The Klash of the Titans Tour, which features Testament and Kreator as co-headliners with special guest Possessed, came to the Hollywood Palladium for the second to last night of its 33-city tour. L.A. shows are sometimes hard to get as a photographer, but I got a surreal invite and I wasn’t about to miss this amazing opportunity! The Hollywood Palladium opened on Halloween in 1940 and walking in you can’t help but imagine all the eras of music, award shows, and politicians that have been in that space. Many iconic bands (Megadeth, Bad Religion, Iggy Pop, and more) have played and recorded live albums at the Palladium. Testament recorded Return to the Apocalyptic City EP at the Palladium in 1993.
I'm a San Diego girl and as many times as I've been to Hollywood, I’m always in awe of everything about it. The lights, billboards, stars on the sidewalk, and of course, all the walks of life. The entrance into the Palladium is not through the front anymore, but before I went in, I had to walk around and see the marquee lit up with “Testament and Kreator, October 26, 2024”. I’ve been to hundreds of shows and I always love to see the names in lights. Heading into the show, I went through the maze like a Disneyland ride to get through to security and walked into a packed house of thrash metalheads, my people! Unfortunately, with traffic (even left an hour early) I just caught the last song of Possessed. They had the crowd loud and fired up the energy for Kreator.
German thrash metal band Kreator is one of those bands that somehow slipped through my radar until a few years ago. I saw them live for the first time and was blown away by their dedicated fan base. They had a couple of demonic inflatables flanking the stage and a huge one behind the drum kit. The crowd was intense, jumping and pushing to the rail, which makes for great crowd surfing. Lead vocalist Miland Petrozza announced they were doing a live recording tonight since Los Angeles is like their second home. The fans were insane keeping that circle pit wide and alive! Security was busy catching bodies coming over the rail. There was not one wall of death….Petrozza incited TWO. Even though I don’t know much of their music, they put on an amazing show.
Headlining this night is Testament, one of my all-time favorite bands. The crew put up a white curtain with the Testament logo on it, building anticipation. Lights go low, we hear the beginning of “Eerie Inhabitants”, the curtain drops and the crowd screams. Walking out on the stage was Chris Dovas (drums) with Alex Skolnik (guitarist), Eric Peterson (guitarist, vocals), Chuck Billy (lead vocalist), and Steve Di Giorgio (bassist). Last year Nuclear Blast Records acquired Testament’s first six albums completing their entire discography. We got an amazing setlist of their first two albums The Legacy and The New Order.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Chuck Billy so fired up! He was so happy and had crazy headbanging energy. Before playing “Do or Die” he said his friend Marty called him to break the news his cancer is back. So we all put our fingers in the air and said ‘FUCK CANCER” for Marty. Unfortunately, we can all think of family and friends who have battled cancer, even Chuck Billy himself. I had my middle finger up in honor of my dad. It was amazing to see the unity of middle fingers. After “Trial by Fire”, we got a drum solo from Chris Dovas just like old school days when every show usually had a drum/guitar solo. Closing out the show with “Into the Pit” the fans created a massive circle pit.
This was one of my favorite Testament shows for a few reasons. For one, just being invited is still surreal to me. Two, just playing old-school songs is amazing. The energy on stage, the fans, everything was straight up fire! Anthrax and Kreator will be heading out on an 18-date European tour later this month with Testament as their special guest.
ANTHRAX + KREATOR 2024 EUROPEAN TOUR
Nov. 21 – UK – Manchester, O2 Apollo
Nov. 22 – UK – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
Nov. 23 – UK – London, Eventim Apollo
Nov. 25 – IE – Dublin, 3 Arena
Nov. 27 – UK – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Nov. 29 – FR – Paris, Zenith
Nov. 30 – DE – Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle
Dec. 01 – DE – Munich, Zenith
Dec. 03 – LU – Esch-sur-Alzette, Rockhal
Dec. 04 – CH – Zurich, Halle 622
Dec. 06 – IT – Milan, Alcatraz
Dec. 07 – DE – Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle
Dec. 08 – DE – Berlin, Verti Music Hall
Dec. 10 – HU – Budapest, Barba Negra
Dec. 11 – PL – Katowice, Spodek
Dec. 13 – DE – Frankfurt, Jahrhunderthalle
Dec. 14 – DE – Hamburg, Edel Optics Arena
Dec. 15 – NL – Den Bosch, Mainstage
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