A Favor Owed to Ereshkigal’s Sanctity

Two weeks after Humut Tabal’s headlining appearance in Houston, it was time to return to San Antonio.  We had not played in this city for three weeks, and we were glad to once again take the stage in “Satantonio” (as it is often called in the Texas extreme metal underground).  After meeting up with an old friend and getting released from academic commitments (which are growing more and more tiresome the closer I get to the end of the summer semester), I drove to Bond’s 007 Rock Bar, where I was quickly joined by Jay and Jacob from Emperial Massacre, as well as a few of their friends.  My bandmates in Humut Tabal arrived shortly afterwards, and we began to load our gear up into the Bond’s elevator (yes, elevator).  After I was wristbanded (no more blasted Xs on the backs of my hands!), I began to warm up, and before long, Hellbound Jeff and his fiancée BJ showed up.  Conversing took place, and as Beyond Death’s Reach finished their set, Njord and I were ready to take the stage with Somniferum.  At this point, things took somewhat of a sour turn, so I'll just move on.  If you were there, you know the story.  Next.

Somniferum:

Setlist:

Of Sorrow and Seclusion

Only Death Remains

In the Arms of the Cold 

Humut Tabal:

After swapping out basses with Plutonian Shore’s Waar (yet another favor we owe the Plutonian Coven), Grimzaar and Hravan emerged, completely painted up, although this was a luxury I was not afforded due to time constraints.  Performing without paint was odd to say the least, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like Prokingu up on the stage, but my normal, human self.  Regrettable, but it did not detract from our performance.  We raged through our “greatest hits” (as I facetiously dubbed it) to much fanfare among the crowd, who were banging their heads and getting into the music, which is always great to see.  We played very well, and we made a few new fans that night that were very friendly to us in conversation later on in the night.  I was even compared to jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, which was highly appreciated as he is one of my favorite players (I was also compared to “the Simpsons” character Sideshow Bob, hehe).  I had dedicated this set to my bandmates in Morgengrau earlier, but I would also like to extend a portion of the set to all fans of Humut Tabal, new and old:  Our gratitude is eternal. 

Setlist:

Denizens ov Eternal Night

Manifestation ov the Darkness Within

Furious Winged Helldaemons Soar

Wielder ov the Demon Blade

Frozen Death (now retitled “Through the Forest and Twisting Shadows”

After Humut Tabal exited the stage, it was time for our brothers in Emperial Massacre to slay San Antonio once more.  Their set was brutal, but was marred by a bass drum head breaking when they still had three songs left.  Sad indeed, as they are always fun to watch, but knowing Emperial Massacre, they’ll be back soon enough.

Once again, Plutonian Shore showed why they are so highly revered in this city; delivering a killer performance that even featured some guest vocals from none other than our very own Grimzaar at the last song.  It was an evening highlight, for sure.  We cannot wait to go to Corpus Christi with them on July 22^nd.

Angel Flesh closed out the night with a superb set that reminded me of Dissection, and afterwards, it was time to go get some nourishment after a night of dehydration.  Unfortunately, as we pulled into the restaurant, I realized I had left my backpack at the venue, and drove back to retrieve it.  Sadly, they did not have it, and I went home, angrily ranting in my car.  Luckily, I woke up to a message from none other than Plutonian Shore’s Zvs, who had recovered my bag.  That’s another time he’s pulled us out of the fire, and we can only hope that one day, we will repay our debt.  The funny thing was, I’d had a premonition that said it would be Zvs and Devastation that retrieved it, and I am glad to say that premonition was correct.  Zvs and Amethyst will be treated to a meal in Corpus; that is for sure.

Overall, it was an evening of extreme highs and lows.  The highs should be obvious; the lows will not be discussed here.  Needless to say, we look forward to returning to San Antonio on August 5^th with our brothers in Venomous Supremacy to deliver a unified Dread Lair assault on this city.  We are also in talks of an Austin show in the upcoming weeks, but we are just waiting to hear back from a few people so I don’t want to say anything here yet.  Whatever the case, I cannot wait for the next show.  The Helldaemons will take flight once more…