Musical Ramblings: Slayer at the JLC
I figured that since we were just treated with an excellent concert last week, I'd give my first-hand review of the Slayer concert.
I arrived at the JLC just before Unearth was about to start. Yes, I know I missed Thine Eyes Bleed, but they weren't a priority for me. I wanted to hang out and drink some cheaper beer before heading out. From online discussions (and talking with some of my friends who were at the arena earlier) about the show, the consensus is that Thine Eyes Bleed's performance was good.
I've been a fan of Unearth's music for a long time so there was no way I was missing any of the band's performance (minus about two minutes to go grab another delicious — but overpriced — frosty). The band's performance was high energy, and although they seemed in top form, I found their sound to be just a tad muddied. The set length was perfect and it pumped the arena up for the headliner. I even overheard people talking about Unearth who had never listened to them before praising the band and saying that they were going out to buy their CD.
Up next were the metal masters, Slayer, who I've been waiting a long time to actually see. I've seen the DVDs and I have the live CDs, so is there any benefit to seeing this band live? Hell yes!
The sheer intensity that the band gives off makes for a great concert experience. The band played songs that spanned their entire catalogue and nailed everything perfectly to me. After talking with some people who were on the right side of the stage, it was mentioned that only one guitar was coming through (Kerry King's) and Jeff Hanneman's guitar couldn't be heard all that well. I was on the right side of the stage and there was nothing noticeable to me.
The band's set list (as I remember it) was “Disciple,” “War Ensemble,” “Jihad,” “Die By The Sword,” “Cult,” “Bloodline,” “Mandatory Suicide,” “Seasons In The Abyss,” “Supremist,” “Postmortem,” “Silent Scream,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “Raining Blood,” “South of Heaven,” and “Angel Of Death.” We can argue about what they could have played instead (more off of Reign in Blood or Seasons in the Abyss for me), but it was actually quite fulfilling.
Two things that I noticed were that the mosh-pit on the floor wasn't as crazy as I was expecting and that the price of the merchandise was insane. I loved the Slayer baseball jersey, but there was no way I was paying $120 for it or $40 for a T-shirt. I'm not going to get into the price of beer either.
I came away from the concert with an appreciation for seeing Slayer kick-ass live and a very sore neck from constantly head banging. This was awesome and I really can't wait to see Megadeth next month.
I arrived at the JLC just before Unearth was about to start. Yes, I know I missed Thine Eyes Bleed, but they weren't a priority for me. I wanted to hang out and drink some cheaper beer before heading out. From online discussions (and talking with some of my friends who were at the arena earlier) about the show, the consensus is that Thine Eyes Bleed's performance was good.
I've been a fan of Unearth's music for a long time so there was no way I was missing any of the band's performance (minus about two minutes to go grab another delicious — but overpriced — frosty). The band's performance was high energy, and although they seemed in top form, I found their sound to be just a tad muddied. The set length was perfect and it pumped the arena up for the headliner. I even overheard people talking about Unearth who had never listened to them before praising the band and saying that they were going out to buy their CD.
Up next were the metal masters, Slayer, who I've been waiting a long time to actually see. I've seen the DVDs and I have the live CDs, so is there any benefit to seeing this band live? Hell yes!
The sheer intensity that the band gives off makes for a great concert experience. The band played songs that spanned their entire catalogue and nailed everything perfectly to me. After talking with some people who were on the right side of the stage, it was mentioned that only one guitar was coming through (Kerry King's) and Jeff Hanneman's guitar couldn't be heard all that well. I was on the right side of the stage and there was nothing noticeable to me.
The band's set list (as I remember it) was “Disciple,” “War Ensemble,” “Jihad,” “Die By The Sword,” “Cult,” “Bloodline,” “Mandatory Suicide,” “Seasons In The Abyss,” “Supremist,” “Postmortem,” “Silent Scream,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “Raining Blood,” “South of Heaven,” and “Angel Of Death.” We can argue about what they could have played instead (more off of Reign in Blood or Seasons in the Abyss for me), but it was actually quite fulfilling.
Two things that I noticed were that the mosh-pit on the floor wasn't as crazy as I was expecting and that the price of the merchandise was insane. I loved the Slayer baseball jersey, but there was no way I was paying $120 for it or $40 for a T-shirt. I'm not going to get into the price of beer either.
I came away from the concert with an appreciation for seeing Slayer kick-ass live and a very sore neck from constantly head banging. This was awesome and I really can't wait to see Megadeth next month.
