Thrash Metal

This must be (at least) the third tour in the past 10 years where Anthrax plays ATL in its' entirety. I agree with you that STD is the better CD. I would even be happy if they played State of Euphoria or Persistence of Time instead. Don't get me wrong. ATL is a classic, but they have played it to death...
 
Just saw the most enjoyable small metal show at a place in Houston called Rudyard's. The first band was Fiddle Witch and the Demons From Hell. They are a trio from Houston featuring Jo Bird on fiddle that were really an eye opening experience. Very unique and enjoyable. Jo Bird is jaw dropping on fiddle! The bassist Geoffrey is also amazing on the parts where he and Jo are playing the same notes. Reminded me of the way Billy Sheehan plays with Winery Dogs and David Lee Roth.
Next was Sanctus Bellum, a Houston metal band. They have been around for 15 years and have a following here. I had never seen them before and I was very impressed with their professional originals and playing. They had more people in the crowd than the headliner did. I think for this reason, they played longer than the headliner...Texas thrash LEGENDS Warbeast!
Warbeast singer is Bruce Corbitt from Rigor Mortis. They are produced by Philip Enselmo. ULTRA heavy! The crowd was more intense (with a pit) than Sanctus Bellum. In the crowd was Jo (Fiddle Witch) and Justin (singer from Sanctus Bellum). Up front going insane was Ben (bassist from Sanctus Bellum).

Because the place is so small, I was able to meet all the bands and EVERYONE was super cool, both fans and bands alike. Really enjoyed meeting Jo and Geoffery from Fiddle Witch. The other bands had nothing but praise for her band. The singer for Sanctus Bellum Justin was really cool. When I spoke to Bruce from Warbeast, he said when Rigor Mortis was with Capitol records on their debut, Maiden was also on Capitol at the time and Rigor Mortis got to meet Maiden! Warbeast' set started with four old songs and then they played five songs from their forthcoming CD. One of them, Orchestration of Violence, Bruce announced as being about D-Day. They will have a video soon for another new song Hitchhiker about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre which will feature Edwin Neal. He is the actor (a Houston native) who played the hitchhiker in the film!

I think it was my job to help people last night because one of the singers (in between sets) fell over some equipment (won't say which singer), and myself and Scott (guitarist for Warbeast) assisted them up. Then during the pit for Warbeast one dude was almost hurled in the other band equipment on a side wall, but I stopped him and pushed him back...into the pit!

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/warbeast/2017/rudyards-houston-tx-1bf97d1c.html

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sanctus-bellum/2017/rudyards-houston-tx-13f97d09.html

Could not create a setlist on the website for Fiddle Witch because they are an artist not set up yet with the website or with Music Brains but their setlist was Viking Bash, Broken Brain, Venomous Lax, and Bone Chomper. Check out their website fiddlewitch.com for their history and info.

This is a video of Fiddle Witch playing their closing track Bone Chomper:


Thi is a video of Sanctus Bellum playing Curwen:


This is the official video by Warbeast for Birth of a Psycho:

 
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Still recuperating from seeing Prong, Sepultura, and Testament last night at the House of Blues in Houston! Prong sounded VERY tight. I noticed they have a new bassist. I think however that Tommy (singer/guitarist) was not happy at the lack luster response of the audience.

The crowd was more into Sepultura. I saw them live back on the Chaos AD tour but this was the first time I have seen them live with Derrick on vocals. I am finally warming up to him but hearing the old tunes live with only one guitarist is different. When we were leaving, one guy referred to them as "the cover band that call themselves Sepultura". Lot of comments on Youtube say the band should change their name.

Testament was perfection (as usual). Great mix of old and new in the setlist as well as a couple of surprises in the setlist.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/prong/2017/house-of-blues-houston-tx-4be683b6.html

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sepultura/2017/house-of-blues-houston-tx-2be6804e.html

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/testament/2017/house-of-blues-houston-tx-53e683c5.html
 
Friday July 14 Warbeast will play their final show in Ft Worth at the Rail Club. All proceeds will benefit the singer Bruce Corbitt's medical treatment for esophagal cancer and heart condition. He cannot sing now so his producer and friend Phillip Anselmo will sing in his place!

It is also going to be the release party for the new (and final) album.
 
Saw Warbeast at the Rail Club in Ft Worth last night. Due to the esophageal cancer by singer Bruce Corbitt, this was three events in one:

1. cd release show for new lp Enter the Arena
2. benefit to raise funds for Bruce treatment
3. the final (?) Warbeast show

Bruce spent the first part of the night (during the opening bands) at the merch table signing copies of the new CD and talking with fans and posing for photos. Due to Bruce's current diagnosis, most of the lead vocals were handled by his producer...Phillip Anselmo!

At 10:45 Bruce brought up to the stage Edwin Neal. He is the actor who played the Hitch hiker in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like Bruce (and myself) he is a native Texan. Together they introduced the world premiere of the new Warbeast video for their song "Hitchhiker". It was fun and the crowd enjoyed it.

Then the band started playing with Phillip on vocals by opening with three songs from the 2nd CD Destroy. Phillip was amazing!
Then Phillip introduced Wayne Habney of Hammer Witch who he said used to try to throw him out of a club. Wayne sang lead vocals on Scorched Earth Policy and a new track Orchestration of Violence. SEP was the only song they played from 1st cd Krush the Enemy. It is a live staple in the bands' setlist (Since this was the last Warbeast show, I was hoping they would play a deep track instead like Stalker, but no such luck). During the show there were different videos playing for each song on a large screen behind the band. During OOV, a Lego version of the D-Day invasion played!

Then for the next song Bruce and Edwin returned and Edwin sang lead vocals for Hitchhiker.

Then Phillip returned and sang three songs from the new cd. Then Phillip brought Bruce out and Bruce took a while doing a great job thanking everyone. His previous band Rigor Mortis, his touring family and members of Phillip's record label Housecore Records, and especially the Dallas/FW area. The last person Bruce thanked was the amazing shredder Scott Shelby (lead guitarist usually in the right channel). Bruce said to Scott "We are the Dynamic Duo. We are the thrash version of Steve Tyler and Joe Perry. You are my brother". Then Bruce said he only had enough energy for one verse. So the band started playing Punishment for Gluttony from the new cd and Bruce sang the first verse PERFECTLY. Then Phillip took over for the rest of the song.

Setlist wise, they could have played one less song from Destroy to make room in the set for one of the tracks on the EP War of the Gargantuas (like IT). Oh well.

Dallas/FW has a large metal scene there with a great turnout for the show. The line was out the door and the parking lot and grass lots around the club were full! This was my first time (finally) at the Rail Club. Heard much about it. I like that smoking is not allowed but too bad the place has no A/C. Oh well it was a GREAT night. Also ran into Casey Orr (bassist and co-lead vocalist for Rigor Mortis and also former bassist for Warbeast). Cool to see him again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GJQnUQ430dWS8rQp1

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/warbeast/2017/the-rail-club-fort-worth-tx-1be5bd14.html
 
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The description sounds good.... and the music as well! Marvellous drumming!

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/la...samuelsons-fatal-opera-albums-to-be-reissued/
After parting ways with thrash titans MEGADETH in 1987, highly regarded percussion maestro Gar Samuelson began his next chapter. Relocating to Orange City, Florida, Gar rented a farm and began converting its barn into a studio with the help of his brother, guitarist Stew Samuelson. Largely influenced by jazz fusion and carrying the primary goal of simply achieving a heavy sound, FATAL OPERA was later solidified in 1990 with bassist Travis Karcher, Dave Inman on vocals, and short-term guitarist Jeff Bloom — who left the band the following year after contributing to a ten-song demo that was not widely circulated.

Over the next two years, the remaining quartet wrote and recorded the group's ten-song self-titled debut, after which they were joined by another fusion-influenced guitarist in Bill Brehme. Initially released on cassette, FATAL OPERA signed with German label Massacre Records in 1994, which finally provided the album with a proper CD release in 1995. Cited by Gar as having been an "outward" effort — lyrically focused on socio-political matters, etc. — "Fatal Opera" displayed an adventurous and truly incomparable brand of technical thrash metal, peppered with melodic hooks and wild, jazz-inflected soloing.

The band's sophomore effort, "The Eleventh Hour", had started taking shape in 1994 with a thirteen-song pre-production demo. In 1995, however, vocalist Dave Inman amicably bowed out, resulting in the addition of enthusiastic new frontman Andy Freeman. Writing continued, and the quintet returned to the studio in the spring/early summer of 1996. Upon its release in 1997 — once more via Massacre Records — "The Eleventh Hour" found FATAL OPERA simply bursting with energy — more melodic, more progressive, more of everything: sure to appease fans of other one-of-a-kind acts such as PSYCHOTIC WALTZ or DAMN THE MACHINE.

Now, more than twenty years later, Divebomb Records will reissue both of FATAL OPERA's highly acclaimed full-length recordings on October 13. The group's debut outing has been expanded to include two previously unreleased bonus tracks, while "The Eleventh Hour" adds on a Japanese bonus track as well as an entire bonus disc, freshly remixed by the band. Fully remastered by Jamie King at The Basement Recording, each package will also boast a twenty-page booklet including reimagined cover art, photographs, lyrics, and a retrospective interview with the surviving bandmembers.


Check this (e.g. @CriedWhenBrucieLeft (good solos as well)
solo starts around here

solo starts around here
 
Saw Sacred Reich last night play their first Texas show in 20 years! Same members (to my knowledge) and sounded like they have not aged a day (despite the fact Phil said he had the flu and therefore canceled the meet and greet). Great turnout and crowd reaction. Phil looked VERY happy on stage. Who's To Blame, War Pigs, and Surf Nicaragua probably got the most crowd interaction.

Byzantine opened. Was my first time to see them. Impressed. Met one of the guitarists/singers after his set and he said they change the setlist every night. He was wearing a Wrathchild America shirt. I told him I saw them on their first tour where they played the whole cd. He said he is a fan.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sacred-reich/2017/scout-bar-houston-tx-43e247f7.html
 
When folk talk of thrash, I do think some UK bands get overlooked. To, in a small way, redress the balance....

Acid Reign. Split in 91 and 'rebooted' in 2015. Cracking band and some really fantastic stuff. Obnoxious rates as one of my all time favourite albums.

Xentrix. Again, another reformed band. Came up with a stunning debut in 'Shattered Existence' .

And of course the brilliant Onslaught. Again, reformed but unlike the others had great new material. Like this....
 
Are Nuclear Assault really not mentioned in this thread?
I saw them on their 2nd tour open for Testament and Overkill. It was my first thrash show and my first mosh pit. Someone stepped on my foot and i stepped out of my shoe. Then someone else threw it on stage! Next the bassist jumped on us and crowd surfed back to the stage. It was a night to remember (got my shoe back).

I saw an advance theatrical screening of Warlock Armageddon and even though the film sucked (first one was better), the metal song during the end credits blew me away. I stayed through all the credits to find out who the band was. I was shocked to find it was Nuclear Assault (Something Wicked This Way Comes)
 
I saw them on their 2nd tour open for Testament and Overkill. It was my first thrash show and my first mosh pit. Someone stepped on my foot and i stepped out of my shoe. Then someone else threw it on stage! Next the bassist jumped on us and crowd surfed back to the stage. It was a night to remember (got my shoe back).

I saw an advance theatrical screening of Warlock Armageddon and even though the film sucked (first one was better), the metal song during the end credits blew me away. I stayed through all the credits to find out who the band was. I was shocked to find it was Nuclear Assault (Something Wicked This Way Comes)

Great story, @terrell39 , thanks!
 
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