I guess I heard about this tour in early January, and I remembered screenshotting the tour flyer, I saved it in my phone, shared it with my peers as an invitation. I put it in my calendar because March would be the month in which many big bands would visit Houston. This freezing, melodic and theatrical European invasion couldn’t be missed as it was a great opportunity to see four big leaguers on stage the same night. I was planning to celebrate another anniversary of the Cuban crew (ESCAPE, ANCESTOR, AGONIZER and Scriptorium Magazine) that took American Airlines Freedom flight a decade ago.    

ORPHAN AUTOPSY is a band from Havana, the capital of Cuba and it was formed in 2019. If I remember correctly, at first, they performed live with a drums machine until the experienced Alex Ricardo (DARKNESS FALL/ CRAMPUS) joined and thus completed the lineup.

The Great Heathen Tour

CATTLE DECAPITATION + OBITUARY + CARCASS + AMON AMARTH

Bayou Center Music, Houston, TX

November 15, 2022

NECROFIER + HATE + BATUSHKA

White Oak Music Hall, September 30th, 2022

I am glad this show was scheduled on a Friday; it’s a rewarding way of starting the weekend for the working class. This North American Pilgrimage had a unfortunate casualty: The Italian technical Death metallers HIDEOUS DIVINITY didn’t embark on the tour. On a personal note, I was a little bit disappointed because I was hoping to see their brutal set live.

CLAIM HG + SPIRITU LIBRE + MEPHISTO

​

Text and photos: Raul Cardona.

After more than two years without enjoying face-to-face shows, congregating metal fans again has become an odyssey in Holguín, Cuba. The Caligary venue has been seen with little influx of public since the live performances began. The factors are dissimilar, first the pandemic and now the poor setting offered by the Caligary as a concert hall, with no gastronomy and the sound technical conditions are precarious. Last Saturday, the stars magically aligned and the CLAIM HG, SPIRITU LIBRE and MEPHISTO concert was attended by around 300 people and a heterogeneous audience in terms of ages.

CLAIM HG + SPIRITU LIBRE + MEPHISTO

​

Textos y fotos: Raúl Cardona.

Después de más de dos años sin que se pudiera disfrutar de conciertos presenciales, el volver a convocar a los fans del metal se ha vuelto una odisea en Holguín, Cuba. El Gabinete Caligary desde que iniciaron los conciertos se ha visto con poca afluencia de público. Los factores son disímiles, primero la pandemia y ahora la pobre puesta que ofrece el Caligary como sala de concierto, sin una gastronomía y con condiciones técnicas de sonido precaria. El pasado sábado de manera mágica los astros se alinearon y al concierto de CLAIM HG, SPIRITU LIBRE y MEPHISTO asistieron alrededor de 300 personas y un público heterogéneo en cuanto a edades.

ARCHITECTUTAL GENOCIDE + STABBING + SPLATTERED + SKELETAL REMAINS + VITRIOL + DEFEATED SANITY

Scout Bar, Houston, March 3rd, 2022

We had been waiting for the visit of the German band DEFEATED SANITY for some weeks for its spring tour on American soil. The only negative thing was that the show fell on a Thursday, and I had to finish my 9 to 6 day and then drive to Scout Bar. I didn't take a break at lunch that day, so I was able to leave an hour early. However, the traffic in the fourth largest city in the United States didn't allow me to arrive on time. I arrived after 6:30pm, and the first band was already on stage.

ARCHITECTUTAL GENOCIDE + STABBING + SPLATTERED + SKELETAL REMAINS + VITRIOL + DEFEATED SANITY

Scout Bar, Houston, 3 de Marzo del 2022

Desde hace algunas semanas estábamos esperando la visita de la banda alemana DEFEATED SANITY en la gira primaveral en suelo americano. Lo único negative era que el concierto caía un jueves y había que terminar la jornada de 9 a 6 para luego ir rumbo al Scout Bar. Ese día no tomé Descanso en el almuerzo y pude salir una hora antes, aunque el tráfico de la cuarta ciudad más grande de los Estados Unidos no me permitió llegar a tiempo. Llegué pasadas las 6:30pm y ya la primera agrupación ya estaba sobre el escenario.

STORMRULER + VALE OF PNATH + GHOST BATH + ABIGAIL WILLIAMS + BORKNAGAR + ROTTING CHRIST

​

Finally, after two years of cancellation, Devastation on the Nation 2022 took place, with ROTTING CHRIST and BORKNAGAR as headliners and ABIGAIL WILLIAMS as a support band. Initially, the Finns WOLFHEART were in the lineup, but when they dropped out, the bands VALE OF PNATH from Denver, Colorado, GHOST BATH from Minot, North Dakota, and STORMRULER from Saint Louis, Missouri entered the picture. These bands toured several cities in Canada and the United States from April 21 to May 22.

                                                                                                                                                                    Dedicated to Enyil Cordoba Santos

STORMRULER + VALE OF PNATH + GHOST BATH + ABIGAIL WILLIAMS + BORKNAGAR + ROTTING CHRIST

                                                                                                                                    Dedicado a Enyil Cordova Santos

Al fin, después de dos años de cancelación se lleva a cabo Devastation on the Nation 2022, con ROTTING CHRIST y BORKNAGAR como cabezas de cartel y ABIGAIL WILLIAMS como banda de soporte. Inicialmente los fineses WOLFHEART estaban en el lineup, pero al caerse entraron las bandas VALE OF PNATH de Denver, Colorado GHOST BATH de Minot, North Dakota y STORMRULER de San Louis, Missouri. Estas bandas estarían girando por varias ciudades de Canadá y Estados Unidos desde el 21 de Abril hasta el 22 de Mayo.

San Marcos is a city that is halfway between Austin, the capital of the state of Texas and San Antonio, a city that attracts many tourists. It is said that it is the best kept Texan tourist secret, that its river maintains a temperature of 71 Fahrenheit all year round and that the population grows because there are more births than mortalities. That’s the city where Wake of Winter Fest first edition was going to be held, and believe me, that day, although temperature was not below zero degree, the coldness felt very uncomfortable and difficult to overcome by these tropical freaks.  

We left from the headquarters of Scriptorium Magazine in Katy, around ten o'clock in the morning. Almost the entire Scriptorium crew made the trip, including Nico, the German shepherd who always accompanies us while we write or design the magazine in the Studio Room. When we arrived at the event site, the GPS sent us to make a right in a non-asphalted entrance, but since we made the turn, you could see the outside stage. It was part of the venue called Ragnar's on the Compound, where there is also a bar with an inside stage.  We picked up our Festival Badges from the hand of one of the organizers, Analaura Hernandez, we thank her very much because she was responsible for our presence there...

San Marcos es una ciudad que queda a medio camino entre Austin, la capital del estado de Texas y San Antonio, una urbe que atrae muchos turistas. Dicen que es el secreto turistico mejor guardado de Texas, que su rio mantiene una temperature de 22 grados celsios todo el año y que la poblacion crece porque hay mas nacimientos que mortalidades. Alli era donde se iba a celebrar la primera edicion del Wake of Winter Fest. El titulo en español viene siendo como “estela de invierno” y creanme que ese dia, aunque no bajo la temperatura a cero grado, el frio se sentia muy incomodo y dificil de superar por estos frikis tropicales,

Sobre las diez de la mañana salimos desde el cuartel general de Scriptorium Magazine en Katy, TX. Iba casi todo el elenco de Scriptorium, hasta Nico, el pastor Aleman que siempre nos acompaña mientras escribimos o diseñamos la revista. Cuando llegamos al sitio del evento, el gps nos mandaba a hacer una derecha en una entrada sin asfalto, aunque desde que doblabas se podia ver el escenario en la parte de afuera. Era parte del recinto llamado Ragnar’s on the Compound, donde tambien hay un bar con un escenario y alli recogimos nuestra credenciales de la mano de una de las organizadoras del evento, Analaura Hernandez, a quien le agradecemos mucho porque fue la responsable de nuestra presencia alli.

We are witnessing a recording of two Ukrainian bands with quite a few points of contact and remarkable contrasts. IGNEA is the one that has a more stable trajectory with two highly acclaimed albums such as "The Sign of Faith" (debut album/2017) and "The Realms of Fire and Death" (2020); and several videos that have rewarded them with a consistent fans base. This Ukrainian band stands out for the mixture of melodic metal with symphonic bits, Middle Eastern influences, electronic passages, and the accurate instrumentalists’ performances. I’d highlight Eugeny on the keyboards and Helle on the extraordinary vocal interpretation, although the rest of the musicians also put their own so that IGNEA sounds seamless, with tremendous precision, praising the rhythmic section of Xander on the bass and Ivan on the drums...

We will talk about one of the longest-lived Black metal bands in Spain. Their beginnings date back to 1995 and they have released two albums such as the most classic and acclaimed "Riding Into funeral Paths" from 1997 and "Ave Voluptatis Carnis" in 2013. The only negative thing that could be attributed to this band is that in so long, they have not been very constant as a band, although despite this, they have achieved a great number of followers and not only in Spain. The first...