I dedicate this to the gentlemen that helped me out at The Riot Room and Kristin at Nuclear Blast Records.
Ah yes, another concert in Kansas City being hosted at The Riot Room. Such a grand venue with….hardly anyone here. What the hell? Where is everyone!? Abiotic is already on stage tearing it up and there is about 25 people here. Ah well, a more relaxed and fun environment of metal heads and great music. As for Abiotic, they were amazing! I’m so glad they are back together, making music and playing live shows. This was the first time I got to see the band and they were very tight, had a lot of energy and were just fun to watch. Man these guys can SHRED!
Next up is Necronomicon and I honestly forgot how good this band is live. Their blackened death metal sound just feels so natural on stage. They sound great on their albums but their performance and live sound just adds another element that I just can’t explain. Their character, on stage presence and musical execution is just great to witness. Another fantastic band that sounds better in concert and is just a joy to watch. Lot’s of good headbanging moments from this band.
This is my 3rd time seeing Suffocation but my first time seeing them without Frank. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be as fun nor as good. Boy was I wrong, Suffocation continued on like it has for the past 20+ years and kicked our asses. By the time Suffocation started their set, The Riot Room filled out a little more and more people were in the general pit area headbanging and screaming lyrics back at the stage. Suffocation sounded amazing, their production was minimal but their overall performance was dominating. This band always sounds so damn HEAVY!
Now it’s time for the mighty blackened death metal band from Austria, BELPHEGOR! This band has consistently hit The Riot Room for a few years now and this was my 4th time seeing the band, the second time this year alone! They were just here in May and I was still fired up to see what they brought to the table in terms of performance, stage props and setlist. Their style has always been evil while taking their performance quite seriously and letting the music do the talking as the crowd tear each other apart. This time, the band did just that but there was not enough energy pushed back towards the band. The crowd was dead tonight in terms of past experiences and has been all night. As a photographer, this is excellent for me as I can stand up front for 2-3 songs and snap 200 photos without being bumped once. As a fan though, the lack of movement and fury just felt…wrong.
This was not at fault of Belphegor at all though, they brought out their energy. They brought their fury and delivered yet again another ball busting performance. Their production was filled with revolving lights and fog machines spewing a haze of bullshit into the air and creating a nice dark mist upon everything. The light just beneath the crucifixes were a nice touch and using real candles on stage was a risky move but it made the atmosphere of it all look so damn neat. The band themselves played their hearts out and it sounded great! Not one mistake was made, not one single technical issue delayed the flow of the show (that I noticed anyways. If something did happen it was handled really well.) Almost half of their set was songs off of Totenritual, a couple of songs off of Bondage Goat Zombie then a song off of a few other albums and releases. The set was really a trip through their discography, which was amazing since they only played 12 songs.
Belphegor traveled a long way to Kansas City and they delivered yet another fantastic performance. If Belphegor ever hits your city, You have to see them. I’ve seen them open, headline and co-headline and they never half ass a show. If you are on the fence about seeing Belphegor, get off that god damn fence and head to the venue to watch them. They are brilliant on stage.
Belphegor
Belphegor setlist:
sanctus diaboli confidimus
swinefever – regent of pigs
the devil’s son
totenkult – exegesis of deterioration
belphegor – hell’s ambassador
stigma diabolicum
conjuring the dead/pactum in aeternum
virtus asinaria
lucifer incestus
baphomet
bondage goat zombie
Headbang or GTFO 