For more than a decade, Austin Zettner and Jyro Alejo have been at the forefront when it comes to spotlighting the talented crop of guitarists comprising the San Antonio metal scene not named Ron Jarzombek.
Zettner has had quite a journey as the one constant in Aeternal Requiem for more than 11 years as guitarist and vocalist of what once was a trio, then went through lineup changes, then dissolved from the scene before resurrecting earlier this year as a quartet.
Alejo, meanwhile, has dazzled audiences with his thrilling style and skill on the axe, shredding his way to performances alongside Tim “Ripper” Owens and at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention while dedicating his craft throughout Jessikill’s tenure from 2012-23.
Alejo has a new group called Starlight, and they provided direct support to Aeternal Requiem this past Friday night at The Mix in a showcase of the 2026 versions of each of their musical undertakings.
The show, however, was supposed to feature four bands. And the cancellation of the other two didn’t come very lightly or for typical reasons.
Scars Of The Flesh and scheduled openers Arbiter took themselves off the bill earlier in the afternoon but unbeknownst to several in attendance until their scheduled set times went by without activity.
A visit to Scars Of The Flesh’s social media pages resulted in the band telling its fans: “So in light of situations that have arisen to the surface with the venue tonight, we must announce we are canceling (sp) our performance at The Mix tonight. We respect all parties involved but we must stand on the side of integrity. We will have some shows coming up here in town so catch us very soon! Duly noted: We love The Mix and the venue itself is a great place to play, once everything is settled and clear we would love the chance to return.”
Arbiter could not be reached for comment, but ATM was able to contact Scars Of The Flesh during what should’ve been the group’s performance time, and the band replied in kind: “As far as speaking for the cancellation of tonight, we are professionals through and through. We are not at liberty to speak of what caused said reason but to know we had to stand at the side of integrity since what was shared on social media from other parties regarding said venue. It’s too soon to know what’s happened so to be sure not to be associated in any way shape or form, we chose to bow out gracefully.”
ATM questioned two staffers at The Mix regarding the reasons for the cancellation, with one saying he “thought” it was over an Instagram post and the other saying twice, “I don’t know” before referring ATM once again to the first staffer.
Upon further digging, it was discovered that an alleged sexual assault had recently taken place in the back of the venue and that the Instagram post was reportedly the corresponding police report. According to a source, the alleged incident took place June 26 with the bar staff knowing about the activity, but that the incident allegedly was a false accusation between a boyfriend and girlfriend.
ATM asked Alejo why Starlight didn’t follow suit with the other bands not taking part. Citing the incomplete investigation, Alejo said, “We don’t ever like to cancel shows.”
So while the four bands were split on the proverbial “the show must go on,” that should’ve meant more stage time for the two bands that stayed and played. Instead, Starlight played a mere four songs in 23 minutes, while Aeternal Requiem’s headlining set was an all-too-brief 31 minutes.
But both bands made their time count.
Zettner not only has rebirthed Aeternal Requiem into a quartet of all-new players in bassist David Rey — a veteran of the local scene with other bands — guitarist Diego Quiroga and drummer Waldo Guardiola, but he has put his previous experience honing his craft and exploring other genres of metal while in Finland a few years back to various uses.
For example, Zettner has blended the band’s older material on albums such as Rise into newer tunes such as “Forlorn Hope” that put the focus on folk metal.
Nevertheless, ATM has covered Aeternal Requiem since 2015, and Friday’s show was Zettner’s most vicious to date.
Setting the tone early by telling a packed crowd, “I have a lot of pent-up energy to get out,” Zettner and the band tore into "Eternal My Soul” and “Invictus” while taking a chance on newer tracks such as “Chant Song” and “The Triumphant” (watch ATM footage of the latter two below).
Aeternal Requiem advanced out of the San Antonio Regional of the Wacken Metal Battle in February (coverage here) before falling short at the state final in March. But that has allowed the group more time to gel, write and rehearse, and Zettner appears to have Aeternal Requiem headed in a promising and longer-lasting direction when it comes to the city’s metal landscape.
Starlight in its own right, with vocalist / bassist Eric Blair, Alejo and drummer Riley Castillo have introduced San Antonio metalheads to their brand of power metal, and you can check them out below via ATM’s footage of “Night Rider” and “Cosmic Chaos.”
Starlight also has a couple of promotional videos out which, ironically, were mixed and mastered by Scars Of The Flesh guitarist Bryan Eckmermann.
In what was undoubtedly an atypical night of San Antonio live metal, here’s hoping both performing bands will continue to drop new music leading to more appearances.
But here’s much larger hoping that those involved in the aforementioned alleged activity can get things sorted out without any harm coming to any individuals. And that the bands who stood up for what they believed in, by sitting out, will be back on stage throwing down sooner than later.
AETERNAL REQUIEM SETLIST: Never to Return, Eternal My Soul, Chant Song, The Triumphant, Forlorn Hope, Invictus
STARLIGHT SETLIST: Starlight, Into the Night, Night Rider, Cosmic Chaos