Road (well air) trip to California!
Since I haven’t seen my buddies from Destruction in a couple of years I decided to take a mini-vacation; head out to California and witness them destroying the Bay Area with legendary Thrashers Heathen.I had the immense pleasure of seeing them twice in Cali and once in Denver, so this review will be a combination of all three shows!
Also part of the touring package was a band out of Texas called Warbeast. Never heard of them; really didn’t give it much thought since I was out there to see Destruction anyway; BIG mistake on my part; but more on that later.
Still a bit tired from attending the ACCEPT show in San Francisco the night prior, we made our way over the bridge to the Oakland Metro Opera House about the same time as the tour bus with Destruction and Heathen.Hugs, kisses, holy shit, Schmier didn’t tell Mike I was coming which made the surprise that much better. Lee Altus (Heathen, Exodus) looked at me in disbelieve and stated puzzled: “This is NOT Denver”; Priceless!
Big “Thank You” to Darien Lomeli who picked up the Mr. Tito (who also had to do a double take when he saw me ) to help out with the merch. As with almost every venue on that tour, there were about 3 or 4 local bands playing which gave me ample time to socialize, catch up and lend a helping hand; which meant I totally missed Warbeast that night.
By the time Heathen came on stage the venue was nicely filled. No surprise since this was kind of a “home-town gig” for the band. I have never seen Heathen live and let me tell you, WOW, the energy on stage and in the crowd was insane. They opened with “Dying Season” and followed with “Control by Chaos”. I wish someone would have controlled the chaos because the mosh pit was insane. David (vocals) did an amazing job getting the fans going.
It was great seeing Lee perform with Heathen and him and Kragen did wonders on their guitars. Showmanship wise the price definitely goes to Jason (bass) who was all over the place.
A very nice bonus was that they enlisted the help of Jon Dette on drums since their regular drummer couldn’t make the tour. And let me tell you, kick ass is an understatement.
Jon is best known for his drumming with Slayer and Testament and a lot of fans told me that he is actually a better fit for Heathen then Darren; no clue since I have not seen Darren drum before.
They also played “Open the Grave” and “No Stone Unturned” and finished their set with “Death by Hanging”.
The crowd response to Heathen in Oakland and Orangevale was incredible and even in Denver the pit went absolutely nuts. Unfortunately they arrived so late in Colorado that their set at the Oriental Theater was cut way, way short. They got to play 5 songs and even though the crowd demanded more there was just no time for it. Long story about the delay; details to follow.
Since Orangevale is not that far from Oakland we actually had the luxury of sleeping in and arrived well rested and refreshed at the Boardwalk mid afternoon. To our surprise the accident prone tour bus was already at the venue (sarcasm mode turned way down) and we parked right next to the van of that Texas band Warbeast.
I saw their vocalist sporting a Rigor Mortis shirt and complemented him on his great choice of clothing as I introduced myself. He told me his name is Bruce, and right then and there it hit me! Bruce, like in Bruce Corbitt the singer from Rigor Mortis; holy shit!
And to top it off, Alan Bovee (bass) and Scott Shelby (guitar) from another legendary Texas Thrash Metal band, Gammacide, are also members of Warbeast. I am almost inclined to call this a “Super Group”.
Seriously, old school thrash fans know exactly what I mean since Rigor Mortis and Gammacide were one of the instrumental forces of Texas underground metal. Rounding out the 5 piece are drummer Joe Gonzales (Blue) and second guitarist Bobby Tillotson.
Needless to say, I was NOT going to miss their set this time and after watching them destroy Orangevale I could kick my ass for missing them in Oakland. Incredible band to watch!
They gave all they got and then some and the crowd rewarded them with relentless cheers, applause and metal horns high up in the air. Being Thrash Metal fans themselves, the guys clearly had a blast sharing the stage with Heathen and Destruction and they wanted to make sure the audience got entertained for their money.
And the Denver audience got just that and much, much more. Warbeast played forever, not their 4 or 5 songs and exit stage left. No Sir, in all honesty I believe they played each and every song from their 2010 album Krush the Enemy and threw in some extras. And the Denver crowd got into them like no other and cheered for even more once they finally stopped.
It was 11pm when the newly acquired tour bus hauling Destruction and Heathen finally arrived in Denver. Yap that was not a typo. They had issues with their mode of transportation from day one and on the drive from San Diego, CA to Denver the whole dilemma was fixed by getting a new bus., which in turn made them being extremely late getting into Colorado, hence the long Warbeast set.
To save even more time, Heathen and Destruction used some of Warbeast’s gear and Heathen’s set was cut short that night.
And speaking of crowd, holy shit; now I am used to mosh pits, usually try to avoid them and just sneaking way up front. Well, let me tell you, this was not an easy task at the venues in California since apparently they have a way different form of moshing then I am used to. Instead of slamming into each other and having a good time, they get full speed in the circle pit and just slam with full power and elbows up into the front rows. One word for that; IDIOTS! I guess different strokes for different folks, but let the people enjoy the bands without the fear of getting hospitalized. 
Anyways, the mighty Destruction started the night with “Curse of the Gods” off their 1986 album Eternal Devastation and followed up with “Mad Butcher”. "Armageddonizer" from their newest album Day of Reckoning had a really good crowd response everywhere. The band switched up their set list from prior tours and classic songs like “The Antichrist” and “Tormentor” did not make the cut this time around. No big deal since they did play their staple’s “Nailed to the Cross” and “Bestial Invasion”.
This was also the first time I saw them perform with their new drummer Vaaver. Schmier told me he is a beast, and yap, he sure is. Thrash might not be his first choice of music but let me tell you, he sure as hell can pound those drums and might even give Marc (former drummer) his run for the money.
Mike was the god himself again on guitar, flawless and precise and tight as shit. Schmier was rocking his bass which was pretty good in the mix, maybe on some shows higher then on others.
And a huge bonus song for me was “Release from Agony” from their 1988 same titled album and they had Kragen from Heathen come on stage to play with them and I believe he also shredded “Invincible Force” with Destruction.
Other songs they played included “The Price”, “D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.”, “Eternal Ban” and the closer was “Total Desaster”. (For the entire set list, google it)
All in all it was a great set list and an even greater performance by Destruction and Schmier hinted that there might be another tour across North America in fall. Can’t wait and until then THRASH ‘TILL DEATH.
A couple more pictures of each band can be viewed right HERE