Rites of Darkness III @ Backstage Live, San Antonio, TX – December 9th-11th, 2011
All Photos & Text by T. Terrorist
With all controversy that had surrounded this festival aside, as the days drew closer and closer to the day I would get on my flight departing to San Antonio, excitement filled my mind and I was incredibly stoked for this event as I knew the bands and die-hards who were still flying/driving out to this event were going to make all the previous cancellations and stresses worth it… and I sure was right. It was one hell of a weekend, starting off with the pre-fest (which I did not photograph this time around) although the bands I managed to catch were great as expected.
Vasaeleth were notably one of the bands that night which pulled off a spectacular performance as per usual – this had been their 2nd set they had ever played (1st at Rites of Darkness II last year) and even with the sound being as ridiculously loud as it was inside that small pre-fest venue, they totally killed it – as did their performance on the main fest the 3rd night. Although the “old school death metal” sound has become somewhat of a streaming trend within the last year or so, it is easily distinguishable to tell which bands are merely carbon copies of their musical forefathers, or ones who continue to carry on the legacy of real underground death metal with all their blood, sweat & tears. Vasaeleth have definitely proved to be one of them, as there is Youtube footage of their set as well as some other killer live sets I’m about to briefly mention below.
Night 1 – Aside from the first two bands which I did not manage to catch, I can honestly say that this was the night for me. I’m not quite sure where to start as far as who were the highlights for me, but notably Adorior, Weapon, Demigod, and the mighty Inquisition made my entire night – in retrospect, ALL of the bands were great, these 4 are just my personal highlights. With that said, I had never witnessed a live female-fronted performance as powerful and crushing as Adorior that night. Having heard their “Author of Incest” release a few times prior, I already had a feeling they were going to put on an intense set, and alas my expectations were exceeded. Melissa, their front-woman gave off a tremendous amount of energy on stage which ignited the crowd as well as myself to go absolutely insane during every song. Their set was almost an hour long, but there was not one dull moment or lack of energy during the entire time they were on stage, nor was there a moment when I wasn’t getting shoved around by others in the crowd (since there was no barrier near the stage).
Of course, with Inquisition being one of my favorite bands, they deserve all the recognition they can get. This had been my 4th time witnessing them live and it was truly the best out of all the previous times before. Even live as a two-piece, everything about their set can be described as mesmerizing at best. Their sound had stood out from all the other bands that night, mainly with the distortions/tuning of Dagon’s guitar – every song was distinguishable for Inquisition fans, and the crowd was going even more insane (myself included once again) during their hour-long performance. At that point, my feet were KILLING me and I was hurting from standing most of the day. But even with that said, I would have stood there for another hour if they were going to keep playing. Each song flowed with one another from every album, possessing just about the entire venue judging by what I could see in the front row as well as the feedback I had read from other attendees. Inquisition are just one of those bands that cannot fail with what they deliver musically, both on musical format and on stage.
Night 2 – Once again, I did not manage to catch the first few bands on this day, although I had seen Blaspherian at the previous RoD, so there is no doubt in my mind that they put on a killer performance as last time. The hangover was starting to kick in on this day and my energy was not at best, but I did manage to get up front for Midnight, a bit of Zemial, and at the end of the night, Antaeus (the band I was anticipated for the most). The wildest crowd I had seen out of all the bands on the whole fest itself was during Midnight’s performance. I was vaguely familiar with them before, but now I can see why so many people were really looking forward to them. Their stage presence and sound is a combination of black metal and rock ‘n’ roll – which can be best described as in both evil and party mode at the same time, and somehow they make it work. There were multiple people stage-diving and going absolutely nuts during their first few songs which almost felt like an indoors Maryland Deathfest (nostalgia starting to kick in), except with a few extra beer bottles being kicked at the crowd as well. I managed to luckily get shots of them, which I’ll just let speak for themselves.
Fast forward to the end of the night – I was feeling good again and trying to get myself energized for Antaeus. Being unable to squeeze myself up front for Zemial, I only managed to get a few shots of them on the side, so the remainder of their set I had watched and heard from afar. By the time I was able stand on my feet and grab another beer, I managed to grab a spot at the front of the stage and waited patiently for Antaeus to blow my mind away. I think it goes without saying that they did just that. Even with their set cut slightly short and my neck still hurting from the night before, I was spontaneously raging and snapping my camera away during the majority of their set. I was expecting to see some blood being shed that night, although there is some visible on the setlist I got a shot of (which somehow got there). But even without a physically self-destructing performance, Antaeus still killed it and made my night when they played one of their classics, “Inner War”. Expectations were met yet again.
Night 3 – I think at this point my body had grown immune to all the madness and alcohol that had consumed my mind and body, as I had woke up feeling great and ready to rage again on the last and final night of the fest. I managed to witness all of the bands (although not photograph, but hey cut some slack for a gal who is 5’1 here) and on everyone’s behalf, they simply just ruled. With doom metal acts such as Anhedonist, Aldebaran, Pallbearer & Mournful Congregation, and death metal maniacs such as Cruciamentum, Vasaeleth, Mitochondrion, Ignivomous & Impetuous Ritual, the night was filled with a combination of the deadliest of sorts and was also extremely well-executed. Being up front for the majority of the show, my break time was during Anatomia and Ares Kingdom whom I still enjoyed from afar. I had seen Ares Kingdom in Los Angeles some years ago and they were amazing both times around. I can’t decide which two or three bands were the top highlights for me on this day, as mentioned previously, everyone’s performance was beyond great and there could have not been a better night than that one. I will once again let the photos speak for themselves below. As I am hoping each band already knows the gratitude and support I personally have for them.
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