Live Review | THRASHO DE MAYO!!!

Thrasho De Mayo has become one of the most iconic shows in Los Angeles over the past years. This year, the sixth Thrasho De Mayo exceeded everyone’s expectations of such grand event. Hundreds of thrashers from all over showed up on Saturday, May 11^th. I knew most people were from the Southern California and surrounding areas, but I met people from Arizona, Nevada and even Colorado on this day.

The event was hosted all day, starting at 3pm. The first band to play, Velosity ripped up the outside stage and pumped up the crowd for what was to come. I’ve seen this band many times live and they never seem to disappoint. Their neoclassical solos and killer bass riffs always capture everyone’s attention. This Saturday afternoon was well over 90 degrees, and in the blistering hot sun they managed to keep a crowd going on the outside stage.

In between alternating stages, the Annialation Production stage located indoors showcased Modrost as the second band of the day. It was my first time seeing them live. They brought an 80’s feel  with the belching high pitch notes and the fast speed metal riffs. During their set, I noticed the sound wasn’t the best. They seemed to be having shortages in some of the cables. This problem continued throughout the entire event on both stages.

Many local bands hit the Poor Kids Stage with their best material and the crowd favorites. Infinite Death, Sakrificer, and Speedwolf shared the outside stage. Speedwolf’s set was one not to miss. Even though the sound issues persisted, their generosity had everyone in awe. They played half a set and allowed local band Witchaven to finish their remaining time. Everyone rushed to the stage and automatically started a massive pit. This is where the first crowd surfer emerged. It was nice to see how a band like Speedwolf cut their set short in order to allow an up-and-coming band to share the stage.

Indoors, Xpulsion, and Mantic Ritual played, while Paralyzer was a no-show. The indoor stage was sticking to their schedule and just left a buffer period instead of having the next band play earlier. Most of those who attended where awaiting Morbid Saint and MOD, so I thought it was a great thing that they did not decide to push ahead of time because there were many who were rushing to beat the LA rush hour traffic.

After seeing Nunslaughter plenty of times, these guys never seem to disappoint. Their killer stage presence never seems to fail. Also, they always play crowd favorites which are very pleasing. Fueled by Fire, as one of the original bands playing the first Thrasho sure did face a certain challenge of expectations to be met. The guys played a killer set and played a new song for us in anticipation to their new album that will be release this year. Much greatness is expected to come from them, and they’ve yet to disappoint.

I was awaiting the mighty Ghoul all night. Once they hit the stage many crazed fans were already pushing into the flimsy built stage outdoors. I thought all of the stage divers were going to break the stage and lighting that was being used. Their set contained many fun songs such as Gutbucket, Splatterthrash, and Rise, Killbot, Rise! The sound did them no justice. They had no feedback and the sound was very terrible. This did not seem to stop the demented fans from revolting in the pit and nearly killing each other when the ghouls tossed one of their skateboard decks into the crowd.

Once they wrapped up with the outside stage, everyone squeezed back indoors. This is where the sound issues improved drastically. In my opinion, Morbid Saint had the cleanest sound and riled up the crowd the most. The biggest crowd response was from them and had The Vex spinning in a mosh. By the time MOD hit the stage, the crowd seemed pretty dead and tired. They still had a pretty good response and most people were stoked to see them live.

Overall, the show was a success.  A few things could have been tweaked but there is plenty of room for improvement. I’d like to thank Annialation Productions, Poor Kids Radio and everyone else who was a part of making this event happen. The two crews really worked their asses off for all of us and will continue working hard to bring us plenty of amazing events. Hope to see you at the next Thrasho!