What better way to spend a screamy, dreamy Tuesday evening, than embarking on a little adventure to the city for a night of black/ death metal at DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA! I arrived with a clean slate, not having seen any of the bands before and I was anxious to see what type of experience they would deliver.

First up was Begrime Exemious, a blackened death metal group from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada playing to a typical early Tuesday night crowd of committed music fans. From the start, I felt a distinct absence of the key energy needed to engage a beleaguered crowd trudging past the beginnings of the week. However, their blend of piercing black metal shrieks, signature death metal growls and riffs, and classic thrash influence, created a deliciously doomy experience and after a few songs, the band started to find their groove with the crowd. Begrime Exemious was definitely a more raw, primal version of your typical blackened death metal sound and you can’t miss the old-school vibe the band gives off. By the end of their set, I was finally in full swing with the energy, but alas, it was time to wrap it up. Overall, they were an enjoyable listen, but their stage presence took some warming up.  

The show continued with Panzerfaust, another Canadian band from Mississauga, Ontario. I was first caught by the composition of the stage. Front and center, drummer, Alexander Kartashov, took a prominent position on the stage with the guitarist, Brock Van Dijk, and bassist, Thomas Gervais on either side of him and behind it all, towering above the musical madness, was a pulpit behind which vocalist, Goliath, would deliver their dark lyrics from a mist of fog and lights shrouded in a mysterious cloak. Right off the bat, Panzerfaust delivered the showmanship and energy and I was instantly engaged. Kartashov and Van Dijk, absolutely killed with their perfectly synchronized interplay, delivering a deep, booming, doomy rhythm highlighted by mastery use of cymbals. They built a perfect tension for the dark, nihilistic mood created by the commanding vocals floating over them. Their borderline tribalistic rhythm pulled me along the journey of the song and the multi-faceted guitar lit the path. Not to spoil the ending, but Panzerfaust was musically my favorite part of the evening. 

But don’t despair, Profanatica took the stage to close out the night and absolutely took home the gold for me lyrically. Living up to their name and reputation, their blasphemous, irreverent, spit-in-the-face-of-god lyrics and blatant disdain for Christianity hit a resounding chord for this former minister’s daughter and I loved every minute of it. Profanatica’s filthy rage against the machine of organized religion is nothing short of perfectly putrid. Paul Ledney’s abrasive, gritty screams were exactly the delivery vehicle needed for these ungodly, filthy lyrics and his intense, hellish drumming was the perfect accompaniment on this ride to reprobation. The gruesome, meaty riffs of Adam Besserer and the distorted bass of Pat Davies, rounded out the intense, vicious sound and overall, I left feeling like they had taken me on a vile journey through my own repulsion with Christianity. 

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night if you ask me! 

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY AMBER BUCHANAN