Kerry King of Slayer
UNCASVILLE, CT – Billed as The Final World Tour, the heavy metal band Slayer has written the final chapter in their long and storied career. The band will be canvasing the world one last time and then hanging it up for good later this year.
Slayer was formed in 1981 and is considered one of the “big four” bands of the thrash metal genre which also includes Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth. Fast and aggressive is regularly used to describe their sound. The band has had their share of controversy over the years, from explicit lyrics, banned album covers and of course protests from many church groups.
The 30 plus year career has spawned 12 studio albums, 2 live albums, countless world tours and 2 Grammy Awards (5 nominations). Pretty impressive for a band that started out as a cover band in the clubs of Southern California.
On Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, the fans came out in droves to see this iconic band one last time. Billed as a sell-out, which has been a common theme throughout this tour, Slayer did not disappoint. As the lights went down, flames rose up and lit up two giant Slayer pentagram logos on each side of the stage. Ripping through a fast and furious non-stop 19 song set, Slayer pulled out gems from almost all of their releases throughout the years.
Randy Blythe from the band Lamb of God
Opener Repentless kicked off the night and the band quickly plowed through 4 mores songs including standouts Blood Red and Mandatory Suicide, before taking a minute to thank the crowd for their support over the years. Some other highlights of the set included War Ensemble, Seasons in the Abyss, Dead Skin Mask, South of Heaven and the classic Raining Blood.
Slayers night ended with a vicious rendition of Angel of Death from the album that really got the band rolling Reign in Blood. What a show, what a band and love the fact that they are going out on top instead of plodding through more albums and tours when their hearts may not be in it.
The Final World Tour is carrying four openers, Testament, Behemoth, Anthrax and Lamb of God. Show start time was 5:00…which seemed a little early for those of us that actually have to work for a living.
Scott Ian from Anthrax
Anthrax, another one of the big four and also formed in 1981 and hailing from New York City was given a 40 minute set to highlight their career. With a strong focus on their 1987 release Among the living, the band opened with Caught in a Mosh to the die-hard fans approval. Other highlights included, I am the Law, Antisocial and the closing number Indians. Joey Belladonna lead singer and original guitarist Scott Ian provided enough energy for all in attendance.
Lamb of God who are one of the most tenacious live bands today, showed why they were given the slot playing right before Slayers set. Considered part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Lamb of God has been honing their skills since 1994 and continue to gain popularity with each release. Given a 50 minute set, Lamb of God blistered through 9 songs with huge fan response to Walk With Me in Hell, 512 and Redneck. A cool moment came on their second to last song, Laid to Rest, in which they dedicated to Slayer.
