Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineDecember 06, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Odin Imaging, Nathan Goldsworthy, odin imaging, Behemoth, Good Things Festival, Golgothan Remains, Munt, Max Watts, Desecrator, Destroy All Lines

Behemoth + Golgothan Remains + Munt @ Max Watts 05-12-23)

photos & words: Nathan Goldsworthy @odin.imaging

In the stygian depths of Melbourne's Max Watts venue, a cosmic congregation assembled to partake in a blasphemous ritual, the likes of which would make even the Great Old Ones stir in their aeon-old slumber.

A line of shadows queued around the venue like a shadowy noose of anticipation, tightening its grip around the structure in a dance of spectral impatience. The air was thick with an eldritch anticipation as the evening's enigmatic performers prepared to unleash their auditory sorcery upon the unsuspecting denizens of the earthly realm.

As the arcane symbols dimly flickered on the stage, Munt, heralds of the Victorian abyss, emerged like shadowy phantoms to cast a spell upon those lucky enough to witness. A thick crowd was drawn in early to witness Munt kick off the evening with an ominous prologue with the haunting melody of "Children of Delirium," their guitars weaving a tapestry of darkness that echoed through the venue.

Next came the thunderous "Seeds of the Machine," Mothlord showing only the whites of his eyes, seeming to summon ancient spirits from the depths of the earth. The set climaxed with the frenzied "Apostate Sermon," a relentless onslaught of sound.Their unearthly fusion of blackened riffs and dissonant melodies transported the audience to realms unknown, where sanity teeters on the precipice of madness.

Soon thereafter to ascend the altar of Max Watts were Golgothan Remains, emissaries from the dread city of Sydney. Their cacophonous symphony, a discordant hymn resonating with cosmic disquiet, enveloped the venue in an oppressive aura. Opening their set with the eerie "Forgotten Lores," their guitars combined with Matthieus hostile vocals creating a soundscape of horror.

Next came the haunting "Emanation," a song that seemed to foretell the end of the world. The ethereal echoes of Golgothan Remains reverberated through the audience, each note a portal to dimensions beyond mortal comprehension. The set closed with the dissonant "On Lifeless Wings Of Malice," a cacophony of sound. The spectral resonance of their performance left an indelible mark upon the collective psyche, an unsettling testament to the eldritch prowess lurking within the antipodean darkness.

And then, bathed in an otherworldly radiance that seemed to defy the laws of earthly physics, hailing from the eldritch lands of Poland, the blackened titans themselves; Behemoth. Materialising on stage, behind his throne; Inferno silhouetted against the abyss, horns defiantly raised invoking otherworldly symbols to foreshadow the impending surge of horror.

Behemoth's set was a whirlwind of blackened metal fury, with songs "Ora Pro Nobis," "Ov Fire and the Void," and "Daimonos" erupting from the stage like tendrils of maddening cosmic energy, the soundwaves twisted and writhed, piercing the mortal veil and unleashing an auditory pandemonium that shattered the minds of all who dared to be present. Nergal, the high priest of this infernal ceremony, imperatized the audience with a malevolent charisma, his voice an incantation that resonated with the primordial forces.

The crowd thrashed and moshed in unison by the command of Nergal during “No Sympathy For Fools”, with Orion assembling amidst the eldritch shadows, clasping his bass with grim purpose, and ichor oozing from his oral cavity. Mountains of fleshly masses accumulating upon the forbidden barricade are a testament to the power of Behemoth's music. As the set neared its end, Nergal issued his ukase to the audience "Be healthy, be free and Hail Satan," the blasphemous declaration echoed through the venue.

In the aftermath of Behemoth's sonic conjuration, Max Watts stood as a sanctified battleground, the air thick with the residual energies of a performance that transcended the frail limitations of our feeble minds.

Behemoth had unleashed a sonic tempest that transcended the boundaries of mortal perception

As the audience dispersed into the enigmatic Melbourne night, they carried with them the indescribable echoes of an eldritch experience, a communion with darkness that would linger in their souls until the stars themselves crumbled into cosmic dust. The Good Things Festival sideshow had indeed become a portal to the Aeon-veiled Gulf, and those who bore witness were forever marked by the indomitable presence of Behemoth.