LIVE SHOW REVIEW: SLAYER – SUICIDAL TENDENCIES – EXODUS

The Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO – 05/13/2014

The Uptown Theater in Kansas City, MO was packed on a Tuesday night with an energetic crowd of fans eager to see and hear a trinity of pure metal as Slayer, along with Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus, delivered an onslaught of heart-pounding tunes during an evening full of awesome head-banging action. The line of ticket holders extended around the building, and when the doors opened at 6:30pm the flood gates gave way to a sea of metalheads rushing to lay claim to the prime front row territory. Long before the opening band took stage, a steady chant of “Slayer! Slayer! Slayer!” began to rise from the depths of the energized masses.

This crowd was ready for the metal, and when the stage began to fill with smoke and the lights went down, the venue erupted with shouts and screams as Exodus took to the stage at 7:30pm. The stage design for Exodus was created by artist Eliran Kantor, who has done work for such bands as Testament, Hatebreed, GWAR, Kataklysm, and many more. Check out Eliran’s work on the official website or on Facebook. Exodus opened the set with the classic metal anthem, “Bonded By Blood”, the title track from their 1984 debut album. Singer Rob Dukes belted out the verses and the crowd responded by chanting the chorus:

“Murder in the front row
Crowd begins to bang
And there’s blood upon the stage
Bang you head against the stage
And metal takes its price
Bonded by blood!”

The band followed with “Piranha”, another track off of the debut album and the crowd came alive as the crowd surfers began to rise and tumble, making their way to the front of the venue on a wave of outstretched hands. Guitarist Gary Holt has been performing double duty on this tour; first as long-time guitarist in Exodus, and then returning to the stage as Slayer’s second guitarist, filling the void left by the death of Jeff Hanneman. “War is my Shepherd” off of 2004’s Tempo of the Damned, was third on the setlist.

Halfway through Exodus’ the set the band paused to celebrate guitarist Lee Altus’ birthday; and what better way to celebrate a metal birthday than with shots of Jaeger?! The band continued with further audience participation in “Blacklist”, followed by “The Toxic Waltz.” Ending the six song set was another track off of the debut album Bonded by Blood, the frantic thrash styling of “Strike of the Beast.”

“What the hell is going on around here?” The answer to the question is Suicidal! The California hardcore skate punk legends, Suicidal Tendencies, opened their incredible, high energy set with the anthem “You Can’t Bring Me Down.” A kinetic juggernaut in perpetual motion, singer Mike Muir is unstoppable, pacing the stage like a caged animal ready to strike. The band followed up with another crowd favorite, “Trip at the Brain”, off of their third album How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today (1988). The set included several songs off the first two Suicidal albums, such as “War Inside My Head,” “Subliminal,” “Possessed to Skate,” and “I Saw Your Mommy.” The performance was wrapped up with a rendition of “Pledge Your Allegiance.”

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When Slayer finally took the stage at 9:30pm the crowd was wound up tight by the outstanding performances of the previous two bands. Tom Araya’s bass and Paul Bostaph’s kick drums projected out of the subwoofers in front of the stage with the force of a runaway freight train and shook the venue at its foundation. One thing is clear: this band is LOUD! Standing in the photo pit for the first three songs, I could feel the pressure from the speakers directly in front me as they displaced the air around me and each beat was reinforced somewhere deep inside my chest. The stage was filled with smoke and four sinister upside-down crosses hung illuminated in the background. The band started their 19-song set by reaching back to the beginning with “Hell Awaits”, the title track from their second album, followed by “The Antichrist” off of their debut album Show No Mercy (1983). Another track from Hell Awaits (1985), “Necrophiliac”, was third on the list and then the band jumped ahead to 1988’s South of Heaven with “Mandatory Suicide.” The crowd was possessed by the energy that Slayer brings to every show, and the mosh pit was in full motion as a steady stream of crowd surfers began their journey toward the front of house throughout the entire set. Security personnel at this and other Kansas City venues are always professional and courteous, helping the surfers get their feet on the ground and making sure they find their way safely out of the pit.

Slayer continued their aural assault with one of my personal favorites, “War Ensemble.” They continued their attack with the visceral energy of classic hits, such as “Postmortem,” “Jesus Saves,” “Die by the Sword,” followed by crowd favorites “Seasons in the Abyss” (see fan-shot video below) and “Dead Skin Mask,” a song about the notorious Wisconsin serial killer and cannibal, Ed Gein. Guitarist Kerry King ripped and shredded in a non-stop assault on his signature B.C. Rich guitar. Gary Holt, who already played a set with opening act Exodus, performed an incredible flawless set with Slayer, playing all of Jeff Hanneman’s parts with the dedication and respect that is deserved. King and Holt exchanged leads effortlessly, while drummer Paul Bostaph and bassist Tom Araya laid down the foundation with a heavy bottom end, and the band sounded tight and put on an awesome performance. Wrapping up the main set were “Raining Blood” off of Reign in Blood (1986) and “Black Magic” from their first album.

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After a brief pause, Slayer returned to the stage to perform a two song encore. The traditional Slayer logo banner which hung behind the drum riser all evening was replaced with a Heineken-style tribute to guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died in 2013. The band played two of their most well-known tunes, starting with “South of Heaven” and then following that with the incredible and relentless “Angel of Death” to end a ground-shaking evening of metal mayhem. Check out the full setlist below.