Behemoth, Deicide, Rotting Christ, Immolation
- Bleeding Priest
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
The Regency Ballroom
San Francisco, CA
April 15, 2026
Dude, Deicide played “In Hell I Burn!!!” Ok, I’m getting way ahead of myself here.
Sold out Death Metal show on a Wednesday night. Fuck yeah!! Anyone who says the scene in SF is dead has their head squarely up their fucking ass!
The show was Behemoth, Deicide, Rotting Christ and Immolation. The venue, The Regency! All four of these bands could easily headline a show on their own, perhaps not at The Regency but they could all pack The DNA…and have. So it wasn’t surprising to see the house packed as a MOTHERFUCKER!
Prior to the gig I had a few next door at The Route 101. I love this dive bar and it’s a perfect spot to pregame. Not just because it’s conveniently located but also the bartenders rule and are Metalheads themselves. They always have the Metal cranked before a show and they definitely treat me well there. This night was quite the scene at the bar. The Death Metal troglodytes came out of the woodwork. Deicide’s always good for that.
Starting off the show were New York DM lifers Immolation. It actually took years for me to appreciate these guys. There’s a droning quality to their music that just didn’t connect with me…at first. It wasn’t until I saw them live (either at The Cocodrie or CW) that I realized how brilliant of a band Immolation were/are. Drummer Steve Shalaty is one of the most unique and creative drummers in the Death Metal game. His beats consist of very complex patterns and are very unorthodox, especially for DM.
Unfortunately you couldn’t really hear them at this show. There were sound issues from the get go and lasted until Behemoth hit the stage. It’s a damn shame too because I was watching Steve and he was working his ass off back there. But it was buried under a wall of inaudible low end rumble. The snare in particular was nonexistent. Which made it difficult to follow what was going on with all the intricate musicality happening. And these are songs I’m familiar with.
Nevertheless Immolation powered through as only O.G. Death Metal pros can. They still ruled. Ross Dolan’s vocals sounded as vicious as ever and it’s always a pleasure watching Rob Vigna, one of the greatest Death Metal guitarists of all time do his thing. He’s a true performer. Something you don’t see very often in this style of physically demanding Metal. Immolation had the best sound of the three openers, buckle up!
Up next were Rotting Christ, hailing from Greece. I was sitting up in the balcony over on stage left while they were getting set up. When the drum tech was checking the drums one of the rack toms was feeding back and overloading the system so bad I had to leave the balcony altogether. That’s a first. I’ve never been physically blown away so badly by a band's line check that I had to move as far away from the stage as possible. That rack tom literally shook every bone in my body. I looked at my buddy and I could tell he felt it too. Bad start. And it wasn’t just that tom, there was low end feedback happening all over the place coming from multiple sources. And the band hadn’t even started yet!
Once they hit the stage the sound problems persisted. But, like Immolation, Rotting Christ were true pros and put on the best show they possibly could. But every time the drummer hit that particular tom it was an audio gut bomb. It really made it challenging to appreciate Rotting Christ’s raw style of gothic Black/Death Metal. I saw these guys at The DNA last year so I know how powerful and kick ass their live show can and should be. They still put on the best show they possibly could.
Now we have the band I was most excited to see, the notorious, dare I say “Nefarious” DEICIDE! Man, my fingers were crossed that the crew worked out the sound issues…I was DENIED! The exact same issues happening with Rotting Christ persisted with Deicide. Same rack tom issue. Same onstage feedback. Glen Benton was just shaking his head throughout the set. He seemed beyond pissed. He seemed more flummoxed.
Which doesn’t work with Deicide. I mean, they don’t have a song called “Flummoxed At God”. He actually stopped singing at one point and had to move his mic a few feet back from his monitors because he was getting so blasted by the shitty feedback that was plaguing the night. There was actually a point when the house speakers started crackling. It was an audio shitshow!
BUT, Deicide fucking RULED!!!! Horrible sound aside this was the second best time I’d seen them in the 15 or so times seeing them. The first being of course the Legion tour at the Omni. That was one of the most violent shows I’ve ever attended. But this show was a close second.
Their set list was nothing short of incredible. Deicide are not known for digging super deep into their catalogue with their live set. They’ve basically done the same, kinda short set set with a few new numbers thrown in for the last 15 years. Not the case tonight. Like I stated earlier they fucking played “In Hell I Burn”. THEY FUCKING PLAYED “IN HELL I BURN”!!!!!!! I don’t think I’ve heard that one live since The Omni. The crowd went absolutely insane. Deicide had the most brutal pit of the night and it kept up throughout their set.
Another song that I couldn’t believe I was hearing was “Forever Hate You” from their unfairly maligned classic Insinerathymn. I mean, I was floored they played that badass tune. I recall hanging with drummer Steve Asheim at a bar somewhere in Florida and mentioning how much I love that song and he literally struggled to remember what song I was talking about. I’d like to think our conversation made some kind of impact on him but it was like 7 years ago so I doubt it. Fuck that, I’m taking full credit 😜.
Deicide played with a new sense of vigor. Something that seemed to be lacking the last few times I’d seen them. Speaking of new, my buddy Conan from Exmortus is the new guitarist for Deicide and it was rad seeing him up there. As great as he played you could tell he was very new to the band. He didn’t move a muscle up there. Pure concentration.
Now we get to the headliners KISS!! No, I mean BEHEMOTH!! Thankfully their sound was dialed in and the production was in full force as to be expected. These dudes absolutely give the fans their money’s worth. A complete visual and audio assault on the senses. They had a great looking stage and impressive light show.
The setlist consisted of a lot of new material which seems to be geared to a wider audience but when they kicked into old classics like “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” and “O Father O Satan O Son!” all hell broke loose…literally. They also threw in Bathory’s “The Return Of Darkness And Evil” for good measure.
Well, audio shortcomings be damned, these 4 bands performed like their lives depended on it and the audience returned the favor by going apeshit the entire night. It was high quality music and performance with club level sound. Aye, it happens to the best of em’.
–Bleeding Priest
