USA, Portland, OR - Behemoth + Watain: The Decibel Magazine Tour 2012
| Written by: | wormdrink414 |
| Published: | April 26, 2012 |
| Event: | Behemoth + Watain: The Decibel Magazine Tour 2012 |
| Location: | Hawthorne Theater, Portland, OR, USA |
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USA, Portland, OR - Behemoth + Watain: The Decibel Magazine Tour 2012 by wormdrink414 (25) |
Just a quick preface note here: If you can get to any of the shows left on this tour, go. Call in sick to your job, cut class, tell your kids to go fuck themselves, whatever. Just get to it. It was far and away the most varied and entertaining show I've been to in a while.
Stoneburner
Kicking things off was a local stoner metal group that's pretty fucking good. Or so I was told, missed their entire set.
In Solitude
The second band up, In Solitude, plays traditional-sounding heavy metal. And they shredded shit up. Having checked out their latest studio effort, it seems safe enough to say that this is a band that's meant to be seen live. Lots of energy, lots of passion, even if their tunes are a bit on the iffy side.
The Devil's Blood
Even though I only had a few beers in me, The Devil's Blood immediately made me mistake their effect for that of a few bowls. Their show? All very THC. They kicked off with a pretty thick and fast song, one that quickly dissolved into some dreamy number. Made me very meditative-feeling. And even though the whole business of relaxing generally rubs me the wrong way, it was welcomed after the high-energy fist-poundingness of In Solitude and in preparation for the onslaught Watain unleashed shortly after. These guys/gal are, to put it as simply as possible, fucking talented.
Watain
Hard to pay much attention when your shit is getting wrecked so viciously. If you want an idea of viciously, go listen to Lawless Darkness.
Listening to it yet? Good. Now imagine it louder and MORE VICIOUS.
By the time they stopped playing, it was pretty hard to imagine Behemoth one-upping them.
Behemoth
They did, though. Right when the (crippled and slippery) crowd thought the brutal/evil factor had peaked, Behemoth took the stage and proceeded to give us an hour or so of total fucking mind-blow.
Not sure if it was because of how beat-up the crowd was after Watain, or if it was because of the mesmerizing fog and lights, but the pits that had been tornado-ing shortly before they took the stage mostly subsided, replaced by total attentiveness from the crowd. In a good way. The show they put on was as brilliantly and fantastically theatrical as it was savage.
It made sense that, even though they play close to the opposite style of metal than Agalloch, John Haughm would be there standing behind me* watching their set. Perfect amount of brutal, perfect amount of fog, light beams, and props, and perfect amount of Inferno murdering his kit.
They closed out with a couple fan-favorite tracks while Nergal wore his trademark Batman-head-stuck-in-an-elevator mask, everyone seemed to leave happy. The small group I was with definitely did. Easily the best show I've been to in a while. Don't miss the other dates if you can.
All photos courtesy of Alex Holdaway
*Not accusing the man of committing a heinous crime or anything... but seeing as my prized battle-worn Clutch hat was lifted from my back pocket during the Behemoth set, John Haughm** will currently be under close surveillance in suspicion of stealing my head-piece.
** Just saying, keep an eye on this guy.
 | Written on 26.04.2012 by Wormdrink's real name is George and he's an American. |
Comments
Comments: 30
Visited by: 140 users
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| wormdrink414 Elite Posts: 1295  |
Written by [user id=26176] on 28.04.2012 at 20:37 I remember a few tracks off Evangelion, At The Left Hand, Demigod, Slaves shall serve, and a few tracks I'm assuming are new.
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| D.T. Metal Staff Posts: 4193  |
Nice !!  and to add, it was extremely hot in the venue, holy crap. The drummer from In Solitude passed out right after their set; but somehow the other bands thrived in that musky, hot air.
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| Clintagräm Shrinebuilder Posts: 5773  |
Too much evil in one place! Good review/pics.
---- The force will be with you, always.
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| wormdrink414 Elite Posts: 1295 |
Written by D.T. Metal on 29.04.2012 at 16:22 Yeah that's a pretty big problem with the Hawthorne. Worst thing is, if you're too young to go into the bar for the patio area there, your only option for fresh air is to leave the club. No reentries too. Spent many nights there slowly choking to death on metal smog.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
This was one of the best gig/concert reviews I've read on the site. Would love for you to publish more.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
Do you remember if Watain mostly played songs from Lawless Darkness? They're coming to Knoxville in a few days without Behemoth, so I'm sure the show will be a bit different, but I'm still trying to guess how best to get pumped. I hadn't been keeping up with Watain like I should have so I'm thankful they're coming to town to remind me how awesome they are. And this review made me even more excited, if that was possible.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| wormdrink414 Elite Posts: 1295 |
Written by Susan on 30.04.2012 at 19:09 Pretty much exclusively off Lawless if memory serves. Might have been a couple older songs, but I don't know their older material as well, don't remember the specifics. Definitely remember Malfeitor, Total Funeral, and going slightly apeshit to Reaping Death. Binged in the bar while they were setting up, was pretty much an evil blur of sounds/the bassist looking brutal to me in the end (like a really enjoyable evil blur).
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941 |
Written by wormdrink414 on 01.05.2012 at 01:21 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374  |
Written by Susan on 30.04.2012 at 19:09 I'm not an expert on their other albums but some songs I know are well known from their album Casus Luciferi which they seem to play most of the time are Devil's Blood and maybe I Am The Earth (or you can listen to the entire album as well since it's awesome xD).
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| scaesura Posts: 174 |
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094  |
Who the hell would put In Solitude and The Devil's Blood as support bands for Watain and Behemoth?? way too huge transition in brutality between the first two bands and the last two. I would have probably left after TDB 
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Valentin B on 05.05.2012 at 17:01 Well I can understand TDB. It seems like a lot of BM fans dig that band, consdering that TDB is as satanic as Watain hehehe. I would have watched the entire thing though.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 15:26 TDB and In Solitude are both part of the same booking agency (Bidi Bookings) and Bidid Bookingg has close contacts with Watain. What I find more surprising is that Behemoth is on that same bill. Esdpcially considering how terribly average everything after Zos Kia Cultus was by them.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
And of course TDB's Selim and Watain are good friends, Selim played some guest parts on Lawless Darkness
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 15:26 what? why is that? if their lyrics were not satanic/whatever the band would basically be a stoner version of Blue Oyster Cult, totally harmless stuff
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Valentin B on 06.05.2012 at 15:31 nothing stoner about TDB
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 15:30 Huh really? Didn't know about that. Do you know exactly what he did?
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 15:35 If you had bought the cd instead of having downloaded it you would know what exactly  Selim Lamouchi did the solos on Waters Of Ain and Lawless Darkness
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 15:37 I own the digipak version. I'm just too lazy to check it out. Nice stuff though, specially the solo of Waters Of Ain.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Btw it is clear that Selim also played as live msuician for Watain on this tour. Just look at the photo gallery
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 15:50 Is he the guy on the left on the fifth pic? I also see the chilean bassist is there with his mean as hell face EDIT: Oops, Forgot to check the other gallery, yeah it's him.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 15:54 Selim is the guy with the Watain trident painted on his chest during the Watain gig The Chilean bass player has been their regular live bass player for quite a few years now. But the guy is big, especially compared to tiny Erik
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 18:21 I wonder how tiny he is. I suppose as tall as me?
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 21:02 Smaller and way skinnier, Porbably your sister's height, or maybe a tiny bit taller
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 21:03 Hhahahah the mental image is hilarious. I guess he's still taller than the dude from Abruptum. Now that guy is also a friggin midget.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 21:08 That guy actually isn't that small at all. He is about your height. Somehow urban myth/legend makes him out to be smaller than he really is.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.05.2012 at 21:12 Really? I heard he was like around 150cm or something. Urban myths are crazy.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.05.2012 at 21:23 he was/is actually aroun 1.70, which is of course still small, but not tiny.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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