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Behemoth (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022)

Posted in Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Unto Others on May 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2022] Behemoth

Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band.  I’ve never been to an extreme metal show before and figure it would be fun (I guess) to see one.

Behemoth have been around for over twenty years and have stirred up their share of controversy.  As NME wrote: Singer Nergal was prosecuted for blasphemy a decade ago for ripping up a bible on stage, but he argued his right to free speech and won the case, having to neither draw pentagrams in salt nor shed the blood of any lambs in the process.

NME also notes: When he is not onstage, he hosted the Polish version of Pop Idol, he runs a chain of barbershops and is a qualified museum curator.

I had heard that Behemoth live shows were legendary.  So I waited to see what would come next.

There were three sculpted microphone stands on the stage and a giant drum set in the back.  There was a sculpture behind the drum riser and lots of pyro.

Then the band came out in corpse paint looking ominous and intense.

The music started.  It was relentless and powerful and the crowd went berserk.  There were clearly long-time fans who knew the words to all the songs.  There was a massive pit in the center of the room.  But mostly there was the band.

Lead singer and guitarist Nergal was in the middle, conducting the whole thing.  Behind him was long time drummer Inferno.

We were in front of bassist Orion and on the other side was a behemoth of a guitarist Seth.

At some point Nergal changed outfits and was wearing a Pope hat.  Orion spit blood in the air and at the audience.  Seth stomped all around the stage and Inferno blasted the hell out of his drums.

It was intense and exhausting (especially after three other bands).  I was pretty wiped out by the end of the show and decided that I probably didn’t need to see any more extreme metal bands.

Behemoth had destroyed them all.

  1. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer §
  2. Wolves ov Siberia ♥
  3. Ov Fire and the Void €
  4. Evoe Δ
  5. Christians to the Lions ¢
  6. Bartzabel ♥
  7. Conquer All δ
  8. Ov My Herculean Exile Ø
  9. Decade of Therion ¥
  10. Slaves Shall Serve δ
  11. Chant for Eschaton 2000 ¥
  12. O Father O Satan O Sun! §

Ø Opvs Contra Natvram (2022)
Δ A Forest EP (2020)
♥ I Loved You at Your Darkest (2018)
§ The Satanist (2014)
€ Evangelion (2009)
δ Demigod (2004)
¢ Thelema.6 (2000)
¥ Satanica (1999)

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Arch Enemy (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022) [BEHEMOTH]

Posted in Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Unto Others on May 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2022] Arch Enemy

I wasn’t really familiar with Arch Enemy.  I knew of them, but I wasn’t aware that they have had two female singers who can growl with the best of them.

The band is based in Sweden, but Angela Gossow–a legend among fans–was a German screamer who sang with the band for 14 years.  When she retired, Gossow recommended Alissa White-Gluz from Canadian metal band The Agonist as her replacement, and remained business manager for the band.

So I got to see White-Gluz in all fo her blue-haired glory.

She held the entire audience rapt.  Between her soaring voice and her guttural growls, it was hard to take your eyes off of her.  Which I suppose the band is used to, but it is their band too, you know?

The music was heavy.  Solid, old school metal with some modern flourishes.

Alissa was lead singer on two albums, but they played music from throughout their catalog.

The most notable thing for me, though, was that a Dad had brought his little girl (I think she was six), and she got up to the front (with big noise cancelling headphones on) and Alissa saw her and waved and later on gave her a setlist.  Sweet.

It’s possible that Arch Enemy is the more popular of the two band (I believe they alternated headline acts), but it would be hard to follow Behemoth’s stage show, even with a highly polished and rocking show like Arch Enemy’s.

  1. Set Flame to the Night [taped entrance]
  2. Deceiver, Deceiver ⊗
  3. The World Is Yours
  4. Ravenous §
  5. War Eternal ψ
  6. My Apocalypse ™
  7. House of Mirrors ⊗
  8. The Eagle Flies Alone
  9. Under Black Flags We March £
  10. Dead Bury Their Dead §
  11. Nemesis ™
  12. Fields of Desolation €
  13. Enter the Machine [taped exit] ™

⊗ Deceivers (2022)
¶ Will to Power (2017)
ψ War Eternal (2014)
£ Khaos Legions (2011)
™ Doomsday Machine (2005)
§ Wages of Sin (2001)
€ Black Earth (1996)

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Napalm Death (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022) [BEHEMOTH]

Posted in Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Unto Others on April 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2022] Napalm Death

Napalm Death are legends.  They have been around since 1981 although formed a solid lineup in 1987.  Although their Wikipedia page lists 18 former members, the lineup I saw was almost has been with the band since at least 1991.

Current members Shane Embury – bass, backing vocals (1987–present) Mitch Harris – guitars, backing vocals (1990–present) Danny Herrera – drums (1991–present) Mark “Barney” Greenway – lead vocals (1989–1996, 1997–present).

That’s pretty impressive for a grindcore band whose first album contained songs that were almost all under two minutes long. (more…)

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Unto Others (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022) [BEHEMOTH]

Posted in Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Unto Others on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2022] Unto Others

Despite having tickets to see Girl Talk, I decided I’d go see this North American Siege of 2022.  I’ve been intrigued by Behemoth for quite a while.  The are an extreme metal band from Poland who sing of the occult and thelemic ideas.  But they are known mainly for their intense live show.

I haven’t really ever been to a show like this and it seemed worth a visit.

I arrived absurdly early.  I think doors opened at 6 and I arrived at 6:15 or something.  And there was hardly anyone there.  The guy at the bar said it sold poorly. (more…)

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Cannibal Corpse (BB&T Pavillion, Camden, NJ, May 24, 2019) [SLAYER]

Posted in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, BB&T Pavillion, Gwar, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Slayer, White Eagle Hall on May 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 24, 2019] Cannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse formed in 1988 in Florida.

At the time they were probably the most notoriously revolting band around–taking the violent images in metal songs to a far extreme.  Although perhaps most amusingly, without scanning the lyric sheet I don’t know how anyone could tell what the words are.

Cannibal Corpse are pretty legendary.  They have been banned in many countries. I have never specifically wanted to see them, but I always thought it would be interesting.  In fact, when they announced a show at White Eagle Hall at the end of last year, I briefly considered going.  But I’m glad I didn’t because a little Cannibal Corpse goes a long way (They played 18 songs at White Eagle Hall (!)).

Cannibal Corpse is pretty much a wall of noise.  Although I must admit just how well they were projected, because despite them being superbly loud, I could hear each guitar, the intense drums and the vocals (if not the words) pretty distinctly–even if they are a series of growsl)

The biggest surprise for me was that their songs were quite long.  I associate super fast death metal with short bursts of aggression.  Napalm Death for instance has songs that are about a minute long.  But most Cannibal Corpse songs run to four minutes or more.  That’s some lengthy intensity, especially for the speed of the drums and the massive intensity of Corpsegrinder’s headbanging.

One of the funnest things to say about Cannibal Corpse is that they are in Ace Ventura Pet Detective (1994).  Soon after that (but apparently unrelated), lead singer Chris Barnes left and was replaced by current singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher.  There hasn’t been very much change in the lineup for the thirty or so years they’ve been playing.  Although in December 2018, lead guitarist Pat O’Brien was arrested for assault and battery and Morbid Angel guitarist Erik Rutan would fill in.

It’s amusing seeing a band like Cannibal Corpse in the bright sun–I couldn’t imagine sitting in the lawn for them.  But it was early evening and very bright out (which meant good photos!).

But they obviously weren’t bothered by it because they came out on stage and created a noise that made me put earplugs in and not take them out all night.

I didn’t know any of their songs (although I had heard of “Hammer Smashed Face”), I didn’t even know they had FOURTEEN albums out!  So, to pick six songs for this tour must have been a challenge.

They played one song from their most recent album–2017’s Red Before Black (the least offensive or violent seeming title in their discography).  They skipped the previous album and then played one each from the two before that.

Corpsegrinder is known for his headbanging (in which he whips his head around in a circle rather than the old-school back and forth motion).  He told the audience that he would challenge anyone to a headbanging contest.  “You will lose.  And that’s okay.”

I was delighted by how deadpan amusing he was.

Even introducing the song “I Cum Blood,” he said, “this is a song about shooting blood from your cock….  it’s sounds fun… until it happens to you.”

That song as well as “Hammer Smashed Face” comes from their 1992 album, Tomb of the Mutilated.  They had two albums out before that.

Honestly, I couldn’t really tell any of the songs apart, but there were definitely sections to the songs.  These were mostly distinguishable by drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz’s amazing playing (he’s been with the band since the beginning, as has Alex Webster on bass).  Although his playing choices are somewhat limited in this style of music his energy never flagged during his double bass pounding or straight up snare slamming.

I’m glad their set was only about 30 minutes.  It was plenty.  And honestly they didn’t do anything outrageous, like I thought they might.  Maybe if they headline?  Or maybe they’re not Gwar, they just play fast and loud and do a lot of headbanging.

SETLIST

  1. Evisceration Plague €
  2. Scourge of Iron ⊗
  3. Red Before Black ®
  4. I Cum Blood ™
  5. Stripped, Raped and Strangled ß
  6. Hammer Smashed Face ™

 

™ = Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
ß = The Bleeding (1994)
€ = Evisceration Plague (2009)
⊗ = Torture (2012)
® = Red Before Black (2017)

 

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