Well I just got back from one of the best shows I've ever seen. Here is the unbelievable set list:
Disciple
War Ensemble
Stain of Mind
Threshold
Postmortem
Raining Blood
Hell Awaits
Die by the Sword
Born of Fire
Bloodline
God Send Death
Dead Skin Mask
Seasons in the Abyss
Captor of Sin
Payback
Chemical Warfare
Mandatory Suicide
South of Heaven
Angel of Death
19 tracks of full on metal.
I first got there around the end of the first band's set. Hatebreed then came out around 8:15pm. I like some of their album material, but live...BORING. The same open riffs were used again and again. It was impossible to differentiate between songs. The crowd was into it though, and formed quite a mosh pit.
After their set, we waited about 30 minutes (around 9:15pm now) and all of a sudden, Mike Piazza comes out and announces the schedule for upcoming shows at the convention hall!!! He also threw some shirts out into the crowd. Then, around 9:30pm or so, the fog rolls in and the intro track to the GHUA album starts. On the stacks appears the phrase: "God Hates Us All" (painted in Tide in order to light up). Then.......
the light shines on the mighty LOMBARDO. He sits down in his monster kit and the remaining members of Slayer burst into Disciple (the only track worth a damn on GHUA imo). The guitars were just tuned way too low for this track, and the sound suffered. It was rough to make out the solos initially, but that problem was dealt with after a song or two into the set.
War Ensemble completely owned (as it did the last two times I saw Slayer). Stain of Mind (i.e. Coal Chamber's Loco and/or Big Truck riff) was next and then Threshold (hate this track, but it was much better live).
Then Slayer rips out Postmortem, Raining Blood and Hell Awaits WITHOUT STOPPING. The transitions were wicked. Lombardo pulled off some insane fills on Hell Awaits. Every note was perfect on these three tracks.
Die by the Sword and Born of Fire (especially) were surprises. Just unbelievable. Die by the Sword in particular was absolutely demonic. It is excellent to see some of the old tracks being played with such precision. The only complaint I had during this part of the set was that the infamous "whistler" was behind us. You know...that person who gives the high pitched fingers in the mouth whistle during every break in a song? Argh.
Bloodline and God Send Death...yawn. Once again though, better live than on GHUA. Dead Skin Mask is a staple and was excellent. Captor of Sin was tight as well. Lombardo's fills on this track were just totally insane. He is the most creative drummer I've ever seen live (saw him with Grip Inc. as well...damn he OWNS)...the innovator.
Payback was lame...we counted the times Tom said f*ck. I would of rather heard Point myself, but hey, you can't win them all. Chemical Warfare, South of Heaven, and of course Angel of Death all ruled.
In sum, the band was about as tight as I can ever recall. The solos were exactly as those found on the albums. Lombardo added some fills here and there, and some tighter snaps and double bass on some of the GHUA tracks as well. Jeff and Kerry were just so in tune with each other. Trading solos on various tunes, and moving around the stage like banshees. After the show, I felt as if I had been dragged through the bowels of hell by my neck by Cerebus. In other words...this was an excellent show.
If you have the chance to see them in the next week or so, GO. You won't be sorry.
DavE
Disciple
War Ensemble
Stain of Mind
Threshold
Postmortem
Raining Blood
Hell Awaits
Die by the Sword
Born of Fire
Bloodline
God Send Death
Dead Skin Mask
Seasons in the Abyss
Captor of Sin
Payback
Chemical Warfare
Mandatory Suicide
South of Heaven
Angel of Death
19 tracks of full on metal.
I first got there around the end of the first band's set. Hatebreed then came out around 8:15pm. I like some of their album material, but live...BORING. The same open riffs were used again and again. It was impossible to differentiate between songs. The crowd was into it though, and formed quite a mosh pit.
After their set, we waited about 30 minutes (around 9:15pm now) and all of a sudden, Mike Piazza comes out and announces the schedule for upcoming shows at the convention hall!!! He also threw some shirts out into the crowd. Then, around 9:30pm or so, the fog rolls in and the intro track to the GHUA album starts. On the stacks appears the phrase: "God Hates Us All" (painted in Tide in order to light up). Then.......
the light shines on the mighty LOMBARDO. He sits down in his monster kit and the remaining members of Slayer burst into Disciple (the only track worth a damn on GHUA imo). The guitars were just tuned way too low for this track, and the sound suffered. It was rough to make out the solos initially, but that problem was dealt with after a song or two into the set.
War Ensemble completely owned (as it did the last two times I saw Slayer). Stain of Mind (i.e. Coal Chamber's Loco and/or Big Truck riff) was next and then Threshold (hate this track, but it was much better live).
Then Slayer rips out Postmortem, Raining Blood and Hell Awaits WITHOUT STOPPING. The transitions were wicked. Lombardo pulled off some insane fills on Hell Awaits. Every note was perfect on these three tracks.
Die by the Sword and Born of Fire (especially) were surprises. Just unbelievable. Die by the Sword in particular was absolutely demonic. It is excellent to see some of the old tracks being played with such precision. The only complaint I had during this part of the set was that the infamous "whistler" was behind us. You know...that person who gives the high pitched fingers in the mouth whistle during every break in a song? Argh.
Bloodline and God Send Death...yawn. Once again though, better live than on GHUA. Dead Skin Mask is a staple and was excellent. Captor of Sin was tight as well. Lombardo's fills on this track were just totally insane. He is the most creative drummer I've ever seen live (saw him with Grip Inc. as well...damn he OWNS)...the innovator.
Payback was lame...we counted the times Tom said f*ck. I would of rather heard Point myself, but hey, you can't win them all. Chemical Warfare, South of Heaven, and of course Angel of Death all ruled.
In sum, the band was about as tight as I can ever recall. The solos were exactly as those found on the albums. Lombardo added some fills here and there, and some tighter snaps and double bass on some of the GHUA tracks as well. Jeff and Kerry were just so in tune with each other. Trading solos on various tunes, and moving around the stage like banshees. After the show, I felt as if I had been dragged through the bowels of hell by my neck by Cerebus. In other words...this was an excellent show.
If you have the chance to see them in the next week or so, GO. You won't be sorry.
DavE
