The Decibel Magazine Tour featuring Behemoth – REVIEW

The highly anticipated, Decibel Magazine Tour, came through Chicago at The Bottom Lounge. The tour featured performances by Behemoth, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude. You can check out our review after the break.

Sometimes people like to brag about the scary or strange things they do to celebrate Friday the 13th. Me? I got to see the Decibel Magazine tour with In Solitude, The Devil’s Blood, and Polish death metal legend Behemoth at The Bottom Lounge in Chicago. It was an intense evening of nostalgic black/heavy metal, ritualistic lyrics, and incense.

To kick off the tour package were the Swedish heavy metal group In Solitude. The thing that stood out to me the most about these guys was the feeling of being thrown back to 1981. The leather pants, the boots, the bare chests and leather vests… Did I mention the leather? Sounding like if Diamond Head and Merciful Fate had an evil love child, these guys rocked out on stage hard and didn’t stop all night. Nothing about them was tame as they powered through their entire set, hair flailing and singer Pelle Ahman’s voice sky high.

Next up were the Dutch occult rock band The Devil’s Blood. Probably one of the more interesting acts I have ever seen, the music was a moderate tempo and mostly groove/rock oriented and whenever vocalist Farida Lemouchi was not singing her head was tilted and eyes were rolled back. The best parts in their set were the Maiden-esque three-part guitar harmonies that littered every song. With their lyrical content deeply rooted in occult and Satanic themes, they were a great primer for what was to come next.

Behemoth is one of the heaviest bands that I have ever seen live. The drums, guitars, and vocals are pummeling on the albums as it is, but a live setting brings out the power and energy this band puts out more than anything. Speaking of power and energy, vocalist/guitarist Nergal was definitely operating at 100% this evening, even after the battle for his life that began only about a year earlier. The entire band was moving on the stage and windmilling the entire set with their demonic corpse painted faces and probably the most intense light show I had ever seen going on behind them.

The entire crowd left the venue that evening feeling a little more evil than before. The nostalgia of the earlier bands, the leather and cut-denim jackets with Venom patches, and the intensity and brutality of the mighty Behemoth made this night of the most memorable I have ever had. What did you do for Friday the 13th in 2012?

Information about the review…
Tour: The Decibel Magazine Tour featuring Behemoth
Bands: Behemoth, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude
Reviewer: Vincent Ippolito
Date: April 13, 2012
Venue: The Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL