In a time of year when everything is bright and colourful and the festive spirit is in full swing, Belphegor gave traditions the middle finger and yelled bah humbug as they opened the gates of hell where any hopes of a cheerful period turned sour and those within its reach would only get coal as a gift.
Almost immediately after doors opened, Sidious kick-started the blasphemous-like party with a determined crowd already flocking to the barricade. With amps cranked up, they made it clear that any frivolity was forbidden that evening as they powered through what was a short but electrifying set. If anyone needed a bit of a wake-up call that it was going to be a spooky night, then Sidious surely did that. Their energy levels were relentless as the aggressive style immediately got the audience engaged with lots of heads banging.
Following typical traits of classic black metal, ripping apart conventional song structures and wearing studded clothing with black and white corpse paint while doing their best to scare the life out of an excited Manchester, they wanted to make their presence known. Isleth was possessed on stage, giving people death stares and unleashing demonic screeches that would even make Nosferatu want to stay in his coffin. Indomitus meanwhile did an excellent job on guitars, playing unmuted, atonal riffs with the accompaniment of Valdr’s precise drumming to reinforce the eerie feeling of doom. Despite their short performance, the climax left would make one ask themselves what other bands could do to build on the hype throughout.
Monastery were next and although the rapport remained strong, the contrast in style felt somewhat anticlimactic. The emotions of desperation and fear evoked by the previous band had gone as Monastery’s alternative death metal style was slower and perhaps less contagious. By no means was their performance unconvincing because Roland’s vocals had lots of authority and the riffs with the beats packed a punch but the running order certainly had an impact on the vibes.
When Atrocity came on, everything changed. Noise levels were raised by tenfold and the floor was vibrating harder than a rave. Like a hurricane making landfall, Manchester was now in its eye where from now on, only destruction prevailed. From Ludwigsburg, the German death metal veterans wreaked havoc by encouraging mosh pits at neck-breaking tempos, playing dark riffs, dive bombing and belting out monstrous screams powerful enough to rip your head off. Alexander Krull’s giant figure felt like the Loch Ness Monster coming to eat us all alive as the rest of the band smelled blood. Joris’ coordination was brilliant with perfectly timed reflexes in the fills while Micki let rip on guitars, bending the whammy bar like a paperclip. If a performance like this isn’t scary enough, then what else could be?
God Dethroned were the last of the support acts aiming to turn up the heat as the night gradually got more intense. The Dutch blackened death metal group picked up right where Atrocity left off, putting in a superb display much to the delight of the Bread Shed looking to end things on a high before the headliners came on. No corpse paint, no problem because the power of their sound was enough to glue the fans to the stage. Henri Sattler stole the show with his guitar and vocal abilities as he wonderfully juggled screams and growls with some tricky solos. Frank Skillpero on drums had some serious endurance on the double kick with many long-lasting sections consisting of non-stop 16th notes, not to mention the execution of his heel-toe technique which takes endless practice to achieve. If you want a leg day workout without the gym, then this is a good alternative for drummers.
Now that Manchester’s fate had been decided in purgatory, Belphegor saw hell as the ultimate punishment. With inverted crosses, goat skulls and torches, it was Lucifer licking his lips, waiting for the next victim to be mercilessly tortured. The haunted grim reaper that taunted Scrooge had come to life as the Bread Shed was already hypnotised once the band stepped onstage. Apart from the devilish iconography and props, their antics matched closely with it as singer and guitarist Helmuth in particular displayed a lot of Satanic rituals whether it be kneeling with fists up or holding a flaming skull. Together with Julian Gillen (bass and backing vocals), they make a great vocal duo with Helmuth doing the death growls and Julian on the screeches which forms a nice contrast considering their blackened death metal sound.
Helmuth’s presence was strong enough to give Manchester sleepless nights. The onstage torches were lit and Dante’s hell gates opened. Therefore, any glimmer of hope was dashed so all of us would get cooked to a crisp. Just like the Chernobog devil from Fantasia, he emerged from his shadow as his sadistic smile and evil glare were too seductive to look away from while burning the fans one by one, so the only chance of escape was to pray for the break of dawn to the sound of Schubert’s Ave Maria by the time you were next in line for a grilling. Krzysztof was on fire behind the kit as his fierce blast beat patterns rocked the venue from side to side with hand technique as accurate as a flying blowgun dart.
With 2023 coming to an end and the music industry bouncing back stronger than ever, ending the year on a high is what we all needed and Belphegor made just sure of that with a scintillating display to cement their reign as one of the most respected black metal bands of this generation.
