Review by Avinash Mittur
[Photos by Brad Worsham]
November 14th 2014, The Forum, Los Angeles CA: The modern day renaissance of thrash metal continues to amaze me. Somehow, nearly every one of the genre’s best bands are not only kicking around today, but are on the top of their game when it comes to the all-important live show. Three titans of thrash made their way to a sold-out LA Forum last Friday evening – the originators Exodus, Venice’s favorite skate-rats Suicidal Tendencies and the institution simply known as Slayer.
Sadly, due to horrible Friday evening traffic and a bit of confusion at the box office, I missed all of Exodus‘ set. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement, especially since like thousands of others at the Forum, this would have been my first time seeing Exodus with Steve “Zetro” Souza on the mic. Alas, that didn’t happen on this night. Exodus have always been a stellar live act every time that I’ve seen them, and I have no reason to believe that this go-around would have been any different. I can only hope for better luck next time I suppose.
[More Exodus photos from the show included in the gallery at the bottom of this post]
Set List:
01. Black 13
02. Blood In, Blood Out
03. Blacklist
04. Bonded by Blood
05. The Toxic Waltz
06. Strike of the Beast
I was fortunate enough to catch most of Suicidal Tendencies. Professional musicianship was something I expected from an act of their age, but I was truly surprised by SxTx’s boundless energy and explosive on-stage chemistry. The 51 year-old Mike Muir hopped and skipped about without missing a line of his vocals, but he wasn’t to be outdone. His much younger cohort, guitarist Nico Santura was a standout as well, often pumping the audience up in between his frequent headbanging and leaping across the stage. It was also interesting to see the classic arrangements being given a layer of swing with “Possessed to Skate” featuring some downright funky bass lines and “I Saw Your Mommy” having a level of bounce and drive totally missing on the studio version. Suicidal Tendencies seemed right at home on the massive Forum stage, and had the raging kids on the floor eating out of the palms of their hands. An excellent showing by any standard, thrash or otherwise.
Set List (courtesy of setlist.fm):
01. You Can’t Bring Me Down
02. Freedumb
03. War Inside My Head
04. Subliminal
05. Possessed to Skate
06. I Saw Your Mommy
07. Cyco Vision
08. How Will I Laugh Tomorrow
09. Pledge Your Allegiance
Right at half past nine, the lights dimmed and “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC began to play over the PA. After hardly two minutes into the song, the intro riff to “World Painted Blood” began and the curtain dropped. It was time for fucking Slayer. Though the performance was on-point, the set had a strange flow near the beginning. Unlike many other classic Slayer album openers, “World Painted Blood” doesn’t explode with rage and fury, and made for a less than perfect show-starter. Following it with “Postmortem” was also a strange move, as that track’s protracted coda seems only fit to precede “Raining Blood”. Following that song with another newer track, “Hate Worldwide”, didn’t help. Was the show not enjoyable due to the weird ordering? Not at all. Could the show have been better with a smarter flow? Most certainly.
That said, when “Die by the Sword” announced itself with Hanneman’s immortal riff, what followed may have been one of the most unfuckwithable blocks of thrash I have ever seen. Classic followed deep-cut followed classic followed fan-favorite with seemingly no lull in sight. The old-school obsessed got their “Chemical Warfare”, the nerds got to catch the incredibly rare “Spill the Blood” and of course, tracks like “Angel of Death” made everyone happy. As for me, the title track to ‘Hell Awaits’ followed by “At Dawn They Sleep” was a sucker-punch that I was nothing but delighted to experience.
For me, drummer Paul Bostaph was the big variable here. Having missed the shows at the Hollywood Palladium last year, this was my first time seeing the Bay Area native behind the Slayer kit. In all honestly, Slayer with Bostaph on drums was simply a different experience compared to what most of us were familiar with. Not better nor worse, simply different. Bostaph may have lacked a small bit of Dave Lombardo’s maddening speed and double-bass mastery, but I personally have never seen Slayer play as a tighter unit than at this show. Bostaph’s moment of glory came with “Disciple”, which showed off his avalanche-like fills and stellar grip on time. As far as I’m concerned, Slayer is about due to dig up a couple tracks from ‘Divine Intervention’ and show off Bostaph for the monster that he truly is.
As for the rest of the band, Tom Araya continues to improve his control and authority when it comes to his vocals. There were many moments when the stout and bearded veteran onstage sounded indistinguishable from the lanky demon that laid down the battle commands on “War Ensemble” nearly twenty-five years ago. Kerry King and Gary Holt were the presences that fans have come to expect in the last few years. Holt in particular continues to stand out with excellent soloing and a truly menacing stage presence. By now, the man lifting his guitar by the tremolo bar at the end of “Angel of Death” is a Slayer live signature. The band as a whole were simply a rock-solid unit, with nearly no time wasted in between tracks.
Set List:
01. World Painted Blood
02. Postmortem
03. Hate Worldwide
04. Die by the Sword
05. Chemical Warfare
06. War Ensemble
07. Mandatory Suicide
08. Necrophiliac
09. Spill the Blood
10. Hell Awaits
11. At Dawn They Sleep
12. Altar of Sacrifice
13. Jesus Saves
14. Disciple
15. Seasons in the Abyss
16. Snuff
17. Dead Skin Mask
18. Raining Blood
19. Psychopathy Red
20. South of Heaven
21. Angel of Death
All in all, this was a great showing from the band that refuses to relent. Seeing Slayer play this sold-out arena reaffirmed by belief that metal will always have a raging audience in Los Angeles, and that thrash will always be welcome in this land. The bands did their thousands of fans proud, unleashing sets that had to made attendees happy (in spite of the outrageously priced tickets mind you). If there is a time to catch these bands, it is now- I fear the day when Gary Holt finally snaps his neck from too much headbanging. Until then, save a bit of cash for tickets. See your heroes before they turn over. Kneel before fucking Slayer.
Check out a gallery of 45 photos from the show in the slideshow below, and view them here for their downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device:
[Exodus 1-11, Suicidal Tendencies 12-28, Slayer 29-45]
Remaining Tour Dates:
11/17 – Bricktown Events Center – Oklahoma City, OK
11/18 – ACL Live – Austin, TX
11/19 – Verizon Theatre – Dallas, TX
11/21 – Hard Rock Live – Orlando, FL
11/22 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
11/23 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
11/25 – The Armory – Albany, NY
11/26 – Sands Events Center – Bethlehem, PA
11/28 – The Palladium – Worcester, MA
11/29 – Wellmont Theatre – Montclair, NJ
11/30 – Tower Theatre – Philadelphia, PA
12/02 – Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH
12/04 – Egyptian Room – Indianapolis, IN
12/05 – The Fillmore – Detroit, MI
12/06 – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino – Hammond, IN