Belphegor, Arkona, Vale of Pnath, Phantasmal Abyss
- Bleeding Priest
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
March 30, 2025
DNA Lounge
San Francisco, CA
Here we are again at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. This place has really become the premier spot for touring (and local) Metal acts. It seems like there’s a Metal show or two every week at this, the last of the live venues on 11th St. in SF. This time around we have Austria’s purveyors of blackened filth Belphegor. Along with Arkona from Russia, Vale Of Pnath and local openers Phantasmal Abyss.
So starting things off we have Phantasmal Abyss from Oakland/San Francisco. They really set the tone properly for the evening. Lead vocalist/guitarist Dara Santhai has really come into her own with this latest band of hers. She’s been playing the Bay Area scene for about 20 years or so with a number of bands such as Santhai, Ravana and Serpent Crown…a band I drummed in for a little while. In fact there’s a Serpent Crown album with me on drums floating around out there. Anyhoo, her guitar playing skills have greatly improved since my time playing with her and she has put together a very solid rhythm section in Rafa Martinez and Todd Wilkinson on bass and drums respectively.
Their brand of Blackened Metal went over well with the early comers and by the end of the set they were playing to a respectable sized crowd who seemed to love it. It’s hard to define what genre Phantasmal Abyss is in. They have a very unique blend of styles (Thrash, Death, Black) but it’s all heavily cloaked in a dark vibe. With her vocals adding to the individuality of this band. No shortage of blast beats throughout. My only criticism, and it’s a minor one is that every once in a while the blast beats tend to get a tad lopsided. But this happens so infrequently and for such short intervals that only a complete music nerd, who’s paying attention to every little detail (like me) would notice. But this by no means took away the great energy and power of their set. They were killer!
Up next were a band I was not familiar with named Vale Of Pnath. I believe they’re from Denver. The first thing I noticed was the absence of a bass player on stage. Instant red flag! These guys played a technical blend of Death Metal and, oh I don’t know, Symphonic Black Metal I guess. They’re drummer was one of the busiest players I’ve seen in a long time. He was pulling off some jaw dropping shit all while doing the windmill, or as we call it in our parts, the FORBIDDEN with his hair. He was a total treat to watch.
The problem with their set was the lack of rhythm guitars in their mix. I mean it was pretty inaudible. I would say rhythm guitar is the #1 most important area in Metal regardless of what style you’re doing. If you can’t hear the riffs you have nothing. The vocals were great, the drums were godly, the bass….oh right. Here’s where that fifth person onstage playing the low end would’ve come in handy. I get it. They’re playing extremely fast, technical stuff and they want to sound as precise as humanly possible. I can see where a bass might get in the way but unfortunately without a ripping rhythm guitar sound it just didn’t work. I’d love to see them when their guitar sound is dialed in. I’m sure it’s awesome.
Now we have Arkona from Russia. They’re considered Folk Metal but they’re oh so much more. As there’s plenty of Folky stuff to enjoy there’s also equal amounts of flat out fast, heavy and almost psychedelic parts for good measure. Lead vocalist Masha has a hell of a voice and pretty much commanded the bulk of the attention from the crowd, myself included. She had a vibe. I could almost see her aura. I was told I saw them before like 15 years ago but honestly can’t remember. But I certainly won’t forget this performance. They certainly gave Belphegor a run for their money.
So we’re at the last band of the evening, one of the bloodiest bands in the world (sometimes) Belphegor. I’ve dug these guys since I saw them at The Pound (R.I.P.) way back when and have seen them a couple of times since then. One of those times was at a festival somewhere in Europe. Death Angel were playing the same day/stage as Belphegor. Their bus was parked next to ours and it was BLAZING hot that day. These crazy Austrians had all their stage props out, drying off from all the blood from the night before. Amongst the props were two pig heads on pikes. They were there all fucking day baking in the sun with swarms of flies all around them. And they were right in front of our bus. We had to pass these nasty things every time we went to the backstage/catering area.
Needless to say they definitely made an impression on DA well before they hit the stage. When they did hit the stage they walked by with all their gear on with dried blood caked all over from shows past. You could smell them from a mile away. It was quite vile but at the same time FUCKING AWESOME! I didn’t want to be anywhere near them. Black Metal is supposed to be an anti-social thing and these motherfuckers were keeping it REAL!
Oh yeah, the DNA. They kicked ass as always and utilized the “unique” DNA stage setup better than any other band I’ve seen on that stage. Just look at the photos and tell me that’s not a wicked, Metal-as-fuck looking stage. These dudes absolutely give their fans their money’s worth. I was bummed that I couldn't smell them this time though…
–Bleeding Priest
