^{Death Angel brought a heavy lineup stacked with many of their Bay Area thrash brothers to The Belasco to close out the final night of the 35th anniversary Act III U.S. tour. Opening the show was Chicago thrash band Misfire. While this band isn’t from the Bay Area, they do have a Death Angel connection.}

^{Death Angel founder and guitarist Rob Cavestany does have a guest appearance on the title track of Misfire’s latest album Product of the Environment. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a guest appearance at the show, but the Chicago thrashers delivered a set worthy of a lineup featuring two of “Big Six of Bay Area Thrash Metal” bands. Their album is out now on MNRK Heavy.}

Lions at the Gate was up next with their nu-metal-tinged brand of groove metal. While they’re mainly known for vocalist Christian Machado and guitarist Ahrue Luster’s former band ill nino, Luster has a Bay Area thrash connection. He did a stint with Bay Area groove thrashers Machine Head. Their tight set was mostly from their 2023 debut The Excuses We Cannot Make, but they did play a few newer tunes including their latest single “Burn the Candle.” They’ll have a new album out next year.

^{Vio-lence was up next with a blistering set as always. Vio-lence may never have received the commercial success of some of their fellow big six from the Bay, but vocalist Sean Killian has always been a master of putting together a great band and putting on an amazingly intense show. They played the “Upon the Cross” from the 2022 EP Let the World Burn, and the rest of the set was from the Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel era of Vio-lence.}

^{Finally it was time for Death Angel. After an already nonstop metal assualt with only 15 minute changeovers between the other three bands, the crowd was more than ready for the thrash legends. Death Angel aren’t just part of the big six of Bay Area thrash, but they’re widely considered a leader in the second wave of thrash as part of the “Big Eight.” After playing a set of Act III songs, the band also played a 6-song encore with a sampling of their other releases and the newly released single “Cult of the Used.” It was a powerful ending to the anniversary tour before going back home for their annual-ish Another Death Angel X-mas Show.}