Belphegor/Destroyer 666/Enthroned at The Dome, London - live review

Anyone doubting the cultural diversity of extreme metal in 2017 could do worse than heading to north London’s the Dome tonight – the view from the bar reveals multiple nationalities, genders and at least two women who appear to have sprouted antlers. Unfortunately for ENTHRONED [6] people-watching mostly proves more engrossing than the Belgium stalwarts. Their sulphurous intensity scorches the cavernous venue, but their grim, corpsepainted assault provokes little reaction beyond the diehards down front. By comparison, DESTRÖYER 666 [8] grab you by the pubes whether you like it or not. Looking like a 1980s Slayer (apparently wearing every studded item of clothing ever created) and basically playing like them too, the London-based Aussie quartet blast through 40 minutes of thrashing death metal, while also finding time to bash European politicians and chainsaw through a closing cover of Motörhead’s Iron Fist. “Too much of a good thing is really bad or you… That’s why we play covers,” growls frontman KK Warslut before promptly leaving the stage. From the mildly campy to just plain threatening – BELPHEGOR [6] might look like a garage Behemoth, with stage props that appear to be Orc bones sellotaped together and blood-smeared corpsepaint everywhere, but there’s more to their dirgy BM than theatrics. Usually. Tonight the Austrians are particularly flat, with throngs leaving before a curdling encore of Diaboli Virtus In Lumbar SOFTWAREmark” gingersoftwareuiphraseguid=“eff0bfb3-5749-4db4-937b-1f53f1867624” id=“9d9b7a30-4c75-4689-b093-1896d5fc7000”>Est.