New England's Metal Shows
Slayer Slay's Connecticut... One Last Time
Through the year's we've been treated to numerous incarnations of the thrash metal band Slayer. Mohegan Sun Arena would be treated to host a spectacle for the ages. An emotional final appearance slam-packed with pyrotechnics, loud thrash metal, and several openers. Doors opened around 4:00, which seemed extremely early however it also allowed for a good chunk of time for each band to perform.
Testament would rumble the arena first. Drummer Gene Hoglan entered first to a rip roaring applause from the metal heads that stood before him. Then trailing along came vocalist Chuck Billy, bassist Steve Di Giorgio, and guitarist' Alex Skolnik, and Eric Peterson. They opened with their track "Brotherhood of the Snake." Behind the band hung a backdrop displaying the album art from which it shares the same name. It got LOUD. It was as though Billy and Skolnik had been cranked up to 11. Testament would bust out "Into The Pit" devouring the song so flawlessly it were as though they were in the studio tracking the song in 1988 just with new additions. I guess that's what happens when you tour a lot. Chuck Billy would occasionally mimick Skolnick and Peterson's solos with his short and mobile modified microphone stand. He threw his hands up near the end of his set to create a roar of appreciation from the dedicated fans in the crowd.
Behemoth would enter simotaneously creating an eerie ambiance. Each member draped in black and sporting corpse paint. Vocalist and lead guitarist Nergal was a showman posing on Mohegan's audio monitors while plucking away at his guitar. Orion, who slams the bass riffs in Behemoth would spit his water above him numerous times throughout the set. Behind the band thumping away ferociously at the double-bass drums throughout the set was Inferno. On the lead guitar and also laying down some sick back up growl vocals was Seth, who would periodically shred alongside Nergal. The polish quartet would dip through masterpieces such as "Demigod" and "Wolves ov Siberia" before taking a short bow. They later returned with smeared face paint and horns on their heads giving a demonic kind of atmosphere onstage. Cranking out "O Father O Satan O Sun!" Behemoth would close their set to a massive echo of fans.
Anthrax is a band that's basically grown and developed alongside Slayer, it was a great choice to have them join Slayer on the tour. That's 2/4 of the Big 4 [Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth] which when combined with Testament makes it a THRASH THROWDOWN. Their set began quite powerful, launching out the gate with "Caught in a Mosh." An excellent choice to get the crowd moving. The New York squad composed of Joey Belladonna, Scott Ian, Frankie Bello, Charlie Benante, and Jonathan Donais would whip everyone into thrash metal over-drive playing hits such as "Madhouse," "Got The Time," and "I Am The Law." Scott Ian would later approach the mic for some crowd banter simply asking the crowd "Do you like thrash metal?" then correcting himself to say "Do you LOVE thrash metal?" Belladonna would lead the crowd thru a chant of "An-ti-so-cial" during said song acting so young and charasmatic, I swear he never ages. Closing the set would be "Indians" accompanied by an enormous 'indian mosh' or 'circle pit' swirling along Mohegan Sun Arena's floor level. To top off their performance Belladonna would provide a vocal crescendo as all the members joined together to bow in unison.
Next onstage would be Virginia's Lamb of God. This would be their first show in Connecticut since 2015, fans were definitely prepared because with more time just comes more anticipation. The five piece Richmond band would most definitely live up to that anticipation all the way from the opening speech of "Omerta" through the ending sustains of "Redneck." With Randy Blythes powerful voice towering over every riff and solo Mark Morton and Willie Adler would devise. Brother to the guitarist, Chris Adler, would drive the band from behind the drums tonight. Bassist John Campbell would slap away during the song "512." Blythe, the periless piscean would later thank Slayer and dedicate their song "Laid To Rest" to the band as a token of appreciation for alowing them to come out and join them for the tour. Willie would tease "South of Heaven" while Randy declared this, a nice humble tribute. Lamb of God would close with one of their most famous songs "Redneck." This would cause Mohegan to once again erupt into a humongous pit of sweaty moshers.
Slayer would grace Mohegan Sun Arena by dropping their curtain at exactly 9:20. A boqet of fire littered the stage as all four members walked out onto what would become their "Thrash Throne" for the next hour. Slayer would begin their set with "Repentless" which made the entire arena raise to their feet. Four songs in, while performing "Manditory Suicide" the camera would pan onto Vocalist and bassist Tom Araya. Its not every day that you see one of metal's most brutal lyricists' crack a smile . He would then let guitarist Gary Holt take a solo and melt many faces. You were able to hear the clinking of Kerry King's chains in between song gaps. But those chains would not hold him back from squealing solo's during "War Ensemble." It was definitely an emotional night for Slayer. Araya would compare tonight to a 'ride' and he would be booed when he says "all rides come to an end." His vocals on some songs tended to be a bit sluggish but would you not struggle to if you had the mentality of knowing you weren't coming back to a certain venue to play music for the people that love you. Gary Holt displayed his imfamous "Kill The Kardashian's" T-shirt. Being in the band for only a short while, drummer Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt both had solidified their legacy with the band, tonight being the punctuation for the Connecticut chapter. Slayer would rip through timeless thrash hits, it seemed to be going to quick. "Payback" a song that's been shelved for the past two years would make its way back into the rotation. Holt would nail the guitar solo on "Seasons in the Abyss" competing with Kerry King. Mohegan's on-goers joined Araya in unison to sing the chorus of "Dead Skin Mask." The last few minutes of the show included some of Slayer's most popular selections. "Raining Blood" would bring forth a hurricane of die-hard Slayer fans in the center of the arena. Followed by an implosion of crowd surfers during "Chemical Warfare." The final song was one that the band has been playing for years as an encore. ONE LAST TIME Connecticut was able to hear Araya's high pitched scream during "Angel of Death." Slayer fired off pyro while shoving this musical masterpiece directly into our ears. Each member would later walk to both sides of the stage and thank their fans by bowing and showering them in picks and sticks.