Review: Testament tear through LA on 4/9/2026 w/ Overkill & Destruction

Some of the best put-together heavy metal live tours stick to one main genre and three strong bands with no filler. On Thursday, April 9th, 2026, at The Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, the Thrash Of The Titans tour arrived. As the second-to-last show on this tour, featuring three old-school-originated thrash bands, the energy was not as fresh as it started out. Nonetheless, this show, headlined by Testament and supported by Overkill and Destruction, was certainly an entertaining evening. A sold-out show at the Belasco does not leave much room to maneuver through the crowd, and by 7pm, the venue was already near capacity for Destruction’s set.

The German-style thrash of Destruction set the bar high with its speedy riffs and stellar in-key vocals. Starting the night at 6:50, they played a 40-plus-minute set while the line to get in slowly entered the venue, with authorities staggering it to prevent overcrowding. Hailing since 1982, they helped pioneer the thrash genre while dabbling in black metal in their early years as well. Now they have 16 studio albums out there with no signs of slowing down. The crowd loved the set list, and hearing tunes like “Scumbag Human Race” and “Curse The Gods” was a delight.  

 

Having not seen New Jersey Thrash band Overkill in a few years, this was a well-anticipated adventure. Lead vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth was a bit less energetic than a few years ago, but he can still give that amazing vocal range of the highest witchery. He also made a fun age joke about how the audience was making him feel like he was 65 again. Granted, he’s 66, but those classics such as “Hello From The Gutter” and “The Surgeon” are still a force to be reckoned with. If that wasn’t enough, they ended with a Subhumans cover of “Fuck You.” That was, of course, undeniably fun to sing along to, and while they have a 20-studio-album discography, they chose a collection that worked fairly well for this set list.

Moving on, at around 9:10 pm to about 10:30 pm, Testament raged through their set list featuring hits like “The Evil Has Landed,” “Over The Wall,” and “Into The Pit.” They also played 3 tracks off their latest album ‘Para Bellum’, including “For The Love Of Pain,” which went over very  well. So, whether it’s the old Testament or the new Testament, they are still going strong. While they also may be an acquired taste, they have always delivered the most professionally structured and skilled thrash metal with substance. Slayer, for example, has more of an edge and catchy songs, but Berkeley-based Testament can technically and structurally blow people away. This is another reason why it’s sometimes just refreshing to have a simple metal show with a nice, clean lineup of three strong bands of varying thrash styles. It always works to bring together different styles and cultures within the same genre and similar eras into one powerful tour, with a catchy name like ‘Thrash Of The Titans’.  The Testament backdrop also included a skeleton character of the inflatable variety with his hands spreading out over the stage, forming metal horns. Around 9:55 p.m., he deflated again, but the set continued.

Old-school thrash often draws a mixed-age crowd these days, but is most often dominated by males. This occasion was no different, and as a lady at a thrash show, a tough interior is a must. Surprisingly, for a sold-out show, overall,  it seemed peaceful outside the pit. It was determined that not much beer was spilled, and everyone left in one piece. April 2026 is proving to be highly stacked with heavy metal shows, so stay tuned for the next events, as they are definitely not to be missed. The 1980s gave birth to thrash metal, which is still alive over 40 years later, and that is something to be proud of. Stay metal, and see you at the next show!