One of the most expected shows for those of us who are into the Polish metal scene. The veterans of BEHEMOTH were joined in this gospel tour of madness and magic by HERMH, AZARATH and BLACK RIVER. Three out of four have released a new material prior to the gig so; the expectation is higher than ever. The show should have started at 19:00, but due to the long queue with fans waiting to come in the show was delayed about 40 minutes.

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The first to open the show were the rock’n’roll-ers from :: BLACK RIVER :: a band very popular within the ranks of Polish metal scene. For those of your who haven’t heard about them before Orion (Behemoth/Vesania) and Daray (ex-Vader/Dimmu Borgir) are part of this bombastic alliance. For this show BLACK RIVER promoted their latest record Black’N’Roll which came out days before the tour. It was a very dynamic show, which definitely set souls on fire, even making the skeptical people jump around and feel like yelling out their hearts. It was the perfect opening act and I’m damn glad I haven’t missed them live.

:: AZARATH :: were the second in line to give the crow a straight-forward pure death metal. The atmosphere was different, as now the death metal heads came in front to witness the velocity and brutality of the band. AZARATH aren’t young within the metal scene and since the beginning they have keep the same uncompromised death metal style. They started off with Summoning, the first track from the most recent album Praise The Beast. The show wasn’t as dynamic as I would have expected, but then again I was still in hyperventilation from the previous band. The pick of the show was definitely when Bruno started the riffs of Whip The Whore as then the crowed just unleashed hell into the mosh pit. It was the first time I saw them live and I’m damn looking forward to the next.

As the evening was getting darker so did the stage when :: HERMH :: stepped into the stage. I didn’t know what to expect, since the band is known for its vampirism imagery and black metal symphonic notes. It was much unexpected surprise from both the band and the public as them both were into a sort of trance, I dare not contest. The highlight of the show was when the third song Hairesis started playing. The crowd was on fire and so was the band. It was very great to see that Black Metal acts haven’t lost their touch with the public, even when dealing with such a diverse crow as this one. HERMH played an unexpectedly good show preparing for what was about to come.

:: BEHEMOTH :: - the most spoken of and most popular Polish band in the last years was here. Not only did they conquer the metal world, now the conquered their native land with the latest release Evangelion. That night they conquered once more the new and the old audience, making this show one of the best I have ever seen. The room was crowded to the last inch; everyone was with their eyes pointed to the stage and when Ov Fire And The Void started the hell broke loose, both in the crowd and on stage. I’ve seen BEHEMOTH live many times, but this was by far the best performance of theirs. The guys were on fire and everyone could see and feel it. Besides the insanely energetic show, the guys used pyrotechnics for the first time I’ve seen in an indoor show. It was unexpected and special, making the crowed yearn for more. Lucifer was their last song and personally I felt possessed and mesmerized during its performance. The overall impression of the show was pure perfection. Even the skeptical of audience was purely under the spell. BEHEMOTH came, saw and conquered.
Setlist: Ov Fire and the Void, Demigod, Pan Satyros, Shemhamforash, Conquer All, Driven by the Five-Winged Star, Decade of Therion, Wolves Guard My Coffin, Christians to the Lions, At the Left Hand ov God, Slaves Shall Serve, As Above So Below, LAM, Alas, Lord Is Upon Me, Antichristian Phenomenon, Chant for Eschaton 2000, Lucifer

Overall impression: This was a night to remember!