Polish metal giants Behemoth made their highly anticipated return to North America after nearly three years for The Godless IV Tour in support of their 13th studio album, “The Shit Ov God.” Joining them are Rotting Christ and death metal legends Deicide and Immolation, and for extreme metal fans this might just be the lineup of the year.
The classic death metal mainstays Immolation brought the heat to the Eagles Ballroom at The Rave, blasting through a short but sweet set to open the show. Hot off the release of their brand new album “Descent,” the group heavily supported its release, showcasing their latest singles “Adversary,” "Attrition," and “Bend Towards the Dark.” The sound remains unchanged and is just as heavy as ever. Fans took to the pit from start to finish for songs new and old, including the hard-hitting self-titled “Immolation.”
After their previous headlining run promoting their 2024 album, “Pro Xristou,” Greece’s own Rotting Christ brought their slower-paced black metal along for the ride on this stacked lineup. The set incorporated the black metal sound that fit perfectly in the lineup, as well as their chanting and melodic elements that set them apart from most of the other acts. The group brought up the energy of the show, with vocalist Sakis Tolis doing plenty of crowd interactions and encouraging the fans to clap along to the many rhythmic moments between heavier black metal blasts.
The legendary Deicide took the stage next, with founding vocalist and bassist Glen Benton casually walking onto stage, greeting the crowd, and tearing right into “When Satan Rules His World” from 1995’s “Once Upon the Cross.” In fact, none of the songs performed on the admittedly short set were from albums released in the last 20 years.
“Homage for Satan,” from 2006’s “The Stench of Redemption," was the newest song played, and while pulling from a catalogue of their size, it makes sense that a majority of the fans might know more of their classics from the early 90s, including “Dead by Dawn” and “Once Upon the Cross.” Even with the diverse age of the crowd, they were all into the incredibly heavy set. The packed venue was a constant stream of crowd surfers being tossed up from the large circle pit. Where the other openers set the mood, this was the point in the show where the fans started getting appropriately rowdy for a heavy metal show.
With smoke pouring from the stage and over the crowd, the scent of frankincense and myrrh filled the room, preparing the crowd at The Rave for the arrival of Behemoth and their dark metal mass.
Behemoth’s latest release “The Shit Ov God” kept them securely at the top of the death metal scene worldwide, charting at number one in their home country of Poland yet again, and while the eponymous song and two others made the cut for the set, there were plenty of others pulled from their long discography. One such new release, “The Shadow Elite,” opened the show with a bang, as the group emerged onto the stage from the shadows and through the fog.
The crowd shouted along to the explosive choruses of “The Shit Ov God" as well as “Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel,” from arguably one of Behemoth’s best albums, “The Satanist.” Having not seen the group touring in North America since 2023, the fans never let up, giving all of their energy to the group, who easily gave it back to them, with vocalist Nergal prowling the front of the stage and leading the chants before returning to his microphone “pulpit.”
He also proclaimed that the night was their own mass, with the fans as the congregation, as they launched into “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica.” Despite having a large selection of their own songs, they did perform a cover of “The Return of Darkness and Evil” by black metal icons Bathory.
As far as black metal and death metal are concerned, this is certainly the lineup of the year so far. The tour continues on until wrapping up at the end of May, and it’s one that any black metal fan would sorely regret missing.
