KERRY KING

First band on the bill, ALIEN WEAPONRY, was new to me as of last December.  A friend of mine told me about them and said that I should definitely make it to the show early and catch these guys.  Boy am I glad I listened because they put in a great set (albeit short).  Hailing from New Zealand (probably my first metal band I know from there), the band is anchored by two brothers, Henry and Lewis Raharuhi de Jong.  Playing drums and guitars respectively, the latter also taking on lead vocals, this trio is completed with bassist Turanga Morgan-Edmonds.

With only a half hour to make their musical statement, the band launched into a set that was mainly culled from their first record “Tu”.  Some of the material was sung in the Maori language (thank you internet for the information) but that didn’t make a difference to me or the crowd.  Metal music is an international language and while we may not understand the words, we certainly understand the music.  Tracks like opener “Raupatu” and "Kai Tangata" highlighted their unique blend of thrash, groove, and almost tribal metal.  The English language “PC Bro” was a highlight for me as they increased the intensity of the studio version and new song “Mau Moko” off their latest release showed off that melody can still play an important role in metal.  Do yourselves a favor, get to the show early and catch ALIEN WEAPONRY.  You won’t be disappointed.

Next up on this great triple bill is MUNICIPAL WASTE and they were so much fun.  These hardcore punk thrashers put in a blistering set that consisted of fifteen songs, all of which flew by in a whirlwind of equal parts energy and attitude.  One things that I really enjoyed was that they added a bit to their stage show.  Sure, they had the usual backdrop but they also had speakers that lit up with the MUNICIPAL WASTE logo and some 55 gallon drums that had skeletons coming out of them.  I have seen headliners that didn’t put this much thought into their stage set-up and here was MUNICIPAL WASTE doing it as an opener.  I feel they scored extra points from the crowd and the Houston audience responded by giving them some chaotic mosh pits.

Touching on a good chunk of their studio albums, they also started their show with “Garbage Stomp” off their 2012 “Scion Presents: Municipal Waste E.P”.  With fifteen songs to choose from, it was difficult to pick my favorites of the night but I have to say “Wave of Death” (which started the body surfing) and the crowd sing-a-long of “Born to Party” come to mind.  Hearing the crowd respond to Tony Foresta who started “Municipal Waste” and all of us yelling “is gonna fuck you up” really whipped up the fans into a frenzy.  “Slime and Punishment”, “Poison the Preacher” and “The Art of Partying” showcased just why these guys have been able to build up a loyal following over two decades.  Not many bands can do the crossover thing very well but MUNICIPAL WASTE manage to excel at bringing both punk and thrash together with a huge helping of groove to make them one of the best in the genre.

And now the moment we were all waiting for, headliner KERRY KING.  He has established an all-star band that is basically a who’s who of the metal scene.  Bringing drummer Paul Bostaph along from his days with SLAYER (among others), the rhythm section is completed by Kyle Sanders (ex-HELLYEAH).  To finalize the guitar duo for the band, King has brought onboard Phil Demmel (current CATEGORY 7 and ex-MACHINE HEAD & VIO-LENCE).  The secret weapon in my book is scoring Mark Osegueda from DEATH ANGEL on vocals.  I always feel that a vocalist can make or break a band so getting Osegueda in the line-up was a sure-fire win.

Obviously, this is the first headlining tour by KERRY KING so it goes without saying that we were going to get a good chunk of the new record.  To my surprise, they performed the whole damn thing which shows how much faith they have in that release.  It is a great disk and no one (and I mean NO ONE) was disappointed that the show consisted of said album.  Unlike a lot of bands who are playing record form start to finish in order, KERRY KING mixed it up so we didn’t know what song we were going to get next.  Although I find the record pretty damn heavy, on stage the tracks take on another brutal dimension with each one possessing a pounding force that elevates the music.  Songs like “Where I Reign”, “Rage” and “Toxic” come alive when witnessing this band perform them in concert.  If you thought the record was great, just go and check out them band live on stage.

Knowing the record is only a little over forty-five minutes long, the set would have to be augmented with tunes from King’s past, namely SLAYER.  Since SLAYER is not really a touring entity anymore (a couple of shows here and there don’t count), this is where you will have to go to see these songs performed live.  “Repentless”, “Disciple”, and “Raining Blood” were all met with the love and respect they deserve while my two favorites were “At Dawn They Sleep” and “Black Magic”.  Being an old school SLAYER fan from way back, those two track brought me back to those early days when thrash was this new brutal metal that was taking it to the next level.  Thanks to KERRY KING and company for returning me to my youth and bringing back that feeling when I first heard that material.

SLAYER wasn’t the only band that was covered during their set.  The band paid respect to the late Paul Di'Anno who had passed just four short months ago.  They performed excellent versions of “Purgatory” and “Killers” from IRON MAIDEN’s second record.  All the guys on stage were influenced by MAIDEN and they showed their respect by performing those songs faithfully without an “embellishments”.  This is the way cover songs should be played.  After a show like that, I was exhausted (in a good way) and based on the record and concert I just witnessed, KERRY KING still has a lot more to say musically.  If any of you fellow readers were “on the fence” as to whether or not you wanted to see KERRY KING in concert, you should definitely check out this tour (or any other tour in the future).  They are a musical force to be reckoned with and you will be sorry if you miss them.