Babylon Rising Festival: Rotting Christ, Infernaeon, Generichrist and Death Legion
April 16, 2011
La Repuesta, Santurce, Puerto Rico

Start time on the ticket said 7pm, but as usual the doors weren't open to the waiting crowd until a little before 9pm. Last month at the Saetith show the start time was delayed for two hours because two of the opening bands hadn't arrived yet. This time it was because the venue security had yet to arrive. It's always something, heh.

Death Legion was the first to hit the stage. You've probably never heard of them because this was their first ever gig in front of a crowd and they left quite an impression. The Puerto Rican band played a form of blackened death metal and set the tone for everything else that would transpire throughout the night. The band wore masks that made it look like they had dried mud on their faces with spikes sticking out. It was an interesting look. Despite being their first gig, they already possessed a tight sound that suggested that they've been around for far longer than they really have.

Up next was Generichrist from Tampa, Florida. Their sound can best be described as a mix between death metal, grindcore and thrash. All of their songs were quick jabs to the face, packed with intensity and anger. Lively song titles like Extinction Of The Jesus Freaks and My Lovely Whore gives you an idea of what the band is about. Their set was short and to the point, with vocalist Tony Anderson refusing to stand still, moving around the stage like a man possessed and with a purpose. That purpose of course was to bludgeon the senses of all who stood before them. They succeeded.

Following Generichrist was fellow Tampa metallers Infernaeon. The blackened death metal band is fronted by Brian Werner, who was the most outspokenly blasphemous of all of the vocalists on the stage that night and demanded everyone's attention. He made no secret about his anti-religious views, most memorably when he said (paraphrasing): "Many often ask why we only attack Christians. Well, fuck the Jews and Muslims, too!" One of the biggest highlights of the entire night was when the band busted out a killer rendition of Metallica's Creeping Death, playing it with a pure viciousness that Metallica lost so long ago (or arguably never had).

As great as the three previous bands were, they were just a prelude to the headline act, Greece's extreme metal veterans Rotting Christ. With a total of fourteen songs, their set list focused greatly on their latest studio album, AEALO, playing five cuts from it. The sound emanating from the stage was simply unreal. Frontman Sakis showed a boundless energy on stage, throwing his fists in the air and pounding his chest like a Spartan warrior getting ready for battle. Of the many highlights within their set, one was when they played In Domine Sathana, which got the sizable crowd into a blasphemous sing-along to commemorate the beginning of "Holy Week". The set ended with their anthem Non Serviam, which had Sakis come out donning a Spartan helmet, bringing to mind King Leonidas telling Xerxes that he will not bow down to him. Rotting Christ absolutely crushed everyone in the crowd and provided a fierce exclamation point to the inaugural Babylon Rising Festival.