Classic thrash metal hit The Palladium in Worcester, MA on November 1st, when the ‘Legends of Thrash Tour’ rolled into town with heavy hitters Overkill and Kreator headlining and support from the bands Warbringer and Rope. Sound awesome? Damn right it does but unless you knew there was a show going on at the same venue at its upstairs stage, you may have been a bit confused seeing all the scene-ster kids standing around outside, doe eyed, waiting to see some crap-core style bands. It made for an interesting mix of people outside until the whatever-core people figured out they had to enter through the side of the building.
Local band Rope opened the show and I had no clue what to expect. I couldn’t find much about them on-line and had never heard of them. I kind of 
assumed they were a thrash band based on the others in the line up, but they played a set of straight up metal with maybe a bit of a groovy thing going on in the mix. They sounded pretty tight and other than a few technical issues with some bass equipment, the set went over well for these newcomers. Next up was Warbringer, a thrash band out of California. Although many of the people there were hanging around by the bar, presumably waiting for the legends to hit the stage, the crowd that was on the floor seemed to love these guys. A really large pit started which seemed to reflect the raw energy the band had on stage.
So now, the lights go out for Kreator. By this time the venue was pretty full and the crowd had made their way towards the stage for some German style face melting. Now, I have seen them previously and I’d say they usually put on a good show but at times the sound has been off or something. Not this time at all. A few of my friends mentioned the same thing saying that this is the best they had ever seen them play and they sounded amazing. They opened up with ‘Phantom Antichrist’ and immediately I could tell this one was for the record books because this band was pulling out all the stops. The crowd went nuts for them and not surprisingly a huge circle pit erupted. The lights dimmed a bit towards the end of the set and when they came back up, Millie walked out still donning his Bauhaus shirt (awesome) and waving the ‘Flag of Hate.’ A literal flag.
Overkill came on an opened up with ‘Deny the Cross’ and Bobby Blitz was in tip-top shape. The last time I saw these guys was in February of this year, also at The Palladium in Worcester, but Bobby was so very sick that I was shocked that he even tried to do that show at all. In fact, right after the show Bobby had to be hospitalized he was so ill with pneumonia. Well this was a invigorated, healthy Bobby and there was no stopping these guys from destroying the crowd with everything they’ve got. I got “Blitzed” by a smiling Bobby right off the bat in the photo pit, receiving a solid 10 seconds of his middle finger in my face/camera during ‘Deny the Cross’ and Derek Tailor leaned over during ‘Electric Rattlesnake’ and with a smirk, he looked me in the eye and told me to ‘fuck off.’ I couldn’t tell who was having the better time honestly, the crowd, me, or the band. They ripped mercilessly through the set calling out for the ‘old school’ fans in attendance and generally kicked everyone’s asses.
Both Overkill and Kreator proved that they are better than ever and have more umph in them than bands 1/2 their age.
Overkill on Facebook
Kreator on Facebook
Warbringer on Facebook
Words and Photography: Hillarie Jason
Two nights in a row I visited the storied Palladium in Worcester MA to see a great metal show. I’m not a kid anymore so by the end of the second night I was feeling my age. But until the final chord rang out on this evening I was rejuvenated by the sounds of the metal I grew up on. Not only are these veteran acts some of the premier names in Thrash Metal history, each one is proving vital and important as ever.