LIVES
VALLEY VIEW CASINO CENTER, SAN DIEGO
Slayer begin their final journey in San Diego, Machine Head put in a marathon stint at the roundhouse, plus Alice In Chains, Svalbard, Sleep and more lay waste to stages and eardrums.
California’s thrash dignitaries set out on their final journey
THIS PAST JANUARY,
garment-rending despair collided with wild-eyed anticipation when Slayer announced the first leg of their farewell tour – a sprawling global campaign that will see the California titans criss-cross North America before darting over to europe for the final two months of the year. In all likelihood, we’ll see the band pillage the world’s venues well into 2019, although no additional dates have been announced. Is this really the end? It’s a fair question considering the number of other acts whose farewell tours amounted to little more than nostalgia-soaked cash grabs. Yet with Slayer, never ones to indulge in such filmy histrionics, there’s a powerful sense that this is, in fact, the end. And so tonight, in the balmy seaside town of San Diego, Slayer’s final chapter begins.
the online debate continues to rage – beyond the Big 4 of thrash, which band should claim the fifth spot? tonight, Bay Area legends TESTAMENT [7] make a strong case for themselves. With hulking frontman Chuck Billy pounding his chest and speed-picking his air guitar, the band tear through the likes of Practice What You Preach, Into The Pit and closer Over The Wall, hardly stopping for air. though playing for barely 30 minutes, they leave the fans primed and ready for more.
Messe Noire, BEHEMOTH’S [9] absurdly entertaining new live album, offered more than a taste of the Polish metallers’ transfixing live set, and tonight San Diegans get the full meal in all its sacrilegious glory. Visually and stylistically different from the rest of the line-up, Behemoth deliver a punishing showcase of extremity, opening with a marauding Ov Fire And The Void. Shrouded in a black hood, Nergal hisses and spins while the band unleash wave after wave of buzzsaw riffs, complete with hair windmills and blood pouring from their mouths. New track Wolves Ov Siberia dovetails nicely between Demigod and Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer and they close with O Father O Satan O Sun!
like the headliners, ANTHRAX [7] have kept pace since the 80s and the absolutely thunderous reception that greets them recognises their hallowed status. Frontman Joey Belladonna continues to throw a hoary middle finger at Father time, skipping across the risers with the energy of a 20-year-old. they open with Caught In A Mosh and Madhouse, inspiring not one but two seismic circlepits opening up on the floor. During I Am The Law, Joey spies our snapper in the pit, snags her camera and begins shooting pictures of the band and audience from the stage, as bassist Frank Bello beats on his low-slung bass like it owes him money. Patchy sound plagues the middle of their set but closer Indians brings it all together on a high note.
“We’re here to do one thing and one thing only – fuck this place up!” bellows LAMB OF GOD [9] frontman Randy Blythe, who then proceeds to do precisely that. For 60 breathtaking minutes, the Virginia wrecking crew unleash one roof-destroying anthem after another, including opener Omerta, Redneck, Still Echoes and a rare live version of What I’ve Become. Dreadlocks flying, Randy whips the crowd into a sweating, moshing frenzy and in an exceedingly surreal moment, two punters dressed in killer whale costumes crowdsurf to the front. With their new album of hardcore covers, Legion: XX, soon to be released, the band unleash the live debut of their neck-snapping Accüsed cover, Inherit The Earth. ending with Laid To
Rest, the band squarely establish that as the legends from the 80s recede into history, a new generation of elder statesmen stand ready to move the genre forward.
tonight’s show is general admission and as the headliners prepare to take the stage, the aisles and walkways are stuffed with fans trying to eliminate the distance between themselves and the band. Recent concert tragedies in Paris and Vegas have understandably led to a heightened focus on keeping walkways clear, resulting in a 15-minute delay as SiriusXM DJ Jose Mangin pleads with the punters to file back into their seats. Finally, just after 9.30pm, flames explode from the back of the stage, the curtain drops and, for many in attendance, their final SLAYER [9] concert begins. Fresh and well-rested, tom Araya’s voice sounds as hale and potent as it did 20 years ago, the bassist hitting high notes on opener Repentless that he wasn’t hitting a couple of years ago. A surprise version of Blood Red follows, revealing the band to be tight as hell and surging with energy. Guitarist Gary holt smiles often, while Kerry King struts about, head bobbing and fingers maniacally darting up and down the neck of his BC Rich. After Mandatory Suicide, the band abruptly leave the stage and a crew member announces that the show is in very real danger of ending prematurely if the fans don’t stop clogging the aisles. eventually the crowd complies and the band resume their deafening campaign, mixing deep cuts like Dittohead with War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask and Hell Awaits. It’s everything you could hope for in a Slayer show – impossibly high energy, killer merch and a filler-free setlist packed with greatest hits and delectable rarities. After closing with Raining Blood, Chemical Warfare and Angel Of Death, the happy but exhausted crowd howl with delight. tom says, “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here. I want to thank you for everything.” Believe us, the pleasure has been all ours.
TOM ARAYA’S VOICE SOUNDS AS HALE AND POTENT AS IT DID 20 YEARS AGO