Went last night and wasn't disappointed. I showed up at the venue and was initially disheartened to see the lack of people, but the masses came rolling in as soon as the opening band Dog Fashion Disco started playing.
DFD were decent, but were not fantastic by any means. When they started playing the crowd was dead and silent, but when they started on some old Metallica the moshing began. The only good thing about them that I saw was their drummer - excellent, EXCELLENT performer. He kept me interested.
Up next were Mastodon. The mosh pit literally expanded 15 feet in diameter at their arrival and the band kept them going until their last song. Their set was good, but they didn't intrigue me as much as I'd hoped.
Killswitch Engage were next, and they put on a decent performance as well. I saw them the last time they rolled through DC, and they still aren't all that great. However, the KsE masses were overwhelming - at least 3/4 of the venue was packed with strictly Killswitch fans, and the Slayer fans were trampled and clubbed to death at this point. The guitarist from KsE started crowd surfing and the people went wild. It was okay the first time around, but when he starts doing it 5 or 6 times it annoys the hell out of you...especially if you have some fat KsE diehard fanchick squealing in your ear just to get to touch him.
Slayer were last, but definitely worth the long and sweat-filled wait. The crowd went insane, and for good reason. Slayer were fucking amazing. Now, I am not a huge Slayer fanatic, but when they performed last night it was brilliant. King had never played so good...EVER, and Lombardo made me want to cream my pants. Araya's mic wasn't turned up so all we heard were faint screams and growls, but maybe that's why their playing seemed that much more impressive. In their last set a wall of blood came crashing down and it was fantastic. It didn't reach past the first row of fans, so that could have been a disappointment to many people, but luckily I was in the front.
The concert all in all was incredibly good and worth all the pain I feel in my neck and shoulders right now. Also, I am one Kerry King pick richer, which is always a plus.
DFD were decent, but were not fantastic by any means. When they started playing the crowd was dead and silent, but when they started on some old Metallica the moshing began. The only good thing about them that I saw was their drummer - excellent, EXCELLENT performer. He kept me interested.
Up next were Mastodon. The mosh pit literally expanded 15 feet in diameter at their arrival and the band kept them going until their last song. Their set was good, but they didn't intrigue me as much as I'd hoped.
Killswitch Engage were next, and they put on a decent performance as well. I saw them the last time they rolled through DC, and they still aren't all that great. However, the KsE masses were overwhelming - at least 3/4 of the venue was packed with strictly Killswitch fans, and the Slayer fans were trampled and clubbed to death at this point. The guitarist from KsE started crowd surfing and the people went wild. It was okay the first time around, but when he starts doing it 5 or 6 times it annoys the hell out of you...especially if you have some fat KsE diehard fanchick squealing in your ear just to get to touch him.
Slayer were last, but definitely worth the long and sweat-filled wait. The crowd went insane, and for good reason. Slayer were fucking amazing. Now, I am not a huge Slayer fanatic, but when they performed last night it was brilliant. King had never played so good...EVER, and Lombardo made me want to cream my pants. Araya's mic wasn't turned up so all we heard were faint screams and growls, but maybe that's why their playing seemed that much more impressive. In their last set a wall of blood came crashing down and it was fantastic. It didn't reach past the first row of fans, so that could have been a disappointment to many people, but luckily I was in the front.
The concert all in all was incredibly good and worth all the pain I feel in my neck and shoulders right now. Also, I am one Kerry King pick richer, which is always a plus.
