While better known for being the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, Poland also has a thriving extreme metal scene. Many well known black and death metal bands hail from the European nation: Vader, Hate, Decapitated and of the longest-reigning heavyweights of the genre, Behemoth.

Touring to support their latest album The Apostasy, Perth’s show was the first of a brutal Australian tour schedule that included Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne on consecutive nights. Behemoth is obviously not messing around.

Nexus kicked off the evening’s festivities, but it wasn’t until fellow local metallers The Furor came on a little later that most of the crowd started to wake up. Having supported Behemoth on their previous Australian dates in early 2006 and, more recently, Nile and Marduk, it’s good to see the Perth-based trio making a name for themselves.

With the opening acts’ gear cleared, sound checks for the main event got underway, including screaming of some choice obscenities into the microphones, albeit in Polish. If anyone was wondering why the “roadies” were such accomplished players, it soon became apparent when the quartet who had been setting up returned to the stage, with the addition of some leather, spikes and corpse paint, to start the show.

After a quick hello from vocalist and guitarist Adam Darski – also known as Nergal – Behemoth launched into a screamingly fast set that mostly covered material from the more recent end of their eight studio albums. Songs including Christians to the Lions, Conquer All, Slaves Shall Serve, Demigod, and Prometherion provided the soundtrack for the fans who formed an intense fight pit in front of the stage, enthusiastically shoving each other back and forth.

Nergal got the crowd yelling in between songs, while guitarist Patryk Sztyber – or Seth – and bass player Tomasz Wróblewski – or Orion – mostly concentrated on furious riffing. Drummer Zbigniew Robert PromiÅ„ski – also going by Inferno – got an opportunity to solo while the others were retuning, and in the space of two amazing minutes showed that he really is one of metal’s fastest drummers.

After the final song, chants from the crowd got the band back on stage, Nergal appearing in a demonic mask and with both Nergal and Orion spitting fake blood. The recently re-recorded Chant for Eschaton 2000 – originally from 1999’s Satanica – was played as an encore.

It’s easy to see how Behemoth have carved their reputation – their live show is as relentless as any of their recordings, and refreshingly free of any of the pretentious self-indulgence that all too often accompanies black and death metal bands. Perth was treated to an awesome Behemoth experience and one that won’t be soon forgotten.