Old-school thrash is still alive and kicking these days, and aside from the big four bands we all know and love, there are a few others that bring their own flavor into the mix. On Saturday, October 26th, 2024, the Klash Of The Titans tour made its way to Los Angeles, CA, at the Hollywood Palladium. Co-headliners Testament and Kreator brought this show to life, but the support of Possessed really set the venue on fire with their darkened souls rooted in death and thrash. Having just these three bands on the line up, despite the early start time of 6:50pm, really made the evening the perfect length. Funny enough, a couple of security guards and even some fans were caught yawning through the second half of Testament’s set, which ended by 11pm.
For those who are old enough to have seen these bands in the early days, watching three bands with more than a 30-minute set is really all most people can handle these days. This show was definitely a mixed crowd of all ages, but there was an abundance of older men who grew up with this classic thrash. Starting off the evening as strong as ever, Possessed played a 35-minute long set that blasted through many fan favorites, including “Pentagram,” “Death Metal,“ “Ritual,“ and “Tribulation.“ Seeing vocalist Jeff Becerra still going strong after all these years of being paralyzed from the waist down from gunshot wounds, is pretty fucking metal. It’s those who don’t give up or “grow out of metal“ that are the true warriors of the scene. Their essence of life comes from the music they put out into the world. There is nothing more in tune, than seeing that connection. Another plus is the fairly recent addition of Chris Aguirre on drums, who comes from a great background of metal bands to step above and beyond the call of duty for Possesed. The audience was plentiful for their set as they were a band not to be missed who could have easily also co-headlined this tour.
Possessed
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Onto the brutally cooked meat of the trio, German thrash band Kreator did not hold back. They basically started their set by calling for a “Wall Of Death“ from the audience, to which the crowd happily obliged. Their backdrop was the most 3 dimensional with their satanic demonic statue heads, and they also had their hanging robe draped corpses from above as well. Upon first listen, it may not be obvious that they have a very darkened vibe as well running through their music. However, once their fun packed tune “Satan is Real“ comes to life, their cover is blown. Other impactful tunes included “Hail To The Hordes,” “Terrible Certainty,” “Pleasure To Kill,“ and “Phantom Antichrist.“ They went through many albums picking key tunes to share live. Having seen Kreator more than once, they are always engaging from start to finish with their German thrash collection of live metal.
Kreator
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Onto this evening’s closing headliner, Testament, they are undoubtedly one of the classic big thrash bands on the list of 1980s-era Bay Area thrashers. For this tour, despite their last album release in 2020, titled Titans Of Creations, they focused on only delivering songs from their first two albums, The Legacy and The New Order. Ending it all with the tune “Into The Pit,“ those who grew up with these albums got their full-on dose of nostalgia. Chuck Billy on vocals is always a focal point of the band, along with their lengthy classic riffing.
Of the three bands on the Clash Of The Titans tour, Testament comes across as the most classical consistent and the least dark. Today, with so many thrash-based bands idolizing bands such as Metallica, Slayer, and Testament, their specific original sound actually starts to take a back seat. As mentioned, fans appreciate all Testament has given them over the years. Still, as an unpopular opinion, perhaps they are not as timeless as some of the others in their genre. Slayer’s older tunes, for example, are just as relevant today as they were when they were written, but somehow, the classic nature of Testament’s thrash stays classic. Not to give any bad flames into their set on this evening, but the crowd did get a bit more sparse towards the second half of Testament’s set for whatever reason. Perhaps, because Kreator kicked their ass in the pit, so they simply ran out of energy. Regardless, the choice of playing those earlier works was not a bad one, and those who stuck it out had no complaints.
As far as Los Angeles venues go, the Hollywood Palladium is one of the smoothest run in terms of getting people inside without a hassle, and even the $25 double cocktails could be worse. If only the acoustics in the theater could be as smooth, but the sound engineers on this occasion still did a great job making it the best it could be. On the bright side of life, heavy metal is here to stay, even after 40 plus years in the making. Always stay metal!
Testament
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Editor’s Note:
Following the tour, which wrapped up on October 27th in San Francisco, Possessed frontman Jeff Becerra unfortunately suffered a broken femur and required surgery. Becerra shared updates on social media, stating:
“Well, hell. I broke my femur bone clean off/snapped. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning early where the bone and vascular surgeons will team up to try and bolt plates and stop the blood clots from getting into my lungs and brain. If I had to be honest I am a bit nervous. But this is my life. I spend years trying to get back on the stage for you and then the inevitable other shoe drops and I am injured again. This time it’s pretty bad, but I promise you that I will be back as soon as possible to play for you again.”
In a later post, Becerra expressed:
“High screen put up by my heart via a catheter device to catch all the blood clots from entering my heart and brain and then I had my femur bolted and plated back on so now it’s set with this brace like a week of hospital then back home.”
