Thrash Takes Over The Belasco

Thrash Takes Over The Belasco: The Final Night of The 2025 Extinction Level Event Tour

words & photos by Lily Raesler

It’s an unassuming Thursday night, and I’m skipping class to go see a thrash show in LA. Life is good. It’s the concluding night of Dark Angel’s 2025 Extinction Level Event Tour, which took them across North America and ends tonight at The Belasco, a stunningly beautiful historic theater in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Built in 1926, its soaring domed ceilings and ornate gilded accents provide a cheeky juxtaposition to the frenzied screams and evil, no-good riffs of old school thrash metal. I fantasize a bit on the drive there about the theater exploding in a huge fireball at the end of the concert, a la “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School”… I mean jeez, with six bands playing tonight, it seems plausible.

First up, and relegated to the outdoor section (in what I assume is a hazing ritual for the newbies on the scene) is Interceptor – hailing all the way from North Carolina. They’re kids, but make no mistake, they are dedicated disciples of thrashers past. Their riffs are driving and true to form, a sort of new age resurgence that blends the raw power of early 80s death metal bands (heavy Venom influence) with thrash-esque speed and precision. And retro aesthetics to match! Their sound is decidedly evil, but retains a twang of country humility that shines through in talking to them afterwards. Talking with bassist Blake “Bulldözer” Arendell after the show, it’s clear they are excited and grateful to be on the bill alongside such huge names, and the other bands are similarly excited that the future of thrash is in such good hands. When they play LA next, I plan to be in attendance.

After Interceptor, the rest of the bands play on the main stage. Under the glittering gold domed ceilings, draped curtains, and delicate lighting of the lovely Belasco, Midnight creeps onstage. They’re another modern band, formed in Ohio in 2003, and they’re a formidable three-piece spewing blackened thrash metal. They slink around in hooded masks the whole time, which sets an eerie scene. Behind them drapes a banner of Ace Frehley, who passed the morning of the show, and before their set they bow solemnly to the god of guitar. Their burnt offering is fittingly, char-blackened metal: intense, classic thrash that sets the pit in motion. As frontman Athenar and guitarist Venek play each other’s guitars (one of my fave metal schticks), the feedback starts shaking the lights and I genuinely wonder if my “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” fantasy will come true. Their set is solid, tight, and driven, and they finish with a crowd favorite, “Can’t Stop Steel.” By now the pit is pure chaos. As Midnight walks off, they ruthlessly abandon their guitars onstage. Still plugged in, they dutifully carry out their orders of continuous destruction on our ears, which I find amusing.

Up next, the first of the OG heshers: Hirax. My god, I love Hirax. This is my second time seeing them (the first was on the same bill with Exodus) and they, once again, KILL. De Pena’s vocals are grating and shrill in the perfect way, and the frenzied, wildman look in his eyes incites a ridiculous mosh pit. This is somewhat of a homecoming for Hirax, who came out of Buena Park all the way back in 1984. De Pena’s mic breaks are ripe with nostalgia and a clear love for LA. He urges the crowd to “tell the homies you love them” and cherish the friendships made in the metal community. It’s a touchingly powerful sentiment, and it feels timely with all the craziness going on right now to focus on love and community. The night feels like a class reunion of sorts for all these OG LA thrashers, which is really awesome to be able to witness. Of course, their new stuff rips too, and when they play “Drill Into The Brain,” off their 2025 album Faster Than Death, you bet I’m singing every line. They take it back to some oldies too, with “Lightning Thunder” off their ‘86 Metal Blade classic Hate, Fear, and Power. Hirax manages something few metal bands can – their sound is intense and ultra-heavy, but simultaneously groovy and addictively catchy. Their riffs dance through my head days after the show. Man, I can’t wait to see them again.

After Hirax, Vio-Lence storms the stage with force, and are so loud that their guitar feedback sounds like
thunder. They’re another band that I love dearly, and this is my first time getting to see them. Vio-Lence are also Californians, although they hail from the Bay Area scene – in fact they’re one of the most influential thrash bands from San Fran, alongside names like Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Lȧȧz Rockit and Forbidden. Vio-Lence has a storied career in thrash, and is just as hard-hitting as ever. Killian, their iconic frontman, snarls out “Eternal Nightmare” as the crowd erupts. He’s wearing an incredible patch jacket that’s buttoned up to the neck, and it brings to mind the image of a sergeant – a stoic conductor of metal commanding his troops. Sergeant Killian’s right-hand man, lead guitarist Ira Black (formerly of another 80s thrash powerhouse, Metal Church) is surprisingly smiley as he shreds. It’s clear he’s having a good time, and his joy is infectious. For a large part of the night, I’m struck at how grateful and down to earth these guys are – they get to make music for a living and are all super aware of how lucky that is. It’s neat to see! Crowdsurfing is taken to a whole ‘nother level once Vio-Lence comes on – people are getting thrown over the banister in rapid-fire succession. I wonder how often Belasco security sees stuff like this. Of course they play “Phobophobia,” followed closely by “Kill at Command,” and everyone is psyched. Vio-Lence are true masters of weaving addictively weird rhythms and syncopations with thrash ferocity, and the energy they bring is palpable.

Before I know it, Sacred Reich is up. I’ll be honest that I was a bit apprehensive about these guys: having been burned in the past by bands who use metal as an excuse to spread bigotry and hate, the cheeky non-PC-ness of their band name worried me. However, I am overjoyed to find out the band name is purely sardonic. In fact, Sacred Reich is definitively anti-fascist, with singer and bassist Phil Rind wearing a shirt that reads “F*CK ICE.” Their songs have punk-esque political sensibility, too, with lyrics that denounce war and racism, and even touch on the climate crisis. Rind exudes positively wholesome energy, he’s beaming the whole time and waving at the audience. There are no pretenses here, these are genuinely happy and grateful guys who also happen to play some of the heaviest metal you’ve ever heard. At the start of their set, they let their grooves breathe a little, churning out heavy, bouncy riffs. Then, bam! They leap into some of the fastest variations I’ve seen, all of them playing at mind-blowing speed. I swear there’s a motion blur on guitarist Wiley Arnett’s fingers. The pit goes absolutely wild, there’s multiple people in the air at once now, tumbling over the barricade in waves. When they play “Ignorance”, off their debut album Ignorance, Rind remarks on how this song, written all the way back in 1987, is still representative of the rampant issues in our country and how we keep turning a blind eye to them, over and over. It’s sad and frustrating that we’re still in the same spot, but I’m very glad that we still have music like this to keep us going and hopefully, help us realize how to change.

And last but not least, the organizers of this thrash paradise, Dark Angel, take the stage. This is technically
their tour, named after their 2025 album release Extinction Level Event, although some of these bands have joined them for a majority of the way. Dark Angel is also LA-born, formed in Downey in 1981, and they are very excited to be back home. Nicknamed “The LA Caffeine Machine,” they live up to that name tonight, spitting high-speed, high-octane metal. They have a classic thrash sound, and everyone is super into it. Frontman Ron Rinehart incites a ridiculous circle pit and can’t resist the temptation – he joins the pit for a while before terrorizing the upper section mezzanine. It’s really cool to see his love for the community in action, and his engagement (literally) with the audience. Three members of their ‘87 lineup remain, but they’re also joined on this tour by guitarist Laura Christine. She absolutely kills, and I am very happy to see a woman of thrash in the spotlight!

As the night comes to a close, I wander over to the merch table to find that they are clear out of patches. I shake my head in disbelief and decide that I’ll just have to make my own patches to add to my work-in-progress battle jacket, because I DEFINITELY want these six bands represented on there. They all were absolutely amazing, and I am ecstatic to have been at this show and gotten to take pics to boot! My thrash dreams (or hellish nightmares?) truly came true. I make the executive decision to skip classes tomorrow, too, and head home with speakers blaring.