We thought this day would never come but after canceling and re-scheduling twice since November, intrepid duo Slayer and The Haunted finally made it to London. Bassist/vocalist Tom Araya had endured severe back pain on tour and decided to undergo surgery and get properly fixed up. This decision meant that the whole UK tour had to be moved twice in a row. These events also sparked rumours that it might well be Slayer’s last-ever tour.
One of the good news was that The Haunted stayed the main and only support throughout and at an early 7h45, frontman Peter Dolving takes to the stage oozing his usual charisma. Set-opener Dark Intentions feels like an earthquake has just reached North London and the whole Forum is vibrating on the brink to falling apart. Sadly, it’s not only the sheer power of the music that reaches our ears but also the appalling sound coming from the PA. After checking my ear plugs 3 times as the guitars made my ears bleed with their screeching I had to come to the conclusion that the sound engineer had fucked something up! Technical issues aside, The Haunted hit the crowd song after song like a slap in the face and make the most of those who ventured early into the venue. It is a surprise to see that the place is still half empty and that most hardcore Slayer fans did not bother checking those guys out. A bit elitist maybe? Their loss, I say as it’s not everyday that you’ll have the chance to witness such pure force coming from a thrash band. Crowd favourites Moronic Colossus and The Guilt Trip end the set adding that little bit of melodic softness to The Haunted’s naked power.
It’s almost 8h45 and Slayer’s loyal fans become impatient after seeing smoke being blasted on stage for the third time…will they ever make it? A few minutes later, a red smoky mist welcomes the thrash icons themselves, the daddies of most metal bands and those who inspired a whole generation of dedicated head-bangers: the mighty Slayer. Some of us have waited over 6 months for this and the anticipation and excitement is felt. Opening with their new album title track, World Painted Blood, guitarist Kerry King and his brothers trigger a violent mosh pit in the visibly sold out venue. After controversial Jihad and another newbie, Hate Worldwide, Disciple kicks off…but then, silence. A sense of confusion can be read on all our faces until Tom Araya himself announces that someone in the mosh pit got seriously injured and that they have to stop the show until the ambulance arrives and safely stretches him out of the venue. What was promised to be a short 15 minutes break turns into 30 minutes of fans wondering how much of the set they would loose because of this guy.
Half an hour later, the gig resumes after Araya profusely thanks the crowd for being patient and allowing the crew to do their job. Surprisingly, they start the whole of Disciple again and will stick to the set-list until the end despite the delay. When a song later, War Ensemble kicks off, most fans are unaware that they are from now on in for a very special treat that will see the band play 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss in its entirety for the very first time. Unfortunately, it seems that the unexpected break might have thrown some of the band a little bit off as the tuning on some of the songs is more than slightly out. That said; these musical imperfections take nothing out of raw intensity coming from this whole album and looking around me, most fans seems none the wiser and continue to head-bang and raise their horns ferociously. The last and title-track of this iconic record brings a mesmerizing doomy intro tainted by a certain threatening feel to it.
Raining Blood and Aggressive Perfector end the main set and after a rushed 30 seconds break, Tom and his compeers, come back to the stage to play Slayer’s most recognizable tracks: South of Heaven and Angel of Death. After thanking the faithful crowd once more, Araya’s disappears leaving an army of stunned, sweaty and very happy old-school metallers. They made it!
SLAYER'S SITE
Thank you to Michael Cleary @ Sony Music
To see more photos of Slayer and The Haunted at the Forum
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