I am a huge fan of Kreator, but I hadn't seen them live since the "Extreme Aggression" tour. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this show.
The first band up was called Lightning Swords of Death. All the pitfalls of a generic death metal band were present: black eye make-up, cookie monster vocals, large spiked armbands,etc. I didn't notice one bit of originality! The singer even spoke in between songs with his "singing voice". They were a complete joke. The only positive from these guys is that their bass player did a pretty good solo. So, find it on YouTube, but miss these guys unless you're into this style of music.
Next came Lazarus A.D. from Wisconsin. This four piece band came out and they were really good. All four guys could actually play their instruments and their music brings to mind a cross between Over Kill and Testament. Definitely worth checking out again!
Evile from England was on next and they were pretty good. Again, all four guys were talented musicians and I am definitely interested in seeing more from them. The singer had mentioned that it was their first time in America and he made some amusing observations. I believe he mentioned that they were going to be on the Over Kill bill in April, so I would recommend checking them out!
The last opening act, Kataklysm, took the stage and unfortunately, I really wasn't that impressed with them. They weren't terrible musicians and the vocalist was a pretty decent front man, but their music just didn't do it for me.
Finally, Kreator hits the stage opening with The Pestilence. House of Blues went off! Mille certainly hasn't lost a step and if anything, their music just keeps getting better as they progress. Kreator played a good mixture of songs spanning from their entire career. Their set lasted 90 minutes and unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time to play all of their favorites. Betrayer & People of The Lie are two missing songs that come to mind.
All in all a good show! I definitely recommend all Kreator fans to catch them live next time they come back. House of Blues in West Hollywood is a good venue to catch them at. Judging from this show, Kreator will be around for a long time to come!