“SLAYER!!“
“F—IN’ SLAYER!!“
Those words were heard bellowed time and time again on Saturday night (October 18th) as the masters of Satan’s music arose upon the Roseland Ballroom stage to a packed house of worshipers.
The fine people at Jagermeister brought New York one of the best major-label aggressive music package tours in recent years. Metal gods Slayer headlined an impressive night that also saw Hatebreed, Arch Enemy and Dry Kill Logic perform.
Slayer was, simply said, Slayer. It is remarkable how a band that doesn’t have much of a stage show (an overused fog machine) can inflict so much damage/chaos/calamity upon the fans. The quartet stood up on stage, at times moving from one side to the other, rarely interacting with the crowd, and yet the place went crazy. Slayer‘s fans, some of the most dedicated in all of music, get so enraptured in the aggressive aural assault that they go nuts. The emotional and physical release that the thrash metal provokes is something to be witnessed. On this night the band played a vicious hour-and-a-half set that included their album Reign In Blood (in its entirety!) as well as favorites “War Ensemble“, “Mandatory Suicide“, “South Of Heaven” and “Angel Of Death“. The only songs that they didn’t play worth mentioning are “Seasons In The Abyss” (which wouldn’t have fit in the set list anyway) and “Bloodline“.
Preceding the dark lord’s music was hardcore heavyweights Hatebreed. The band, which lost a guitarist last year, was in prime form tearing into their short, battering tracks. As lead vocalist Jamey Jasta ran around the stage, jumping, bellowing and headbanging, the rest of the band launched into a powerful set of songs. They played “Burn The Lies“, “Proven“, “Driven By Suffering“, “Before Dishonor” and “I Will Be Heard“. Also included were a pair of songs from their new album (Rise Of Brutality) – “Tear It Down” and “This Is Now“.
Arch Enemy, who came on all too early, played a solid set of their brand of Euro metal. Their lead singer, a stunning blonde female, was all over the stage as she caused hearts to break throughout the crowd with her looks and amazing caustic vocals. Dry Kill Logic broke in the stage soon after the doors opened.
While Jagermeister the liquor can hardly be called good to the taste buds, the tour that the company put on was easy to ingest and just as intoxicating.
