Saying goodbye to the most brutal & notorious band in history – Maybe.
Slayer – May 8th 2019 – Toyota Music Pavilion – Irving, TX
Commemorating kicking off the fifth leg of their final world tour, but also the sixth anniversary of legendary guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s death this week, the five-time Grammy-nominated, two-time Grammy-winning band unleashed its fury with around 20 songs, almost half of which included eyebrow-singeing pyrotechnics that could be felt even 10 rows behind the pit.
From the opener “Repentless” and the haunting buildup of “World Painted Blood” to the twisting, burning, riff-laden “South of Heaven” and the mandatory “Seasons in the Abyss,” Slayer plucked some of the best jams from their extensive catalog.
The audience was a mixed bag: The kids that grew up with Slayer on tape were content to headbang from their seats with their own kids beside them. No matter where you walk, you hear the obligatory scream: “Slaaaayyeeeerrr!”
While a solid set list & I’m a lifelong Slayer fan this is not a can’t miss/must see affair – If you’ve seen Slayer before, even once, at any time in their career you’ve seen this show or better. Now if you’ve never seen Slayer, definitely check this out even though this is Slayer at their weakest. Nothing but respect for Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph but I subscribe to the notion that this is only half of what made this band so legendary.
A minimal stage set, and a few pyrotechnics are fine but what is most alarming about this tour is just how straight up BORING it is.
This would be not only a great opportunity & if they are sticking to their word the FINAL chance to do something really special here.
Put on a HUGE show, pull out some songs they’ve never played or haven’t in forever, invite original drummer Dave Lombardo to jam on a song or two in some select cities when schedules allow, anything to make this stand apart.
Sadly it doesn’t and feels as if they truly do not care – Even before this Final Tour thing, if you saw Slayer in the previous few years, even then it felt like a band going through the motions. That’s exactly what this felt like, a SIXTH leg of a final tour, you could almost feel singer/bassist Tom Araya marking off another date on his calendar until he gets to go finally go home.
Finishing off their hour-and-a-half set with “Angel of Death” among hundreds of fans pumping fists, headbanging, and screaming, it goes without saying that if Slayer do retire, there will never be a replacement, and there will never be anyone like them ever again.
Set list:
Repentless
Evil Has No Boundaries
World Painted Blood
Postmorten
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Gemini
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Chemical Warfare
Payback
Temptation
Born of Fire
Seasons in the Abyss
Hell Awaits
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Black Magic
Dead Skin Mask
Angel of Death
Slayer w/ Anthrax, Testament & more – June 19th 2018 – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
Much has been made that Slayer announced that this tour, after almost 37 years as a band would be there last,however Slayer’s music seems destined to live forever. It was the antithesis of the religious majority that controlled the country in the 1980s, & when the band’s second full-length album, Hell Awaits, dropped in 1985, it was as if Satan had escaped hell to join the band. I was at the perfect age for this to be the ideal demographic for such brilliant & rebellious music with such undeniable intensity & it never left. I spent my 21st birthday in this very building with these guys & the first “legal” drink I ever consumed was offered to me by guitarist Kerry King, I couldn’t have planned it to be more Metal.
So that’s why this feels so personal & special & must attend as 4K + fans who feel like I do understood that not attending wasn’t an option.
But let’s get into the facts here: All nostalgia, aside they haven’t really been Slayer for the entireity of this decade – Founder/Guitarist & Principal songwriter Jeff Hanneman is dead & drummer Dave Lombardo who single handedly launched a blast-beat revolution in the 80’s & 90’s whose name alone is synonmous with power is gone. No disrespect to now & again replacement Paul Bostaph but their is literally NO ONE that prefers him over Lombardo.
So basically half of Slayer has tried to continue & with great help – Hanneman was replace by probably the only person on earth that could at least attempt to step into those shoes Exodus’ Gary Holt. They even released new music with 2015’s Repentless that was a glaring writing on the wall. As fans we like to think of Slayer as 4 individuals & in terms of aesthetic & magic that is correct & what makes them so special. However in reality, Hanneman WAS Slayer – all those songs you love, he wrote them – trying to write an LP without him proved to be something they were only going to attempt once & that is a wise decision.
So now this tour – For whatever reason this amazing show, loaded with acts that could fill the place on their own was at this much smaller room, I’m assuming that the promoter’s other rooms were previously booked. It certainly wasn’t because they were interested in doing smaller intimate venues, which while made this the most unique (& certainly the most intimate) of the tour thus far it also caused alot of limitations. The rest of the country apparently got this crazy pyro opening ( I refuse to consult YouTube as I wanna see it for myself) that had to be scrapped for this venue.
Here’s the thing that no one seems to be talking about in the reviews I’ve read or heard from attendees is that it’s remarkable how UNREMARKABLE this show is. At least Slayer’s contributions go – it’s the same tired old setlist they’ve been trotting out for almost a decade. Sure their is a few tracks here & there that popped up but none that had any can’t-miss reaction. One of my oldest friends that couldn’t make the show that has seen every Slayer tour that’s hit Dallas in the over 25 years was actually relieved when I showed him the setlist after the show. This is your last go around & you didn’t bother to learn any of your old songs that your loyal fans, perhaps the most loyal on Earth have been literally screaming for all this time? While they covered a bit of ground here, this wasn’t the inspired career retrospective one of kind, end of the world monolith that’s being suggested. Chances are you’ve already seen this show & I’m not talking about it’s current 2018 incarnation, but if you’be seen Slayer even once the past 10 years, this wasn’t much different.
Which leads me to my next point – Now it’s still Slayer & if this was your first time seeing it live, you left very entertained but this show seemed to be about so much more than that originally. Singer/Bassist Tom Araya seemed like he’s already retired, he showed up slimmer & clean shaven for the first time in years & it seemed all he was missing was an Hawaiian shirt, he was there in person, but it seemed like you could feel him going “one less show to do before I can go home”.
Setlist –
Repentless
Blood Red
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Jihad
When the Stillness Comes
Postmortem
Black Magic
Payback
Seasons in the Abyss
Dittohead
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Chemical Warfare
Angel of Death
Lamb Of God
Previous to Slayer’s final bow was a stacked up lineup as mentioned that could easily fill this room (In fact I saw less than half of this lineup Lamb of God & Anthrax sell it out themselves just two years ago & neither was on any farewell tour) So we will go in reverse order here: I had to in person so you must in text haha – If I had my way this band would have gone on first so I could have skipped it. Admittedly I’m just not a LOG person & now having seem them live 3 times now, I’m still not, I don’t get the appeal, their is literally nothing original here & their “singer” looks like a loitering homeless guy. I do understand however, that you have to be a specific age for this band to matter to you & I’m cool with that.
Anthrax
Again, I’ll do my best to remain partisan here but I was actually offended when Anthrax had to open for LOG last time & I’m offended once more. This is a fellow Big 4 member, how do you let another band come between that on a show like this (& make who easily would top The Next 4 go on first)?
However, my 22+ years in the music business doesn’t offer me the kind of naivete that doesn’t understand this – Facts are facts even if they are sad ones & Lamb of God are a much bigger band than Anthrax.
That didn’t stop the mighty ‘Thrax from blowing them offstage (again) & virtually stealing the night.
Great to see Charlie Benante back behind the drum kit where he belongs (he’s been taking a break from touring off & on for the past few years which leads to the will he or won’t he be there tonight). The difference is huge, an Anthrax show isn’t a rare thing (& that’s a wonderful thing) in 2018 & they are performing at the top of their game with their most recent For All Kings LP is one of their best.
They’be been through so many lineup & changes aesthetically that sometimes I forget that this is 4 of the same 5 guys I first saw waaaaay back in 1989 on the Headbanger’s Ball tour that literally changed my life.
Setlist –
Caught in a Mosh
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
I Am the Law
Evil Twin
Antisocial (Trust cover)
In the End
Indians
Behemoth
I knew nothing of Behemoth before this show (though my friends claim that we’ve seen them before) & I will say that while initially they will probably never be my thing, I thought that were excellent & alot of fun & would totally make an effort to see them again. Glad they went on second, it’s just that it should have been AFTER Lamb of God.
Testament
Opening this insane (& at 5:30pm no less) is Bay Area thrash legends Testament who as previously mentioned would easily fill the Next 4 of thrash of such a thing existed who did not disapoint as usual. One of the best live heavy bands you will ever see still doing at the highest level & criminal they went on first & got a measley 25 mins to play to a mostly empty room still stuck in rush hour traffic.
You’ll get your chance again & soon and along with Anthrax as well as the two greats are touring together with Napalm Death as part of another great package this Summer.
Setlist –
Brotherhood of the Snake
Rise Up
The Pale King
The Preacher
Into the Pit
The New Order
Disciples of the Watch
All in all the evening seemed to go by too fast even with all of this music & if this is truly Slayer’s last hurrah in Dallas it was a muted one but changes nothing of some of the best memories of life have been because of this band & provided the soundtrack to countless, priceless moments from my youth & to that I will always be grateful. Rest in Power my friends.
Photos –
Roy Turner
