Band(s): Rotting Christ, Satyricon, Behemoth
Venue: Gasometer
Country: Austria
Genre: Black Metal
Introduction
The Unholy Trinity Tour, a truly diabolical event, kicked off on Friday the 4th of April in Vienna. The bands on this line up include none other than Rotting Christ, Satyricon and Behemoth for an evening full of blasphemy, pounding drums and fast guitars. The event started off in the most awesome of ways with a small demonstration against the tour by a group of fundamental Christians. Their strength in numbers was truly something to be reckoned with…. Five determined Jesus-loving sheep put a truly immense pressure on the poor organisers. Nergal’s face was full of fear and anguish as he strolled past them with an ironic grin on his face.
Rotting Christ
Being the opener of the Tour, these Greek legends had the tough job of getting the audience going. But they delivered that to the fullest, from the start to the last second of their set. Although plagued by sound issues for the first half of their show, they delivered a reckless assault of diabolical music with songs like Non Serviam, Fire God and Fear and Like Father, Like Son. But by far their best song was Grandis Spiritus Diavolos which made the crowd scream their lungs out. Overall, they really kicked ass for their sadly short time slot of roughly 40 minutes.
I mean, just look at this crazy picture captured by discord member Wyrdsom.
Satyricon
The Legends delivered. If you ask me, they were the true headliner of the concert and played exactly like that. As a black metal musician myself, it was truly awe-inspiring to witness my all-time favorite band perform in Austria after nearly an 8-year hiatus. Their set list was truly bombastic, with one great song after the other. They opened with Now Diabolical, followed by Our World, It Rumbles Tonight and ended with Mother North and King. The sound was just phenomenal and the audience was crazy. Definitely one of the best shows I’ve ever attended, and I’m very lucky to see them again soon when they’re headlining Karmøygeddon Metal Festival in Norway, the first weekend of May.
Behemoth
Now to the actual headliner of this tour. The Polish blasphemy blackened death metal giants did what they do best. Bringing a level of production that could’ve been used in any big budget movie. Armed with pyrotechnics and two ramps on the side of the stage where Orion and Set played on and off, with Nergal being at the core of the stage and changing outfits more often than Taylor Swift. Showmanship on the highest level, but musically it’s not on par with the two opening legendary acts. Their set list was a mix of their newest releases like Shit of God, with the lyric level of a thirteen-year-old and great, older songs like Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer and the all-time favourite Conquer All. Overall, it was too sterile and overproduced to feel like an actual live show, which led to my wife and me leaving after what, I think, was four songs.
If you ask me, it would have been more fitting for Satyricon to be the headliner and Behemoth the opener, but that’s not how this world works due to Behemoths larger fan base. Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely earned with their immense marketing and production strategy, but music wise, for me, they are not the headliner on this tour.
Conclusion
Overall, a very well-organized tour with bands suitable for everyone who enjoys the darker aspects of metal, and definitely worth attending simply to experience the force of Rotting Christ and Satyricon.
Upcoming shows:
April 11th: Olympia, Paris FR
April 12th: O2 Brixton Academy, London UK
April 13th: 013 Poppodium, Tilburg NL
April 15th: E-Werk, Cologne DE
April 16th: Schlachthof, Wiesbaden DE
April 18th: b-k, Stockholm SE
April 25th: Hala Stulacia, Wroclaw PL
Secure your tickets here: https://unholy-trinity.behemoth.pl/
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