Dimmu Borgir

Plenty of metal bands talk the talk; Dimmu Borgir, though, most definitely walk the walk. They’ve spent over twenty years now delighting and terrifying their audiences in equal measure, and as you’d expect from a band with albums called, amongst other things, Godless Savage Garden, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and Death Cult Armageddon, the word ‘compromise’ has never been in their vocabulary. Whilst their sound has evolved over the years, they’ve usually focused on symphonic black metal, blending the typical ear-shredding volume and unrelenting heaviness of black metal in general with an atmosphere and ambience that provides a counterbalance to the morbid lyrical themes with which they concern themselves. The release of their most recent record, Abrahadabra, in 2010 saw a first for the Norwegian trio; they performed live with a full symphony orchestra in their native Oslo. They took a more conventional Dimmu Borgir show on the road, too, with their most recent UK tour, in late 2011, billed - with tongue perhaps in cheek - as An Evening with Dimmu Borgir. Giving fans a choice of three classic records - For All Tid, Stormblast and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant - they played two sets in intimate venues; one of those records in its entirety, and then a greatest hits selection. A new Borgir record is now overdue - expect news of both that and further UK dates soon, after a recent return to the festival circuit.

Behemoth is a black metal band anti church band., so they come out clad in Gothic leather or battle regalia and have their faces painted white and black with unique patterns. They come out flames ablaze on the stage with awesome pyros, massive drum set and their ambiance is overpowering. The stage is simple with the band banners and some art work.
During the sets the crowd goes wild, chants, sings, moshes. People get trampled over during some of the moshes. I mostly go for the music because I do not care to get hurt, but the one concert I went too they brought out "fake blood" and sprayed the crowd which was pretty unique and neat. The feed on the crowds energy and so does the crowd.
During each song intermission they will scream at the crowd, give them some background information or tell them to get ready for the mosh, this usually gets the masses riled up and makes them charge at each other like animals. Most of the lyrics and singing are guttural screamings so you actually need to enjoy this type of music to be able to understand it.
The show they put on is amazing for small venue, i am sure the bigger venues for them include more theatrics and better props

The band was incredible and really seemed to enjoy playing in Tampa. The only downside was that the guitars were too low in the mix to really hear well. First time seeing them live and I wouldn't miss them again. Awesome show. Even played an encore.