Live report KREATOR, ANTHRAX & TESTAMENT, Inselpark Arena, Hamburg – December 14th, 2024

Tonight’s package is an early Christmas present for all thrash metal fans. The blazing steel from the Ruhrpott, the vehement metal from the US East Coast and the thunderous sound from the Bay Area – it all comes together tonight at the Inselpark Arena in Hamburg. Kreator, Anthrax and Testament represent a metal package that is one of the best you could wish for these days. So it’s no surprise that the show is sold out and there’s a long waiting line in front of the venue as there’s no traditional opener. Testament starts at 6:30 pm and no true metalhead wants to miss the Bay Area veterans.

The moment the Beastie Boys anthem “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” kicks in, everyone knows it’s showtime. Testament deliver a pretty good overview of their musical achievements, starting with “D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)” from the 1999 album “The Gathering”, followed by “3 Days in Darkness” from the same album. These two songs are a good kick start for this thrash metal night and there are even better things to come.

Slowly but surely the place gets more and more crowded and headbanging is the order of the day. Testament play for an hour and it doesn’t take long before the hall turns into a madhouse for the first time. The five guys from the Bay Area are having a lot of fun on stage and there is no doubt that the fans are having a lot of fun as well. Alex Skolnik is not only a great guitarist, but he is also fully into the show and animates the fans to go wild. The same goes for Eric Petersson who always seems to be in a good mood and enjoys the life on stage. And there is Chuck Billy with a stage presence that doesn’t need to be explained. Not to forget the hard working rhythm section with Steve DiGiorgio and Chris Dovas, who provide the thrash metal groove for songs like “The Formation of Damnation”.

It’s songs like the massive “First Strike is Deadly” from the debut album that are a walk down memory lane for most fans, and the same goes for the stellar “Electric Crown”. With “Return to Serenity” the band also added a calmer momentum to their set, while it is a roaring version of “Into the Pit” that heralds the end of Testament’s 60 minutes of pure Bay Area thrash metal.

Testament was a great choice as a special guest. The mood in the hall went from 0 to 100 within a minute and everyone is looking forward to the next pioneers of thrash metal.

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The last time I saw Anthrax live was back in 2019 at the Rock Hard Festival. So it has been a while and therefore the expectations for tonight’s show are high. The setlist of the NYC metal icons is built with a different approach than the one of Testament. Anthrax deliver a real oldschool set tonight with a focus on the first four albums. It makes sense to go back in time, as the debut album “Fistful of Metal” was released 40 years ago and was the starting point for an exciting journey through the world of metal – for fans and band alike.

The stage is covered with a huge white banner and one wonders why they chose white. Well, the answer to this question comes quickly when the show starts. The banner is also the screen for a projection that shows in almost four minutes a lot of cartoon sequences combined with testimonials, from Lady Gaga to Stephen King and from Gene Simmons to Kerry King.

After such a strong introduction of the band it is “A.I.R.” from the “Spreading the Disease” album that causes the temperature in the Inselpark Arena to rise again. The band immediately wins over the fans and during the next 75 minutes everyone in the hall gets into a state of euphoria. Speaking of “State of Euphoria”, the album also provides a song for tonight’s show with “Be All, End All”, which heralds the second half of this energetic set.

The core of the show is based on the “Among the Living” album, which is definitely the best release of the NYC metal icons. Songs like “I am the Law” and “Caught in a Mosh” are classics that are even stronger when performed live. Also tonight we can enjoy “Madhouse”, a song that really turns the venue into a madhouse with the fans chanting the chorus loudly. The fans are also the big choir for the chorus of “Antisocial” and you can observe the first moshpits.

After a short drum solo by Charlie Benante the band joins in for “Indians”, another classic of the band and the moment Joey Belladonna does the “Wardance” scream, the fans go crazy with a pretty big circle pit.

After such an electrifying song the show slwoly comes to an end and “Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)” is the glorious finale of a very energetic show. Anthrax delivered from start to finish and it’s amazing to see the band live as they haven’t lost any of their passion, intensity and energy over the last four decades.

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German thrash metal pioneers Kreator are up next, and although the previous two bands played a brilliant show, no one doubts that Kreator can add to this thrash metal feast – and the band delivers. Traditionally it’s Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” that blasts through the speakers, followed by “Sergio Corbucci is Dead”. Both intros herald the thrash metal institution from the Ruhrpott and after the curtain falls, Kreator start their 80 minute show with “Hate Über Alles”.

Tonight, the grooving “Phobia” comes rather early in the set, while the quartet takes the fans on a journey through some of the highlights of German heavy metal. Despite experimenting a bit with their sound during the 90s, Kreator never released a bad record, and that consistency and quality is what tonight’s song selection represents. Whether it is a brutal version of “Terrible Certainty” or the more recent “666 – Worlds Divide”, each of these thrash metal anthems is a timeless classic that shows the quality and commitment of Mille and his fellow band members.

What is noticeable tonight is that the band has been playing together for quite some time. Ventor gives the German thrash metal institution a solid heartbeat, and combined with the thunderous bass of Frédéric Leclercq, the rhythm section is an ace in the hole for Kreator tonight.

Also this time the confetti shower is in use, which comes already in the first third of the set. Kreator plays the intro of “Coma Of Souls” followed by “Enemy Of God” and spraying some confetti. Also during “Enemy of God” frontman Mille asks the crowd to build a first wall of death; a request the fans immediately follow. The same goes for the moment when Mille invites everyone to do some crowdsurfing before the band starts with “Betrayer”. Fans don’t hesitate and the venue is full of crowdsurfers, making the security’s job a tough one.

Kreator played their first show in Hamburg in 1986 at Markthalle and some of the fans present tonight probably saw the band back then. However, Kreator in 2024 is still a strong force in metal, still deserving of the throne of German thrash metal.