Words – @ladylane____
Photos – @photo.amai
Under the celestial lights of the iconic FORUM, I found myself marvelling at the range of the punters who came to see NIDHOGG and BEHEMOTH. Old, young, small, short, different, same – each of us is in perfect unison and communion.
NIDHOGG took the with symphonic onslaught of blast beats, razor-sharp tremolo riffs, and suffocating atmosphere; delivering balanced raw ferocity with disciplined precision, maintaining clarity even at blistering speeds while soaring lead lines cut through a dense, punishing mix. Commanding the crowd with “Narcissus” NIDHOGG established a dark ceremonial tone, complemented and driven by ‘Mental Lykanthropy”, “Sic Luceat Lux” and “Twilight Ov Gods”. Their intoxicating stage presence was austere and ritualistic with shadow-drenched lighting that pulled the crowd inward rather than demanding obvious participation, resulting in a tightly wound pit and a visibly engaged Melbourne metal audience whose raised horns and focused intensity signalled approval. Fans of Bram Stoker’s Dracula were also treated in the most theatrical and bombastic way.
On a much sadder note, NIDDHOG expressed his undying love for animals poetically and achingly, regaling about the loss of his beloved animal and how much pain they had experienced, which apparently was the cause of someone’s rude and abrupt laughter. After being told “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SHOW IF YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY’ a blanketed silence filled the FORUM as NIDHOGG’s voice trembled in pain and melancholy. Just because the pain doesn’t ache in your bones doesn’t make it any less real for someone else. Powering through their debut Melbourne set, NIDHOGG bequeathed a cover of SEPULTURA’s classic “Territory” onto a rabid and frenzied assembly as NIDHOGG bid their farewell and faded off into darkness.
On their largest Australian headlining tour, BEHEMOTH made their descent into the gilded interior of the FORUM, with its painted sky and ornate balconies, became a cathedral of ash and light as “Shadow Elite” split the air open. From there, the night unfolded like a dark liturgy: “Ora Pro Nobis” ignited absolute chaos, with relentless crowd surfing spilling over the barricade in wave after wave, bodies lifted high as if offered to the altar of distortion.
“Thy Becoming Eternal” and “Conquer All” thundered with militant precision, each riff carved in stone, while “The Shit Ov God” and “Ecclesia Diabolica” deepened the ritualistic pulse of the set. By the time “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” roared to life, the floor had become a heaving sea – crowd surfers drifting overhead in near-constant motion, security scrambling, the audience exultant and unrestrained. Moments of reverence and fury intertwined: “Cursed Angel Ov Doom”, “Nomen Barbarvm”, and “Bartzabel” cast long shadows across the theatre, while “Ov Fire” burned with apocalyptic grandeur. A blistering homage to Bathory with “Return of Darkness and Evil” honoured the genre’s ancestral flame before “Decade Ov Therion” and “Chant” summoned the old guard in unified voice. The solemn strain of “Ojcze Nasz” briefly stilled the storm, a breath drawn before the final reckoning.
But they were not done, it couldn’t be a BEHEMOTH concert without “O Father O Satan O Sun!” which rose slow and colossal, a closing hymn both triumphant and annihilating. As the last notes echoed into the FORUM’s painted heavens, it was undeniable: this was not just another tour stop, but a declaration – BEHEMOTH at their most expansive, theatrical, and commanding, proving that even after decades, their fire in Australia burns brighter and wilder than ever. Twenty years together, BEHEMOTH will always be unapologetically confrontational and I hope Australia gets confronted again soon.
I give my humble thanks to NIDHOGG, BEHEMOTH, the FORUM, John Howarth and Chris Maric.
