Slayer review – spectacle, gore, mayhem and some of metal's greatest songs
Orbiting their contribution to Black Sabbath's forthcoming final show in Birmingham, this is Slayer's first UK date in six years after a final tour that, not unsurprisingly given metal's spotty record in this regard, wasn't so final after all. There's little sense of a sheepish re-emergence, though, with a lengthy video package on the history of the band teeing up South of Heaven's inimitable riff, which is immediately in the throats of the crowd before drummer Paul Bostaph's double-kick sparks kinetic mayhem.
Their set is lean and unforgivingly mean. There are no breathers, no ballads. Its most melodic moment is Seasons in the Abyss, which even in these bucolic surroundings is a needling nightmare of a song. Guitarist Kerry King plays with punishing intensity, his squalling solos meshing with dextrous leads from a swaggering Gary Holt, the Exodus riffer who took over from the late Jeff Hanneman a little more than a decade ago. The duo assemble Jihad's constituent parts methodically, building piece by piece in anticipation of its descent into chaos.
There is spectacle – amid a gnarly Disciple two upside down crosses made from Marshall cabinets go up in flames – but it's pointed. Where main support Amon Amarth's towering Viking warriors and drinking horns are obviously in service of fun, Slayer are still a shocking proposition, their churning riffs punctuated by gross-out gore and grim images from endless war. During Raining Blood, which remains a perfect metal song, the screens make it look like the red stuff is pouring from the sky, dousing audience and band alike. Subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely.
Slayer play Back to the Beginning, Villa Park, Birmingham, 5 July; and Finsbury Park, London, 6 July
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