Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir this autumn are co-headlining the massive In League With Satan tour, and the last stop on this run was K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen. Two major black metal names, on the same stage… it is not a surprise that the venue was almost filled out. I must admit – in the discussion long before the show, I was a bit surprised with the venue choice as I thought it might be a too big for that show, however metal fans proved me wrong once again.
When I finally arrived in place, the show was already on with the opening act, Dark Funeral, wrapping up their set. Clearly local DSB trains are not in favor of that band, so because of the delay I saw only group chanting of “Hail Satan!”, last song for the band (which if I recognised correctly was Where Shadows Forever Reign) after which I could wave goodbye to the band and wait for the next one.
Main part of the show started after 30 minutes changeover (exactly as long as the set of Dark Funeral) prior to which the stage got covered with the white drape – “Behemoth was about to show us the movie” I told myself. First, we saw a short video during which the band placed themselves on their workstations. Second, we were presented with the heavy and nasty guitar sound signaling that the show was starting. The curtain went down, and the group of ghoulish musicians started their heavy display of power with the first notes of Daimonos. Band members in a full corps paint, with band leader Nergal and colossal in size bass player Orion,did their best to entertain the public in the worst (in the positive meaning) way. And I have to admit that they succeed, with the setlist build with a mix of newer and older material, they were force-feeding the crowd with their brutal sounds piece by piece. I had my first “oh yes” moment when after a short speech Nergal announced one of my favorite Behemoth songs, Conquer All, which without long break was followed by another banger Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel. Behemoth’s signature blend of religious provocation and occult imagery was stripped down from the flames this night (due to local fire prevention regulations), but band members managed to deliver an outstanding show. One of the visual highlights of the evening took place during performance of I, Scvlptor, during which the stage was covered with the white screen again, and Nergal was taken up to a raised podium and looked like he was giving a sermon, with the lighting in the back of the stage set up in a way that his shadow was displayed all over the screen. This looked disturbing and fantastic at the same time.
I need to admit, that the sound was a bit off, especially further from the stage, but this did not impact the overall performance. I think I have never seen Behemoth giving a weak performance, and this was another example of that.
Dimmu Borgir, the second headliner of the night, started their show sharp at 21:45. Stage, again was covered with the drapes allowing technicians to change the stage setup without nosy looks from the audience. This time the stage cover was not white but black with huge Dimmu Borgir logo across it.
The symphonic black metal titans from Norway, delivered a nice set with lots of good music accompanied matched by interesting visuals. The band used more colorful lightning and the stage was decorated as castle ruins. The music of Dimmu Borgir is less brutal than Behemoth, however they still managed to deliver over an hour of heavy sounds. The band started with something new, which was Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel, from their last album Grand Serpent Rising, released earlier this year; then they moved back 30 years to Mourning Palace from Enthrone Darkness Triumphant released back in 1997. One may say that they managed to complete the traditional wedding checklist “something old, something new, something borrowed” as the biggest highlight of the show was a cover song of Venom In League With Satan, for which Dimmu’s vocalist Shagrath invited on stage Nergal, and both paid their respect for late Cronos, considered by many as the architect of black metal genre. It was only sad that quite few people left the venue by this point. You, if you came to see Behemoth… you missed a part of Nergal’s performance.
