Low light, smoke curling across the stage, and corpse-painted faces emerging from the haze—Belphegor took the stage and detonated a death metal ceremony for a capacity crowd at The Observatory in Santa Ana on Tuesday night, March 10.
This was the closing night of the Praise the Beast Tour, completing a SoCal trifecta that had already blazed through Los Angeles and San Diego on previous nights. The bill was stacked: openers Narcotic Wasteland, Hate, and Incantation each brought their own brand of extreme metal devastation before Belphegor even touched the stage.
With ritualistic intensity, Belphegor opened their set and Helmuth led the charge as the band tore into “The Procession,” “Baphomet,” and “The Devil’s Son”—a blistering opening salvo designed to pull the crowd straight into the abyss. From there, the set drew from across their catalog with surgical precision, including the two new singles “Sanctus Diaboli Confidimus” and “Scarlet Beast – Leviathan,” both released in February to considerable anticipation.
Helmuth’s vocal arsenal—a commanding collision of deep demonic growls and razor-edged black metal shrieks—anchored a sonic assault powered by thunderous blast beats, glacial tremolo melodies, and earth-splitting breakdowns. A Belphegor concert doesn’t feel like a set list; it feels like an invocation. With the tour officially at its end, Helmuth took a rare moment to thank both the supporting acts and the faithful crowd before the night reached its violent, euphoric conclusion with “Belphegor – Hell’s Ambassador,” leaving the room shattered and satisfied.
Narcotic Wasteland, Hate, and Incantation had each done their part earlier in the evening, delivering crushing performances that kept the circle pit churning from the first note to the last. The Praise the Beast Tour successfully dragged its darkness across the country, city by city, night by night. Now, with the tour wrapped and new singles already circulating, the faithful are left hungry—and quietly counting down to a new Belphegor record.
NARCOTIC WASTELAND
HATE
INCANTATION
