Flight of the Helldaemons

After over two months of preparation, the June 3rd show with Canada's Woods of Ypres was finally upon us.  I had been with Humut Tabal for nearly three months, and a member of Somniferum for two, and we had prepared ourselves to the best of our abilities.

Due to academic commitments (taking three summer classes may not have been as good of an idea as I'd thought), I arrived at Somniferum practice at approximately five in the afternoon.  It was an unusually good practice which would foreshadow the rest of the night.  At about seven, Njord and I left for Zombies, arriving on-time but incredibly frustrated with my GPS, which seemed to be trying to kill us with its foolish "keep left" and "keep right"s.  Upon arrival, I found the Woods gentlemen setting up outside and introduced myself.  They were very polite and friendly, and I am glad to have met them.  After some chit-chat, I began to load my things into the venue.  Soon, we were greeted by our good friends in Plutonian Shore as well as my bandmate, E. Morgengrau.  The latter noted that I seemed particularly energetic, and while some of that could be blamed on the two energy drinks I had consumed in order to keep myself awake through class, most of it was likely due to the anticipation of finally playing with Humut Tabal on the stage.  As the evening went on, we were joined by Aaron Goregrowler, Walt of VBT, Hellpreacher Johnny and friends, Eric and Fry, members of Emperial Massacre, Spectral Manifest, and another of my Morgengrau bandmates, Nick, among others.  We began our soundcheck at roughly eight, and before long, the madness was underway.

Somniferum:

Having gotten over any potential stage jitters from whenever we played at Meat and Metal Mondays, Somniferum emerged as a much tighter band, and things went very smoothly on a musical level.  We could all hear each other, there were no off-key moments to notice, and any technical difficulties were kept to a minimum.  Adrianna and Rachel both sang very well, Zach's guitar playing was top-notch (and his Absu reference was most appreciated), and Njord was as good a drummer as ever.  I had initially decided that this would be my last show with Somni since balancing one's time between three active bands is incredibly difficult (to say nothing of the PKT and academic studies), but I will be playing one last show with them on June 24th at Bond's Rock Bar in San Antonio since Humut Tabal is also playing (and since Hellbound Jeff of Emperial Massacre asked us very politely).  Hope to see you all there!

Somniferum Setlist:

In The Arms of the Cold

Only Death Remains

Death’s (I never remember this title)

Of Sorrow and Seclusion

New Song

Humut Tabal:

After Somniferum finished, we were a bit behind schedule, so we quickly donned our paint and took the stage.  "Frozen Death" was the first hymn of the night, and we played it very well.  Unfortunately, I had neglected to crack my knuckles in between sets, so my plucking was a little slower than usual, but it was a minimal issue.  The majority of the performance was good (albeit with a few hiccups), with Grimzaar, Njord, and Hravan giving their all in terms of intensity, and I don't think I stopped headbanging once, except for whenever I went to do some backing, Impaled-style vocals on "Wielder" and "Helldaemons".  I myself felt transformed into a completely different entity once I was onstage.  Once we started playing, I ceased to become my mortal self and transcended into an entirely different beast.  My paint and blood was running, but it felt entirely natural, and by the end of the night, my shirt was covered in its fair share of corpse paint.  We decided against playing "Nemesis Triumphant" in favor of "Denizens ov Eternal Night", and while I was hesitant due to not having rehearsed it in a while, we absolutely slayed it, ending on a strong note before we hauled off our gear with the help of Bryan from Plutonian Shore.  Grimzaar's choice of an ending was the right one, indeed.

Humut Tabal Setlist:

Frozen Death

Manifestation ov the Darkness Within

Wielder ov the Demon Blade

Furious Winged Helldaemons Soar

Denizens ov Eternal Night

After we hauled all of our gear off, we had an excellent time watching the rest of the bands.  Most regrettably, I missed the first half of SM's set due to breaking down our gear, but once I had returned I witnessed the duo of Depravis and Cryptos tear Zombies up.  It was their first time playing this city and I am proud to say that they clearly made a good impression.  We'll be on their turf next week, and we can't wait to show Houston how the Dread Lair operates.  Plutonian was absolutely stellar.  I've said that they are the best up-and-coming black metal band from San Antonio, and after Friday's show, it would be a statement that would be tough to argue.  Vesperian Sorrow were also very good, and I happened to catch a long-sleeved shirt that was thrown by their singer.  Woods of Ypres played for about an hour-and-fifteen minutes, which was an excellent experience.  Our friend Erin helped film the show, which was appreciated by the Woods gentlemen.  Their show in Houston the next day was regrettably canceled, but they'll be back in November at the Goregrowler's Ball.  Needless to say, I will be there in the front row banging my head. 

After the show, we all went to a local restaurant with Spectral where we discussed topics ranging from the Houston metal scene to the luck in retrieving a potentially-stolen camera bag to how big of a travesty the new Morbid Angel album is (but that is a post for another day).  Overall, this night was a grand success, and I am personally honored to have shared the stage with all of these amazing bands.  Next week, we aim to conquer Houston as part of the Dread Lair showcase featuring Spectral, Mhinotahn, Bound in Flesh, and Pariah Messiah.  Hope to see you all there!