MONSTERS OF MAYHEM TOUR – HATEBREED, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NAPALM DEATH, EXODUS

Mayhem indeed!!! The Monsters of Mayhem. I was ready for a thrashing, sweatin', stompin', surfin' sufari. What a lineup!! There were two hardcore bands and I arrived perfectly in time NOT to see either of them. I made my way up front with my best friend, Donna, and my son just in time for Exodus. Exodus always kicks ass and tonight would be no different. With a new singer and a new cd out, they tore the place up. They opened with “Bonded By Blood” and tore it up from the onset. “War Is My Sheppard”. F**k yeah! “I Am Abomination” and “Shovel Headed Kill Machine” from the new one. It was awesome. A good Bay thrashing as always. These guys haven't lost a step. My all time favorites, Napalm Death, were next and I was right under Barney's mic. They hit the stage with their usual fury and I was in my usual glory. The death of my biggest guitar hero, Jesse Pintado, still looming, but seeing Napalm Death soldier on is as thriling as it gets still. They did three songs from the forthcoming “Smear Campaign” and they all kicked ass. They traded off some classics, but they did “Suffer The Children” and the “Scum” medley and ended off with the D.K.'s anthem “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”. Another good ass kickin' by my all time favorites. The Black Dahlia Murder continued the fury and got the place sweatin' and surfin'. They're great live and always tear it up….and yeah……again tonight.

It would be a great moment in Tgod history when the next band hit the stage. It would be my fourteenth time seeing Hatebreed, making them the band that I have seen the most in my twenty-seven years of going to shows. Replacing the mighty Ramones. The place was packed. Jersey is always ready to rock with freakin' Hatebreed!! They hit the stage runnin' and removed the roof and tore down the walls for an hour and a half. They did all my favorites. “Before Dishonor”, “Last Breath”, “Live For This”, “This is Now”. Faaaaaaaawwwk yeah!!! “Straight To Your Face”, “I'll be your Doooooooomsayer!!!”. The new ones, “Defeatist” and “Destroy Everything”….well….destroyed everything. It was the fourteenth stompin' surfin' sweatin' good workout and was as amazing as the first, in 1997 when I saw a bunch of kids open for Napalm and At The Gates at a tiny place in Port Chester, NY. “Perseverance”. Chris's bass was loud and brutal and Frank 3-gun from Ringworm is now removing roofs with Sean Martin on guitar. Jamie announced there would be no encore and they destroyed what was left of the place with “I Will Be Heard”. Yeah! A simply amazing performance by the band that I've seen more than any other band in my 27 year history of going to shows……………so far.

Make sure to check the awesome pics of each band in the gallery.