SHOW REVIEW AND PHOTOS - SLAYER

FUCKING SLAYER!!! One quarter of metal’s Big Four made their way into Boston, accompanied by Bay Area thrashers, Testament, and British death metallers, Carcass. Located across the street from historic Fenway Park, the House of Blues is a great setup for a concert. With multiple levels, the nearly 2,000-person capacity venue doesn’t have a bad vantage point in the place. With plenty of pubs in the vicinity, I suggest getting there early to do a little barhopping, get warmed up, and if there happens to be a Sox game taking place, you definitely want to arrive early for parking. I highly recommend seeing a show here; for upcoming events, visit http://www.houseofblues.com/boston/#calendarsearch.

Upon my arrival, Carcass had just taking the stage. Carcass is made up of original members, Jeff Walker on lead vocals/bass and Bill Steer lead guitar/vocals, and there has been a bit of a revolving door on drums, with Daniel Wilding manning the kit since 2012, and the other six string slot held down by Daniel Erlandsson since 2013. After ten years on the scene, Carcass went on hiatus in 1995 resurfacing in 2007, having put out six albums in that span of time. Not familiar with them, I wasn’t sure what to expect; from the name, I thought maybe some dead chickens, roadkill, blood and guts would be a part of the show – I was prepared for whatever would come. Well that wasn’t the case; what I got was a solid opener for two of thrash’s giants. Not overstaying their welcome, the Brits gave a 40 minute, eight-song setlist, with some pretty cool visuals and got the crowd fired up as the heads started banging. Thrash meter at that point, 5; we were half way there.

Next up, Bay Area Thrashers, Testament. Back in my hardcore thrash/metal days, Testament was an essential part of my repertoire. One of my favorite thrash songs comes off their debut The Legacy, “Over the Wall”, I believe stands next to any of the early years’ Slayer, Megadeth, or Metallica work. From the ashes of the band, Legacy, guitarist Eric Peterson formed Testament in 1983. With vocalist Chuck Billy being a mainstay since ’86, the second guitar slot, bass & drums consisted of a list the length of a football field, with Alex Skolnick (1985-1993, 2001, 2005-present), Gene Hoglan (1997, 2011-present), and Steve DiGiorgio (1998-2004, 2014-present) currently filling those spaces respectively.

Testament would pick up the intensity from where Carcass left off to give Boston its second eight-song, 40 minute set. Before getting things going again Testament’s road crew would give the stage a little Zen lighting off some incense, not what I would expect prior to a potential bloodbath but hey I guess even thrash giants need to watch their blood pressure. Kicking things off with “D.N.R.” off of 1999’s, The Gathering, we would get something from each of the last four decades of Testament, with the highlight coming from 1988’s Into The Pit when Chuck instructed the crowd to separate on the floor then, on his order, break into a wall of death where insanity ensued; it was truly classic metal! They would close out their set with “Formation of the Damnation”. Thrash meter hit 8; we were ready for Slayer!

After a 25-minute recharging of the batteries, Boston was ready for SLAYER! Formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, along with drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, this line-up has seen a couple of changes in the last few years. With the death of Hanneman and the ouster of Lombardo, Exodus’ Gary Holt has taking on guitar duties and Paul Bostaph made a return to drums, where he sat for two prior stints (1992-1996 & 1997-2001). Over their existence, they have amassed a catalog of twelve records that have stayed true to their thrash roots; with Slayer you know what you are going to get, a great metal record, and this is why their fans have remained loyal since the early 80’s. That fanbase has seen a huge resurgence in 2010 with the Big Four shows. Covering topics such as genocide, human experimentation, and Satanism, Slayer has been at the forefront of controversy since their inception.

With the final notes of their intro music and a curtain drop, Slayer would kick things off with title track off of 2015’s top five album Repentless. In front of backdrop of the Slayer Pentagram, surrounded by chilling religious figures and a killer light show, King, Araya, and company would deliver a massive twenty-two-song setlist; nowadays, if you get sixteen songs out of a band, consider yourself lucky. With Slayer, you will get your money’s worth. I must say for being deemed as Satanists, they seemed like pretty happy guys. Frontman, Tom Araya, played entire show with what seemed to be a perma-grin as he oversaw the non-stop moshing, and Holt looked like a kid making his first visit to Disney. These weren’t devil worshippers leading their congregation; this was four guys having an appreciate for their fans, and their fans giving it back in the form of controlled aggression. What started out in 1981 continues in 2016: four guys delivering fucking metal at its finest. Now, if you’ve already seen Slayer, then my review is useless, as you already know Slayer is one of the best live metal bands in existence. And if you haven’t seen them live, then what the hell are you doing!? Get off your ass if they are even remotely near you; it truly is a show worth spending your hard-earned cash on, and you will not be disappointed. And be sure to pick up a copy of their latest critically acclaimed album, Repentless. Thrash meter reached 10; it’s FUCKING SLAYER!!!

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