Testament and Exodus touring together is big news for headbangers everywhere. The Dark Roots of Thrash 2 tour finds the two long-running Bay Area bands in a recent career resurgence. Testament has put out two excellent new records since the return of uber-guitarist Alex Skolnick, but was promising to play only songs from their first three albums as a treat for fans. Exodus also put out a great new record last year after reuniting with fan favorite vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. This pairing of bands actually has very deep roots, as Souza was Testament's original singer in the early '80s.

The show was at The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids on Monday, April 13. I managed to catch a few minutes of opening act Shattered Sun. They had a keyboard player and seemed to be a more traditional metal style. I didn't hear enough to love or hate it. At this point, I couldn't help but notice that there was a lot of elbow room in the club. It wasn't an embarrassing turnout, but it certainly could have been better. I suppose it could be blamed on an aging fan base, and the fact that the show was on a Monday night.

Exodus started their set with "Black 13" and the title track from their 2014 album Blood In, Blood Out. The band played in front of screens with the zombie images from the cover art. Everyone in the band wore plain black t-shirts except Gary Holt. His black T read "Kill the Kardashians." The crowd was really receptive to the new material, and awfully rowdy for a school night. The energy only seemed to sag a bit on one occasion, during back to back songs from 2007's The Atrocity Exhibition...Exhibit A. The older material, especially Bonded By Blood- and Fabulous Disaster-era stuff, drove the crowd wild. It was one of those big, violent pits where you can't believe someone's not getting punched in the face every five seconds. Exodus covered a lot of ground over the course of their 65-minute set. The crowd seemed satisfied and the band seemed genuinely grateful.

Testament had a much more elaborate stage setup. They played in front of white screens with angels, while giant, stone, pentagram demon faces loomed overhead. The demon faces also shot smoke and confetti (confetti is super metal) at various appropriate times. Singer Chuck Billy was of course sporting his signature short mic stand, which he uses to play air guitar during longer musical interludes. The crowd and pit were a little listless early on in the set, probably worn out from Exodus. They finally came alive during "The Preacher" and nearly reached a frenzy for "Into The Pit." It's worth noting that the sound for Testament was much better than the sound for Exodus, which was mostly snare drum and vocals.

This show was billed as Testament playing songs from their first three records, but they only played the title track from their third album, 1989's Practice What You Preach. It was the during the encore, along with "Disciples Of The Watch." I'm happy to report that both bands are still playing at a high level. Souza's screech and Billy's roar are both still in fine form. This didn't feel like an oldies tour. Overall, it was a very solid show. Even those of us who have seen these bands several times got to hear something new. A good time was had by all, even if the next day brought stiff necks and sore backs.

Exodus setlist:
1. Black 13
2. Blood In, Blood Out
3. Iconoclasm
4. Children Of A Worthless God
5. A Lesson In Violence
6. Salt The Wound
7. Last Act Of Defiance
8. Blacklist
9. Bonded By Blood
10. War Is My Shepard
11. Toxic Waltz
12. Strike Of The Beast