When two thrash legends such as David Ellefson and Jeff Young roll in to town it is too good a proposition to turn down, so I hot footed it down the M1 and made my way to the Corporation just as support band Andry were making their way onto the stage.
Andry was a decent enough support slot, the voice from Andry herself was dominating and charismatic and she was the ever-present frontal figure, working the stage with flair and authority. The strings worked together to create a platform on which Andrys vocals sat and the kit was being worked with an understated and constant work rate. The set had drawn a healthy crowd, well for the size of the room anyway, and they seemed to be lapping it up with delight and enjoyment, this set will have surely won over a few new friends and fans alike.
So, onto the main event and as the lights dimmed and we caught our first sight of Young, Ellefson and the rest of the Kings of Thrash the whole place, now packed out to the rafters, let out an almighty roar in appreciation and approval of the thrash event we were about to be carved open by.
Opening with ‘Into The Lungs Of Hell’ the whole band were faultless and smooth, fretboards, skins and vocal chords all working together to recreate the anthems we have all grown up with and hold so dear to our hearts. Leon did an absolutely sterling job on the vocals and six strings, he spat his words out with passion and antagonistic precision, every word was delivered with as much relevance as it had possessed when it was first penned all those years ago, and the dexterity and manipulation which was worked upon the fretboard was absolutely enthralling.
The set progressed with absolute classics such as ‘Mary Jane’, ‘The Conjuring’, ‘Wake Up Dead’ and ‘In My Darkest Hour’ (which got just about the biggest roar and sing along of the night, and rightly so) Ellefson commanded his wing with a permanent grin plastered on his face while young was able to showcase his skills on the left wing with as much vibrancy and ease as he did way back in the day.
‘Good Mourning/Black Friday’ was beautiful while the set signed off with a colossal ‘Peace Sells’, an absolute anthem, and we were then left to vacate the battleground with a euphoria and delight which most bands would fail to replicate or instil.
Tonight, the kings of thrash had simply become the kings of Sheffield. Thank you so much
