Man am I battered! But I guess that's what I should have
expected, what with going to see the Decibel Magazine tour with Cannibal
Corpse, Napalm Death, and Immolation last evening. Bruises everywhere!
Anyway, more of that will come later, but before that there
are a few things I want to talk about with this post:
1.) BEHEMOTH's new album title, The Satanist; Inferno's surgery/Behemoth's now inability to partake
in this summer's Mayhem Festival
2.) WINTERSUN announces North American headlining tour
3.) Moshing/stage diving (moreso the latter)
So let's get to it!
BEHEMOTH Announces New Album Title: The Satanist
About a week ago (Thurs. May 30th), Polish blackened death
metal monsters Behemoth revealed the name of their tenth studio album, the
follow-up to 2009's Evangelion and
the band's first album since Nergal's leukemia debacle, dubbed The
Satanist. Here's what I and two other Behemoth fans thought:
 |
| (Post from Tumblr; opinions belong to "Humanure", myself, and "urdjupet" respectively. Links to blogs will follow.) |
Behemoth is undoubtedly one of my absolute favorite bands,
with the mentioned Demigod being among
my favorite albums in general. I am not at all expecting the new album to be terrible.
Quite the contrary, actually. However, as Urdjupet stated similar in her post,
I could not take it as seriously as someone might have, say, ten years ago.
Would the title have worked for shock value (if that's what they were going
for) back in the 1990's around the release of Pandemic Incantations and Satanica?
Hell yes it would have. But the phrase "the satanist" or "a
satanist" just...simply isn't as shocking anymore, and that's most likely
attributed to, as Urdjupet said, the little children running around thinking
they're so edgy and brutal for "hating God" because they listen to
Lamb of God or something of the like.
I also saw someone mention in the comments on the band's official
post (I can't recall if it had been on the Behemoth page or Nergal's personal
page) that it could get to be confusing for newer fans having one album
entitled Satanica and another called The Satanist. This is very true, if you
don't pay attention, but it's also a valid point in another way. Having Satanica (which is a much better title
than The Satanist, at least in my opinion; it shows further thought rather than a
generic phrase) makes it seem as though the new album title is a bit of a
recycled idea. The term "satanica" has a bit of originality to it
whereas "the satanist" just...falls flat. Am I predicting that new
material will be re-hashed old material? Not at all. I'm just comparing my
observations is all. And anyway, one of my good companions on Twitter attended
Poland's most recent Impact Fest, and she left me with rather high hopes:
 |
| (Conversation between myself and Catherine Velis [@Thelema_6] via Twitter.) |
This leads into my next point, concerning Inferno's appendix
surgery and Behemoth having to drop off this year's Mayhem Fest lineup.
First and foremost: thoughts with Inferno and hoping he gets
well very soon!
That is the most important thing to say in this scenario. Yes,
for all those in the States, like me, it SUCKS that Behemoth is no longer on
the Mayhem Fest lineup, but Inferno's health is much more important than that.
Without him, Behemoth would most likely not be what it is today (no disrespect
to Nergal, but Inferno is an incredible drummer, and that is one of the things
everyone dotes on over Behemoth). And look at the bright side: The Satanist is
coming...and new albums from bands of Behemoth’s stature/popularity often come
with European AND North American tours. It
will be worth the wait. All this means for me now is I'll probably be less inclined
to attend the festival.
As I said earlier, Behemoth is absolutely one of my favorite
bands, and I was so eager to see them this summer, and was so disappointed when
I heard they were no longer attending. They were one of...actually, THE main
reason I was going to go. Don't get me wrong, I'm also a huge fan of Amon
Amarth and Children of Bodom, and enjoy the occasional Machine Head, Job For a
Cowboy, Mastodon, and Battlecross song (the rest of the line up just
kinda...sucks), but I was going for BEHEMOTH. And forget about going to Summer
Slaughter instead. If anything's worse than Rob Zombie headlining Mayhem, it's
this year's appalling SS line-up, except for two, maybe three bands (Cattle
Decapitation and Aeon, I'd definitely see were they on their own).
Main point being: I'm upset I'll have to wait even longer to
see one of my favorite bands, but I completely understand why. Plus, no
disrespect to another great drummer, Krimh, but it wouldn't feel the same were
they to play without Inferno. And I'm looking forward to The Satanist despite
the..."cliché", to put it lightly, name.
BEHEMOTH w/ Krimh-Chant For Eschaton 2000 (Live @ Impact Fest 2013):
WINTERSUN Announces N. American Headlining Tour
(A more extensive Wintersun-related post will probably be included in the coming weeks.)
My first reaction to this?
"HOLY SHIT," accompanied by a rather impressive
gasp.
Yeah, along with Behemoth, I'm a pretty huge fan of
Wintersun. And the guys they're taking along on the tour with them:
Fleshgod Apocalypse! Also, Arsis and Starkill are pretty decent bands as well,
so it's going to be a very fun evening!
Fortunately for me, they ARE going to be playing in my city,
cozy little Philly, as the second stop of the tour (at the same venue I saw
Gojira at a few months ago, and a wonderful venue it was). Interestingly, though,
this will only be Wintersun's second time in North America, and I'm excited to
get the chance to see Fleshgod, as I was supposed to see them last September
for my birthday but that show got cancelled and I ended up going to Morbid
Angel & Dark Funeral instead.
Though, it makes me wonder exactly when Fleshgod's next
album is scheduled to come out. I mean, the last one they released was Agony,
two years ago, and it is indeed a great album, but they seem to be so busy
touring lately. They announced work on a new one, then went on tour with
Scepticflesh, immediately after which they were announced to be accompanying
Wintersun this August/September. At this rate, they won't be able to get much
work done until next year! And I'm pretty eager for new material from them. Are
we going to consider this the "Two Full-Length Albums" Tour?
If only it included Necrophagist, maybe we would, after everyone
got over their seizures.
Regardless, my friends and I are ALL looking forward to this
show. It's going to be a hell of a time, so make sure you catch them if they're
stopping in your town.
 |
| (Dates taken from the promotional photo on Wintersun's official Facebook page. Visit for more info. on the tour. Also visit to learn about the special contest they have going on for this tour with a fantastic reward for the winner. Link to follow blog entry.) |
WINTERSUN-Sons of Winter and Stars (album version, taken
from Time I):
MOSHING & STAGE DIVING
Alright, so this is where we finally get to where I talk
somewhat about the show I attended last night, the Decibel Magazine Tour with
Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, and Immolation.
God DAMN did this show hurt!
The venue was great (Union Transfer in Philadelphia, PA),
and was the first one I'd been to that had no barrier set up a few feet from
the stage. Nope, we were leaning against the stage. I know that's pretty common
in European venues, but I've hardly heard of/seen places in the US that are set
up in such a way. Anyway, I went with my brother and our friend, and we got
there pretty early (a little before 5:30 for a show whose doors opened at 6:30) and were
able to find a great place to stand at the very front (we stood right in front of
Alex during Cannibal's set; was pretty awesome, especially since I'm fond of
bassists).
The crowd was pretty tranquil during Drugs of Faith, the
first band, which wasn't too surprising. Their vocalist seemed like a pretty
cool guy, too. I was surprised, however, by how rowdy some people got during
Magrudergrind. I really wasn't expecting any moshing until Immolation, at
least, but it was a bit reversed. People were mostly still during Immolation
except for a few headbangers towards the front. They were great, though.
And then it was time for Napalm Death.
And it was just raining bodies.
People were stage-diving every maybe three seconds, with
people going up while others were
jumping down...it made it pretty hard to catch everyone, and I saw a few people sail right to the floor. We
helped them all up, of course, but we couldn't save 'em all. I'll be honest: as
I mentioned earlier, I don't very often hear of venues set up like the UT in
the States, so this was my first experience with stage diving in-person. And oh
boy was it quite the experience.
Despite all the fun I had, and all the battle scars I got, I
couldn't help but notice a few things that didn't exactly follow what I
considered to be "proper concert etiquette".
I know, I know; we're metalheads, we're a rowdy bunch, we
can take a boot to the face or a kick in the balls, and the rough demeanor is a
part of who we are. I GET IT. But come on, we have to remember that, despite
saying we're "made of metal", we're still humans, and people can get
seriously injured, especially with how rough some people go with their diving.
Here are a few things I'd like to comment on:
1. If you're a bigger guy (or girl)...we love you like a
brother (or sister), just as much as love anyone else (really, we do), but if you think it's
a good idea to drive yourself into a group of the less-bulky guys or girls, you
might want to rethink your choice or location of diving. This isn't just a
precaution for the people you might land on, but you could also hurt yourself.
If you dive into a collection of bone-thin spectators, they might not be able
to support you, and they will drop you.
And it will hurt.
2. Be mindful of where you're diving...because if you decide
you want to fall onto the smallest person in the front row, repeatedly, that
makes you a bit of an ass.
3. If you're being an ass, we will let you fall. We'll help
you back up to your feet, as is customary, but if you're a complete asshole to
the people around you and then you expect them to catch you...prepare to hit the
floor.
4. Make sure everyone around you is alright if you see it
get rough. This is just common courtesy, and it really is appreciated. Even if
the guy next to you was an asshole five minutes ago, if you see him get punted
in the head, make sure he's still good to go.
At the show last evening, one of the crowd surfers fell
right on my head and I was too busy headbanging to pay attention, so my face
smacked hard on the stage. One of the
guys behind me saw and pulled me back to make sure I was alright. Twice. The first
to make sure I was still awake and alert, the second a few minutes later to make
sure I wasn't bleeding. When I saw him on my way out at the end of the show, he
asked how I was. It's truly appreciated! (And yes, I thanked him for looking out
for me.)
5. Get up and get down.
Some people might not agree with this one as much as others,
but I feel that once you get yourself on stage, go ahead, run to the other
side, maybe give Mark Greenway a high five, and jump down. We're there to see
the band performing, not watch you try to compete with George Fisher to see who
can windmill faster. Because honestly, unless you're Orion, you will lose, and
we know that already.
6. If a female decides she's got the guts to jump up on
stage and puts her trust in you to catch her, catch her, but don't take
advantage of the opportunity to intentionally grope her. The key word there is
INTENTIONALLY. I get that accidents happen, and you at some point may find your
hand was in another guy's crotch while he was crowd surfing, but don't take
advantage of the fact that a girl's doing it. Don't intentionally ball-tap a
guy, don't intentionally grope a girl...it makes you look like an asshole.
7. Ladies, I know we tend to be lighter than guys, it's just how our bodies are, but you are not as light as air. Chances are, you still weigh more than 110 or so pounds, and it hurts if 110+ pounds is suddenly dropped on someone's head. You need to be just as cautious and aware as the guys who are diving beside you.
8. If someone loses something, you need to chill out for a
few seconds or however long it takes and let them look for it. It happened last
night, one guy dropped and lost his cell phone, and everyone around him stopped
what they were doing and helped him look. He found it, and we picked right back
up where we left off. If you find something -- keys, a wallet, a bracelet, a
shoe -- wait until the time between songs, when everyone's taking a breather,
and ask around. If nobody around you lost it, hold it up and use your voice and
ask, "did anyone lose (item)?" Shit happens, stuff falls out of
pockets, and they'll appreciate it getting returned to them.
9. Overall, just be careful. I know getting kicked in the
head or punched in the eye or the occasional bloody nose or K.O. is inevitable
(after all, it is a metal show), but don't intentionally try to hurt someone,
because the entire crowd will go after you like wolves on a deer carcass if you
do.
Other than that, you can dive where ever the hell you want, on
whoever the hell you want, and as many times as you want. Just don't be an ass
about it is all. We are more than happy to catch you, to throw you around, but
don't ruin it for people by being
obnoxious and reckless.
Oh, and don't hit the god damn band members.
Apparently it happened last night, where someone hit or
almost hit Corpsegrinder, and he was pretty pissed about it. It's out of
respect...you didn't pay money to use him as a punching bag, and he's a person
just like you and everyone else around you that you consider your brother.
All of this really just boils down to remembering you and
the people around you are
people, and they can get hurt, and they deserve common courtesy.
Since there's no videos of last night's performance online as of yet, here's the setlist I got from the end of Cannibal Corpse's performance:
And, of course, the song that was used for the title of this entry:
DEATH-Together as One (Human)
LINKS (in order of appearance):
Humanure's tumblr: http://humanure.tumblr.com/
Urdjupet's tumblr: http://urdjupet.tumblr.com/
Behemoth's Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behemoth?ref=ts&fref=ts
Nergal's Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialnergal?fref=ts
Catherine Velis (@Thelema_6)'s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Thelema_6
-Please note Catherine tweets primarily in Polish, her native language, and her account is private
Wintersun's Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wintersun?fref=ts
Cannibal Corpse Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannibalcorpse?fref=ts
-Refer to this page to follow the remainder of the Decibel Magazine tour with Napalm Death & Immolation
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