Slayer Live! Featuring Hatebreed and Diecast (Slayer in general)

Member Name: pieandchips

Product:	Slayer in general
Date:	20/05/02 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Slayer and Hatebreed

Disadvantages: Diecast

Ah, the days of being a young metalhead. One is perpetually discovering new acts, new styles, and new friends in the scene. There is, however, one right of passage that we all must go through before becoming one of the metal militia: Slayer.

Purportedly, people were lined up at 3:30. The doors opened at 7:30. That?s drawing power for you. When the doors finally did open, and the lights went out, we were treated to a show - That?s for sure.

Diecast opened up the show and came out a mild roar. Now, I had never given these guys a real listen before, and now I know why. The front end of the band acted as though they were doing their best Hatebreed impression, while the drummer seemingly stole both of his beats from Raymond Herrera. The singer for the band, however, did a good job. He tried in vain to pump up a crowd that didn?t want to be pumped. It?s a sad fact that a lot of people don?t remember: Fans don?t kill themselves before Slayer, but rather for Slayer.

Diecast finally finished up a half hour later, and the main body of the crowd filed into the Masquerade. The crowd swayed a bit and a mini-pit was started by 5 or 6 rabid fans chanting ?Slayer!?

Finally Hatebreed came out to a crowd that was brimming with energy, only barely tapping into its potential. They came out in top form; the best I?ve ever seen them. Jamie Jasta worked the crowd like only he can - various shouts of ?You better get the f*** up,? and ?You better prepare For War!? echoed through the hall, as man after man slammed into each other with the force of a wrecking ball. They rifled through such favorites as ?Perseverence?, ?Prepare For War?, ?Empty Promises?, ?Last Breath?, ?Betrayed By Life?, and then they finally ended their set with the charging ?I Will Be Heard?.

Not often do you get to see multiple headliners in one night, but this was an exception. About 45 minutes after the explosive Hatebreed set, Slayer came out to a chanting crowd. Now, I desc
ribe Hatebreed?s 30-minute jaunt as explosive, but, with that in mind, I don?t think I have a word to truly describe the set Jef, Tom, Kerry ,and Dave played. My local paper wrote an article on it; Which is utterly suprising, since I didn?t know my local paper knew that ?metal? wasn?t just a substance.

The four horsemen couldn?t have done more to offend a Christian world than these four men, and on this night, they did it with sheer brutality. Tearing and ripping through the opener, ?Disciple?, they soon moved onto a ferocious rendition of ?War Ensemble?, and then ?Postmortem/Raining Blood?. An incendiary version of ?Stain of Mind? (one of my least favorites turned into a superior track) kicked them back off, as they played through more songs like ?Dead Skin Mask?, ?Hell Awaits?, ?At Dawn They Sleep?, ?Spirit in Black?, and ?Bloodline?. Slayer even reached to the beginning, playing crowd favorites like ?Die By The Sword?, and ?Chemical Warfare?.

Then it stopped. We were wrought with silence - save for a low roar from the crowd. They ended the set only 75 minutes in? Hardly. Kerry led the way as they exploded from a darkened stage with ?Angel of Death?; Tom didn't need to sing, as the crowd was drowning out his vocals. However, it did end with ?Seasons In The Abyss?, and the crowd continued screaming as the band left the stage.

Needless to say, I was devoid of any energy -Until the band began to hurl pics into the crowd. I leapt into the air to bring down a drum stick, triumphing over the 30 others who were trying for it.

We stepped into the Ybor City night to see 30 police officers waiting - Keeping the peace. However, I don?t see how anyone could have started anything; all energy was spent screaming ?Slayer!? into the night sky. The entire crowd was drenched in sweat, the pack of Camel Reds in my pocket half eroded from dampness.

However, it was Slayer. For that I?d gladly give any pack of cigarettes. Not to mention
£30 on a ticket.

Summary: