Slayer brought "the cutting edge of metal" to the Tucson Arena on Jan. 24, ...and Andrew to his knees.
Lamb Of God, Slipknot, Sepultura. What do these bands have in common? None of these upstarts have outdone Slayer, the undisputed titans of metal. For over 20 years, Slayer has provided the framework to the cutting edge of metal. Their contemporaries have either softened with age (Metallica) or fallen by the wayside into obscurity (Exodus, Venom, etc). The band still has the same lineup as when they started, not counting the few year hiatus of the completely indespensible drummer, Dave Lombardo. Dave, Kerry King, Tom Araya and Jeff Hannamen are still giving the kids what they want.
And when I say "kids", I mean any fanatic, with ages ranging from 15 to 50 (myself included), who will bang their heads or their friends to the almost two hour sonic assault Slayer delivered Wednesday at the Tucson Arena. The floor was covered with mostly male fans clad in as much black and metal as fashion and disposable income would dictate. Some hung around and talked excitedly, some staggered drunkenly, some paced the floor like tigers, staking out their moshing territory. Slayer's backdrop was a horribly airbrushed high school metal heads, wet nightmare. Its cheap and cheesey nature stood in stark contrast to the high tech array of speakers suspended from the ceiling on each side of the stage.
Chants of "Slayer" and raised fists with the metal sign filled the air. The crowd roared prematurely as a roadie teased a couple of riffs on the guitar. The lights went down promptly at 9:00 p.m. and the place exploded. I've seen Slayer a couple of times in the early 90's and they were always amazing, but this was different. Tom Araya came out sporting a grey streaked beard, looking like a combination of a metal Jerry Garcia and General Zod from the "Planet Of The Apes". He smiled and scowled broadly, belting out songs and working the crowd into a frenzy. His voice sounded deep and heavy as it ever did, despite 20 years of non-stop screaming. His bass sound was absolutely crushing. Apparently, all of the money Slayer saved on a backdrop, they wisely invested in their sound system. I have rarely heard such volume and clarity before. But more on that later.
Lead guitarist Kerry King looked more like an Ultimate Fighter then a guitar player. He stalked the stage, choking out ear splitting, atonal, shrieks from his guitar that would make Robert Fripp cringe. These alternated with powerful stacatto riffs, that flayed skin off of ear drums. Again, the sound was so crystal clear and intense, the jerky, stop and start passes in the bands jagged rhythm, had black holes of complete silence that lasted only a fraction of a second. It felt like having pentagrams tatooed in your ears with a chainsaw. King's menacing figure prowled the stage from side to side through the dry ice and red lights. His bone white flying V neck guitar rose like a demonic pitchfork out of the haze. With this image and that incredible sound, I could see why they didn't bother with a more impressive heavy metal stage set. The Devil was definitely in the details.
The backbone of the sound had to be drummer Dave Lombardo. Completely hidden by a monster drum set, Dave made his presence known by relentlessly attacking the toms and the ever present double bass kick drums. Their not so secret weapon of mass destruction pounded from the speakers. The sound was holographic. Drum and guitar runs stormed from side to side, each instrument completely separated in the mix. Tight rhythms and brutal leads slashed back and forth across the venue, the aural equivalent of the beating Jesus took in "The Passion Of Christ". Several times during the show my friend and I exchanged looks, making sure that we weren't the only ones being completely overwhelmed by the sounds.
The only band member that hasn't changed a bit (except for a bigger beer gut) was second guitarist, Jeff Hannamen. Same sports shirt, same late 80's metal haircut, Jeff provided perfect counterpoint to Kerry King's guitar torture. Slayer seemlessly mixed newer material with older classics like "War Ensemble", "Raining Blood", and "Dead Skin Mask". While the newer songs' riffs weren't as memorable, I don't remember the intensity level once for the entire show. Two hours flew by on dark wings. I left with ringing ears and evil thoughts, glad to have spent time worshipping at the alter of Slayer. And for God's sakes, someone give the soundman a raise.
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