Wolves in The Throne Room
The United States is not a land known for its Black Metal, let's take this as an introduction. And for a group like Behemoth, a true prophet of Blackened Death in Europe, to take on board the Wolves in The Throne Room project of brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver, it is because Nergal wants us to at least listen to it, so let's not disappoint him...
No frills, the band doesn't do folklore, here is the audience immediately immersed in the heart of the matter in a dark, threatening, soaring atmosphere, where the keyboards are punctuated by some raucous hints. The smoke is intense and regularly fuelled, and the lights coming from the back of the stage animate the musicians' silhouettes, especially that of the frontman, who becomes threatening at the same time as the melodic rises. Moreover, the group is not without reminding us of the genre of our compatriots of Hypno5e[, the cinematographic aspect less....
If the conditions are not necessarily met to totally convince the new ears (a heavy and not very distinct sound that does not allow us to detect all the subtleties, if any, of the guitar playing), we cannot say that the insight we have is not enough to intrigue us as this dense molasses seems to contain great emotion and melancholy. The audience is nevertheless very present, seeming to enjoy each of these short moments, like offerings to these pagans who came to applaud Behemoth.
These are exhilarating comments that will resonate once the band is off the stage. At The Gates just has to drive the nail down and the evening will be perfectly underway for THE show everyone is waiting for.
At The Gates
Now here is Tomas Lindberg whom we meet again with Adrian Erlandsson this time under the banner of At The Gates (we followed them during the concert of The Lurking fear at the Hellfest last year), for our greatest pleasure. It's not so much for the stage performance which is at the very least monotonous and without much interest other than to take a tsunami of big sound directly from the amps. Lindberg, a cap naturally screwed on his head, frantically walks back and forth across the narrow stage, reduced by the imposing equipment already installed by the Poles. We can also count on Jonas Björler, behind his bass, who brings up an atmosphere that quickly settles in and it is quickly moshes that start everywhere.
The setlist gives pride of place to the main titles of "At War With Reality", including the eponymous track that the audience tries to follow on vocals to accompany Lindberg.
As simple as it is effective, we can only regret the impassibility of the frontman who plays a set without surprise or particularity, perhaps out of respect for the headliner on which he does not want to cast a shadow, but a few words to such a generous audience would not have been too much.
The fall of "The Night Eternal" abruptly marks the end of the setlist as a thin curtain quickly rises between the stage and the audience...
Setlist :
To Drink From the Night Itself
Slaughter of the Soul
At War With Reality
A Stare Bound in Stone
Cold
Daggers of Black Haze
Death and the Labyrinth
Heroes and Tombs
Suicide Nation
The Book of Sand (The Abomination)
Blinded by Fear
The Night Eternal
Behemoth
As hands are busy behind the thin curtain, the contours of France are stealthily projected, marked with the group's seal, a sort of triple inverted Catholic cross. No background music, but a religious silence interrupted by the "Elohim" and "Adonai" of the introduction of the band's latest album "I Loved You At Your Darkest", and the "Jesus Christ, I forgive thee NOT" that some fans take pleasure in screaming.
When the time comes, it is the strident riffs of the "Wolves ov Siberia" that finally resonate, liberating from the public's expectations. The musicians are dressed in skull masks, black, shiny and beautiful, while sparks sparkle from each side of the stage.
Contrary to what we would have thought (come on, let's be honest:'hoped for'), it is not the titles of the enormistic penultimate opus'The Satanist' that will be played to accompany this tour, but a clever balance of titles from "Evangelion" (with a Dantean, almost epileptic "Daimonos"), "Demigod" and "Satanica".
Only'Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel' and'Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer' will represent the'Satanist' but not a'Black Mass','Ben Sahar' or'O Father O Satan O Sun!' so effective though! But either way, it's an opportunity to (re)discover these tracks live.
The atmosphere and costumes are regularly changed, respecting the themes imposed by the titles, between the papal tiara decorated with inverted crucifixes worn by Nergal, or the sumptuous headdress that Orion will wear on the title "Lucifer", finished in apotheosis with Orion alone on the front of the stage, taken in a kind of confetti storm.
Nergal will have a few words on the scene and the tragedy that took place more than 2 years ago, insisting on the fact that we must not give in to fear. A message appreciated and greeted by its audience, the concert continues in style, with the now essential members of this tour, namely "God = Dog", "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica". It is on'We Are the Next 1000 Years' from the last one that the last encore will be performed, before ending with the 4 musicians armed with drums, beating in chorus on'Coagvla'.
Any self-respecting Behemoth fan could not miss this Parisian date of this tour Ecclesia Diabolica Evropa 2019 E.V. for the diversity of the titles, the perfect execution of the fastest and most violent extracts of the Poles' discography, and for a show that continues to improve over time. Despite a set that seemed short to us, it is a mass of tired meat that is extracted from the room where the childish incantations still seem to resonate....
Setlist :
Wolves ov Siberia
Daimonos
Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Bartzabel
Ov Fire and the Void
God = Dog
Conquer All
Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica
Decade of Therion
Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
Slaves Shall Serve
Chant for Eschaton 2000
Lucifer
We Are the Next 1000 Years