Behemoth at The Van Buren Phoenix AZ, October 1st
Sunday is a day of God where all the brainwashed humans rush to eat the body of Christ and drink his blood. They pile into their pews to worship a false god while the real service was being held at The Van Buren on this blasphemous day with Behemoth, Twin Temple, and Imperial Triumphant.
The original date with Danzig was canceled due to weather, and Phoenix was beyond excited to get this lineup back for an update. Imperial Triumphant opened up that night. This is a band that doesn’t care what you think of them and goes out there and just destroys the stage. While they’re not a true black metal band, you have to recognize the talent that this band possesses. Infusing jazz with black metal is a feat all in its own. The entire room was filled with smoke, and the lights were dimmed, making this an extra creepy feeling that fit right along with their music.
The satanic doo-wop band is making huge strides in the industry, and rightfully so. Their fan base is all over the place, from metal heads to nonmetal heads and everything in between. Twin Temple is an experience from start to finish, and I’m praying to Lucifer, who is in fact a better lover than Jesus, that they do a headlining tour soon. Alexandra and Zachary are the prime example of a satanic power couple doing the Dark Lords work through doo wop instead of the traditional way through metal music. The only problem with this show was the lighting, and while standing outside, multiple people were talking about how dark it was for them. I’d have to agree with them that it took away from the live show, even though the entire band was on point.
Regardless, Twin Temple never disappoints and always puts on a devilish good show. They’re also about to release their new album, “God is Dead”, which is now up for pre-order.
To end tonight’s service, the almighty Behemoth from Poland Fronted by the unapologetic Nergal. There’s something else that separates them from other artists, and that’s how they treat their fans. They’re offering a meet and greet on this leg and talking to Adam, head of security at the venue. He was telling me how impressed he was with how much Behemoth was interacting with the fans that showed up early. He really saw how they got their money’s worth and made every fan feel special. Once the meet and greet was finished, the fans got to experience a sound check, and after the band was done, they walked around and talked to everyone instead of going back to their bus to disappear until show time.
It was finally time for Behemoth to take the stage. As the house lights faded black, these bright strobes lit up the drum set, and it seemed everyone in the venue was screaming Behemoth! They opened up with ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’ off of ‘The Satanist’ (2014), which stands as one of their greatest albums to date. Behemoth hits you like a ton of bricks and doesn’t stop until the very last note is played. The amount of energy this band gives off is enough to fuel any major city. Behemoth has taken black metal to another level, and their live show is no different. Behemoth’s career is downright impressive. Seeing how the live show has progressed is such a sight to see in itself. It’s emotional, powerful, and demonic. It’s perfect for any Behemoth fan and shows how hard Nergal and Co. have worked to have a black metal band come this far in the industry.
SETLIST:
Post‐God Nirvana
Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Malaria Vvlgata
Conquer All
The Deathless Sun
Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
Once Upon a Pale Horse
Daimonos
Versvs Christvs
Ov Fire and the Void
BartzabelNo Sympathy for Fools
Chant for Eschaton 2000
Encore:
O Father O Satan O Sun!
Photos and Review by Michael Olivas ~𝕭𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝕲𝖔𝖓𝖅𝖔 𝕻𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖔𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖕𝖍𝖞