Written by:	Darkside Momo
Published:	January 27, 2019
Event:	Behemoth: Ecclesia Diabolica Evropa 2019
Location:	Le Bikini, Toulouse, France
Galleries:	Behemoth, Toulouse, 21/01/2019 by Darkside Momo (2)

Wolves In The Throne Room + At The Gates + Behemoth...

Yep, that is quite a nice tour package. And indeed, Behemoth did drew a lot of people on that cold monday night (I can't say for sure, but I guess we were around 800-1000 metalheads). Plus, the venue being the Bikini, we were sure to enjoy a great sound.

But I, for one, wasn't there for the headliner. I love both Wolves In The Throne Room and At The Gates; while I missed the former's show a bit more than one year ago (I'm told it was excellent, so shame on me), the latter's blistering set at Hellfest last year was one of my highlights of the whole fest. Plus, while I still don't really like Behemoth, I heard so much about their live performances that I was actually curious.





Wolves In The Throne Room

They started... and then it was over. Half an hour - that's three songs in WITTR language - is bloody damn too short for such a band. When they came, doused in lights, the mood was set. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them several minutes later, I was left wondering, slightly lost. Where were the moon in the sky, the woods around us, the crackling fire? Such is the magic of Wolves In The Throne Room, a band that so expertly crafts their atmospheric and epic songs you're bound to be taken away by the awesomeness of it all.

That blue light on Nathan Weaver's guitar, however... I mean, what's the point? Anyway, if you ever have those guys playing near you, do yourself a favor and go check then, okay?

Setlist:
1. "Angrboda"
2. "The Old Ones Are With Us"
3. "Born From The Serpent's Eye"


At The Gates

Let's face it: there was no surprise whatsoever here. At The Gates came, kicked everyone's ass during an hour, then left, with us in the moshpit being quite bruised and out of breath ? but grinning widely.

Then again, there was no surprise whatsoever. It was exactly the same powerful recipe I already enjoyed to the fullest at Hellfest (scroll down a bit, it's after Amorphis and Septic Flesh), down to the setlist (with a few songs less, that's all) and everything... And while it was fun and the musicians were good as always (even if Tompa's vocals were maybe a bit less powerful than at Hellfest - but that's the toil of touring, I guess), I of course could have used a bit of change. Mind you, I prefer their last three albums, so that was obviously perfect for me, but if you prefer their old stuff, you might be kinda disappointed.

So that was the perfect opportunity for those who missed At The Gates at Hellfest because Iron Maiden were playing at the same time (like quite a few of my friends, actually). Once again, At The Gates came and slayed!

Setlist:
Intro (tape): Der Widerstand
1. "To Drink From the Night Itself"
2. "Slaughter Of The Soul"
3. "At War With Reality"
4. "A Stare Bound In Stone"
5. "Cold"
6. "Daggers Of Black Haze"
(tape): El Altar Del Dios Desconocido
7. "Death And The Labyrinth"
8. "Heroes and Tombs"
9. "Suicide Nation"
10. "The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)"
11. "Blinded By Fear"
12. "The Night Eternal"


Behemoth



So, the much-awaited-for headliner. Time to see if all the fuss about Behemoth live and their mainstream satanic schtick is deserved or not (the only time I saw them live was in 2010, under the sun... not really fitting)!

Well that was tight as fuck, I must say. The lights and light-handed uses of pyrotechnics were particularly great, as was the sound. Yeah, the sound : powerful, loud and clear, but would you have expected the drums to sound so trigger-happy and artificial? Thankfully, that got a bit better afterwards, but seriously... The band, on the whole, let the music do the talking, all them being impressive yet probably a bit too controlled and over-orchestrated (probably because of all the pre-programmed lights and videos). That reminded me a bit of Septic Flesh, who are totally dependant of their samples, and at times artificial as a result...

Anyway, the band seemed content, Nergal spat his blood on the front rows - as usual, I'm told - and fans were definitely happy. Apart from that drum sound, nothing to fault them, really. Had I been into their music, I would have gone nuts, as were the numerous Behemoth fans... Yep, if you like what they do, go see them as you're sure to enjoy it; if not, they're interesting... but nothing more

Setlist:
1. "Wolves ov Siberia"
2. "Daimonos"
3. "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer"
4. "Bartzabel"
5. "Ov Fire and the Void"
6. "God = Dog"
7. "Conquer All"
8. "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica"
9. "Decade of Therion"
10. "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel"
11. "Slaves Shall Serve"
12. "Chant for Eschaton 2000"
13. "Lucifer"
14. "We Are the Next 1000 Years"


Many thanks to Antoine for the accreditation, to Stéphanie for the phone to take those pics, and to everyone for the  !