Municipal Waste
Forum, Copenhagen - 2023
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
It was a triple thrash throwdown when the State of Unrest tour hit the streets of Copenhagen - not to mention when it arrived at Forum!
Municipal Waste was supporting Kreator and Lamb of God, and a good amount of people had come out early to catch a glimpse of these wild Virginians in what can only be assumed to be their natural habitat - the stage.
“Wake the fuck up, Copenhagen! Yo, there are so fucking many here this early, I fucking love it!”
- Tony Foresta (vocals)
I feel like I’ve seen the Municipal Waste logo around for so long, that I genuinely thought they were a band from way back in the ‘80ies, the style they’re doing so much to replicate. I was quite surprised to learn that they’re from post millennium change, but it also made me more interested in what they were going to bring.
What they brought, after an intro song and an intro soundscape with screeching guitars and someone talking, was a pure dose of undiluted thrash from the olden days. I heard a lot of Anthrax in there, as well as Suicidal Tendencies. Municipal Waste’s songs were short and straight to the point, aggressive and fast. They didn’t leave much time between songs for talking, going for a full load of uninterrupted energy. Frontman Tony Foresta did get a word or two in once in a while, but usually it was on top of the music, not between it.
So the show was flying past at full speed, with us constantly being peppered with riffs. What surprised me though, was that with all of this energy, and with the aforementioned band inspirations, the performance wasn’t all that energetic.
Don’t get me wrong, they were clearly into it, and there was a good deal of headbanging, but what usually works well with this type of music and show, is a physical display of the same energy your music has. Look at Joey Belladonna, who’s always on the run somewhere, or Frank Bello, who’s constantly engaging the crowd, or for that sake Mike Muir, who blew me away with his stamina at last year’s Copenhell. And honestly, all of these guys are either in or nearing their 60’s, whereas the Municipal Waste guys are 10 to 20 years younger than that. Honestly, it felt a bit odd to me.
“I wanna see you crowdsurf to this next one, like you’re at a fucking Pearl Jam show! But with better music, you know?!”
- Foresta (vocals)
Regardless of this, Municipal Waste had a good grip on the audience, and people were clearly getting into it. Since I knew so little about the band, I had no idea what to expect in this area either, but not only was Forum pretty well filled at this point, but it seemed the fans knew the band well, and were ready for action. There was a moshpit straight from the start, and people were screaming at and with the band constantly. It didn’t hurt the local fandom that Foresta dedicated The Thrashin’ Of The Christ to Mercyful Fate, and the more obscure dig in dedicating Grave Dive to the Copenhagen hardcore punk outfit Night Fever, but mostly the fans were just truly fans of Municipal Waste, let’s not take that away from them.
In that way, it was easy to see how well everyone responded to the band. When asked, the Copenhagen crowd was ready to circle pit, to crowdsurf (something that was going on quite a bit), and certainly sing along. When it came to the final song of the night, Born To Party, everyone was invited to join in with answering Foresta in the chorus. He would sing “Municipal Waste is gonna”, and the crowd was quick to reply “fuck you up!”.
While not living up to all of my expectations, Municipal Waste outdid others, and I had a good time in their presence. And let’s be honest, they were the perfect outfit to kick this night off, which is exactly what they did.
Setlist:
I’m A Rebel (Accept song)
Demoralizer
Breathe Grease
Mind Eraser
The Thrashin’ Of The Christ
Poison The Preacher
Grave Dive
You’re Cut Off
Sadistic Magician
Slime And Punishment
Headbanger Face Rip
High Speed Steel
Wave Of Death
Born To Party
Got Me Under Pressure (ZZ Top song)
Municipal Waste was supporting Kreator and Lamb of God, and a good amount of people had come out early to catch a glimpse of these wild Virginians in what can only be assumed to be their natural habitat - the stage.
“Wake the fuck up, Copenhagen! Yo, there are so fucking many here this early, I fucking love it!”
- Tony Foresta (vocals)
I feel like I’ve seen the Municipal Waste logo around for so long, that I genuinely thought they were a band from way back in the ‘80ies, the style they’re doing so much to replicate. I was quite surprised to learn that they’re from post millennium change, but it also made me more interested in what they were going to bring.
What they brought, after an intro song and an intro soundscape with screeching guitars and someone talking, was a pure dose of undiluted thrash from the olden days. I heard a lot of Anthrax in there, as well as Suicidal Tendencies. Municipal Waste’s songs were short and straight to the point, aggressive and fast. They didn’t leave much time between songs for talking, going for a full load of uninterrupted energy. Frontman Tony Foresta did get a word or two in once in a while, but usually it was on top of the music, not between it.
So the show was flying past at full speed, with us constantly being peppered with riffs. What surprised me though, was that with all of this energy, and with the aforementioned band inspirations, the performance wasn’t all that energetic.
Don’t get me wrong, they were clearly into it, and there was a good deal of headbanging, but what usually works well with this type of music and show, is a physical display of the same energy your music has. Look at Joey Belladonna, who’s always on the run somewhere, or Frank Bello, who’s constantly engaging the crowd, or for that sake Mike Muir, who blew me away with his stamina at last year’s Copenhell. And honestly, all of these guys are either in or nearing their 60’s, whereas the Municipal Waste guys are 10 to 20 years younger than that. Honestly, it felt a bit odd to me.
“I wanna see you crowdsurf to this next one, like you’re at a fucking Pearl Jam show! But with better music, you know?!”
- Foresta (vocals)
Regardless of this, Municipal Waste had a good grip on the audience, and people were clearly getting into it. Since I knew so little about the band, I had no idea what to expect in this area either, but not only was Forum pretty well filled at this point, but it seemed the fans knew the band well, and were ready for action. There was a moshpit straight from the start, and people were screaming at and with the band constantly. It didn’t hurt the local fandom that Foresta dedicated The Thrashin’ Of The Christ to Mercyful Fate, and the more obscure dig in dedicating Grave Dive to the Copenhagen hardcore punk outfit Night Fever, but mostly the fans were just truly fans of Municipal Waste, let’s not take that away from them.
In that way, it was easy to see how well everyone responded to the band. When asked, the Copenhagen crowd was ready to circle pit, to crowdsurf (something that was going on quite a bit), and certainly sing along. When it came to the final song of the night, Born To Party, everyone was invited to join in with answering Foresta in the chorus. He would sing “Municipal Waste is gonna”, and the crowd was quick to reply “fuck you up!”.
While not living up to all of my expectations, Municipal Waste outdid others, and I had a good time in their presence. And let’s be honest, they were the perfect outfit to kick this night off, which is exactly what they did.
Setlist:
I’m A Rebel (Accept song)
Demoralizer
Breathe Grease
Mind Eraser
The Thrashin’ Of The Christ
Poison The Preacher
Grave Dive
You’re Cut Off
Sadistic Magician
Slime And Punishment
Headbanger Face Rip
High Speed Steel
Wave Of Death
Born To Party
Got Me Under Pressure (ZZ Top song)
Municipal Waste
