New York City proved metal is not dead on Wednesday night when Anthrax and Testament came to town to close their tour. Following an opening performance from thrash band Dark Angel, Testament were ready to hit the stage. They wasted no time, opening with “The Preacher” the moment they set foot on stage. Singer Chuck Billy stomped around the stage, occasionally stopping to play air guitar on his light saber microphone stand. They seamlessly flew through each track. including “Disciples”, “DNR”, and “Into the Pit”.

Every aspect of Testament’s performance was on point, from Billy’s powerful, aggressive voice, to the incredible precision and timing of drummer Gene Hoglan. The audience immersed themselves in the iconic thrash metal instantly, starting a brutal mosh pit and sending hundreds of crowd surfers flying over the barrier to receive their high five’s from Billy.

Anthrax were up next, a perfect ending to a night of classic 80’s thrash metal. Despite the recent return of two members following a family emergency, Anthrax were right on point. Original frontman Joey Belladonna raced around the stage with a huge grin on his face, belting out fan favorites such as “Caught in a Mosh” and “I am the Law”

A circle pit stretched across the entire floor for the rest of the night as Anthrax shredded through their set. The appearance of Anthrax may have changed with age, but their performance certainly hasn’t. They proved to fans they hadn’t lost it over the years; Belladonna belted out tunes that made it hard to believe I wasn’t in the 80’s.

Each band gave it their all and put on a great performance full of mosh-worthy tracks. Based on the looks on the audience’s faces afterwards, Anthrax and Testament will be welcomed back to the Big Apple without any hesitation.