Turkish Government Cancels "Satanic" Behemoth Show Ahead Of Aussie Tour

Turkish Government Cancels Behemoth Show Over “Satanic Filth” – Australia Up Next

February 13, 2026

In what can only be described as peak Behemoth behaviour (without the band actually doing anything), the Polish extreme metal giants have had a show cancelled in Istanbul after local authorities moved to “protect the public” from what they described as “Satanic filth.”

Yep. Really.

BEHEMOTH – ‘Lvciferaeon’

Just days before kicking off their Chant of the Eastern Lands Australian tour, the band’s planned concert in Turkey was officially scrapped by the Governor of Istanbul, who made it very clear that the city has no interest in hosting anything deemed “morally corrupting”…

“No activity that corrupts society in Istanbul has ever been permitted up to this day, and it will not be permitted in the future either,” Governor Davut Gül said in a statement, shared to social media.

That apparently includes blast beats, corpse paint, theatrical fire rituals, and whatever else Behemoth have planned for their current touring spectacle.

The cancellation arrives right on the eve of the band’s Australian run – which, if history is anything to go by, will only add more fuel to the infernal fire. Being banned by a government for alleged satanic influence is basically a career achievement in extreme metal, and fans down under may now be facing an especially energised Behemoth when they arrive next week.

Promoters have already leaned into the moment, suggesting Aussie audiences can expect the band’s “full, unrestrained wrath” when they hit local stages.

The Australian leg kicks off February 18 in Brisbane before moving through Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and if there was ever any doubt about the theatrical intensity of these shows, consider it officially removed. After all, nothing quite sharpens a performance like a fresh dose of international controversy.

For Behemoth, it’s just another chapter in a career built on spectacle, provocation and unapologetic extremity. And for local fans? It means the black metal apocalypse is now arriving exclusively on our shores.

Brace yourselves…