When it comes to the weather, February is traditionally one of the worst months in Canada. Fortunately for us, Torontonians, Kerry King, Municipal Waste, and Alien Weaponry brought the heat on Saturday night, with three spine-tingling sets at the Danforth Music Hall.
Although they’re a relatively new band, formed in 2010, Alien Weaponry displayed a high level of maturity and professionalism through their set. In stark contrast with Van Halen’s joyful “Jump”, which was blasted through the speakers at the beginning of the show, they started the proceedings with drummer Henry de Jong performing a haka, which preceded the song “Raupatu”.
For those who don’t know, these guys are New Zealanders – of Maori ancestors – and their lyrics talk about the hardships of their people and their stolen lands. A lot of their songs are sung in their original language, which makes for a distinguished blend. Singer/guitarist Lewis de Jong summoned the crowd to do a circle pit before the second song of the night, the sludgy and thrashy “Holding My Breath”. Musically, they take cues from nu-metal and groove metal, think of a hybrid between Lamb Of God and Rage Against The Machine. The last time they had been to town was in 2018 opening for Ministry, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Lewis. “Mau Moko”, the single from their upcoming album “Te ra” was well received, and they closed the show with fan favorites “Ru Ana Te Whenua” and “Kai Tangata”.
Municipal Waste was next, and the stage was instantly widened. Barrels of toxic waste were placed alongside the amps, and a few skull-looking gargoyles loomed over the drum riser. Their sound is directly influenced by the early days of thrash and crossover, containing several references to B horror movies from the 70’s and 80’s. Imagine a blend of Exodus, D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies, and Re-Animator or The Crazies.
As the lights were dimmed and the show was about to start, the crowd began the usual chant at their concerts, “Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up”. And fuck us up they did, kicking it off with “Garbage Stomp” and “Sadistic Magician”. Right off the bat, it’s clear they don’t take themselves very seriously, exploring every convention of thrash – think of the thrash metal equivalent of Steel Panther. Cue the black leather bracelets, white sneakers, and jeans, with battle jackets on top.
Singer Tony Foresta clearly had lots of fun on stage, wearing a trash can over his head on “Wave of Death”, high-fiving everyone he could reach and even providing a quick massage to one of the security guards. Things go the way of the devil as they play the one-two punch “The Thrashin’ of the Christ” and “Poison the Preacher”, and bass player Phil Hall, and guitarists Ryan Waste and Nick Poulos did some coordinated headbanging on “Restless and Wicked”. Their 45-minute set flew by, and they ended it with “Born to Party”, bringing a much-needed sense of humor to this style.
Kerry King’s set started with the instrumental “Diablo” being played through the speakers, as the band entered the stage. Next up were two fast-paced numbers played at breakneck speed – “Where I Reign” and “Rage”. The crowd’s energy reached stratospheric levels, and the ever-present circle pit more than doubled in size.
Naturally, Kerry‘s solo material picks up where Slayer left off, and the addition of Mark Osegueda on vocals, Phil Demmel on guitars, and Kyle Sanders on bass really took things to the next level. And how can we ignore the commanding presence of drummer Paul Bostaph, whose tribal beat at the beginning of “Residue” was one of the highlights of the band’s performance. The punk-infused “Two Fists” also made an appearance, with the crowd showing they would follow King in whatever capacity, chanting every bit of the lyrics here.
One of the most incredible moments of the night was the deserving homage to the late Paul Dianno of Iron Maiden. Mark Osegueda mentioned how much Maiden influenced any half-respectable thrash metal band, especially the first two albums. “Purgatory” and “Killers” were played, obviously with different arrangements. Bonus points for picking non-obvious songs from the Maiden arsenal to be played, and fingers crossed that Steve Harris and co. take the hint when putting together the setlist for their upcoming tour, “Run For Your Lives”.
With Kerry being such a key element of the Slayer sound and only one album worth of material, it was obvious that a few versions of his former/current band would be played. Tonight’s choices were “Repentless”, “Disciple”, “At Dawn They Sleep”, “Black Magi”c and fan favorite “Raining Blood”. On the latter, it was apparent how much fun the band was having on stage. Phil and Kyle played those songs as if they were original members of Slayer, and Mark’s energetic performance added a new dimension to the classics.
The night was closed with the title track of Kerry‘s new album, From Hell I Rise, at which point security was having extra work, rescuing many from the agitated crowd. Overall, it was a night of sonic onslaught, and the 50-year-old me is really glad to have brought earplugs. Next up on the agenda for Kerry King are a few Slayer shows scattered through 2025, including their participation in Black Sabbath‘s last-ever performance on July 05th in Birmingham.
It will be interesting to see how his sound develops and what a second solo album might bring. I’m glad I have some time to rest my happy but mercilessly abused ears until then!
