Trashed and thrashed: Municipal Waste will fuck you up

Photo by Lily Ramus

With finals season approaching, legions of stressed metalheads graduating sometime between 3 weeks from now and 40 years ago, descended upon the UC Theatre on Friday, April 28th. The crepuscular chill stole away the vibrant sun the East Bay has been enjoying these past few weeks as we crested the corner of University Avenue to see the relatively meager line before the show started, around 6:45pm. We were properly prepared for an impending night of beer-soaked, bratty metal music performed by the champions of the (sometimes) affectionately referred-to “pizza thrash” movement of the mid 2000’s, Municipal Waste. A band whose defining album is titled The Art of Partying (2007), whose defining chorus is “Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up” necessitated a thorough pregame of pizza and various liquors, which we attended to with much enthusiasm. Suffice to say, we were well-defined by the word on the underside of the Municipal Waste trucker hats that dotted the crowd: wasted. The lineup for the show was deceptively eclectic and this was reflected in the various flavors of metal fans in attendance. Altogether this resulted in a gathering of metalheads from across the Bay Area, including encounters with the excellent local heavy metal band Coffin Hunters and the young, rising thrash metal band Frolic. Clearly, this was not a show many dedicated metalheads elected to miss.

Trash can toss, Photo by Lily Ramus

Openers Creeping Death, despite being on a bill with several thrash bands and being named after arguably Metallica’s most enduring thrash masterpiece, are a death metal band from Texas. They can be considered part of a popular, loosely-defined extreme metal movement of young punk rockers putting a hardcore spin on various forms of old school death metal, who alongside groups like 200 Stab Wounds, Gatecreeper, and Sanguisugabogg, are inspiring a dedicated appreciation for death metal among teenagers and young adults. Creeping Death performed at the UC Theatre 30 years ago* in 2019, where their relatively sparse material and nascent sound bled into an adequate performance that was nonetheless eclipsed wholesale by the veritable live monsters in Power Trip (R.I.P. Riley Gale). Now with much more touring experience under their belt and a well-received EP that flexed a more defined style, their confidence on Friday shone through and resulted in an exceptional performance. Rhythm guitarist Trey Pemberton demonstrated his enthusiasm through a series of spin kicks during their set, and vocalist Reese Alavi both sounded more powerful and had improved his stage presence tenfold.

The next band who played provided a reason for many of the elder statesmen of the Bay Area metal scene to attend: underground anti-fascist thrash metal legends Sacred Reich from Arizona. With one of the most sought-after demo tapes of the underground metal tape-trading scene of the mid-80s, Sacred Reich secured a label in the legendary Metal Blade Records and cemented their legacy as heroes of the original US thrash movement. Despite ostensibly being the second opener, their pull on the crowd was magnetic: the second they took the stage, the venue would remain packed for the rest of the night. Their performance was as tight and confident as would be expected of a band with their pedigree, and the mosh pit was a writhing beast for their closer and big hit, anti-war anthem “Surf Nicaragua.”

Photo by Lily Ramus

After pounding one more drink, around 9 PM, it was time for Municipal Waste to shred. We spent the entirety of the set in the pit, either deep in the ocean of swinging limbs and flying bodies of the circle pit or coming up for air at the barricade. Their performance was electrifying, invigorating every metalhead in the room to move aggressively in every direction, regardless of potential obstacles. The reverence was mutual—lead vocalist Tony Foresta saluted the unimpeachable legacy of the Bay Area thrash metal scene multiple times throughout the set, specifically citing San Francisco legends Exodus, of which the SF-born Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett is an alumnus, as a major inspiration. That being said, it wouldn’t be a Municipal Waste set without heady irreverence, and in the middle of the set, trash cans thrown by the band members into the crowd were received as stone tablets from gods, joining the never-ending crowd surfers riding the fingertips of the rabid thrashers in the pit. Foresta sung our praises, yelling “Mosh! Fucking mosh!,” and asking to see as many crowd surfers as possible during “Wave of Death” (security was politely thanked afterward). The respect the band had for the crowd was made manifest in the excellent setlist prepared for Berkeley and the crowd reciprocated the love with a packed and active pit. This tour was part of promotion for 2022’s Electrified Brain, the cover of which features guitarist Ryan Waste’s signature guitar—The MW-AX by RIP Custom—and as self-proclaimed guitar nerds it was exciting to see the infamous cover girl in all her glory. The band are seasoned performers and radiate a comfort and confidence on stage that is an essential component of their lighthearted and playful party music. With the band approaching 25 years together, it’s safe to say they have a few parties under their belts and truly have mastered the art of partying. 

Headliners Carcass are one of the godfathers of melodic death metal, forming in 1986 and releasing the seminal Heartwork in 1993. Of course, they’re the godfathers of more extreme flavors of death metal too, but that 1993 pivot cemented their legacy in the mainstream with their blend of Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies to accompany the bloody perversity in which death metal revels. Their performance was tight and professional, with the stage presence of practiced veterans, and their setlist combined the hits from Heartwork, as well as much of their more contemporary music. 

Article by Tyler Harding and Lily Ramus

Photos by Lily Ramus