For the last few years the Decibel Magazine Tour has become something we all look forward to. Every single year the line ups have been phenomenal. This year’s headliner was Kreator hailing all the way from Germany accompanied by the classic Obituary along with Midnight and Horrendous. It was a brutal mix that made everyone go wild. On Friday March 24th the tour hit Mesa Arizona at Club Red. It is safe to say that everyone blew it out of the water.
This tour package drew quite the interesting crowd to say the least. From the old school generation to the new school. As I looked around me, at one point, I saw a group of 13 year old boys head banging and going crazy. It put a smile on my face to see that the youth will carry on and the scene will never die. As I expected, there was a very large turn out for the show which was great to see how much support all the bands had. But all that body heat in that small venue made it one of the most hottest sweatiest aggressive filled body slamming, mosh pit running crazy guys and girls I have ever seen. Trying to make your way to the front was almost hopeless. With the poor ventilation and radiating body heat from all the wild fans it was like slowly dying for the sake of good music.
First up we had Horrendous. Now with a name like that, I personally didn’t know what to expect, but their skills are far more superior than their ironic name. The guys seemed very young but full of skills, talent and lots of passion. They stirred up the crowd and began the never ending mosh pit for the night. It turned into one giant pit that just exhumed passion and rage from all the excited fans. The guys played several killer tracks which were really awesome.
Cloaked in black, up next was Midnight. Again another band of skilled talented musicians whom I was able to see for the first time. I was surprised to see how much support they had and after I heard them I knew why. Their set was short but sweet. They definitely stood out and left a lasting impression. Their raw sounding vocals and dark heavy metal attitude made for a good stage show.
Soon after we had Obituary and I could see all the older generation at the show go wild. The guys know how to turn things up and their set was one crazy mosh pit. As people fought to survive and the temperature was still rising all I could remember was trying to hold my own while everyone was pushing in all directions. I must say every single one of the guys had a really big smile on their face while playing. Its amazing to see so much heart and passion in their set considering they have been doing this for so many years. The guys had a killer set that included many classics such as “Visions in my head”, “‘Til Death”, “Don’t Care” and many many more. As always they delivered and everyone was anxiously awaiting for the set change soon after.
Finally it was time for Kreator. It doesn’t matter how many times I have seen them, they are still one of the most aggressive and powerful sounding bands ever. Mille’s voice has such a unique angry German sound that is so strong and captivating. Being able to witness them up close to the stage was amazing. Every song was delivered with so much power and strength. Their song combination was absolutely perfect. The guys played a wide variety of songs including “Hordes of Choas”, “Phobia” and “Enemy of God”. It was very special to hear the new songs off the album and several people were chanting the lyrics. Getting to see “Satan is Real” was a very special moment because that’s such a powerful song. Their whole set was absolutely brutal magnificent chaos. The crowd expressed their enthusiasm in many different ways. We had several people gazing in silence, we had drunk people headbanging so hard they couldn’t look up, then the people destroying their bodies in the pit and screaming the lyrics to every song. But I must say the most interesting fan of the night was the guy in the bank of the crowd who was literally dancing to Kreator. But it didn’t matter how anyone showed their love for the band, it was beautiful to see such a legendary thrash band. Their set was perfect and we all await “The Kreators return!”
It was an incredible Friday night all the bands did an amazing job. Even though we the venue was ridiculously hot and it felt like hell. That was one of the best Decibel Magazine tour line ups yet to date.