Overkill/ Kreator/ Warbringer

Finishing off The Legends of Thrash tour with a two night stint in NYC I was able to catch the later show. Warbringer have now become the usual suspects when it comes to openers for a thrash package tour, assaulting the stage with ‘Living Weapon’ and ‘Severed Reality’ before showcasing the songs from their last album “IV Empire Collapse”. They ended with ‘Towers of the Serpent’ which has a very technical and old school vibe. They were the prefect opener for this tour.

Hailing from Germany, the mighty Kreator took the stage in support of their latest DVD “Dying Alive”. Kicking things off with ‘Phantom Antichrist’ and ‘Death to the World’ from the last album, frontman/guitarist Mille and co. hammered through 12 more songs from their almost 30yr career. There were sing a longs from their classics ‘Pleasure to Kill’ and ‘Betrayer’, to the more recent present with ‘Enemy of God, ‘Violent Revolution’, and ‘Hordes Of Chaos’, all the way to their anthem flavored closer ‘Flag of Hate’. If they could've played longer no one would've complained.

The crowd cheered and hungered for New Jersey natives Overkill. Two new ones from the latest album “The Electric Age; ‘Come and Get It’ and ‘Electric Rattlesnake’, were sandwiched between classic ‘Wrecking Crew’ and ‘Hammerhead’, and the much sung along to ‘Rotten to the Core’, before returning to the present with ‘Bring me the Night’ and title track to “Ironbound”. Bobby Blitz and crew can do this in their sleep. They never 'phone in' a performance give it all which comes across on that stage. The Kill’s longest standing guitar team, Dave Linsk and Derek “The Skull” Tailer, bring a huge wall of sound that makes the groove machine of Ron Lipnicki and D.D.Verni all the more deadly. Breaking out forgotten a gem ‘Who Tends The Fire’ was a real treat and knocked out a trio of classics/anthems; ‘In Union We Stand’, ‘Overkill’ and ‘Elimination” before taking a bow. With an encore performance of ‘Coma’ and Subhumans ‘Fuck You’ the night came to a screaming end. Not a bad way to end a tour.

Warbringer:
Living Weapon
Severed Reality
The Turning of the Gears
Hunter-Seeker
Living in a Whirlwind
Scars Remain
Towers of the Serpent

Overkill:
Come And Get It
Wrecking Crew
Electric Rattlesnake
Hammerhead
Rotten To The Core
Bring Me The Night
Ironbound
Who Tends The Fire
In Union We Stand
Overkill
Elimination
Coma
Fuck You

Kreator:
Phantom Antichrist
Death to the World
Extreme Aggression
People of the Lie
Coma of Souls / Endless Pain
Pleasure to Kill
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
Betrayer
Enemy of God
Phobia
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Civilization Collapse
Flag of Hate / Tormentor