Form time to time, a band will come to my eras that will really attract my attention, even if they have a bad sound or a lousy execution. It is that kind of bands that you know have a good potential. This happened with the early Watain recordings, from their demos that I got by the ancient art of tape trading. As soon as I found they have released their debut album, I got hold of it just a couple of months after it was available. Their style was there, with a very primitive recording, with some flaws in their playing. But you can recognize a band that was going in the right direction. Some time later they released the great “Casvs Lvcifer” and they now shoed a more mature approach, a better recording and a more defined style. Their Black Metal always sounded to me like the best of the Norwegian and Swedish styles, with a bit of really evil Death Metal mixed in it. Comparisons to early Mayhem and early Dissection were more than valid, although in my eyes, the early Mayhem thing was a bit more present. Then, it came the time for “Sworn To The Dark”. Maybe it was because they toured with Dissection before Jon bullet eating carnival, maybe it was also they were playing shows with Kreator and Celtic Frost, but more than anything it was time that took us to this unholy creation. “Sworn To The Dark” is the kind of album with standout racks and sing along songs…well, for an extreme Metal release, that’s it. It contains really soon-to-be hymns of Metal blood. It still sounds like early Mayhem and early Dissection, but now the Dissection sound wins a bit over. So imagine how I was when actually my good friend Roberto from Infinitum Obscure (by the way, the band that was hand picked by Jon Nodtveidt of Dissection for their last shows in the USA that never happened, and a band I urge you to check out) when he offered to me to organize a show for this unholy Swedish trio. Well, I told him that as much as I worship Watain, I have been out as organizer for more than 10 years… my last was, if my mind is still ok, with Enslaved, so I was too rusty to do it. Anyway, soon a nearby city and a good and reliable organizer were set. The place was in Queretaro, México, and the organizer was no other than Ed from the mighty Disgorge. The Rush Bar was located in a very nice place; actually it was next to a big Rodeo place. We arrived around 7 pm with about 12 other guys from my city in a trip that took us less than 1 hour to arrive. Obviously the beer started to flow outside of the venue. As always things started a bit late, being Sunday it was quite risky as many people were supposed to go to work as early as 5 am next day. Soon the van with the band members arrived, just in time for the final sound check. A lot of familiar faces, and time to talk about what happened in their two precious dates. One thing we were informed is that on the previous two shows, is that the drummer got so stoned that he was not able to play, so E the vocalist took over drums, and Set Teitan (yep the same Set form Dissection, who is filling as a session guitar player) took over vocals, something they have never ever done before. And, they did a fantastic job for what I have been told. As bass player, Watain was using the services of a nice fellow from Chile; yeah, he is a Latin American, if I am not wrong form the band Undercroft that moved to Sweden along the other members and found a slot as a tour bass player for Watain. By the way, this guy was denied his entrance to the USA so E took over bass and vocals for their dates over there. But today, it seemed that all the band members were up to their senses, and we will be able to witness the full force of Watain live. Originally, there will be four opening acts, but it was shorted to only two. The first was Hell Execution, with a really depraved and sometimes intolerable form of Black / Death Metal. The music was quite good, with some riffs sounding like early Bathory, with some Morbid Angel tones, and played mostly at full speed. But the thing that goes over was the vocals. High pitched screams / shouts that tries to imitate Beherit in style but fail. This band is really no newcomer, they are a project formed by members of Disgorge, Hacavitz and Impiety. Antimo, one of the most prolific front members of the aforementioned bands, was the guitar player, and an unknown figure, that came out with a hooded Sarcofago t-shirt, and a mask (think along the way Blasphemy / Sarcofago looks) was the one doing the hell-shrieked vocals. After about 40 minutes of audio pain, they left the stage…ok, there was like 15 minutes they stopped to change the guitar…which was a relief. Time for a couple more beers, in a really hot place. I must say that the inside was a very good looking place, with a second floor, where the bands were using. And they were able to have a really good live sound. Next was InfiniTum Obscure from Tijuana, México. Wow, even if they were without a bass player (who cannot leave the US soil, due to visa problems) they delivered a very solid and strong performance. They have released their debut album “Internal Dark Force” and although the recording could be more powerful, they play a great style of Metal of Death, quite similar to The Chasm and Dissection. Actually, Roberto has also played with The Chasm and Incantation, so they are no newcomers. They have a very energetic stage presence, and were able to deliver their Metal in a very convincing way. Their music style is even quite good for live situations as some riff changes sound very good. While some might say some songs are quite a bit long or that they sound  a lot like The Chasm (which might be correct if for the style, but INFINITUM OBSCURE has a more Dissection vibe) they closed their presentation with a very good cover of 'Son Of Mourning' by Dissection. I urge you to Google for these guys and get their material, you won’t be disappointed. Next, it was time for the legions of Watain to take over the stage. Two huge inverted crosses were put in the stage and at the top black candles, to create the atmosphere. They all have a very weird corpsepaint use (well except for the bass player that was using a more “common” form of corpsepaint). These guys look like the living dead. Specially vocalist E. And soon the storm was unleashed. I must tell you that I have seen a lot, and I mean a lot of bands live…you name it, the big guns Slayer, Sodom, Kreator…and in the live aspect, Watain is at their level, if not surpassing them. Why? Simple, they devastate live. They play tight, they sound like on the albums, with maybe a more darker approach due to the visual impact. Set Teitan and the bassplayer (making the original trio a full 5 piece demon attack) were perfect for their execution. I was told that due to time restrictions the full line-up were concentrated more on the material form their latest CD, so they only played a few songs form their previous releases (including a demo song) but when they played the soon to be classics like 'Sworn To The Dark', 'Legions Of The Black Light' or 'Satan's Hunger' they moved the people to create a big tornado of furious Metallers. One of the highlights was an unexpected cover version of 'The Somberlain' from Dissection, which was a great moment, as that is as close as you can experience from a band that is no more. It was a tribute to Jon, played with a lot of conviction and emotion. They leave the stage, only to have their name chanted so they return to play, my fave track of Watain 'Storm Of The Antichrist'. Ok, probably there were only a handful people that have their last CD, but I was soon found screaming my guts to their songs (yeah, a lot of the songs of “Sworn To The Dark” have that catchy chorus / verses you cannot do but to make a devil horn sign and scream along). I still have to remember a show like this. For more than 20 years, this is one of the best shows I have attended in my life. If Watain is coming near to you, go see them. Nah, even if they are not playing near to you, go see them. They have revived my faith in the underground. And get “Sworn To The Dark”. A soon to be classic.

Julian Nuñez

Pics: 
INFINITUM OBSCURE: Digital Darkness
WATAIN: Twilightheart (Sheol Magazine)

Comment from INFINITUM OBSCURE's Anthony Eastman:

"H from WATAIN did not play the previous two Mexican gigs because of any drug useage, but because he was very ill with a virus (blood vomit and such)... I know this because we were the supporting act for these dates and I had to sit next to him on the van! WATAIN were very professional throughout (never cancelling the tour dates) and performed despite H being unable to play the drums... E did a great job on drums as did Set on vocals / guitar."

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