking in their knee high studded leather boots. Tonight, we get to see the Polish blackened death metallers in the flesh and prepare to have our own flesh torn from our all too human frames.

Cradle of Filth / Behemoth @ Kentish Town Forum

 The problem with weekday gigs for working folk, is that they start rather early. Combine this with a five band bill starting at the absurd hour of 5pm and you get at least three bands on the bill who will be playing to a room that is far from full. Sadly, this was the case for me as I managed to miss openers Svarttjern, Inquisition and In Solitude. However, the final two bands of the evening do more than enough to quench our black metal thirst and the first act we see are England’s own Cradle of Filth. Unsure of how to judge this band that many may see as a joke these days, I go in with open ears and am pleasantly surprised by huge doses of potent black metal and enough Satanic imagery to make even the big guy downstairs question himself. Led by tiny tyrant Dani Filth in the fanciest bird costume I’ve ever seen, they shred their way through a career spanning set and throw a new song in for good measure. Dani’s screeching is an interesting take on the black metal vocal delivery and the whole thing is very theatrical. This detracts from the music somewhat but, it is a black metal show and imagery is often key in the delivery and with CoF, it’s inseparable. A tidy rendition of ‘Her Ghost In The Fog’ rounds things off triumphantly and, if the reaction of the goths making out to the point of pretty much having sex next to me is anything to go by, there will be plenty of smiles behind the corpse paint tonight. With the stage being re-set, the anticipation in The Forum grows and grows and by the time Behemoth take to the stage to ring out the first seething notes of the monstrous ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’, The Forum is silenced in awe. Frontman Nergal, a man that has seen more pain than many will ever see commands the crowd from the off and as the lights encompass our eyes and the blast beats engulf our ears, it’s impossible to feel anything but utterly blown away by the power emanating from Behemoth tonight. Downright relentless from start to finish, the band let the music to the talking for the majority of the set, although a shout of “It feels good to be alive London!” from Nergal has every set of horns raised in praise. We are mainly subjected/treated to tracks from aforementioned ‘The Satanist’ tonight, but that’s far from a bad thing. As strong as their back catalogue is, the album has brought Behemoth a new lease of unholy life which is just immense to see live, played masterfully by Nergal, superhuman drummer Inferno and bassist Orion. Even without the theatrics, Behemoth would terrify the shit out of most, but the entire package is truly something else. Ffifteen song later, The Forum is at boiling point is the gargantuan ‘O Father O Satan O Sun!’ sends us into the night. For a band that’s been going for almost 25 years, Behemoth haven’t lost a single flicker of the fire in their eyes and may have poured even more petrol on them since their humble beginnings. If this performance is anything to go by, the flames are set to rise even higher. 9/10  

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