Behemoth/At The Gates/Wolves in the Throne Room
October 26, 2018
The Masquerade – Heaven
A rainy Friday night did not deter the blackened souls of the Atlanta metal scene as they turned out en masse to witness a triple threat bill of metal legends – Behemoth, At The Gates, and Wolves in the Throne Room. I have never seen the turnout for a show at the Masquerade like this. The line to get in wrapped from the doors of Heaven all the back to the steps to enter the courtyard, and people were still coming! Each of these bands in their own right could be headlining, so I was curious to see which band was the draw: the atmospheric black metal of Wolves, the legends At The Gates, or the mighty Behemoth… only time would tell, but I was pretty sure I knew.
Up first was Washington’s own Wolves in the Throne Room. One thing I really appreciated was that instead of using prerecorded keyboards they used an actual keyboard player! Wolves chose to play the three opening tracks off their latest release Thrice Woven (Angrboda, The Old Ones Are With Us, and Born From the Serpent’s Eyes) as their entire set. While it did encompass their allotted time, it seemed that they were just getting started when they played the last note. To add to the ambiance of the evening, they burned sage between songs. Wolves played a great set and left me wanting more. I’d love to see them come through again and dive deeper into their catalog.
The fathers of the Swedish melodic death metal movement, At The Gates, hit the stage next and the pit started immediately! In support of their 2018 release, To Drink from the Night Sky Itself, they opened the set with the title track and flowed directly into Slaughter of the Soul. These guys had the venue’s energy building and building to a fever pitch like I had never seen (or so I thought). These guys are legends, and I think Atlanta showed them the respect they deserved with continuous circle pits, massive amounts of headbanging, and singing along. Some highlights from their set were, At War with Reality, Death and the Tombs, and The Night Eternal. I am really glad I was finally able to see these guys in my hometown, if they come to your town you should too!
I should mention at this point the venue was as full as I have ever seen it. My vantage point for the show was from the lower right balcony, but I could tell that all of the balconies were open and the floor was jammed full from the soundboard to the stage. The lines at the merch table were always packed. This does not even include the random scenesters that wanted to be seen at the show that stayed in the courtyard (yes, I said it, it’s a thing and you know it is true). It was awesome to see so many people at a show. So many of the shows I have been to recently have had a low turnout but that couldn’t be further from the case tonight. By the time the doors opened, Behemoth’s Facebook page said it was a sold-out show and I don’t think they were exaggerating.
The lights dimmed and you could see the shadowy figures take the stage. The crowd literally erupted when Behemoth tore into the opening riffs of Wolves Ov Siberia. While Nergal and the band took a minute to remove the masks they wore on stage, the crowd took a minute to regroup as well; but their rest was short cut short as Behemoth ripped into Diamonos. The band sounded amazing, replicating a near album quality performance. This is what sets Behemoth apart from other bands in the genre. Their music is so intricate with complex time changes, very melodic passages, and so stylistically different than standard blast beats and screams.
The set dressing, while relatively minimal but effective, was accentuated with powerful blasts of smoke that made inverted crosses on occasion, but dissipated quickly enough to not obscure any view of the stage. I know this will sound cliché, but there was truly a flow of energy between the band and the crowd. As they launched into the next song the crowd would send that energy right back to the band seemingly invigorating them to play harder and faster. It was a truly amazing feel in the venue.
Behemoth’s set list was heavily geared toward their latest release, I Loved You at Your Darkest, and included God=Dog, Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica, and Bartzabel but still represented their career with songs from earlier albums like Decade of Therion and Slaves Shall Serve. The crowd had reached a fever pitch, and nearly tore the house down when the opening notes of Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel hit. It was great to finally see this live, as it has been a favorite of mine since the release of The Satanist. But the show was far from over as they closed it out with Lucifer and We Are the Next 1000 Years.
As the house lights came up, the band exited the stage just as spent as their fans. Bruised, bloody, and yet so satisfied. Christmas had come early for us in Atlanta; heck, even Santa was in attendance and on the front row. We were gifted a great night of metal with true legends of the genre. The tour still has 20 dates as the band moves up the East Coast and heads out West, so do yourself a favor and check them out when they are close.
Oh, and I finally got the answer to my question as to who was the draw of the bill. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Atlanta loves Behemoth and so do I.
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