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Tonight's show had been a long time coming. First of all, The Haunted cancelled their own headline tour to support Slayer late last year, only for Slayer to cancel the tour not once but twice, due to frontman Tom Araya's back problems and subsequent surgery. However, I'm pleased to say that it was most definitely worth the wait.
For me at least, The Haunted were almost as big a draw as the headline act, as they're a band that I've been listening to for quite a while yet hadn't, until now, had the opportunity to see them. And thankfully, they don't disappoint, as they put on a devastatingly heavy show that gets the crowd worked up into a suitably manic frenzy in readiness for the main event, with frontman Peter Dolving almost goading the fans to step it up a notch with his own frantic on-stage antics, while the rest of the band deliver what can only be described as crushingly heavy metal.
As soon as The Haunted make way for Slayer's roadies, the chants begin ("SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER!" and so on…), which continue long after the house lights dip and the band take to the stage, by which point the cheering is almost deafening. And, no sooner have the opening strains of 'World Painted Blood', the title track of the band's new album, begun, the mosh pit opens and the bodies (and half-empty beer cups) start flying, and don't stop until the final bars of the Slayer classic 'Angel of Death' ring out to close the night.
The band put on a note-perfect set, backed up by powerful performances from each and every member. Back problems or not, Tom Araya can still rock out with the best of them (albeit minus the non-stop head banging), while Dave Lombardo's drumming is as precise as an atomic clock. Most impressive of all is the blistering twin lead guitar attack of Jeff Hanneman and the ever-imposing figure of Kerry King, which is simply awesome (in the truest sense of the word). To top it all off, the band choose a cracking setlist that runs the length of their career, ranging from newer material such as 'Hate Worldwide' 'Cult' and 'Jihad', through to classics like 'Seasons in the Abyss', 'South of Heaven', 'War Ensemble', 'Mandatory Suicide', 'Disciple', 'Payback' and of course, 'Raining Blood'.
Having only experienced Slayer once before at a festival, I was keen to find out just how intense one of their indoor shows can be. And the verdict? Absolutely bloody insane: the faint-hearted need not apply.
Picture by Gemma Louise Harris TAGS: Slayer Words by: Mike Perry |
