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Showing posts with label slayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slayer. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Slayer -- Kansas City, MO -- May 13th, 2014

What can be said about Slayer that hasn’t already been beaten to death by millions of fans over three decades? They’re possibly the most universally loved (and loathed after a certain point) metal band all the world over, and it’s not such a far stretch to argue that Slayer is the most important and influential heavy metal band of all time. Last night, the loudest and fastest of the Big Four of Thrash Metal made their way to the Uptown Theater in Kansas City for a night of evil speed supported by crossover legends Suicidal Tendencies and one of the few bands to predate Slayer, the inimitable Exodus.

Opening the show to an already large and loud crowd was Exodus, the Bay Area band that, while coming to prominence at the same time as Metallica and Slayer, never quite reached the same level of popularity as their contemporaries. Perhaps that has put a chip on their shoulder, because Exodus comes out fast and doesn’t let up. Frontman Rob Dukes is a far cry from classic Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff, choosing to have a more harsh style of singing than Paul’s melodic style, but it works well – especially when performing later-era Exodus songs, such as the mid-paced thrasher “War Is My Shepherd.” Of course, Exodus’ most popular album is their first, “Bonded By Blood” and the majority of their 30-minute set was dedicated to that album. The crowd responded with lots of headbanging and huge circle pits. Exodus’ ode to the circle pit, “The Toxic Waltz” incited one of the biggest of the night. Their set was full of energy and was perfect to get the crowd ready for the upcoming bands.

After a surprisingly short changeover of only about 15 minutes, Venice Beach crossover lord’s Suicidal Tendencies took the stage. With vocalist asking, “Kansas City, what the fuck is going on around here?!” they launched into “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and spent their hour-or-so set providing the most melodic and fun music of the night. Suicidal Tendencies came from the California hardcore punk scene, so their music has a bit more in common with bands like The Dead Kennedys than Slayer, but their later-album songs introduced a great deal of thrash metal to their sound and caused a ruckus in the underground scene back in the 80s. Suicidal focused mainly on their second album “Join the Army” (Possessed to Skate, War Inside My Head) and their third album “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” (Trip At The Brain, Pledge Your Allegiance). Suicidal Tendencies has slowly been climbing back into the public eye with a lot of touring and licensing of their songs out to various forms of media. They still bring an amazing skate punk/thrash show despite being around for over 30 years, and that alone is cause for moshing celebrations.

It seems like headliners Slayer never stay away from the Kansas City area for too long. Their last legitimate headlining US tour in 2007 was at Memorial Hall and their appearances on the Mayhem Festival in 2009 and 201 along with their co-headlining tour with Megadeth in 2012 all hit Sandstone (or Capitol Federal, Or Cricket Wireless, or whatever it is now) Amphitheater. Thankfully, it seems the Kansas City crowd hasn’t grown weary of Slayer just yet. On this particular tour, Gary Holt of Exodus was replacing the late, great Jeff Hanneman on guitars and Paul Bostaph, their drummer from 1992 to 2001, replaced Dave Lombardo behind the kit. Both performed their duties quite admirably and no one could really tell the difference. A huge difference, though, came in the choice of songs to perform. Slayer played 19 songs last night, but not a single song was released past 1991. The first five Slayer albums are almost universally proclaimed as some of the best heavy metal albums ever made, and to get 19 cuts off those is almost unheard of for Slayer in this day and age. Some highlights were undoubtedly “Chemical Warfare” and “Captor of Sin” off the 1984 “Haunting the Chapel” EP and “The Antichrist” and “Black Magic,” two rare cuts off their 1983 debut album “Show No Mercy.” It was a classic night for a classic band with a classic crowd in attendance.

Slayer:

1. Hell Awaits
2. The Antichrist
3. Necrophiliac
4. Mandatory Suicide
5. Captor of Sin
6. War Ensemble
7. Postmortem
8. Altar of Sacrifice
9. Jesus Saves
10. At Dawn They Sleep
11. Die By The Sword
12. Hallowed Point
13. Seasons In The Abyss
14. Chemical Warfare
15. Dead Skin Mask
16. Raining Blood
17. Black Magic
----
18. South of Heaven
19. Angel of Death

Suicidal Tendencies:

1. You Can't Bring Me Down
2. Trip At The Brain
3. War Inside My Head
4. Subliminal
5. Possessed To Skate
6. I Saw Your Mommy
7. Cyco Vision
8. Pledge Your Allegiance

Exodus:

1. Bonded By Blood
2. Piranha
3. Blacklist
4. War Is My Shepherd
5. The Toxic Waltz
6. Strike Of The Beast

Slayer: 9.5/10
Suicidal Tendencies: 8.5/10
Exodus: 8/10 
What can be said about Slayer that hasn’t already been beaten to death by millions of fans over three decades? They’re possibly the most universally loved (and loathed after a certain point) metal band all the world over, and it’s not such a far stretch to argue that Slayer is the most important and influential heavy metal band of all time. Last night, the loudest and fastest of the Big Four of Thrash Metal made their way to the Uptown Theater in Kansas City for a night of evil speed supported by crossover legends Suicidal Tendencies and one of the few bands to predate Slayer, the inimitable Exodus.
Opening the show to an already large and loud crowd was Exodus, the Bay Area band that, while coming to prominence at the same time as Metallica and Slayer, never quite reached the same level of popularity as their contemporaries. Perhaps that has put a chip on their shoulder, because Exodus comes out fast and doesn’t let up. Frontman Rob Dukes is a far cry from classic Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff, choosing to have a more harsh style of singing than Paul’s melodic style, but it works well – especially when performing later-era Exodus songs, such as the mid-paced thrasher “War Is My Shepherd.” Of course, Exodus’ most popular album is their first, “Bonded By Blood” and the majority of their 30-minute set was dedicated to that album. The crowd responded with lots of headbanging and huge circle pits. Exodus’ ode to the circle pit, “The Toxic Waltz” incited one of the biggest of the night. Their set was full of energy and was perfect to get the crowd ready for the upcoming bands.
20140513_193042
After a surprisingly short changeover of only about 15 minutes, Venice Beach crossover lord’s Suicidal Tendencies took the stage. With vocalist asking, “Kansas City, what the fuck is going on around here?!” they launched into “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and spent their hour-or-so set providing the most melodic and fun music of the night. Suicidal Tendencies came from the California hardcore punk scene, so their music has a bit more in common with bands like The Dead Kennedys than Slayer, but their later-album songs introduced a great deal of thrash metal to their sound and caused a ruckus in the underground scene back in the 80s. Suicidal focused mainly on their second album “Join the Army” (Possessed to Skate, War Inside My Head) and their third album “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” (Trip At The Brain, Pledge Your Allegiance). Suicidal Tendencies has slowly been climbing back into the public eye with a lot of touring and licensing of their songs out to various forms of media. They still bring an amazing skate punk/thrash show despite being around for over 30 years, and that alone is cause for moshing celebrations.
It seems like headliners Slayer never stay away from the Kansas City area for too long. Their last legitimate headlining US tour in 2007 was at Memorial Hall and their appearances on the Mayhem Festival in 2009 and 201 along with their co-headlining tour with Megadeth in 2012 all hit Sandstone (or Capitol Federal, Or Cricket Wireless, or whatever it is now) Amphitheater. Thankfully, it seems the Kansas City crowd hasn’t grown weary of Slayer just yet. On this particular tour, Gary Holt of Exodus was replacing the late, great Jeff Hanneman on guitars and Paul Bostaph, their drummer from 1992 to 2001, replaced Dave Lombardo behind the kit. Both performed their duties quite admirably and no one could really tell the difference. A huge difference, though, came in the choice of songs to perform. Slayer played 19 songs last night, but not a single song was released past 1991. The first five Slayer albums are almost universally proclaimed as some of the best heavy metal albums ever made, and to get 19 cuts off those is almost unheard of for Slayer in this day and age. Some highlights were undoubtedly “Chemical Warfare” and “Captor of Sin” off the 1984 “Haunting the Chapel” EP and “The Antichrist” and “Black Magic,” two rare cuts off their 1983 debut album “Show No Mercy.” It was a classic night for a classic band with a classic crowd in attendance.
- See more at: http://millsrecordcompany.com/hell-awaits-slayer-live-kansas-city-05132014#sthash.X7AC0agb.dpuf
What can be said about Slayer that hasn’t already been beaten to death by millions of fans over three decades? They’re possibly the most universally loved (and loathed after a certain point) metal band all the world over, and it’s not such a far stretch to argue that Slayer is the most important and influential heavy metal band of all time. Last night, the loudest and fastest of the Big Four of Thrash Metal made their way to the Uptown Theater in Kansas City for a night of evil speed supported by crossover legends Suicidal Tendencies and one of the few bands to predate Slayer, the inimitable Exodus.
Opening the show to an already large and loud crowd was Exodus, the Bay Area band that, while coming to prominence at the same time as Metallica and Slayer, never quite reached the same level of popularity as their contemporaries. Perhaps that has put a chip on their shoulder, because Exodus comes out fast and doesn’t let up. Frontman Rob Dukes is a far cry from classic Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff, choosing to have a more harsh style of singing than Paul’s melodic style, but it works well – especially when performing later-era Exodus songs, such as the mid-paced thrasher “War Is My Shepherd.” Of course, Exodus’ most popular album is their first, “Bonded By Blood” and the majority of their 30-minute set was dedicated to that album. The crowd responded with lots of headbanging and huge circle pits. Exodus’ ode to the circle pit, “The Toxic Waltz” incited one of the biggest of the night. Their set was full of energy and was perfect to get the crowd ready for the upcoming bands.
20140513_193042
After a surprisingly short changeover of only about 15 minutes, Venice Beach crossover lord’s Suicidal Tendencies took the stage. With vocalist asking, “Kansas City, what the fuck is going on around here?!” they launched into “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and spent their hour-or-so set providing the most melodic and fun music of the night. Suicidal Tendencies came from the California hardcore punk scene, so their music has a bit more in common with bands like The Dead Kennedys than Slayer, but their later-album songs introduced a great deal of thrash metal to their sound and caused a ruckus in the underground scene back in the 80s. Suicidal focused mainly on their second album “Join the Army” (Possessed to Skate, War Inside My Head) and their third album “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” (Trip At The Brain, Pledge Your Allegiance). Suicidal Tendencies has slowly been climbing back into the public eye with a lot of touring and licensing of their songs out to various forms of media. They still bring an amazing skate punk/thrash show despite being around for over 30 years, and that alone is cause for moshing celebrations.
It seems like headliners Slayer never stay away from the Kansas City area for too long. Their last legitimate headlining US tour in 2007 was at Memorial Hall and their appearances on the Mayhem Festival in 2009 and 201 along with their co-headlining tour with Megadeth in 2012 all hit Sandstone (or Capitol Federal, Or Cricket Wireless, or whatever it is now) Amphitheater. Thankfully, it seems the Kansas City crowd hasn’t grown weary of Slayer just yet. On this particular tour, Gary Holt of Exodus was replacing the late, great Jeff Hanneman on guitars and Paul Bostaph, their drummer from 1992 to 2001, replaced Dave Lombardo behind the kit. Both performed their duties quite admirably and no one could really tell the difference. A huge difference, though, came in the choice of songs to perform. Slayer played 19 songs last night, but not a single song was released past 1991. The first five Slayer albums are almost universally proclaimed as some of the best heavy metal albums ever made, and to get 19 cuts off those is almost unheard of for Slayer in this day and age. Some highlights were undoubtedly “Chemical Warfare” and “Captor of Sin” off the 1984 “Haunting the Chapel” EP and “The Antichrist” and “Black Magic,” two rare cuts off their 1983 debut album “Show No Mercy.” It was a classic night for a classic band with a classic crowd in attendance.
- See more at: http://millsrecordcompany.com/hell-awaits-slayer-live-kansas-city-05132014#sthash.X7AC0agb.dpuf

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

An update! And big concert news!

I'm back! Let's get right to business:

Updated the sidebar with new shows. Including - Stick To Your Guns w/ Terror, Moonspell w/ Leaves Eyes, Loudness (from Japan), Destruction w/ Krisiun and Exmortus, Kataklym w/ Aborted, and the BIG ONE...

...SLAYER! with Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus! Get ready to circle pit.

I'll be more active in 2014! I swear! Keep an eye out - I've heard of some great shows coming near here!


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Upcoming show: Rockstar Mayhem Fest

Yes, sir! After being left off of the initial dates, the Rockstar Mayhem Fest returns to KC this year on July 17th at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater (aka Sandstone). The lineup this year has some tasty acts on it, and some not so good ones. I think there's enough there to warrant a trip to Bonner Springs, though!

Main Stage:

Slipknot
Slayer
Motorhead
Rotating Band Slot (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying)

Jagermeister Stage:

Anthrax
Rotating Band Slot (AA, TDWP, AILD)
Rotating Band Slot (AA, TDWP, AILD)
Whitechapel
High On Fire

Sumerian Records Stage:

Upon A Burning Body
I, The Breather
Dirtfedd
Sumerian Stage local opening band









Tuesday, August 24, 2010

American Carnage -- Bonner Springs, KS -- August 23rd, 2010

Every band on the bill last night had played Kansas City within the last year, but by the bands performances and the crowd reaction, you'd think it was the first time in twenty years.

Testament opened the show while it was still light out, but they whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Chuck Billy is the only guy, metal or otherwise, that can get away with looking so cool playing a mic stand like a guitar. Alex Skolnick also played for the crowd and showed off just what an incredible guitar player he is. I wasn't sure he was playing with Testament on this tour, but I was so glad to see him up there on that stage shredding. It was great to hear songs like "Dog Faced Gods" and "Practice What You Preach", but "D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)" still reigns as one of the best Testament songs ever recorded! They need to come back and headline very soon. 9/10

Setlist:

For The Glory Of...
More Than Meets The Eye
Dog Faced Gods
The New Order
Trial By Fire
Practice What You Preach
D.N.R (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days In Darkness
The Formation of Damnation

After a near-perfect concert at the Beaumont club last December, everyone was salivating for more Megadeth. The only let-down of the show were Dave Mustaine's vocals on some of the songs. Don't be afraid to let the beast out, Dave! Other than that, the music was spot-on and it was so much fun singing along with all of Rust In Peace. Chris Broderick was probably the most talented guitar player on that stage last night, and it showed during one of my favorite guitar solo's of all time for the song "Tornado Of Souls." He hit each note perfectly. Highlight of the set was Five Magics. It sounds fantastic live. They also brought out Vic Rattlehead to rouse the crowd during Dawn Patrol. Best Halloween costume ever! 9.5/10

Set:

Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
Take No Prisoners
Five Magics
Poison Was The Cure
Lucretia
Tornado of Souls
Dawn Patrol
Rust In Peace...Polaris
---------------------------------
Trust
Head Crusher
A Tout Le Monde
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars (reprise)

During Slayer's set at Mayhem Fest last year, the soundboard got fried which resulted in horrendous sound for the band and ultimately gave us a ruined set. Karma was in full swing tonight, because Slayer sounded spot-on through their whole performance. I was on the left side of the stage, but I could still hear all of Kerry's guitars, as well as Jeff's. Tom came over and played to our side as well, a few times. The pits were huge and vicious the entire time Slayer was on stage. Every song, even the World Painted Blood openers, sounded loud and clear on stage. The best songs were the cuts off of Seasons In The Abyss that I thought I'd never hear live, such as "Hallowed Point", "Skeletons Of Society" and even "Temptation." Throwing in "Aggressive Perfector" at the end of "Raining Blood" was the best surprise I've ever gotten. My neck was sore, blood was on the ground, people are still screaming as they walk to their cars. Yep, Slayer played. 10/10

World Painted Blood
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Blood Red
Spirit In Black
Expendable Youth
Dead Skin Mask
Hallowed Point
Skeletons of Society
Tempation
Born of Fire
Seasons In The Abyss
-----------------------
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Aggressive Perfector
Angel of Death

Monday, April 26, 2010

A great deal got even sweeter.

Slayer and Megadeth are playing at Sandstone in August with Testament.

Just announced today: Slayer will be performing all of "Seasons in the Abyss" and Megadeth will be performing all of "Rust In Peace".

Woah.



Monday, February 1, 2010

American Carnage rescheduled!

American Carnage has been rescheduled, and will be hitting Sandstone on August 23rd. The line-up is Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament. Locals might open the show?

Awesome.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Congrats to Judas Priest!

They finally won a Grammy! Even though it's a live version of a song that is 33 years old, but hey. A win is a win.

Condolences to Megadeth. Poor Dave Mustaine can never win a Grammy, even though he totally should. Same with Slayer, although they have like 4 Grammy's already.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

American Carnage: Postponed

Slayer's bass player, Tom Araya, has to have back surgery, so the upcoming amazing tour of Slayer, Megadeth and Testament is now being re-scheduled for this summer. However, Megadeth is currently planning a US tour in March/April. No word yet about Testament.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Big Four Tour - a reality, kinda.

Pretty entertaining stuff going on at the Sonisphere festivals over in Europe:

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"You've been posting and chatting about it for months and we're here now to confirm it . . . METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX will all share the same stage for the first time EVER! Look for the four of us at the Sonisphere shows in Warsaw, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic on June 16 and 19, 2010, with a few more of the festival dates still in the works. You can be sure these shows won't be the only ones."

Commented METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich: "Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal's 'Big Four' would not only still be around and more popular than ever, but will now play together for the first time...what a mindfuck! Bring it on!"

The announcement on METALLICA's official web site seems to directly contradict MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's December 8, 2009 online posting in which he said, "Although there have been many rumors about a reunion of the 'Big Four' set to happen in Eastern Europe next summer, the plan never came together for us. We are hopeful that this will happen for real one day and will keep you posted as things develop."

Monday, November 16, 2009

Skipping Kansas: American Carnage

Jealous of the sweet Canadian Carnage tour featuring Slayer and Megadeth? Well don't...

They're coming here! With a better line-up! (well, not HERE here, but the States at least)

Slayer
Megadeth
Testament
(rumored)High On Fire

JANUARY
18 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA*
19 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (tickets sold via www.rosequarter.com)
21 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA*
22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA * (tickets on sale 11/21)
23 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ**
25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO*
26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM*
27 El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX*
29 Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX**
31 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN*

FEBRUARY
1 Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA*
2 Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY* (tickets on sale 12/4)
4 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN* (tickets on sale 12/4)
5 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL* (tickets on sale 12/4)
6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI*
9 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT**
11 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ*
13 Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ*
14 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA*
16 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC (tickets sold via Billetech.com)
18 John Labatt Centre, London, ON (tickets on sale 11/27 via JohnLabattCentre.com)
19 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON (tickets sold via Ticketmaster.ca)
20 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC (tickets sold via Admission.com)
22 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB (tickets sold via MonctonColiseum.com)
23 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS (tickets sold via TicketAtlantic.com

*Tickets sold through Ticketmaster
**Tickets sold through Live Nation

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Album Review: Slayer - World Painted Blood



1. World Painted Blood
2. Unit 731
3. Snuff
4. Beauty Through Order
5. Hate Worldwide
6. Public Display Of Dismemberment
7. Human Strain
8. Americon
9. Psycopathy Red
10. Playing With Dolls
11. Not Of This God

In my personal experience, it seems acceptable in the metal community to completely dismiss Slayer after "Seasons In The Abyss" in 1990. And for a while, I'd have agreed. Some fans say they haven't been good since South of Heaven, some say they haven't released a good album since "Divine Intervention". Whichever you may think, Slayer definitely has altered their music since the 90's, and the wariness that Slayer fans felt then has carried over into the 2000's. "God Hates Us All" was down-tuned and appealing to the "nu-metal" crowd, whereas "Christ Illusion" in 2006 only partly made amends for the 16 years prior to it, but ultimately failed. As we almost close out the first decade of 2000, Slayer returns once again with their tenth studio album. And Slayer fans should rejoice: they're back. Kind of.

First things first: There are some songs on this album that sound like they come right out of their '80s period. The beginning of "Snuff" sounds right at home on "South of Heaven" and "Public Display Of Dismemberment" could be mistaken as an unused track from the "Reign In Blood" sessions. Of course, Slayer still has some faults. There are still unconventional "Slayer songs" which do nothing but harm the band at this stage. "Human Strain" is definitely an odd-sounding song and ultimately sounds like something off of "God Hates Us All". I understand why Slayer wouldn't want to make a straight-up, balls-out thrash record at all times, but they've been like that for the better part of 20 years now. Had they taken the Slayer formula of war and satanic lyrics with speed and solos, this could've easily been album of the year. Another fault that should be mentioned (as I'm sure it's been mentioned about Slayer since 1994): Tom needs to stop yelling. It's sounding too forced these days. "Playing With Dolls" has a creepy vibe throughout and it features Tom actually singing through parts of the song which make it a very interesting song, albeit lacking in the end.

Also: "Americon" might just be the stupidest Slayer song ever released, lyrics-wise. Without even looking, I bet that Kerry King penned the lyrics. "It's all about the motherfuckin' oil/Regardless of the flag upon its soil". COME ON.

But I digress. "World Painted Blood" injects new life into the worn down thrash machine that is Slayer. "Unit 731" and "Snuff" have enough breakneck speed to satisfy old-school thrash fans, and "Psycopathy Red" might just be the best Slayer song written since 1990. The band still has its chops. The songs are still unmistakably Slayer, but they must have been listening to the myriad of forum posts on the internet about the guitar solos sounding the same. Lots of varied stuff here, but not enough to forget that it's Mr. King and Mr. Hanneman on the axes. The bass break (first ever for Slayer?!) in "Psycopathy Red" shows Mr. Araya has still got it, even if he needs to stop screaming all the time. Trust us, Tom. You sound a lot better when you let the lyrics come naturally. I've always been a huge fan of Mr. Lombardo's skill on the skins, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it really shines through on this album. Not to say that it's bad, just nothing too special.

The mix is not good on this album. It's not "Death Magnetic" bad, but it's still not that great. You have to really listen to pick up the drumming and the guitars are pretty "tinny" at times as well. It shouldn't make too much of a difference to die-hard Slayer fans, though.

At the end of the day, Slayer released a record. As the most consistent of the Big 4 of thrash metal, that should be more than enough reason to pick it up. But if you need more convincing, just know that "World Painted Blood" has Slayer back to being the thrash monster terrorizer that we all know and love. It's not perfect, but as long as you don't compare this album to any of their other albums (which you shouldn't do anyway), you'll find that Slayer is faster, hungrier, and a hell of a lot more evil than they have been in a while. SLAYER!!!

85/100

Stand-out tracks: Unit 731, Snuff, Psycopathy Red

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Clash of the Titans 2009-10?

Unconfirmed, but Slayer and Megadeth might be at the Sprint Center a few days after Christmas with Behemoth opening.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Rockstar Mayhem Festival -- Kansas City, KS -- July 21st, 2009

Running very low on sleep, so I'll try and be as thorough as I can. I'm worn out.

There was a really, really long line when I got to Sandstone Amphitheater, but it actually moved very, very fast. I got in and browsed the kiosks until the first band started.

Whitechapel started the day off, but they were bad. No, they were pretty terrible. Actually, they were one of the worst metal bands I've seen live. Every Whitechapel song has 148 breakdowns in it. And they have THREE GUITARISTS. What? Are they the Iron Maiden of wigger-slam? A few songs had some good moments, but ultimately, they were terrible. 3/10

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. Possession
5. Vicer Exciser
6. Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation
7. ?
8. This Is Exile

After them was the Jaeger band, and for us it was Continent of Ash. I went and bought the Cannibal Corpse comic book and got in line to meet them, so I could just hear the band, but they sounded terrible as well. If I see them again, I'll review them for real.

Luckily, the Hot Topic booth was right in front of its' stage, so I got to see Behemoth. Unlike the night before where their sound was messing up, they absolutely slayed today. They know how to work a crowd and all their songs sounded spot-on perfect. Same set as the night before, however. 9/10

1. Slaves Shall Serve
2. At The Left Hand Ov God
3. Conquer All
4. Demigod
5. Ov Fire And The Void
6. Chant For Eschaton 2000

After meeting all the guys from Cannibal Corpse and getting their autographs, I saw God Forbid again. They changed up their set some from the night before. And they sounded better this time. The crowd seemed pretty into them. Still not great, but better than the night before. 6/10

1. Star Wars Intro/?
2. ?
3. Walk Alone
4. Broken Promise
5. To The Fallen Hero
6. The End Of The World

I hate myself for it, but I actually enjoy The Black Dahlia Murder live. They were better the night before in front of a smaller crowd because of all the stage divers, but their energy was still there. Everything up to the new song was good, but everything after it was really, really good. They do start to sound the same after a while, but they had a perfect set length so that it was awesome. 8/10

1. Tim And Eric Intro/?
2. Everything Went Black
3. Necropolis
4. A Vulgar Picture
5. Miasma
6. What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
7. Funeral Thirst

I have a lot of friends who are big fans of All That Remains, so I was eager to hear them for myself. While I really dig the song Six (because of Guitar Hero!) the rest of their stuff is just okay. The clean vocals sound like Linkin Park, to me, but the vocalist does really nice harsh vocals as well. They probably had the biggest crowd reaction of the 2nd stage all day. 7/10

1. ?
2. Chiron
3. Forever In Your Hands
4. Six
5. ?
6. Two Weeks

Job for a Cowboy was the 2nd to last band on the Hot Topic stage. I had higher than average hopes for them because I thought they'd change from a crappy deathcore band to a pseudo-respectable death metal band. Was I right? Eh, no. Not really. Their bass player isn't too much of a tool anymore and some of their songs sound better, but that's about it. The new stuff sounds very bad live, and they're still just a deathcore band. 4/10

1. Knee Deep
2. ?
3. Unfurling A Darkened Gospel
4. Constitutional Masturbation
5. Entombment of a Machine
6. Embedded

Never listened to Trivium before today. I heard that their newest album was good, that they're a metalcore band, and that they're a Metallica knock-off band. I just heard the metalcore side, today. It wasn't terrible: there were no breakdowns and some actually pretty good solos. But nothing special. They said they'd be back with a really good tour in the fall, so we'll have to see. 7/10

1. ?
2. ? (something from the first album)
3. Down From The Sky
4. Throes of Perdition (part of this was real good)
5. Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr

Cannibal Corpse. Still just as awesome as they were the night before. All newer stuff except for the excellent closer of Hammer Smashed Face and Stripped, Raped & Strangled. Awesome. 9/10

1. Evisceration Plague
2. The Time To Kill Is Now
3. I Cum Blood
4. Sentenced To Burn
5. Make Them Suffer
6. Priests Of Sodom
7. Hammer Smashed Face
8. Stripped, Raped, & Strangled

Now time for the mainstage. Well, that is after some nachos and a hot dog. I got to the lawn when Bullet For My Valentine were 2 songs into their set. They seemed alright, a lot better live than on album. The vocalist's accent is amusing to me, too. But overall, alright band. 7/10

1. ?
2. ?
3. Tears Don't Fall
4. Waking The Demon (I think)
5. Take It Out On Me
6. Scream, Aim, Fire

I don't really want to get into it here; I might write an "essay" or so later, but I can say this: Killswitch Engage is the worst band I have ever seen live, metal or not. The whole band is full of douchebags, what they play is killing "heavy music" and I feel sad to know that some people actually like them and will grow up thinking they are metal. They are worse than Annotations of an Autopsy, Panther and Cobra Starship. One point for one good solo during their horrendous Holy Diver cover. It's true: metalcore is the glam metal of the 2000's. It's all about trendy shit to get money. 1/10

1. My Last Serenade
2. ?
3. Rose of Sharyn
4. ?
5. ?
6. My Curse
7.?
8. Holy Diver

Is there something wrong with metal band's sound equipment these days or what? Behemoth the night before was bad, but what happened to the first half of Slayer's set was embarassing. Sometimes the guitars would be really loud, and then fade almost completely out. Sometimes the drums would be silent. Sometimes all the sound would cut out except for Tom's mic. It was extremely unprofessional and a lot of people were pissed off. It ruined many songs which should have been awesome (Chemical Warfare, Born Of Fire, etc.) Luckily, they fixed it halfway through, during Ghosts Of War, and Slayer kicked ass for the rest of the set. Nothing was their fault, they were awesome. 8.5/10

1. Darkness Of Christ/Disciple
2. War Ensemble
3. Jihad
4. Psychopathy Red
5. Born Of Fire
6. Mandatory Suicide
7. Chemical Warfare
8. Ghosts Of War
9. Dead Skin Mask
10. Hell Awaits
11. Angel Of Death
12. South Of Heaven
13. Raining Blood

I really hope Slayer comes back here and has a more competent person working the soundboard than whatever joker was tonight. All in all, though, the day was awesome. I can't wait to see who's on Mayhem Fest 3.

Thus concludes day 2 of 5 of my metal journey. Tomorrow is a day of rest, then it's off to Skeletonwitch! Stay tuned!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

oh god

"BraveWords.com inside sources have confirmed that SLAYER and MEGADETH will be joining forces for a tour, this fall.

The trek is expected to be officially announced in May. Stay tuned for further updates."

YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Monday, January 26, 2009

Rockstar Mayhem 2009 FULL DETAILS

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113229

Main Stage:

SLAYER
MARILYN MANSON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

Hot Topic Stage:

WHITECHAPEL
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
JOB FOR A COWBOY
BEHEMOTH
CANNIBAL CORPSE

Jägermeister Stage:

GOD FORBID
ALL THAT REMAINS
TRIVIUM

Those last two stages are obviously backwards.

July 21st - Kansas City, MO (probably at Sandstone)

SSSSSSLLLLLLLAAAAAYYYYYYYEEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Rockstar Mayhem 2009 Rumor?

I've heard rumors that for next years Rockstar Mayhem, the main stage will be co-headlined by Marilyn Manson/Slayer. And also Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth will each headline a side stage.

If this is true, count me in for an excellent concert experience.

I'll just have to leave before Marilyn Manson.

Thursday, October 30, 2008