Bay Area metal legends ended their 33-date “Klash Of The Titans Tour” with co-headliner Kreator and opener Possessed with a hometown set at the epicenter of the thrash movement at The Warfield in San Francisco.
Local death metal progenitors Possessed kicked things off early and got the crowd hopping as frontman Jeff Becerra belted out the classics, unencumbered by the wheelchair he’s been confined to since 1989.
Kreator kept the energy high, blasting Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” for a massive singalong as the crew busied themselves behind a giant curtain that concealed the stage. The curtain finally dropped and the band launched into “Hate Über Alles” off of their most recent release.
Kreator’s crew had obviously been busy in the 30 or so minutes since Possessed wrapped their set. Inflatable demons loomed over the band from the back of the stage and shrouded corpses hung from the rafters, others impaled on pikes on each side of the stage. But the band paid no attention to the gore as they blasted through a career spanning hour and ten minute set.
Last up, Testament, promising an “old-school set” to celebrate the remastered reissues of their first two albums, The Legacy (1987) and The New Order (1988). Starting off-genre with their intro music with “Flight for Your Right” by the Beastie Boys didn’t seem to matter for the already pumped crowd. And as Testament kicked things off with “Eerie Inhabitants” off of The New Order, it was immediately clear that they were polished and loose from their weeks on the road.
Ending the tour with a hometown show seemed to raise the band members’ energy levels, frontman Chuck Billy all smiles as the general admission floor churned and bodies spilled over the barricade in a constant barrage for security personnel up front. Even after nearly 40 years together as a band, it’s clear that the chemistry between Billy and Peterson remains strong and that the classic material from those first two Testament releases has stood the test of time.
Klash of the Titans indeed! The crowd was no match for this stacked lineup featuring some of thrash metal’s legends.
POSSESSED
KREATOR
TESTAMENT
