The last two DIMMU BORGIR albums made quite an impact in the US by entering the Billboard charts. So, with that solid fan base the Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal band book some North American live dates where to my pleasure Chicago was included.

I arrived at the House of Blues really early, since I had scheduled an interview with the band that for unknown reasons to me never took place. My more than 2 hours meaningless wait and the fact that the concert was sold-out cost me KEEP OF KALESSIN; who I just saw saying 'good night' to the gathered metalheads when I entered the venue. Having in mind the 'Greek standards' I was surprised to see that despite the show was sold-out I could move through the crowd and eventually getting into the photo pit at ease.

Right on time, the lights went out and probably the best Polish Death_Black Metal band BEHEMOTH entered the stage. After the short intro, the band blasted the speakers with Slaves Shall Serve from the Demigod album. The sound was loud as it should and BEHEMOTH had an overwhelming attitude that was enhanced with their spiked outfits. To my surprise the US fans responded almost ecstatically to the band from Poland forming a mosh pit right in the center of the arena.

BEHEMOTH without loosing time played At the Left Hand Ov God and Christgrinding Avenue from their latest album The Apostasy that was released in 2007. Overall, the band gave a solid performance that could have a better flow if only they hadn't used all those intros between almost every song. They were loosing part of the steam by getting on the side of the stage waiting for the intro to end. Nergal wore his Pazuzu (I think it was that demon) mask and along with the rest of the band spited some amount of blood just before they started playing Chant for Eschaton 2000 that ended their setlist. So, BEHEMOTH left us bloody and sweaty having some very good impressions about this band that holds the Black Metal banner high.

The wait for the Norwegian band lasted almost 30 minutes making stronger the crowds' anticipation. In the back of the stage there was a projection screen showing some really Satanic and cool pictures and videos that were following the band's setlist.
DIMMU BORGIR kicked off their show with the excellent headbanging tempo of Spellbound (By The Devil). During this song two guys dressed like priests (in a satanic way) were on the stage holding incense boats and looking pretty evil and stationary. The sound was flawless and the band in a high mood enjoying their success upon the US soil. The Serpentine Offering and Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse turned the heat up even more and gave the fans an excuse for some crowd surfing. The video projections were following the music enhancing the dark and of course evil atmosphere showing some artwork from their latest album.

Shagrath introduced A Succubus In Rapture by dedicating the song to all the ladies in the crowd. Other songs that were found in the band's 'best of' setlist were Puritania, The Insight And The Catharsis and of course Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse. The band did one encore and finished the show with my personal favourite Mourning Palace showing the video clip on the screens. I was truly impressed by the band's energetic performance that helped them to communicate with the crowd that seemed to enjoy every moment of the show. The end found DIMMU BORGIR saying a sincere 'thank you' to their fans who brought the band on the charts giving them the potential to do an extensive US tour.

Personally, I was totally satisfied with this concert since it had an excellent sound, it was hosted in a really beautiful venue with surprisingly very kind security and presented two bands (I missed the first one as I said) that are in their prime and made me forget the never-happened interview.

(photos by me)

BEHEMOTH

DIMMU BORGIR