Polish black metal gods Behemoth announced their triumphant return to North America with a massive spring tour earlier this year via their social media accounts. The Godless IV 2026 Tour began April 14, 2026, in San Diego, California, at The Observatory Northpark. And will conclude May 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California, at the Hollywood Palladium. Joining Behemoth on the Godless IV 2026 Tour would be death metal legends Deicide, Greece’s very own Rotting Christ, and the New York metal gods Immolation.

Behemoth

Behemoth was quoted as saying that this tour “… is a rite, forged in decades of defiance, conviction, and sonic blasphemy... This is the extreme metal underground standing tall, unbroken, and merciless.” Near the back end of this tour, a trip to Atlanta’s very own The Masquerade was scheduled, and I was there to cover this momentous occasion for Concerthopper. I knew that I could not miss this event, and I hope you enjoy reliving this evening through my camera lens.

Immolation is a death metal band from Yonkers, New York, that has been active since 1986. Originally, Immolation was known as Rigor Mortis (1986-1988). Immolation consists of Robert Vigna (lead guitar), Alex Bouks (rhythm guitar), Ross Dolan (bass/vocals), and Steve Shalaty (drums). Immolation has released twelve (12) LPs, two (2) EPs, one (1) compilation, one (1) DVD, and one (1) book. Immolation’s latest release is entitled Descent and was released on April 10, 2026, via Nuclear Blast Records.

Immolation

Immolation started off the evening with the song “These Vengeful Winds,” which is off their latest album, Descent. This was my first time seeing Immolation perform live, so I was hoping to hear a few of my favorite songs like “Bend Towards the Dark” and “Attrition” off their new album, Descent. I was thrilled to hear the song “Immolation” from their debut album Dawn of Possession, which was performed near the end of the set. Between Dolan’s brooding death metal vocals and Vigna’s crushing guitar riffs, Immolation was the perfect choice to kick off this evening’s festivities.

Check out Immolation’s brutal setlist from this evening’s performance at The Masquerade below:

“These Vengeful Winds”

“The Ephemeral Curse”

“Swarm of Terror”

“Attrition”

“An Act of God”

“Adversary”

“Immolation”

“Bend Towards the Dark”

Rotting Christ is a melodic black metal/gothic metal band from Athens, Greece, founded in 1987. Originally, Rotting Christ was a grindcore band, but later developed the melodic black metal sound they are known for with albums such as Theogonia (2007) and Rituals (2016). Currently, the band consists of Sakis Tolis (vocals/guitars), Themis Tolis (drums), Kostas “Spades” Heliotis (bass/backing vocals), and Kostis Foukarakis (guitar/backing vocals). They have released fourteen (14) LPs, one (1) EP, two (2) live albums, and numerous demos/compilations/DVDs over their historic musical career.

Rotting Christ was next up on stage at The Masquerade, which is a venue that they have known very well over the years. Rotting Christ is the only band performing this evening that I have had the privilege to see perform live, and to be honest, I cannot get enough of my fellow Greek brothers’ live shows. From the first time seeing Rotting Christ opening for the legendary Mayhem in Heaven at the original Masquerade location back in 2015. Or this most recent experience touring with Behemoth, Rotting Christ commands the stage from start to finish with their savage performances.

Rotting Christ

I was eager to hear what songs would make this evening’s setlist. I had a feeling that “Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy,” and “dub-sag-ta-ke" would make the cut. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that “Grandis Spiritus Diavolos” from Rotting Christ’s eleventh studio album, Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy was added to the setlist. Rotting Christ even performed a brilliant cover of Thou Art Lord’s song, “Societas Satanas,” which was initially available through their 2009 live record, Live in Hellas (also known as Lucifer over Athens).

You can view my previous reviews featuring Rotting Christ by following this link: Under Our Black Cult: North American Tour 2023 – Rotting Christ Returns to The Masquerade! Or Devastation on the Nation Tour ’22: Rotting Christ, Borknagar, Abigail Williams, Ghost Bath, Vale of Pnath, & Stormruler Invade The Masquerade! You can also view Rotting Christ’s career-spanning setlist from this Atlanta date below:

“Dies Irae”

“Demonon Vrosis”

“Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy”

“Elthe Kyrie”

“dub-sag-ta-ke”

“Societas Satanas” (Thou Art Lord cover)

“Grandis Spiritus Diavolos”

Deicide is a death metal band from Tampa, Florida, that has been active since 1987. Originally, Deicide was known as Carnage (1987) and Amon (1987-1989). Deicide consists of Glenn Benton (bass/vocals), Steve Asheim (drums), Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez (guitars/backing vocals), and Taylor Nordberg (guitars/backing vocals). Deicide has released thirteen (13) LPs, one (1) live album, two (2) video albums, two (2) compilation albums, and eight (8) music videos.

Deicide took the stage after two crushing and unforgettable performances by Immolation and Rotting Christ. But I knew Deicide would not disappoint the fans with their upcoming set. I remember first listening to Deicide when their debut album, Deicide (1990), was released when I was in middle school. Songs like “Dead by Dawn”, “Sacrificial Suicide”, “Deicide”, “Mephistopheles” and “Crucifixation” were songs on that record that really stood out to my ears. Since this was my first time seeing Deicide, I was hoping they would dig deep into their extensive catalog, and play some songs from this album, and Once Upon the Cross (1994).

Deicide

Deicide has always been one of those death metal bands that did not care what others thought about their music or art/imagery. Deicide has consistently pushed the boundaries with album covers like Serpents of the Light, Once Upon the Cross, Scars of the Crucifix, and The Stench of Redemption to name a few. Deicide kicked off their set with a savage performance of “When Satan Rules His World” from the aforementioned album Once Upon the Cross. What a start to an unbelievable set from the masters of death metal. Coming up next was a classic song (and a personal favorite of mine) from their fourth studio album, Serpents of the Light (1997), “Bastard of Christ.”

Near the end of the set, Deicide performed “Dead by Dawn” which is a track from their debut album that has been a crowd favorite for many years. You could see the crowd get pumped when this song began, and the pit opened even more as Glenn belted out the lyrics “Book of the dead, pages bound in human flesh/Feasting the beast from the blood the words were said/I am unseen, dreamt the sacred passage aloud/Trapped in a dream of the Necronomicon...”

You can view Deicide’s career-spanning setlist from this evening below:

“When Satan Rules His World”

“Bastard of Christ”

“Behead the Prophet (No Lord Shall Live)”

“Once Upon the Cross”

“Sacrificial Suicide”

“Serpents of the Light”

“Forever Hate You”

“They Are the Children of the Underworld”

“Scars of the Crucifix”

“Dead by Dawn”

“Homage for Satan”

Behemoth is a blackened death metal band from Gdansk, Poland that has been active since 1991. Behemoth consists of Adam “Nergal” Darski (lead guitar/lead vocals), Tomasz “Orion” Wroblewski (bass/backing vocals), Zbigniew “Inferno” Prominski (drums), and Patryk “Seth” Sztyber (rhythm guitar/backing vocals). Behemoth has released thirteen (13) LPs, ten (10) EPs, four (4) live albums, three (3) video albums, two (2) compilations, twenty-nine (29) music videos, four (4) demos, and one (1) split.

The mighty Behemoth was called to the stage to begin their rites of passage under the blackened sky that had gathered since the start of this evening. This would be my first time seeing Behemoth perform live, and I was very excited about this tour stop in Atlanta. And getting to see Behemoth perform live at The Masquerade was a bonus in my opinion. Behemoth is a huge draw at metal-themed festivals across the globe, so getting the chance to see them perform in Heaven is a “can’t miss” opportunity. Behemoth started their set with the opening track from their latest album, The Shit Ov God (2025), entitled “The Shadow Elite.” Later in the set, Behemoth would treat the fans and play the self-titled song from their new album, “The Shit Ov God.” I know I heard a few fans throughout the night constantly singing this song out loud in preparation for Behemoth’s set that evening.

Behemoth

Behemoth also treated the fans to a newly released song, “The Return of Darkness and Evil,” which is a Bathory cover that I have always liked from the Swedish black metal pioneers. Some other notable songs performed this evening that I was happy to finally see live were “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica” from their eleventh studio album, I Loved You at Your Darkest. And “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer”, “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel”, and a killer encore of “O Father O Satan O Sun!” from their tenth studio album, The Satanist (2014).

Check out this massive setlist from Behemoth’s performance below: