Destruction / Into Eternity / Municipal Waste / Burn to Black

By all accounts it was a very eclectic bill. Local thrashers Burn to Black started the evening with a relatively tired performance, and the entire set seeming somewhat insincere. What they lacked in energy they made up for in accuracy though, as their set was polished and precise, complete with more than their share of aptly executed solos. Municipal Waste followed, stealing the show almost as soon as they hit the stage. Never ones to bore, in addition to bringing the party with their repertoire of thrash crust anthems, they also brought the beer bongs and boogie boards. Their performance as well as the savage circle pit they incited proved yet again that no matter how many times you see the Waste, it never gets old. Unfortunately, Into Eternity were plagued by sound problems during the entire set. This may have been the result of their extremely tardy arrival and lack of a proper sound check, or it may have been just another hit or miss moment at the Opera House, a venue famously inconsistent from a listener’s perspective. Front-man Stu Block offered his usual over-the-top theatrics throughout their set of genre melting tunes, an endearing front for a band unafraid of having a sense of humour when it comes to their performance. The night was capped off by German legends Destruction, bringing the old school vibe to an old school crowd. Their revival after Marcel Schirmer rejoined in 1999 has seen a decent amount of success and this evening proved exactly how fruitful this reunion has been. They played a solid set tracing the trajectory of their dozen-plus albums since 1982. At the end of it all, thrashing was our business, and business was good.