Live Review: Behemoth @ Corner Hotel

Behemoth (Poland) w/ Dawn Of Azrael (NZ) & Nocturnal Graves

Saturday December 15^th @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 2007 

I'd been eagerly awaiting Behemoth's return to Australia since I missed their last appearance in 2005 and from all reports, the band had absolutely killed it at every single stop on this tour. I'd say there was close to 600 people in The Corner Hotel this evening, which is amazing when you consider just how heavy and unrelenting Behemoth's music actually is! 

Nocturnal Graves and Dawn Of Azrael did an admirable job of warming the crowd up, as each band had their own group of supporters up front who looked like they were really enjoying the show. I'm not really familiar with either of these band's music, so I couldn't tell you what they played, but on the strength of this performance I'll be picking up some of their records in the near future. 

A chant went up a good ten minutes before the headliners were scheduled to hit the stage and the vibe throughout the room was absolutely electric... and this only intensified when the four members of Behemoth finally made their appearance.  

From the opening notes right through until the final ring out of the evening, the performance was one of the most intense metal shows I have ever seen. Period. The band played as though they were possessed (and given their fascination with the occult there's a good chance they were) and for once, the mix at The Corner Hotel did the a group justice! 

The bulk of the set was drawn from Behemoth's two most recent records: "Demigod" and "The Apostasy" - and to actually see these songs played so flawlessly was mesmerizing. Band leader Nergal didn't look like he blinked throughout the entire performance and not once did his voice crack... an amazing feat when you consider the thrashing his vocal chords would get over the course of an hour long show. 

The remaining three members of the band were equally as impressive as on stage (at one point it actually looked like Nergal mouthed "fucking move" at his bass player), ensuring that Behemoth were impressive visually (accompanied by an amazing light show) as they were musically. One of the highlights of my evening would have to be Inferno's drum solo, although his work behind the kit is so technical you'd be right in assuming that half his drum tracks are close to being solos anyway! The evening was rounded out with a track from Behemoth's first record as well as a cover which the crowd loved... any song that uses the word erection that many times is bound to be a hit at a metal show! 

Big shout outs must go to Kelli and the rest of the crew from Soundworks for doing such a great job with this tour! 

Metal bands beware... Behemoth have well and truly set the benchmark! One of the shows of 2007!