The fires of hell were burning bright in Charlotte last Thursday night as the thrash metal gods of Slayer rained blood upon a capacity crowd at PNC Music Pavilion. The band is out on their “Final World Tour” and brought a bevy of metal giants along for the ride.
I arrived at the venue early to beat rush hour traffic and throngs of Slayer faithful were already lined up in the hot afternoon sun awaiting their chance to see their favorite band one more time. As the gates opened, those with “pit” tickets made a mad rush to the front of the stage area to lay claim to the spot that would be their metal home for the next six hours. Promptly at five Testament took the stage to a taped intro of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” Testament is one of the early thrash bands that never really got the credit they were due. Led by frontman Chuck Billy, the band ripped into a short but energetic set. Guitarist Alex Skolnick never fails to amaze me with his technical prowess and charismatic stage presence. Slayer’s stage set was decked out with a giant snake in honor of their latest album “Brotherhood of the Snake,” with Gene Hoglan’s drum kit center stage upon a riser. Things really got amped up when the band launched into “Into the Pit” as Chuck egged everyone on and a mosh pit began to open up.
Next on the bill was a band that I was really looking forward to seeing in the light of day. The Polish extreme metal band Behemoth was on a mission of metal. With very cool stage props and clad in makeup, lead vocalist and guitarist Adam “Nergal” Darski was a showman of epic proportions. The band plays a mixture of black and death metal and their look definitely matched the music. Nergal was fascinating to watch with his black hood up and necklace of skulls as he bent down for an evil prayer as smoke billowed around him. By the time Behemoth started their final song “O Father O Satan O Sun!,” the audience was thoroughly entranced by the performance.
One of the Big Four of thrash was up next as the music of Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” began to play and Anthrax attacked the stage. They are absolutely one of my favorite bands to see live and if you haven’t had the pleasure, I encourage you to do so. The band is electrifying with bassist Frank Bello going crazy, running, jumping, and posing all over the stage. Guitarist Scott Ian is a true metal genius and vocalist Joey Belladonna sounded better than ever. Their set was a run through of their biggest hits ‘Caught In a Mosh” and “Madhouse” capped off with their cover of Trust’s “Antisocial” and “Indians.”
The metal mayhem of Lamb of God was next up with the absolute craziness of Randy Blythe. Opening up with “Omerta” the band was a ball of energy from the time they hit the stage. Blythe was his usual self as he is a total madman on stage; jumping, running and twitsing all over the stage. The venue was filled by this time of the night and the moshing on the lawn was out of control. The band sounded on top of their game and soon had the crowd whipped into a frenzy as they closed out with fan favorite “Redneck.”
After a short break, it was finally time to see Slayer. Since this is their final tour, it would be the last time for many of us and so the audience was waiting with anticipation as the venue lights dimmed. There was a curtain covering the stage which was lit up with crosses and you could see the silhouettes of the band members and flames in the background as a tape of “Delusions of Saviour” played. When the curtain dropped, everyone was on their feet as Slayer started out in high gear with “Repentless” off their latest album from the same name. From that point on, it was a virtual hit list of Slayer classics. Lead vocalist and bassist Tom Araya had his spot behind his mic center stage while guitarists Kerry King and Gary Holt traded leads all night long.
The stage was a metal head’s delight with a changing backdrop and flames shooting up on each side of the stage risers surrounding Paul Bostaph’s drumkit. There were even two Slayer pentagrams that lit up with bursts of flame during the set. The crowd was on their feet the entire set with the exception of those who surfed to the barricade for one last up and close look at the band. “Seasons in the Abyss” and “Hell Awaits” were crowd favorites and of course it wouldn’t be a Slayer show without a little “Raining Blood.” The band closed out the night with a tribute to late guitarist Jeff Hanneman during “Angel of Death” as a banner hung with his name and the words “Still Reigning.” As the lights came on, the band graciously threw picks and showed their appreciation to the crowd.
After the show, the parking lots took a long time to empty as fans were gathering around sharing memories and talking about the show. This was a fantastic lineup and everyone gave it their all making for a great final night of metal from Slayer. This is definitely “thee” metal show of the summer. Don’t miss your chance to see them one more time before it’s too late.
Set List:
Repentless
Blood Red
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemle
Jihad
When the Stillness Comes
Postmortem
Black Magic
Payback
Seasons in the Abyss
Dittohead
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Chemical Warfare
Angel of Death
We would like to thank Julie Arkenstone from Herfitz PR (Slayer) and all the other bands PR for the credentials to review the show.
