The In League With Satan Tour rolls into London, we went along to see Satan would put in an appearance!

On a cold and wet Saturday evening, the gates of Hell were opened inside the O2 Academy Brixton and the hordes were summoned inside to bear witness. Bringing together Poland’s Behemoth, Norway’s Dimmu Borgir and Sweden’s Dark Funeral for the In League With Satan tour, this was an absolutely stacked bill that promised an evening of extreme metal, blasphemy, corpse paint, ridiculous amounts of atmosphere and enough fire to make you question whether the venue’s insurance policy was comprehensive enough.

What makes a lineup like this so appealing is that, despite all three bands operating within the darker corners of extreme metal, each brings something completely different to the table. Dark Funeral offer that uncompromising, traditional black metal assault, Dimmu Borgir deliver grandiose, symphonic darkness, and Behemoth have perfected the art of transforming extreme metal into a full-blown satanic ceremony. Put all three together in a venue as iconic as Brixton Academy, and you’ve got the ingredients for one hell of a Saturday night.

DARK FUNERAL

First up were Swedish black metal veterans Dark Funeral, who had the rather unenviable task of warming up the crowd for two of the genre’s most theatrical acts. Thankfully, they’ve never been a band that needs elaborate production to make an impression. Sometimes a wall of vicious guitar riffs, relentless blast beats and a frontman who looks like he’s just crawled out of the underworld is more than enough.

Dressed in their blackened attire and corpse paint, the band looked every bit as sinister as their music sounds. Frontman Heljarmadr is a particularly imposing presence, his demonic appearance and piercing vocal delivery perfectly complementing the absolute carnage being unleashed behind him. There’s something wonderfully old-school about Dark Funeral’s approach. No unnecessary theatrics, no elaborate storytelling, just pure, unapologetic black metal played with frightening precision.

Opening with Unchain My Soul, they wasted absolutely no time getting down to business. The track’s ferocious pace and razor-sharp riffing immediately established the tone, while The Arrival of Satan’s Empire demonstrated exactly why the band have remained such an influential name in the genre for more than three decades.

The Secrets of the Black Arts was another highlight, its sinister atmosphere and relentless aggression sounding particularly effective in a live setting. Meanwhile, the comparatively more measured Let The Devil In offered a welcome change of pace without sacrificing any of the band’s trademark darkness. Closing with Where Shadows Forever Reign, Dark Funeral left little doubt that they’re still a formidable live force.

My only real criticism? Thirty minutes simply wasn’t enough. Five songs felt incredibly stingy for a band with such an extensive back catalogue, especially given the quality of their performance. Just as they seemed to be finding their stride, it was all over. They also inevitably suffered a little from the comparatively stripped-back production, particularly when measured against the enormous spectacle that followed. Still, as opening acts go, you couldn’t have asked for a much more punishing start to the evening.

DIMMU BORGIR

If Dark Funeral represented the raw, uncompromising side of black metal, Dimmu Borgir were here to remind everyone just how theatrical, majestic and downright enormous the genre can become.

The Norwegian veterans have always approached their music with a certain sense of grandeur, and Saturday night was no exception. With their elaborate black costumes, corpse paint and imposing stage presence, the band looked like a collection of aristocratic vampires preparing to conduct some deeply questionable ceremony. Shagrath, in particular, looked magnificent, cutting an intimidating figure as he commanded the stage with his distinctive rasping vocals and wonderfully sinister mannerisms.

Opening with Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel, Dimmu wasted little time introducing the crowd to their newer material. However, it was the arrival of Mourning Palace immediately afterwards that really demonstrated why this band commands such devotion. Taken from 1997’s Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, it’s one of those songs that seems almost tailor-made for the live environment. The combination of sweeping orchestration, ferocious guitars and Shagrath’s unmistakable vocals created a genuinely epic atmosphere.

Kings Of The Carnival Creation was another outstanding moment. Its constantly shifting arrangements, sinister melodies and explosive bursts of aggression showcased everything that makes Dimmu Borgir such an interesting band. It’s a complex composition, but one that translates remarkably well to the stage.

Elsewhere, Council Of Wolves And Snakes offered something slightly different, with its tribal rhythms and ritualistic atmosphere, while Cataclysm Children brought a more direct and punishing assault. The magnificent The Serpentine Offering was another obvious highlight; with its combination of blackened aggression and cinematic grandeur sounding absolutely monstrous.

And then, of course, there was Puritania. Few Dimmu Borgir songs possess quite the same industrial menace, and its mechanical rhythms provided a brilliant contrast to the more traditional symphonic material. By the time Gateways and the monumental Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse brought proceedings to a close, the band had delivered a set that balanced nostalgia with their newer material remarkably well.

What impressed me most was the sheer scale of the music. As someone who wasn’t overly familiar with their music before the show, those enormous orchestral arrangements can sometimes become a bit overwhelming in a live environment, particularly when layered over such aggressive instrumentation and punctuated with giants plumes of fire, but when everything came together, the results were spectacular.

That’s not to say it was completely flawless, though. The sound occasionally felt a little congested, with the dense orchestral elements competing against the guitars and drums rather than complementing them. It’s a common problem with symphonic extreme metal, particularly in venues that aren’t necessarily designed for such complicated arrangements.

There’s also an argument that Dimmu’s highly theatrical presentation creates a little distance between the band and the audience. Everything looks wonderfully sinister, but occasionally you find yourself watching an elaborate production rather than feeling completely involved in a live metal performance. These are relatively minor niggles, though. Dimmu Borgir remain one of extreme metal’s most visually distinctive bands, and their combination of musical sophistication and outright brutality made for a hugely entertaining performance.

BEHEMOTH

There’s something genuinely impressive about how Nergal, Orion, Inferno and Seth have developed their live performances over the years. They’ve gone from being one of extreme metal’s most uncompromising underground acts to delivering productions that wouldn’t look out of place on an arena stage. The music remains as vicious and confrontational as ever, but the presentation has evolved into something much more ambitious.

Let’s talk about the fire, because there was an absolutely ridiculous amount of it. Towering bursts of flame, dramatic lighting and an almost continuous sense of impending doom transformed the stage into something resembling the entrance to Hell itself. Every time you thought the pyrotechnics had reached their limit, another blast of fire seemed ready to illuminate the room. I’ve seen plenty of bands incorporate flames into their performances, but Behemoth have turned it into something approaching an art form.

Nergal, meanwhile, looked every inch the satanic high priest. With his trademark corpse paint, elaborate black stage attire and commanding presence, he prowled the stage like a man who knew perfectly well that he had several thousand people completely under his control. The rest of the band were similarly imposing, their dark ceremonial appearance adding to the atmosphere.

But beneath all the elaborate costumes, occult symbolism and enormous walls of fire lies the most important ingredient of all: Behemoth are an absolutely phenomenal live band. I’ve seen them a handful of times over the years, most recently at Download 2026, and this was unforgettable.

Opening with Daimonos, they immediately established an atmosphere of menace before launching into the magnificent Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer. The latter remains one of the band’s finest compositions, with its infectious central riff and commanding vocal delivery demonstrating how Behemoth can make something genuinely extreme feel almost anthemic.

Thy Becoming Eternal maintained the intensity before the wonderfully provocative The Shit Ov God, taken from their latest studio album, introduced some newer material into proceedings. It’s a song that perfectly captures modern Behemoth: confrontational, aggressive and completely uninterested in subtlety.

Then came Conquer All, an absolute monster of a track that remains one of the most instantly recognisable songs in their catalogue. Its combination of punishing rhythms and memorable guitar work sounded devastating. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel was another standout moment. There’s something wonderfully unsettling about its slower, more deliberate passages, particularly when surrounded by the band’s elaborate staging. Rather than simply relying on speed and aggression, Behemoth demonstrated just how effective they can be when allowing the atmosphere to do some of the heavy lifting.

I, Scvlptor sees Nergal standing on a raised platform, drenched in white light and surrounded by blackness, giving an incredible and dramatic performance that was one of my favourite moments of the night, while Ov Fire And The Void brought things back to more punishing territory, and it felt particularly appropriate given the amount of pyrotechnics on display.

To Drown The Svn In Wine offered another taste of the band’s newer material before Bartzabel provided one of the evening’s most atmospheric moments. Slower, more ceremonial and almost hypnotic in its delivery, it shows that Behemoth doesn’t necessarily need to be playing at a hundred miles an hour to command your attention.

The inclusion of Venom’s In League With Satan, the song that lends its name to the tour, was another fitting moment as Shagrath joined them on stage to perform the duet. The crowd erupted when this started Paying tribute to Cronos, one of black metal’s most important influences, while sharing a bill with two other genre heavyweights felt entirely appropriate.

And what better way to bring such an unholy spectacle towards its conclusion than Chant For Eschaton 2000 and O Father O Satan O Sun!? Still two of the most viciously effective songs in their repertoire, they provided exactly the sort of explosive climax you would expect from a band that seems determined to make every performance feel like the end of the world.

If I had one criticism of Behemoth’s performance, it’s that the sheer scale of the production occasionally threatened to overshadow the music itself. Don’t get me wrong, the flames and theatrical staging were spectacular, but there were moments when it almost felt like the next burst of pyrotechnics was becoming as important as the next riff. I’d also have happily sacrificed a little of the newer material to hear another established favourite. At The Left Hand Ov God or Cursed Angel Of Doom would have been a welcome addition, and it felt like a missed opportunity.

Nevertheless, these are small complaints when the overall spectacle is this impressive. Behemoth have reached a point where they’re not merely performing their songs; they’re creating an entire experience around them, and when everything comes together, there are very few bands in extreme metal capable of matching their sheer presence.

Looking back, what stood out most was just how differently all three bands approached the evening. Dark Funeral kept things raw and uncompromising, delivering thirty minutes of relentless black metal, while Dimmu Borgir brought the gothic grandeur and cinematic theatrics. Behemoth, meanwhile, seemingly decided that if you’re going to put on a black metal show, you might as well make it look like the fucking apocalypse.

But these are relatively minor complaints when the overall experience was this impressive. Brixton Academy has hosted its fair share of memorable metal gigs, and the In League With Satan tour certainly deserves a place among them. Three legendary bands, a fantastic selection of songs, some wonderfully sinister stage attire and enough flames to make the front rows feel like they’d booked a weekend in Hell. Dark Funeral laid the foundation, Dimmu Borgir built a gothic cathedral on top, while Behemoth burnt it to the ground. What more could you want from a Saturday night in Brixton?

All concert photography by Graham Hilling. You can check out more of his work on his website, here.

Behemoth: Website

Dimmu Borgir: Website

Dark Funeral: Website

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