Slayer: Unholy Alliance Tour NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie Saturday, June 24, 2006 Hell hath no fury like an extreme metal band scorned, and Slayer without a doubt is God and government’s number one adversary. A demonic death machine built on pulverizing rhythms, artillery shrapnel ferocity and the most evil dual guitars that the Devil could conjure up. Basically, Christianity’s worst fucking nightmare, but suburban youth’s most answered prayers- a middle finger to the button-up life that they so detest. But just to get this right, it is not only the crème de la crème of deviants that appreciate Slayer’s maelstrom because there are fragments of conservative society and clusters of white collar hoodlums that have that small pathway in their brain that elicits the need for battering ram stimuli and no one, and that is meant No One, that brings Thor’s thunder like Slayer. Though on this initial Unholy Alliance Tour, openers from Lamb of God to Children of Bodom, Mastodon and Thine Eyes Bleed tried to push the door open, but it was Slayer that kicked the damned thing in. Be it nepotism or just a hella-good young band, opener Thine Eyes Bleed paved the way to madness with a 25-minute set off their debut record, and if their gig accomplished anything, it gave the speakers a good test run. Children of Bodom, a huge draw in Europe are starting to gather steam on these shores and their blend of orchestrated power metal that Guitar World shits themselves over helped move more than a few shirts, and its only a matter of time before Bodom find themselves a few more notches up such a strong bill. Atlanta’s Mastodon just keeps piling on its accolades and their lengthy buzz bombs about whales and nautical war dreams and marching ants are all rooted in the same fire-iron intensity of High on Fire and Helmet. Their morning star is burning bright and the fact that Slayer has brought them now on two tours of duty speaks volumes about the respect factor. Lamb of God are way capable of handling the headliner role on any other tour but since they are battling the kings, a mid-headliner role is theirs and they take advantage of it by laying down a thunderous racket backed by Randall Blythe’s twisted preacher howl. The bright hope of America’s re-domination of metal rests on their broad shoulders and they handle the task like an axe to kindling. But sadly, the Wall of Death seems to lay more in fictional lore now as the Braveheart move is no longer signaled (insurance and knee-jerk parenting brought an end to mosh-pit chivalry). Hanging inverted Marshall stacks, continuous film footage of the Holocaust, demons, and Milton’s vision of a world gone astray and backdrops envisioning blood-driven rivers full of human carnage signified the return of Slayer as the pounding intro to “South Of Heaven” gave way to a full-on assault as the malicious beauty that is Slayer caught fire and didn’t stop until all souls vanquished into the flames of Hell as “Angel of Death” led the 4000 strong onto Noah’s Ark of Agony. Between the barnstorming opening and the blitzkrieg séance to Nazi butchery, Slayer in its original form (Araya, King, Hanneman and Lombardo) drilled a hole thru all the good fibers that the Lord gave. “War Ensemble”, “Mandatory Suicide”, “Dead Skin Mask” and their latest “Cult” reminded all that the band is a robotically tight machine that literally could bury any other band in this or any other genre for technical prowess alone. Combine that with Araya’s hellhound vocals and they are like an unmerciful Panzer division. The bludgeoning riffs “Raining Blood” are the sound of a 1000 dead troops heading towards Poland ready to devour the living and feast on the corpses. The blasts of “Chemical Warfare”, “Hell Awaits” and “The Anti-Christ” had the pit area moving like ants on a dead dog, while the finale of the aforementioned “Angel of Death” took what was left of the audience’s voices, minds and limbs and severed them clean off. Slayer was a horrific experience for the uninitiated but for those who keep coming back year after year; it was just another drink from the bloody chalice. Review by Justin Press for www.pitofhorror.com. << Back Home