It takes a brave promoter to push outside the comfort zone. Tonight, this is not merely a step but a massive leap for Cross Borders Music Group. Excited fans queue outside The Patriot a full hour before doors open, eager for a good vantage point in the small(ish) venue. This suggests that the leap with Vio-Lence, Exhorder and Kuazar might just land safely.
Vio-Lence – Exhorder – Kuazar
The Patriot, Crumlin – 24 April 2025
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
Thrash Metal is not usually on the agenda at The Patriot, although many of the regular patrons are partial to a bit of the faster edge. Bringing such luminaries as the Bay Area legends Vio-Lence and New Orleans monsters Exhorder to a venue hidden away in the heart of this former mining community is a brave move.
Four hours later, the smiles are huge, despite a few dodgy moments as the venue creaked under the relentless mosh pit that swirled through all three sets. Reinforced barriers will be ordered, and Thrash is likely to return. Soon.
Vio-Lence
Celebrating 35 years of Oppressing The Masses, this is a Vio-Lence line-up that oozes class. Sure, it is only Sean Killian from the original line-up, but that really does not matter tonight. This is a celebration of a seminal album, and one that has pulled in a sellout crowd.
The battle jackets sing praises of the Metal legends of the Thrash genre, and everything from Metallica to Sodom makes an appearance. 
By the time the Bay Area machine hits the stage, the crowd is already in a visceral frenzy. The beer is flowing, the floor is soaked in spilt lager, and the energy levels seem to have increased exponentially.
No mean feat, but over the next 75 minutes, the place just erupts into a boiling pot of flailing limbs and heads that bang relentlessly.
Killian is the ringmaster extraordinaire. He cajoles, conducting operations with his booted foot constantly resting on the barriers, which are in imminent danger of collapse at any time. The fact they remain intact is testament to the efforts of venue staff, who prop the front as those on the other side slam into the backs of the hardy souls on the barrier.
It is as punishing as one would expect. The entire Oppressing The Masses gives the old school plenty of time to pump their fists and scream along to classics like Officer No and Subterfuge.
Phobophobia is the first of five to appear from the still-incredible Eternal Nightmare. It is like throwing paraffin on a BBQ.
The heat notches up again as guitarists Ira Black and Max Georgiev slice the air with razor-sharp riffing. At the rear, Nick Souza shows his beastlike tendencies with focus and intensity whilst bassist Jeff Salgado broods.
There are few double whammies that hit so hard as Kill On Command and Calling In The Coroner. Grown men are in emotional turmoil, not sure whether to risk those aged knees on the wet floor or get another beer and headbang a bit more.
Regardless, it is carnage for the final few tracks. Upon Their Cross from the Let The World EP leads into World In A World, as Killian proudly states that the band do not go off and pretend to wait for the cheers.
This does not need anything else. It is Thrash Metal of the highest order. Phenomenal stuff and for now, congratulations to all involved. Very much now outside the box.
Exhorder
It is possibly a little ironic that in the same week that the latest Pope passes away, the originators of the iconic Slaughter In The Vatican are touring Europe.
Apparently, it’s JD Vance whose presence was enough to see the Pontiff off, but surely the band whose album cover remains one of the most striking of all time can have a little bit of credit. 
When this bill was announced, the addition of New Orleans monsters Exhorder was surely the cherry on the top. The band, like Vio-Lence, are rare visitors to these shores, but on this performance, one wonders why they are not pulling in hundreds more at larger venues.
This is a tour de force that tests the venue’s foundations and new extension. Kyle Thomas is an amiable dude on the merch stand before the gig, but let him loose on stage, and he is a wild man. Vocals, guitar, and between-song banter, we get it all.
He compliments the venue, the staff, and the crowd. We love it all and dive into a bruising set that opens with the ripper that is My Time and concludes with the anthem Desecrator From Slaughter.
This may be the bookend, but the sandwich filling is something special. “Let’s go old school,” he smiles as we dip back to Unforgiven from The Law. 
Pile to the end of the set, and the venue is sweating. We have had a true pummelling, NOLA style, but nobody is complaining. Can you, when you are screaming your lungs out to Death In Vain, Year Of The Goat or Legions Of Death? I think you will find the answer is no.
A final burst of Thrash sees the pit swirl one more time before we take a breather before the arrival of Vio-Lence.
Kuazar
Opening the evening, step forward Paraguayan trio Kuazar. I will admit to knowing absolutely nothing about them, but they blast through a lively 35 minutes or so.
It is routine Thrash with a South American-tinged style, full of emotive delivery, but they generate a fine response with the first mosh pits of the night.
Kuazar are clearly engaged, as are the first few rows, who are happy to engage despite the absence of knowledge of Kuazar’s music. It is the Thrash Metal equivalent of bonding. It works on every level, and Kuazar should now be on your radar. 
