Kerry King, legendary pioneering thrash metal axe man and songwriter, is currently out on his North American 2025 tour with support from Alien Weaponry and Municipal Waste. We caught up with them at Portland’s Roseland Theater and are still trying to catch our breath.
Opening up for the night was New Zealand thrash trio Alien Weaponry. Taking the stage with chants and movements of the Haka from traditional Māori culture, the band made a powerful statement about their cultural influence. When they launched into Raupatu, their first of roughly half a dozen songs from their set, that cultural influence became a thunderous introduction to their thrash metal identity. Not a lot of theatrics, or stage distractions, their set was a pure rhythmic thrash assault from start to finish.
When Municipal Waste took the stage, the crowd was already riding the barricade hard, but the mosh pit just got bigger and bigger. Singer Tony Foresta commented during their set that “there just isn’t enough titties at shows anymore”, going further to ask the audience to “form a circle pit on each side of the venue so it looks like two big titties”. The band was having a great time, pouring through fourteen songs before they gave up the stage. It almost felt like a Steel Panther show, but more metal, and a lot more moshing.
Kerry King and his band took the stage and the mood in the venue shifted. The intensity was palpable. They opened their set with Where I Reign and blasted through nearly twenty songs including some Slayer staples, and a couple of cover songs. Although the band bears his name, King stood his “usual” position at stage left, signature Dean axe in hand pummeling the venue with vicious, precise rhythm guitar. The band played two Iron Maiden cover songs in homage to a band “that influenced us all”. If you came to the show expecting to hear a lot of Slayer classics, sorry, not sorry. King has been busy writing and keeping thrash metal alive and well. This is a tour that will leave you craving more.
For more information about the tour, visit http://kerrykingofficial.com
