Enforcer, Hellhunter, Trencher
- Hectic
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
April 10, 2025
DNA Lounge
San Francisco, CA
Thursday night upstairs at the DNA Lounge, and this old man was tired from Napalm Death and the Melvins on Monday and Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, and Carcass on Tuesday night. But with two of my favorite active local Bay Area metal bands on the bill, Trencher and Hellhunter, and the headliner Enforcer visiting from Sweden, I knew I had to make it out for another night of heavy metal.
The night started out a little weird, as I took the 9 Muni bus down to the show. There was a higher quota of insanity on the bus than is normal (official San Francisco quota = 1 person tweaking or hearing voices per bus). First a guy at the bus stop stared at me for 5+ minutes while we waited, only looking away for about 15 seconds to stare longingly into a parked car and see if any tourists had left behind luggage (awkward). Then on the bus there was a guy yelling at another guy, over and over, “Keep your hands on your knees. Look down at the floor! Don’t look at her! Don’t look at anyone!” Repeating that 10 times per block made the whole bus feel right at home, even the non-English speakers. The other guy mostly complied, but it was a close call. Don’t do meth, kids.
Once I got to the DNA things were looking up, the cozy Above the DNA Lounge space was already filling with people as soon as doors opened. First up was Trencher from Oakland, CA playing their fast and furious brand of East Bay Speed Metal. In addition to the title track from their upcoming album Skullcrusher, the video of which just dropped the morning after this show, their set also included a cover of the early Slayer song Evil Has No Boundaries. Trencher is a great live band, and played with an intensity that drove the crowd wild. It was hard for the circle pit to contain itself, and out of control moshers crashed into the merch table several times during the set.
Next up was Hellhunter, San Francisco Blackened Thrash Metal veterans, who just put out their second piece of vinyl on my label Hectic Records. Vocalist Gordon Liucifer had to stand up on some monitors in front of the stage, since with Enforcer’s drum kit set up behind their drums, there wasn’t enough room for all 4 members of the band onstage. Their dirty, rock and roll influenced thrash metal with the evil black metal-style vocals got the crowd going again. Hellhunter played most of their new 5 song EP Hellbanger, as well as a few songs from their first record. Like Trencher, they had a core group of local metalheads who see most of their shows in attendance. Solid set.
Enforcer had come all the way from Sweden, and certainly had a number of fans in the audience. They’ve played San Francisco multiple times since their founding apparently, most recently in 2017 at Thee Parkside (a show several attendees told me about).This was my first time seeing them, and they delivered a fantastic, classic heavy metal show (though a bit less on the thrash / speed side than the opening and supporting acts of the evening).
Four dudes with blond hair, bare chested wearing leather vests, they reminded me a bit at times of a heavier, faster (and these days a way better) version of Mötley Crüe. Especially when they played a ballad that at first I thought was the Crüe’s God Bless the Children of the Beast (false alarm). They did cover Black Sabbath’s Die Young during the set, as well as quite a few songs off their new album. It was a long set, including a 2 song encore, and the crowd was really into it. I’ll certainly see them again when they come through.
–Hectic
