A triple bill of heavy hit Dublin's 3Arena on Monday night (25th November 2024), with Anthrax, Kreator and Testament playing their biggest ever gig in the Irish Capital. From Bay Area thrash to members of both the US and German Big Four, it was a night not to be missed for metal fans of a certain vintage.
Photo: Darren McLoughlin.
Bringing together two giants of the US thrash scene in the east coast's Anthrax, and San Francisco's Testament, along with Germanic behemoths Kreator, tonight's show was a dream billing for fans of '80s metal at the heavier end of that spectrum.
Opening up proceedings with an unusually early start time of 6.30pm, Testament strode onto the enormous arena stage to the strains of 'D.N.R.', with its punishing sound setting the scene for what was to come for the rest of the night; heavy, fast, and furious metal, with little room for breath.
The music may be breakneck, and at times, borderline violent, but despite having the most demonic voice on the bill, the always amiable Chuck Billy is a big softie, and when he declared "how we doing my friends? You guys ready for a hell of a fuckin' metal show?!", he was met with an enthusiastic response in the affirmative.
What followed was a vintage Testament set packed with gems from the tail-end of their first era; from stunningly beautiful ballad 'Return to Serenity' to a welcome return for 'Souls of Black' - only twice performed in 2024 - the always epic 'Low', and melodious guitar workout 'Electric Crown'.
Throughout, Alex Skolnick's playing remained a wonder, proving him one of the most talented players of his generation.
Were it not for a muddy sound mix, this might just have been the best ever performance from the Bay Area thrashers in Dublin, ever.
Opening up proceedings with an unusually early start time of 6.30pm, Testament strode onto the enormous arena stage to the strains of 'D.N.R.', with its punishing sound setting the scene for what was to come for the rest of the night; heavy, fast, and furious metal, with little room for breath.
The music may be breakneck, and at times, borderline violent, but despite having the most demonic voice on the bill, the always amiable Chuck Billy is a big softie, and when he declared "how we doing my friends? You guys ready for a hell of a fuckin' metal show?!", he was met with an enthusiastic response in the affirmative.
What followed was a vintage Testament set packed with gems from the tail-end of their first era; from stunningly beautiful ballad 'Return to Serenity' to a welcome return for 'Souls of Black' - only twice performed in 2024 - the always epic 'Low', and melodious guitar workout 'Electric Crown'.
Throughout, Alex Skolnick's playing remained a wonder, proving him one of the most talented players of his generation.
Were it not for a muddy sound mix, this might just have been the best ever performance from the Bay Area thrashers in Dublin, ever.
Photo; Darren McLoughlin.
Where Testament are defined by their uncompromising sound, Kreator are all about the theatrics, and they brought it before they played a single note, with huge curtain adorned with the band's logo hiding the stage making the crowd wonder what monsters lurked behind it.
It's an age old masterstroke that builds the tension, and when the banner dropped it did not disappoint, revealing a hellish vision with three huge demons towering over the stage - a pair flanking the band, and one behind the drum kit - with the leaders of the original German thrash scene soundtracking what would play out to be an elaborately theatrical horror spectacular.
Given co-headline status, their sound was crystal clear, and they suffered none of the sound issues that Testament had, with guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö's solos cutting through especially cleanly throughout.
Kreator's show is an incredibly impressive spectacle, with hanged corpses, demonic torchbearers, and atmospheric pyro appearing on cue at various points. The music meanwhile, is more tuneful than the backdrop suggests, with the Maiden-esque harmonies of 'Enemy of God' and melodies in 'Hordes of Chaos' particular notable earworms.
Front man Miland "Mille" Petrozza meanwhile is the perfect ringmaster, presiding over the hellish pantomime. Fondly reminiscing about the band's first show in Dublin at the long gone Top Hat, he gave an impassioned shout out to the band's long time fans, thanking them for their dedication saying; "Kreator has been playing Ireland since 1990. Since the beginning your people have been supporting us, supporting metal!
It's an age old masterstroke that builds the tension, and when the banner dropped it did not disappoint, revealing a hellish vision with three huge demons towering over the stage - a pair flanking the band, and one behind the drum kit - with the leaders of the original German thrash scene soundtracking what would play out to be an elaborately theatrical horror spectacular.
Given co-headline status, their sound was crystal clear, and they suffered none of the sound issues that Testament had, with guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö's solos cutting through especially cleanly throughout.
Kreator's show is an incredibly impressive spectacle, with hanged corpses, demonic torchbearers, and atmospheric pyro appearing on cue at various points. The music meanwhile, is more tuneful than the backdrop suggests, with the Maiden-esque harmonies of 'Enemy of God' and melodies in 'Hordes of Chaos' particular notable earworms.
Front man Miland "Mille" Petrozza meanwhile is the perfect ringmaster, presiding over the hellish pantomime. Fondly reminiscing about the band's first show in Dublin at the long gone Top Hat, he gave an impassioned shout out to the band's long time fans, thanking them for their dedication saying; "Kreator has been playing Ireland since 1990. Since the beginning your people have been supporting us, supporting metal!
Photo: Darren McLoughlin.
With Kreator undoubtedly stealing the show with their surreal and unmatched production, it's Anthrax who have the killer songs, and although they played a slightly shorter set than the Germans, it was decidedly all killer, no filler.
Still using their 40th anniversary film as an intro - and why not, when you have Steve Harris, Gene Simmons and Tom Morello singing your praises - the Big Four originators teased with a brief 'Potters Field' before launching into a pulverising 'A.I.R.',
The various members' extended sojourns in Mr. Bungle and Pantera seem to have reinvigorated the band, who appeared to be relishing being back in Anthrax again, and tonight had them focusing firmly on the songs that made their name, with few deep dives or surprises.
'Got the Time' and 'Caught in a Mosh' come in quick succession, followed by their resurrection anthem - both in the sense that it's about zombies coming back from the dead, and that it was the song that relaunched their career and the return of singer Joey Belladonna after years of uncertainty and borderline farce - 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't'.
"What a pleasure to be here. It's a very special evening for us because we don't get to come here very much", said Belladonna, greeting the crowd and acknowledging the six year gap since they last played Ireland.
Founder Scott Ian would later reiterate, asking; "how have you been since 2018?" Relishing being back in the city, having posted on social media earlier in the day about enjoying a pint in Kehoe's bar, Ian continued; "it feels so good to be back in your beautiful city, drinking your Guinness again!" Guitar and film nerds in the crowd meanwhile can't have missed the, to the untrained eye garish guitar that Ian was wearing, with its design a clear homage to the carpet from the Overlook Hotel in 'The Shining'.
With relative deeper cuts 'Be All, End All', and 'The Devil You Know' scattered among the more familiar material, it's a pleasingly unpredictable set, and closing their main set with 'Antisocial', the crowd were indeed in a state of euphoria.
With nods to Thin Lizzy, with a brief run through 'Cowboy Song', and U2 - the keener-eared will have caught Charlie Benante tease the drum intro to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' - all that remained were closers 'Indians' and a truly ferocious 'Gung-Ho' to see out Anthrax's biggest ever Irish show.
Thrash metal may have reached its commercial peak three decades ago before Grunge came along, but these bands are showing more vitality than ever. A colossal display of metal majesty.
Check out our gallery from the show. All photos by Darren McLoughlin.
Still using their 40th anniversary film as an intro - and why not, when you have Steve Harris, Gene Simmons and Tom Morello singing your praises - the Big Four originators teased with a brief 'Potters Field' before launching into a pulverising 'A.I.R.',
The various members' extended sojourns in Mr. Bungle and Pantera seem to have reinvigorated the band, who appeared to be relishing being back in Anthrax again, and tonight had them focusing firmly on the songs that made their name, with few deep dives or surprises.
'Got the Time' and 'Caught in a Mosh' come in quick succession, followed by their resurrection anthem - both in the sense that it's about zombies coming back from the dead, and that it was the song that relaunched their career and the return of singer Joey Belladonna after years of uncertainty and borderline farce - 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't'.
"What a pleasure to be here. It's a very special evening for us because we don't get to come here very much", said Belladonna, greeting the crowd and acknowledging the six year gap since they last played Ireland.
Founder Scott Ian would later reiterate, asking; "how have you been since 2018?" Relishing being back in the city, having posted on social media earlier in the day about enjoying a pint in Kehoe's bar, Ian continued; "it feels so good to be back in your beautiful city, drinking your Guinness again!" Guitar and film nerds in the crowd meanwhile can't have missed the, to the untrained eye garish guitar that Ian was wearing, with its design a clear homage to the carpet from the Overlook Hotel in 'The Shining'.
With relative deeper cuts 'Be All, End All', and 'The Devil You Know' scattered among the more familiar material, it's a pleasingly unpredictable set, and closing their main set with 'Antisocial', the crowd were indeed in a state of euphoria.
With nods to Thin Lizzy, with a brief run through 'Cowboy Song', and U2 - the keener-eared will have caught Charlie Benante tease the drum intro to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' - all that remained were closers 'Indians' and a truly ferocious 'Gung-Ho' to see out Anthrax's biggest ever Irish show.
Thrash metal may have reached its commercial peak three decades ago before Grunge came along, but these bands are showing more vitality than ever. A colossal display of metal majesty.
Check out our gallery from the show. All photos by Darren McLoughlin.
