Written by Alex Stojanovic Photography by Rob Singh (C) 2022 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com THE BAY STRIKES BACK TOUR 2022 w/ TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL @ London Music Hall London, ON, Canada October 1, 2022 Presented by Inertia Entertainment Eric Peterson of TESTAMENT Interview It's been a tour that the entire world has been begging for since it was first announced back in 2019, and the first leg happened in early 2020, and that is the monstrous Bay Strikes Back Tour, featuring three Bay Area thrash metal kings, and members of the second Big Four if you will: Testament, Exodus and Death Angel. This juggernaut thrash tour had its first leg in Europe back in early 2020, right on the eve of the most difficult time the entire world has ever faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. The bands managed to successfully complete that initial first leg, despite losing two shows due to the circumstances, but it would impact the band and crews right after with a number of people getting sick after they got home, and some crew members having to be stuck in Europe due to travel bans being implemented right at the point when they were supposed to head home. |
Death Angel kicked off the thrash-tivities with a blistering set that included a good amount of classics from the early albums and songs from the second phase. Walking out on stage, they kicked off old-school with the "Ultra-Violence" intro, and launched right into "Mistress Of Pain". This was then followed by two more classics with "Voracious Souls" and "Seemingly Endless Time". The second half would focus on songs from the 2000s onwards, such as "The Dream Calls For Blood", "Caster Of Shame", "The Moth" and the Grammy-nominated "Humanicide". Ever after what Death Angel experienced at the onset of the pandemic when Covid almost claimed Will Carroll's life, they proved that they remain unbeatable and a force to be reckoned with on stage. Will hasn't lost a step on his drumming, Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar make a fantastic guitar team, and Mark Osegueda may have sounded a little hoarse vocally, but he still managed to pull of an impressive vocal performance with a menacing snarl, and his signature piercing high notes, and headbang like he always did. On top of that, bassist Damien Sisson was sporting a Toronto Raptors jersey on stage (get it, sporting? Okay, I'll shut up now). After a triumphant closing with "Thrown To The Wolves", they exited the stage with the promise of returning soon. | DEATH ANGEL Photo credit: Rob Singh / (C) 2022 MetalMasterKingdom.com |
EXODUS Photo credit: Rob Singh / (C) 2022 MetalMasterKingdom.com | Up next, it was time for a lesson in violence from none other than Exodus. It has been a long seven years since I last saw Exodus, and oddly enough, with Testament as well on the Dark Roots Of Thrash II tour in 2015. Their set started off at Persona Non Grata with "The Beatings Will Continue", which was followed by a hop into the time machine to Bonded By Blood with "A Lesson In Violence". In addition to the fast and violent thrashers, we were also treated to some of the more crushing groovers like "The Years Of Death & Dying", "Blacklist" and "Prescribing Horror". Other classics and setlist staples we were treated to included "Piranha", "Bonded By Blood", "Toxic Waltz" and the ultimate Exodus show closer "Strike Of The Beast". To show that Exodus have not lost their sense of humour, after Zetro introduced "Toxic Waltz", Gary Holt teased the crowd with the "Raining Blood" riff before launching into the song. After 40 years of thrash dominance, the Exodus attack is just as lethal as it ever was, and is showing no sign of slowing down. It truly feels like time stopped when you watch Exodus on stage, because they are more energetic than many bands that are 10-30 years their junior. Even after his victory against cancer, Tom Hunting is just as vicious behind the kit as he ever was, if not more. |
Finishing off the night was Testament. Continuing to use "Catacombs" as their intro music, which they've done since the Brotherhood Of The Snake cycle, it always feels like we're about to witness a giant battle every time that song plays. The set then kicked off with "Rise Up", which cast me right back to a decade ago when I saw them multiple times on the Dark Roots Of Earth cycle. There were a couple of changes since I last saw Testament four years ago. The biggest change that everyone was ecstatic about was the return of the legend himself: Dave Lombardo on drums. Another big visual adjustment came from seeing Chuck Billy not using the half-microphone stand anymore. Their 1.5 hour set treated fans to some new songs from Titans Of Creation, like "Children Of The Next Level", "Night Of The Witch" and "WWIII", songs from the last few records like "The Pale King", "Native Blood" (which I haven't heard them play live in 10 years) and "The Formation Of Damnation", as well as a bunch of classic setlist staples like "The New Order", "Practice What You Preach", "D.N.R.", "Electric Crown", "Into The Pit" and "Over The Wall". Given that The Legacy is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, it was nice that they included a couple of surprise tracks, like "First Strike Is Deadly", and the show's closer "Alone In The Dark". | TESTAMENT Photo credit: Rob Singh / (C) 2022 MetalMasterKingdom.com |
DEATH ANGEL Mark Osegueda - Vocals Rob Cavestany - Guitars & vocals Ted Aguilar - Guitars & vocals Will Carroll - Drums Damien Sisson - Bass Label: Nuclear Blast Records Website: deathangel.us | EXODUS Steve "Zetro" Souza - Vocals Gary Holt - Guitars & vocals Lee Altus - Guitars & vocals Jack Gibson - Bass Tom Hunting - Drums Label: Nuclear Blast Records Website: exodusattack.com | TESTAMENT Chuck Billy - Vocals Alex Skolnick - Lead guitars & vocals Eric Peterson - Rhythm guitars & vocals Steve DiGiorgio - Bass & vocals Dave Lombardo - Drums Label: Nuclear Blast Records Website: testamentlegions.com |