Year 2005. That was the first time my ears bled from the blast of metal music from the speakers on the stage of a small bar - my first Aural Massacre event. It was the first time I watched bands play live, and I was caught off guard to be honest. It was deafening...and I loved it! Women wearing all black; men - either having very long hair or none at all, booze and cigarettes, friends, and metal music. "These are my kind of people", I said to myself. It was perfect. From then on, I vowed to join every Aural Massacre event for the rest of my life.
Fast-forward to 2021, after two years of caged wrath and chaos since the pandemic started, the 44th Aural Massacre happened! They called it The Aftermath - Post Apocalyptic Gathering. Very fitting for what's happening in the world right now, with 44 events in 16 years! That is something else. It's the only active music event production left in our city for the longest time. And it was all possible thanks to the mastermind - Jason Arenas.
And to honor those 16 years, I got inspired and tried to get all the event titles since 2005. I asked permission from Sir Jason to do a blog about it, and here we are! Coincidentally, he was thinking of releasing a shirt with all the event titles over the years for the 17th anniversary! How cool is that? I got to be part of it, somehow. After hours of research, I had to ask help from the people who supported those events since we couldn't find any posts about the older ones anymore - the ones from 2005 'till about 2014. Thank goodness for Facebook! I've posted about it on my personal Facebook account, and here's the almost complete list:
| Date | Event Titles |
|---|---|
| May 2005 | Aural Massacre |
| June 2005 | Maximum Carnage |
| Sep 2005 | Mass Slaughter: A Metal and Hardcore Collision |
| Nov 2005 | Slaytanic Offering: A Tribute to Slayer |
| Feb 2006 | Reign of Brutality |
| May 2006 | Aural Massacre: One Year of Butchery |
| Aug 2006 | Unleash the Onslaught |
| Oct 2006 | Maximum Carnage II |
| Mar 2007 | Hell is Here |
| May 2007 | Aural Massacre: 2 Years of Butchery |
| Sep 2007 | Mass Slaughter II: A Metal and Hardcore Collision |
| Dec 2007 | Down From The Wound Release Party: Agony Through Rituals of Self Purification |
| - | Aural Massacre 13 |
| May 2008 | Aural Massacre: 3 Years of Butchery 1st Leg |
| Oct 2008 | Aural Massacre: 3 Years of Butchery 2nd Leg |
| Nov 2008 | Rise from the Depths |
| Dec 2009 | Machines of Hate |
| Aug 2010 | Rise of Brutality II |
| Oct 2010 | COG and Bloodshedd Album Tour |
| May 2011 | Metal and Hardcore Fest |
| Sep 2011 | Eternal Damnation |
| Nov 2011 | The Creepshow! Night of Bloody and Gore! |
| Dec 2011 | Southside Kings Tour: Piledriver Album Launch |
| Aug 2012 | Pitong Taon ng Bakal |
| Dec 2012 | Fistful of Dime: The Black Tooth Gig |
| Feb 2013 | Sounds of the Apocalypse |
| Mar 2013 | Piledriver: 15 Years of Hardcore |
| May 2013 | La Verdad Infinita |
| Jun 2013 | Sky Church The Reunion Gig Tour |
| Oct 2013 | Triple XXXTremities |
| Mar 2014 | When Hell Spits Blasphemy |
| May 2014 | All Killer, No Filler |
| Jul 2014 | Dethroning the Masters |
| Nov 2014 | Into the Pits of Hades |
| Dec 2014 | Aural Massacre 35 |
| Mar 2015 | Fornicating the Demons |
| Oct 2015 | Decade of Decadence |
| Mar 2016 | Mournful Congregation |
| Dec 2016 | Death Chamber |
| Nov 2017 | Annihilation of Existence |
| May 2018 | Throat Slit Butchery |
| Dec 2018 | Bastardizer |
| Apr 2019 | Side by Side - Unified: A Metal/Hardcore Collision |
| Dec 2021 | The Aftermath: Post- Apocalyptic Gathering |
We're missing two titles (the 13th and the 35th). We couldn't seem to find it until now. At least, they'd only look for two more to complete the anniversary shirt for this year! I'd definitely score one.
Before the event started, I was exhilarated, as always with these kinds of events, but also because my partner's band was in the line up. They call themselves Steve. Even before we started dating, I've always been amazed by their performances. He is full of passion and anger that can always be felt in his lyrics, in his interpretation. He becomes a completely different person when he's on stage, and I take pleasure in watching his transformation every single time. He would also make it a point to talk to the audience and use the time he has to send a strong message of optimism, solidarity, and compassion. I couldn't help but be a fangirl in front of the stage!
Other than swooning over Steve's screams of Revolution (Rebolusyon video: https://www.facebook.com/rebo.arcega.9/videos/981907139029780), these metalheads wreak havoc on the stage too:
First time watching them perform. And they didn't disappoint. Photo credit
A two-piece band with a kickass drummer! And that's an understatement.
The Gods. Need I say more?
A band "merged" by the pandemic with members from different venerable bands. Photo credit
I am not even worthy to describe this band.
A speed metal band from Cavite. (Listen to Pitong Taon Sa Piling Ni Lito. Highly recommended.)
Been in the scene since day one. They're still crushing stages until now!
Sir Jason's trash metal band. Unfortunately, they weren't able to play due to time constraints. Photo credit
It was a great way to end the year - seeing old friends, meeting Facebook friends, and seeing everyone moshing and showing support to each band. For a moment, all the anxieties about the pandemic diminished and the fear of what Typhoon Rai would bring vanished. For a moment, it was like the world is back to normal. Even for a short moment.
*Pictures are all mine unless stated otherwise. Apologies for the quality. I don't really have the talent on taking pictures. 馃槄
