Testament Leads a Thrash Metal Revival in Montreal with Possessed & Kreator [Photos]

One of the most anticipated metal tours of the year arrived in Montreal last week, as Possessed, Kreator, and Testament brought their “Klash of the Titans” tour to town. Montreal loves their metal, and they sold out the MTelus in order to see some of thrash metal’s most storied bands in action.

First to hit the stage was Possessed, one of the original thrash and death metal bands from San Francisco. Though confined to a wheelchair after being shot in 1989, vocalist Jeff Becerra is in fine spirits. Pointing and making eye contact with every fan throwing their horns his way. The man is paralyzed from the waist down and is up there giving his all. That’s reason enough to cheer on one of the founding fathers of thrash and death metal, but the band is great as well. Their set comprises mostly songs from their legendary 1985 debut, Seven Churches, and their most recent album, 2019’s Revelations of Oblivion. The set was short, but the love from the crowd was real.

Next to hit the stage was German thrash metal pioneers, Kreator. Lead singer Mille Petrozza wasted little time getting down to business, calling for the first Wall of Death before the second song of their set. The Montreal faithful were only too happy to part down the middle of the MTelus for their Metal Moses as the band broke into “Phobia.” The stage was decorated with several impaled figures along with two giant inflatable demons. One demon on each side of their mascot, Violent Mind. It was fun to try and fit them into some of the photographs. Their most recent album, Hate Über Alles, was released back in 2022, and their announcement that new music was being worked on was met with an enthusiastic roar from the crowd.

On most nights, a double shot of Possessed and Kreator would be enough to call it a night, but the MTelus was not yet done shaking. Next up was our co-headliner for the evening, Testament. I feel like this has been said a few times already, but Testament is not only one of the biggest names of the thrash metal movement that came out of San Francisco in the 1980s, but they remain a vital and important member of the scene today. As Chuck Billy and crew made their way to the stage, the already rabid crowd managed to take their energy level up a notch as I could feel the foundations quake from my spot in the pit.

They began their set with “Eerie Inhabitants,” a great choice to open with. The first lyrics of the song, “A world of chaos, a world of fear, a world of anger and corruption,” sadly describe the world of today as well as when it was released in 1988. Chuck Billy was clearly having a great time up on the stage, playfully sticking out his tongue and playing air guitar while the shredding duo of Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson handled the real thing. Alex Skolnick has always been a personal favourite of mine, and I may have spent a little too much time on his side of the stage, neglecting his partner. Sorry, Eric, I’ll make it up to you next time.

Their most recent album, Titans of Creation from 2020, was largely ignored as the setlist was pretty much a celebration of their first two classic albums. 1987’s The Legacy and the monster follow-up album, 1988’s The New Order. There were no complaints from the crowd. This was classic Testament at their heavy metal best, and I did my best to photograph it all as waves of crowd surfers, seemingly non-stop, went rushing past my head. What an experience!

The “Klash of the Titans” tour, featuring Possessed, Kreator and Testament, continues through the end of October. That is perfectly timed for those of you who might like to borrow Kreator’s stage decorations. My little daughter said that they would look nice on our lawn for Halloween. If you like your music loud, this is a tour you don’t want to miss.

Testament (w/ Kreator & Possessed) @ MTELUS (Montreal, QC) on October 4th, 2024

117 photos