It was a thrasher at the London Music Hall for the Battle of The Bays Tour. Power Trip, Exodus and Obituary played on Sunday, September 24th. Originally Dust Bolt was supposed to play as well, but unfortunately, they couldn’t make it through the border.
This was my first time at the London Music Hall, and I instantly fell in love with it. You walk down the stairs into a large open space, darker lights but you could still see everything. Two bars, lots of space to mosh, but also to stand back and still hear and see everything crystal clear. This is very important because everyone needs a break from the mosh pit once and a while. Overall the venue its self was amazing! Sound was great; venue was big but still had that intimate concert vibe. I was very impressed with the overall ambience at the London Music Hall.
Kicking off the show was the mighty boys from Texas, Power Trip. The moment they went on stage it felt like a thrash concert, bodies flying, heads banging. They were powerful, loud and charismatic. If you’re unfamiliar with the band Power Trip, their sound is a mix of thrash, hardcore punk, speed and death. First two songs they played was a warm up but, they really brought the noise when they played ‘Conditioned to Death.’ The lead singer Riley Gale screamed out into the crowd “Let’s see a fucking circle pit.” Right away the crowd went wild and the sweaty, beer covered bodies began. They went on to play the self-titled track off their new album ‘Nightmare Logic’ which was catchy, and had a great riff. One thing is for sure, Power Trip is a band I recommend seeing live! They set the bar high, especially for an opening act.
Smoke, beer and pee break then Exodus! What else can I say except that Exodus killed! They stole the show. I was already surprised that they weren’t headlining and in my opinion they should have because they were the highlight of the night.
Gary Holt comes running on stage wearing his “Kill the Kardashians” t shirt and already we know it’s going to be a great night. The moment the crowd sees Gary, they start screaming and up goes the Horns. They opened up with ‘The Ballad of Leonard and Charles’ and of course played the self-titled track to their new album ‘Blood in, Blood Out.’ Then right afterward we heard that familiar riff. Zetro roars to the crowd “Who wants to hear something off of Bonded by Blood’ thrilled, we scream back and soon we all start singing along to ‘And Then There Were None.’ One thing I will say is the concert wouldn’t have been so captivating if it wasn’t for the life of the party Steve “Zetro” Souza, between him head banging like a wild man, commanding the stage and telling the audience to create a circle pit or a wall of death it was nonstop chaos. Tom Hunting was a beast on the drum kit, and Gary made his guitar sound like an artillery range. Exodus played a decent length set, but nothing feels long enough when you’re seeing thrash gods Exodus, the performance they put on demanded attention. At the very end they pulled two kids on stage that were right up front. Zetro says “This right here is the future of metal.” Both Gary Holt and Lee Altus put their guitars around the boys, their horns go up, and the rest of us wish we were those kids. It was memorable, the crowd was amazing and the mosh pits were insane. Exodus stole the show!
Finally, the headliners come on stage Obituary. Exodus was a hard act to follow just because they brought the crowd to life. Obituary did an amazing job. They sounded great. The first few songs were good but it wasn’t until they played ‘Visions in My Head’ and ‘Find the Arise’ that the crowd went wild. John Tardy yells out “It’s time for a wall of death” and just like that everyone’s back to being covered in sweat and beer.
The Battle of The Bays Tour was unbelievable, and it felt like a genuine all-out, no-holds-barred metal show. I recommend this tour because it scratched an itch any metal head would have.