Metal Alliance Tour 2014 feat. Behemoth – REVIEW

We had the chance to go out to the Chicago date of the “Metal Alliance Tour 2014” featuring Behemoth, Goatwhore, 1349, Inquisition and Black Crown Initiate, at the House of Blues. You can check out our review of the tour, after the break.

It was a hot one Friday night at the Chicago HOB for the 4th annual Metal Alliance Tour. Every year has a theme of the type of music on hand for the tour and this years festivities were sworn to the dark side of heavy music.

Newcomers to the scene, Black Crown Initiate set the mood with a brooding mixture of progressive and blackened death metal. Their stay was short as they only played for 20 minutes but each and every minute was very welcoming. I see a very good future for these youngsters if they keep the momentum going!

Black metal machine Inquisition followed and it’s a sight to see just 2 guys dishing out a massive wall of sound. Bands with 3 guitarists WISH they could be this heavy! Going back and forth between mike stands, vocalist/guitarist Dagon wails and croons the sounds of Satan through his own voice as he and partner-in-crime, Incubus unleashes his fury on the drums. The opening and closing songs of the set packed the biggest punch as they were appropriately the 1st and last tracks off their latest opus, 2013’s Obscure Verses For The Multiverse. Hail to quality American black metal!

Named after the year of the black plague, 1349 got the mood setting to grim instantly. The sound was atmospheric and the vibe was that of attending a dark ritual. The hymns spoken/sang from the voice of Ravn were howling and gave you the goosebumps. Like the previous band before them, this Norwegian foursome had little to nothing to say in between songs and let the music do all the talking. It almost made you wonder if they spoke! The 3rd time was the charm witnessing their live assault as this was easily their best received set I’ve seen yet!

Blackened/death/thrash hybrid Goatwhore had the crowd rampant from the second the 1st get-go. Pits were swirling like a blender as people were being as relentless as the sounds of the music. Solo guitarist Sammy Duet’s guitar rips like a chainsaw as bassist James Harvey and drummer Zack Simmons are one of the most underrated rhythm teams in all of metal. They got their sound locked down to the T as it comes across more effective live than on record. Vocalist/frontman Ben Falgoust is a frontman of the arts. From top notch enunciation to crowd interaction, he is born for this. It wouldn’t be a Goatwhore set without their (in)famous closer “Apocalyptic Havoc” which carries the now classic lyrics “Who needs a God when you’ve got Satan?!” The Louisiana quartet come around these parts more often than your average band, but they make sure you get your money’s worth every single time. RESPECT!

Behemoth have come a long, hard fought road and it is safe to say it has all been worth it for these veterans hailing from Poland. From conquering Leukemia to free speech battles in court, mastermind Adam “Nergal” Darski’s eventful life has translated well into the music as the intensity, the heart and soul of this music has been turned to 11. Nergal himself sounds better than ever, especially after conquering a form of cancer. The band backing Nergal himself are fine tuned and make this set count just like they do every night. “IT FEELS GOOD TO BE ALIVE!” Darski shouts as the group launch into classic staple “Conquer All”. Through hell, fire, and brimstones Behemoth are an intense live band not just by the music but their performance provokes fierce headbanging and more corpse painted fans than you can count. On top of it, the band is backed by a killer light show giving great visuals. The Satan-looking masks are a great fit for their closer “O Father, O Satan, O Sun!” as they give their final hurrah in them and just stand there cold hammering the final notes of the night. It’s rare when an extreme metal band adds theatrics to their live show and it’s excellent to see a band come forth and do just that for the live experience.

I highly, highly recommend the Metal Alliance Tour as a must see show! Especially if your tastes suits the blackest of the black in heavy music. This one is for you so eat it up and savor it every bit you can!

Information about this review:
Tour: Metal Alliance Tour 2014 feat. Behemoth
Bands: Behemoth, Goatwhore, 1349, Inquisition, Black Crown Initiate
Reviewer: Nicholas Wier
Date: April 25, 2014
Venue: House of Blues in Chicago, IL