Concert Review: Behemoth/Cannibal Corpse – Atlanta, GA – March 5, 2015

Cannibal-Corpse-Behemoth-2014-tourBehemoth/Cannibal Corpse
w/ Tribulation and Aeon
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade (Heaven)
Review by Tina; Extreme Metal Correspondent

Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse are two metal powerhouses that have managed to remain some of the most relevant and well-loved death metal bands for decades. I’ve seen both twice before—each time as phenomenal as the last—but when I learned that they were co-headlining a tour together, I could not be more excited. These are two of my favorite death (or blackened death, in the case of Behemoth) metal bands, and to have them sharing the stage on a single night was sure to be a show to remember. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought as much; the Masquerade was possibly more packed that night than I have ever seen it. Fans filled Heaven wall to wall almost as soon as the doors opened. The energy and anticipation were palpable as the minutes ticked down to the moment when Corpsegrinder or Nergal would step on stage. Before they did, however, two other bands warmed up the crowd.

TRIBULATION

Swedish blackened death metal group Tribulation opened the night with a short and simple set. Heaven was already pretty packed at that point, so the energy level was high, but for me, Tribulation was nothing special. They were good musicians and their songs were tight, but overall it was just the standard blackened death metal you’d expect from a modern Swedish metal group. Their songs lacked any real spark or originality, and while I think they were good openers for the types of bands to come, they didn’t strike me as a band I’d go see by themselves. As I mentioned in my last review, my main gripe with metal music is the lack of variety sometimes present within genres. While not a bad band, Tribulation did nothing to dissuade me from holding the opinion that it is all too easy for one blackened death metal band to sound just like the next.

AEON

Another Swedish band took the stage next, this time a more traditional death meal group rather than the blackened death style of Tribulation. By the time Aeon started playing, the crowd was frenzied. Aeon latched onto this energy and multiplied it tenfold. Although technically a standard death metal band, I found Aeon’s music to be remarkably catchy (death metal? catchy? I know, right?) and, of course, fantastically brutal. I especially loved the vocalist, who intermittently mixed in some sort of inexplicable scream/squeal with his gutterals and added an extra dimension to the traditional elements of the genre. I wasn’t familiar with any of their songs off the top of my head, so I can’t say which were my favorites, but I can say that I genuinely enjoyed the way Aeon held true to the roots of death metal while adding their own unique energy and twist. They were fast-paced, brutal, and heavy as hell—everything death metal should be. What a perfect segue to one of the heaviest, most brutal bands on the planet.

CANNIBAL CORPSE

Cannibal Corpse never fails to blow me away. Their shows are like a punch to the face that gives you a bloody nose and a black eye but somehow leaves you laughing at the end of it. This show was no different. One of the things I love about them is their ability to stick to their pure American death metal roots in such a staunch fashion that it sort of makes them unique. With the rise in popularity of tech death, blackened death, and other variations of the subgenre, I love Cannibal Corpse even more for essentially saying, “fuck the trends,” and putting on a show that trumps just about any death metal act I can think of. Cannibal’s newer songs were just as heavy, brutal, and neck-breakingly enjoyable as the classics, and the whole set was full of an unparalleled intensity that only someone with a name like Corpsegrinder could bring.

Cannibal opened with a newer song, “Scourge of Iron,” and the pit immediately opened up. They then played a few more relatively new face-melters before throwing back to a classic, “Stripped, Raped and Strangled.” The set continued with a mix of old and new, and the pit didn’t stop moving the entire time (though sadly I was too sick that night to partake in the madness). They played my favorite love song, as Corpsegrinder called it, “I Cum Blood,” and another heartwarming classic, “Hammer Smashed Face.” Needless to say, the set list was fantastic and, in my opinion, flawless.

With frontman George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher at the helm, Cannibal Corpse has an unrelenting and powerful way of connecting with the crowd. The floor was crawling with diehard fans young and old, pushing and squirming like maggots (I thought Corpsegrinder would appreciate that one) and altogether just going downright insane to witness this epic powerhouse destroy the stage. Cannibal Corpse is disgusting and brutal in the best way possible, a way that metalheads have revered for over twenty years. This was my third time seeing them, and it won’t be the last. Now if only I had a neck like Corpsegrinder’s so I didn’t have a bangover for two days after every show…

BEHEMOTH

Behemoth knows how to put on a hell of a show. While I’m usually not a big fan of theatrics at concerts (except for, of course, the legendary GWAR), Behemoth plays with such fervor and maddening zeal that their corpse paint and satanic stage presence seems genuine, if not necessary. Seeing a Behemoth show is always sort of trance-like for me. Their music combined with their chillingly serious personas is almost otherworldly. Different from the somewhat humorously grotesque aura of Cannibal Corpse’s songs, Behemoth’s set was dark and somber, though no less brutal. Behemoth’s brand of blackened death metal is melodic and, in a sense, beautiful. Although their set was relatively short—my only complaint about theirs or Cannibal Corpse’s shows—they packed it full of epic songs both old and new.

Behemoth opened with “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer,” a song off their new album, The Satanist. Immediately the audience erupted with even more energy than was already present. Even standing toward the back, I still felt the push and shove of the crowd as Behemoth’s opening notes washed over us like a wave. Next, Behemoth traveled back to one of my favorite albums, Demigod, playing, “Conquer All” with unmatched fervor. Throughout the rest of the ten-song set, Behemoth rotated between old and new, and every song was as well-executed, and well-received, as the last.

After “Chant for Eschaton 2000,” the band stepped off stage for what was clearly not the last time. When they returned, they played “O Father O Satan O Sun!” in a way that left me speechless. It was the perfect ending to an epic set, the song starting out dark, fast, and heavy, only to descend into a maddeningly impassioned, slow, satanic chant by Nergal himself.

The last song faded out, the lights turned on, and before I knew it, the show was over. Behemoth was my favorite part of the night. They played their fucking hearts out. But together, as co-headliners, Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse reminded me why I do this—why I go to shows even if I’m tired or broke or sick. It’s for the love of the music, something I shared with every individual standing in Heaven that night, something we all shared with Corpsegrinder, Nergal, and all the other musicians who stepped on that stage. The feeling that I got when Nergal yelled “O father O Satan O Sun!” at the end of the show, as the music quietly faded out, is a feeling that can never be imitated. And it’s moments, and feelings, like that one, that make shows like Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse so hard to beat.

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