So my metalhead son treated me to another thrash gig, which always means a good time, but he accidentally failed to mention that it was on my wedding anniversary, which wasn't so good. Other than that, it was a memorable evening, with Death Angel especially in fine fettle.
SpiritWorld
They didn't open up this time, as they would have done back in September at the same venue had their tour bus not broken down. Instead, Las Vegas based SpiritWorld kicked off the bill and did their level best to warm up the crowd. That they didn't warm up too much, a few dedicated moshers notwithstanding, probably spoke more to their style than their talent.
They call what they do "death western", not uncoincidentally also the title of their second and most recent album, and that tends to mean a mid-pace thrash with hardcore vocals. I knew the other three bands on the bill and have seen all of them live before but I didn't know SpiritWorld from Adam, so I dipped into their albums ahead of time and wasn't particularly impressed. To be fair, they didn't benefit from good production, especially on their 2020 debut Pagan Rhythms, but the excellent sound at the Van Buren demonstrated what they should sound like, for the most part, and I enjoyed them more than I expected.
They certainly look unusual, with colourful southwestern jackets, as if they might shift into a mariachi number at any point, but they stayed in a relatively consistent traditional sound. Stu Folsom has a powerful voice, though his choice of delivery tends to limit what he can do with it, and Justin Fornof backs him up sometimes for an interesting double vocal. He also handles samples, but I didn't hear any of them live, which meant that he came across like a backing singer who once in a blue moon stabbed at the console in front of him as if he'd just remembered it was there.
Death Angel
My favourite moments with SpiritWorld were when they sped up, which sadly didn't happen too often, but Death Angel made up for that with a speedy but heartfelt set. Thankfully their tour bus didn't break down this time and frontman Mark Osegueda explained that situation quickly to anyone who wasn't aware. It's easy to throw out an apology but it felt like he truly meant it and the band made sure to deliver the best set they could to make up for not being at the Bay Strikes Back kickoff night. He certainly managed pitches that few fifty-somethings can hit and he did it frequently and with an admirable amount of sustain.
Death Angel were the best band on the night and the worst thing about the entire gig was that they should have had a longer set. They played a mere six songs, each one taken from a different album, if we ignore the brief excerpt of The Ultra-Violence ahead of the closer, Thrown to the Wolves. I'm a huge fan of their debut album, which I bought on its original release as an impressionable sixteen year old, so the highlight for me was easily Voracious Souls, which was as tight as could be comfortably imagined all the way to its memorable final moments.
The Moth, from their 2016 album, The Evil Divide, was another highlight, as was the title track of their most recent release, 2019's Humanicide, but what stood out beyond the tightness of the set was just how much and how obviously the band was enjoying themselves. Not only was guitarist Rob Cavestany grinning for much of it, I caught him and a couple of other members watching Kreator's headlining set from the wings, just like the fans I'm sure they are.
After forty years, it ought to be easy to just rest on your laurels and churn through a greatest hits package yet again, but Death Angel didn't do that. They blistered their way through this set like they were the teenagers they were when they started out, even if only Cavestany and Osegueda were in the band that recorded that debut. I just wish they had been given more time but, if you're catching this tour later on, definitely get there early to hear Death Angel. You won't regret it.
Sepultura
Oddly, the crowd thinned a little by the time Sepultura hit the stage and it didn't fill back up, so some people clearly showed up to see Death Angel and then left. While they did catch the best band on the night, they also missed plenty.
The Brazilian legends played a very interesting set, not least because, unlike Death Angel, it was heavily focused on their most recent release, the magnificent Quadra from 2020. They've always been a heavy band, wherever their stylistic choices have taken them, but this set got funky and industrial at points and racked up quite the musical mileage. As such, it was often a set that connected more to those listening to it intellectually rather than those reacting to it more viscerally in the pit, especially during the triple play at its heart of Guardians of Earth, Ali and Agony of Defeat.
Before that trio were a couple of other Quadra tracks, Isolation to kick off the set and Means to an End, interspersed with a couple of classics from Chaos A.D., Territory and Propaganda, and the title track to 2011's Kairos, the only track in the set not from either Quadra or the nineties.
And, of course, that's where they ended up with a fantastic runthrough of arguably their four most popular tracks in quick succession. Vocalist Derrick Green didn't join until 1998, so he didn't sing any of these in their original versions but he's thoroughly made them his own during his quarter of a century with the band. Refuse/Resist perked up any doubters in the crowd, being their most successful song ever since its release on Chaos A.D. back in 1993, and it set the pit into serious motion. Arise, the oldest song in the set, kept more than the diehards moving and the double whammy of Ratamahatta and Roots Bloody Roots to wrap up the set left everyone wanting more.
Kreator
Last time I saw Sepultura, it was at the late lamented Joe's Grotto, a much smaller venue that I miss a lot. Last time I saw Kreator, it was at the late lamented Club Red in Mesa, a step up in size from Joe's but still smaller than the Van Buren. Such has the valley's landscape for gigs changed over the past few years. The good news is that, for all its higher ticket prices—it's a Ticketmaster venue—and odd insistence that I couldn't wear a mask inside—thanks for the germs, folks, a week before Fan Fusion—the Van Buren is a well designed live venue with an excellent sound system and it was great to hear Kreator so cleanly.
Like Death Angel, they played a stripped down set with no more than one track from any one album and a couple that weren't ever on albums to begin with, Awakening of the Gods from the Flag of Hate EP and a non-album single 666 - World Divided from 2020. And that was quite the surprise, for two reasons.
For one, they didn't play anything except the title track from last year's Hate über alles, their most recent album, even though I was eager to hear some of those songs live, like the speedy Killer of Jesus and the gothic Midnight Sun, though that was more understandable, given its integral female vocal partway. For two, they didn't play a few older songs that I had expected to hear, like Extreme Aggressions and Phantom Antichrist. C'est la vie.
Of course, they excluded their more experimental years, meaning that they played nothing between People of the Lie, from 1990's Coma of Souls, and the title track from 2005's Enemy of God, which was probably a good call. The latter was one of the highlights for me, along with a later title track, Hordes of Chaos from 2009. The final thrust of Flag of Hate, Violent Revolution and Pleasure to Kill, all hit the spot too. Mostly, though, the highlights for me weren't songs so much as the general feeling of the set, Mille Petrozza's memorable voice and Sami Yli-Sirniö's buzzsaw guitar.
All in all, it was a good night. SpiritWorld were better than I expected. Death Angel were on top of their game and stole the show. Sepultura were fascinating. And Kreator were reliable headliners as the K in Klash of the Titans. Phoenix has always been a thrash town for decades and that was reflected in the levels of appreciation for these bands.
Death Angel setlist
Lord of Hate
Voracious Souls
The Dream Calls for Blood
The Moth
Humanicide
The Ultra-Violence/Thrown to the Wolves
Sepultura setlist
Isolation
Territory
Means to an End
Kairos
Propaganda
Guardians of Earth
Ali
Agony of Defeat
Refuse/Resist
Arise
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots
Kreator setlist
Hate über alles
People of the Lie
Awakening of the Gods
Enemy of God
Betrayer
Satan is Real
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
666- World Divided
Flag of Hate
Violent Revolution
Pleasure to Kill
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