Only 3 days after the Battle Of The Bays (Obituary vs. Exodus) the next battle calls, easily to be dubbed Thrash Till Death or Kill! Kill! KILLFEST! However, you know, don’t let your neck grow cold. And it is such a perfect day for all the ones that are carnival averse and Helau & Alaaf-fun denier. Although… we had a lot of fun at KILLFEST, just a different kind ;)
In September OVERKILL announced that the release of the new album, The Grinding Wheel, needed to be pushed back to February 19, but didn’t cancel the already announced KILLFEST tour. Instead, the Thrash Metal veterans released the Our Finest Hour 7“ single right on the kick-off of the European tour and promised to please the fans with more new material during the live shows. Yeah, that’s the way you can do this too ;)
For this playful annual massacre OVERKILL invited illustrious guests: two Thrash Metal newcomer bands, SHREDHEAD and DESECRATOR, I never heard of before, and Sludge Metal kings CROWBAR.
Scene of the KILLFEST that night was the :: Hyde Park :: in Osnabrueck, Germany, a location that actually hosts way too seldom metal shows. It’s a really nice club, comfortably big, with a food booth inside, several bars, pool tables and lounges. Only the security unit… erm… the two boys, hardly of full ages that stood left and right of the stage, left much to be desired. Those boys weren’t able to handle and catch crowd surfers accurately nor to come into action in case of emergency or just to settle anything. This “security concept” definitely failed.
:: pics :: SHREDHEAD ::
It was an icy cold evening with the first minus temperatures. Can’t deny, winter’s coming. Four bands on the billing means an early start. I’m among the first handful of attendees when I entered the Hyde Park somewhat after 6pm. Shortly after Israeli metallers :: SHREDHEAD :: got onto stage and pulled a long face. Their disappointment about the empty location was obvious. It’s no use. SHREDHEAD put a good face on the matter and played a show as if the venue was sold out and the cats the headliner. Well done! And it paid off. Step by step fans arrived or just came in and got immediately enthused by the highly energetic show.
SHREDHEAD play a modern and groovy kind of Thrash Metal, much in the vein of Pantera. And they powerfully kicked ass. Definitely hopefuls on this sector. Let me recommend the band’s sophomore, Death Is Righteous, they played most of the songs from.
Setlist: Walk With The Dead, LPBZ, Last Words Are Lost, Death Is Righteous, Knife In A Gunfight, Devils Race
:: pics :: DESECRATOR ::
Next up were Aussie thrashers :: DESECRATOR ::. It’s great to see that such a young band from Down Under got the chance to present themselves on a well-established annual tour circuit as the KILLFEST is. And the venue was slowly filling up. Seems, it was too cold outside to spend time there for own beer and smoking breaks ;) I was even freezing inside and drank one coffee after another.
Founded back in 2008, the band has released two EPs and a live record so far. But they have their debut album, To The Gallows, already up their sleeves. Just a release date has still to be announced. They played 3 songs from this one and those were promising as the band itself is too. I could imagine that this is the new Thrash Metal generation live on stage. Like the opening band, also DESECRATOR displayed an overwhelming delight in play and scored with a charismatic front man, who always tried to connect to the audience. With success. Yes, definitely promising.
Setlist: 1800 Volts, Serpent's Return, Balancing On A Blade, Brain Scan, To The Gallows, Destroying God's Work
:: pics :: CROWBAR ::
Nola metallers :: CROWBAR :: have already released their new album. The Serpent Only Lies, the 11th full-length, saw the light of day on October 28. But they only played one song from this one, and this was Plasmic And Pure. The rest of the set was kind of a best-of through the quarter century lasting history. CROWBAR went back in time till the 1993 self-titled sophomore. A great show of a not so agile band. But nothing to nag about either as it’s hard to compete with such whippersnappers ;) Fans adored and cheered them vociferous.
Setlist: All I Had (I Gave), High Rate Extinction, To Build A Mountain, The Cemetery Angels, Walk With Knowledge Wisely, Conquering, Plasmic And Pure, Planets Collide, Like Broken Glass
:: pics :: OVERKILL ::
Though, it became quickly clear for whom the fans had hit the road. :: OVERKILL ::! Crowbar had hardly left when fans pushed towards the stage and started chanting “OVERKILL”.
Those, who arrived early enough, could see the band members walking around, mostly Bobby Ellsworth, who was commuting between the smoking area and backstage, although I saw him smoking E-cigarettes.
With the tour kick-off OVERKILL announced that axe-man Dave Linsk was unable to make the dates and recruited Waldemar Sorychta to fill in. As more I was surprised to see Dave instead of Waldemar live on stage. Great that he still could make it, at least from this date on ;)
So, those, who were expecting to get some new tracks presented, were left disappointed. OVERKILL played only the already released single, Our Finest Hour. The rest of the set emerged to be - much like the Crowbar set - a best-of through the band’s history, with a special focus on the 1985 record Feel The Fire. Nothing to complain about, right? ;)
Of course, hell broke loose with the very first tone from the intro and lasted to the very last Fuck You ;) That they played my favorite classic, Rotten To The Core, already as the third song, was a bit suboptimal to me, because I couldn’t take photos during this one *laughs*. Couldn’t stand still and focus. Never mind. I had a very comfortable evening as I was the only photographer in the pit. I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted.
OVERKILL played such a dedicated and passionate show, as we know it from them, especially Bobby is still such a whirlwind and powerhouse. His energy always impresses me. The entire band was in great mood, seeing D.D. and Dave grin like Cheshire cats. And the fans were likewise dedicated, screamed and sang along full-throated. Fucking hell, what a show, what an atmosphere. You could feel the power and the energy almost physically. Shouldn’t miss the KILLFEST in the future. Great concert evening, great bands!
What’s next? No Thrash Metal anyway. But, after Obituary and OVERKILL, something with “O” again ;)
Setlist: XDᴹ, Armorist, Rotten To The Core, Electric Rattlesnake, Hello From The Gutter, In Union We Stand, Our Finest Hour, Hammerhead, Feel The Fire, Coma, Infectious, Emerald // Ironbound, Elimination, Fuck You
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