Testament, Kreator, Possessed at Radius | Klash of the Titans tour | Concert review

It was everything you could want in a metal show.

I saw Testament, Kreator, and Possessed at Radius in Chicago on Friday September 27 for their Klash of the Titans tour. I had never been to Radius before, nor had I seen any of these bands before, nor did I know much about them other than a couple songs from Possessed. So I didn’t really know what to expect. But the few expectations I did have were far exceeded.

Radius venue

I thought Radius would be a small venue; but when I walked in, I realized how huge it actually was. I learned that it used to be a warehouse, which made a lot of sense given its almost Costco-size. They could’ve definitely fit at least one more stage in there. But I liked that it was very big, because that meant there was enough space that I wouldn’t get squished or trampled. It also meant a HUGE circle pit (perhaps the biggest I’ve ever seen) with headbangers standing in the middle, and people running in circles and moshing around them.

The Bands

All three bands formed in 1982 and 1983, so it was really cool to see that their fanbases are still going strong, and that they have some newer younger fans now as well.

Possessed

The first band to play was Possessed, a thrash/death/black metal band from California that formed in 1982, who some say invented the term “death metal” or at least had a hand in it. I’d only heard a couple of their songs before, my favorite being “The Exorcist”, which has their version of the theme from the movie The Exorcist in the intro. I was really excited when they played that song.

The lead vocalist, Jeff Becerra, performed from a wheelchair, which I later learned was because he was paralyzed from the chest down after being shot twice during an armed robbery attempt in 1989. 

I was able to meet him after their set and take a photo with him, because he was just hanging out in the common area by the bar. I was very appreciative and thought it was really nice that he was letting people take photos with him.

Their performance was great musically; but the sound quality for their set was sort of muddled and the vocals were not clear. However, that’s how death/black metal vocals typically are, especially in the early 80’s, and that can even add to the aesthetic. Also, the sound quality for the first band in any show is typically not the best in my experience, probably just because the sound engineers don’t have everything adjusted perfectly until the second or third bands. Overall though, I really enjoyed their set.

Kreator

Kreator was the second band to play. They are from Germany and also started in 1982, undergoing a few band name changes before settling on Kreator. I was completely blown away by their stage setup and production. There were three GIANT inflatable demons–on the left and right, and in the back center of the stage behind the drums. They were really detailed and well-designed, and almost looked like they could’ve eaten the band members. There were also had several red cloaked figures hanging from the ceiling that were really creepy, as well as two people that walked out in goblin masks a couple times during the transitions of their show and just stood there staring at the audience.

Kreator definitely riled up the crowd, and that’s when the giant circle pit opened up, which I joined a couple times. In addition, they had such epic endings to their songs that I kept thinking it was the end of their show, but then they kept going.

The lead vocalist Mille Petrozza was very clear and I could understand what he was saying. However, he almost forgot the name of the venue they were playing at, but quickly caught himself. The audience did not seem offended though; I just thought it was funny and other people laughed too, but everyone was in a really good energy the whole time. The moshing did not let up.

He also tried asking the crowd who was born before a certain year, and who was born after, to get a sense of who was around when they released the song they were about to play, but accidentally asked who was born before 1987 twice, and laughed and said he messed that up, so he dedicated the next song to all of us.

Overall, I think their performance might’ve been my favorite.

Testament

Testament was amazing as well. Everyone in the crowd went hard for their show. There were at least two walls of death (where the crowd separates and then charges at each other) and endless moshing, headbanging, and circle-pitting. Chuck Billy, the lead vocalist of Testament, smiled and made eye contact with the crowd a lot, which made me happy too. People were pretty much non-stop crowd surfing during their set. The concert also included the most “rock-on” hand signing/flashing the horns from the crowd that I’ve ever seen at a show.

Conclusion

Everyone seemed really into it, and the energy just kept growing as it went on. Overall, it was everything you could’ve wanted in a metal show. I had so much fun; it was honestly one of the best concert experiences I’ve had, and that’s saying a lot.

I would definitely come to Radius again for another show and will also listen to each of these awesome bands more now. Lastly, I would highly recommend seeing any of these bands on tour if you can.

Click here to catch Testament, Kreator, and Possessed on their Klash of the Titans tour!

Find upcoming shows at Radius in Chicago here.

Testament socials & links: https://linktr.ee/TestamentLegions

Kreator socials & links: https://linktr.ee/kreatorband

Possessed socials & links: https://www.instagram.com/possessed_official/?hl=en

All photos taken by me.

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Author

Noelle Matonis

Host & Producer

Pop-Punk & Pizza