On to the bands I could see in their entirety, Swedish Viking overlords AMON AMARTH not only had a proper duration of stage time, they also used that stage time to arrive in style on a Viking barge to the thundering drum and bass beats of IRON MAIDEN’s “Run To The Hills” before launching into their own material, opening, obviously, with “The Pursuit Of Vikings”. Under the command of Johan Hegg, the Stockholm-based quintet, also comprised of bassist Ted Lundström, guitarists Johan Söderberg and Olavi Mikkonen and drummer Jocke Wallgren, pillaged the stage like it was a rural Hertfordshire community from the 11th century. The beards and the beer were flowing freely as the pit was alive with the sounds of 20 years of tales of Norse conquest valiance compiled into eleven studio albums including their recent release Berserker. From the pummeling fury of early tracks such as “Deceiver Of The Gods” and “Twilight Of The Thunder Gods” and newer heathen hammer high-flying anthems such as “As Loke Falls” and “Raven’s Flight”, the band guaranteed that many horns and pints were raised high in the name of the Norse deity that evening. Swede emotion!

Setlist:

• “The Pursuit Of Vikings”
• “Deceiver Of The Gods”
• “As Loke Falls”
• “Crack The Sky”
• “Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags”
• “First Kill”
• “Twilight Of The Thunder Gods”
• “Raise Your Horns”
• “Raven’s Flight”
• “Guardians Of Aasgard”

The stage is promptly set for co-headliners LAMB OF GOD as the Richmond, Virginia-based quintet open with a brutal rendition of “Omerta” set to a large backdrop of their logo. Their set boasted proficiency and efficiency and covered a good 15 years or so of their seven-album discography. Frontman Randy Blythe was the consummate performer, his energetic jumps and mid-air roundhouse kicks riling up the crowd just as much as the raw-sounding thrash rhythms produced by the talents of guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell and drummer Art Cruz (subbing for an injured Chris Adler on this tour). From the groove-heavy shredders such as “Walk With Me In Hell” and “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” to breakneck full-on thrash jams such as “512”, “Engage The Fear Machine”, “Laid To Rest” and the closing number “Redneck”, the band guaranteed a wild pit throughout their 9-song set especially with Blythe reminding everyone why we were all in attendance that night, but also made sure that they were likely poised to seek the throne in the new era of American thrash. And this could be the tour and exposure that could do it for them. Now that’s givin ‘em something to strive for.

Setlist:

• “Omerta”
• “Ruin”
• “Walk With Me In Hell”
• “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For”
• “512”
• “Engage The Fear Machine”
• “Blacken The Cursed Sun”
• “Laid To Rest”
• “Redneck”

Finally, the moment everyone had been both anticipating and dreading as this would be the last time their catalogue would be performed live – the beginning of SLAYER’s final chapel haunt. But the event was far from being a period of mourning – and this was highlighted as the legendary thrash quartet launched into “Repentless” – as the atmosphere was more of a celebration of the vast body of work which the band has left us with. “Live fast/On high/Repentless/Let it ride!” frontman/bassist Tom Araya screamed with fiery conviction as the backing thrash metal wizardry of guitarists Gary Holt and Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph shredded and bashed their way through an impressive 20-song set of well-known and should-be-more-well-known classics while bursts of well-timed flames spouting around them. With the loss of founding member/guitarist Jeff Hanneman and the recent passing of famed album designer Larry Carroll, who had designed many of SLAYER’s famed album covers including Reign In Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons In The Abyss and Christ Illusion (which were displayed in his memory each time a song from each album was played), this was a performance which allowed the band’s loyal fanbase to travel back to their roots. Among the tried and true headbanging classics on the setlist such as “South Of Heaven”, “Raining Blood”, “War Ensemble”, “Seasons In The Abyss” and closing screecher “Angel Of Death”, there was the inclusion of unearthed gems such as “Hell Awaits”, “Born of Fire”, “Payback” and my personal fave “Chemical Warfare”. And while Tom Araya is known for being a man of few words when it comes to giving a speech, his brief exchanges with the crowd – often when introducing the odd song or two, especially when he got the crowd to respond to his chants of “Payback’s a BITCH, motherfucker!” – his somewhat placid demeanor was in full view of everyone as they gave him a riveting standing ovation for a full two minutes after the last song of the evening. He’d just come from screaming the lyrics to one of the genre’s heaviest songs to standing humbly amongst 10,000+ fans chanting the band’s name in unison – the last time in each city he’d be hearing those timeless chants and the last time we could chant them with legitimacy at an actual SLAYER concert. Those chants were what helped shape the aesthetic of our passions as metal and music fans almost as much as the music itself does. And while we can be grateful for the abundance of music that SLAYER will have left us once they close out their illustrious career at their homecoming final gig in LA in December, the metal community will nonetheless be lesser without them. It’s probably why Tom Araya could only say one sentence that he could to sum up the band’s gratitude for amassing them such a dedicated fanbase that’s stood by them after all those years:

“We’re really gonna miss you guys.”

And with that final six, SLAYER’s work is done.

Thanks for keeping metal evil, guys. The feeling is also mutual.

Setlist:

• “Repentless”
• “Evil Has No Boundaries”
• “World Painted Blood”
• “Postmortem”
• “Hate Worldwide”
• “War Ensemble”
• “Gemini”
• “Disciple”
• “Mandatory Suicide”
• “Chemical Warfare”
• “Payback”
• “Temptation”
• “Born Of Fire”
• “Seasons In The Abyss”
• “Hell Awaits”
• “Raining Blood”
• “Black Magic”
• “Dead Skin Mask”
• “South Of Heaven”
• “Angel Of Death”