Belphegor brought pure evil to Seattle this past week on their current North American Cremation Chapter X tour. They stopped into to Studio 7 Monday night with Origin, Shining, Abigail Williams and locals Ashen Pyre.
First up for the night, Ashen Pyre. Pretty good sound from these guys. They are local to the Seattle area. Their set was entertaining so a good open for this show. They are for sure a local act to check out.
Next up, Abigail Williams. I was looking forward to these guys after hearing a lot of chatter from others about their sound and their shows. They did not disappoint. They have a solid sound and have a good stage presence. I would recommend going to see these guy if you get the chance.
Before I move on to the next set, let me make sure to tell fans who can’t handle stuff that happens at a black or death metal show, artists in this genre can be very unpredictable and if you don’t want to become part of their show, stand to the back or up in the balcony to watch the show. Better yet, check out the bands on the lineup online and make sure you know what you are getting into. For this show the only offenders were Shining, but that’s nothing knew. Their singer is known for his antics and if you are upfront you are likely to be spit on or to be grabbed and accosted by him. I forgot and was shooting next to the stage and Niklas got me. He grabbed the back of my head, pulled me under his shirt and proceeded with trying to hump my face then went on to spit on others. Niklas should stick to trying to better his music instead, it really needs it. Outside of his stage games, the instrumental part of their show was pretty good as well as the musicians in the band, but as usual the vocals are still subpar. Nothing new to report from Shining this time around. Don’t get me wrong, I have a really deep admiration for Swedish metal and spend time in Sweden every year rocking out to many of the great bands, but Shining just hasn’t ever done it for me and still didn’t this time. I didn’t expect much, so hard to be let down when you have no expectations and mine were zero going into this show, pretty sad for a Swedish metal band in my opinion.
Next up, Origin. This was a killer set! Belphegor picked a great band to open before them. The music was great, the show was great. You’ve got to see these guys when they get to a town near you. This is a show you will really enjoy.
So for the main attraction of the night. Belphegor was founded in Austria in 1993 (earlier, 1991, if you count the few years before they changed their name) and they’ve been making evil death metal ever since. Some of their fans will even tell you they’ve seen demonic visions while attending their live shows too. This band is not for the faint of heart, it’s solely for those who seek out the evilest of all evil in music. The crowd that attended was well aware of what was coming once they hit the stage. Without hesitation, mayhem ensued instantly and didn’t stop until after the show was over. This is a band to see live. They do a great show or as they probably prefer, a horrible, evil show (in a great way though). I am thrilled they put Seattle on their tour this year. Just pure evil!
The fans had an evil time at this show and were left wanting more. When Belphegor makes it back to Seattle the fans will be back without a doubt. Until then, keep listening to and supporting the band. Belphegor has 10 studio albums, 2 EP’s and 1 live release. You can purchase their music in most music outlets. The band has only 8 more tour dates in the USA so if you have the chance to see them make sure you do it, no telling when they are coming back on tour in the states again.
Check out the show gallery below. Make no mistake when you spot Helmuth smiling either, even Helmuth smiles when Satan tickles that small light spot inside all of that darkness.
