Slayer, Anthrax and Death Angel - Fall 2016 North American Tour
Review and Photos by Ruby Scholling
Review and Photos by Ruby Scholling
So I’m driving to the Moody Theater in downtown Austin to see the Slayer, Anthrax, Death Angel show and I’m confronted by a whole city block of black clad fans waiting to get into the show. Yeah, this is gonna be good!
The night started out with Bay Area thrash metal band Death Angel. Now it’s been 3 decades since I saw Death Angel so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Well if I could describe them as a picture it would be:
The night started out with Bay Area thrash metal band Death Angel. Now it’s been 3 decades since I saw Death Angel so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Well if I could describe them as a picture it would be:
If I had to describe them as a movie it would be Fast & Furious. Although every bit true to the roots of thrash metal including ripping guitar solos by original member Rob Cavestany, the strong vocals of Mark Osegueda were surprisingly (and refreshingly) melodic. Death Angel definitely held their own sharing the stage with two of the giants of the genre.
Next up: Anthrax. Now as many times as I’ve seen Anthrax there is one thing that is the same at every show: their immense energy. Joey Belladonna truly is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal. Through all the searing playing of Ian, Bello, Benante and Donais, Belladonna’s vocals are powerful enough to cut through like a perfectly sharpened knife. But, my favorite to watch is bassist Frank Bello. He plays the bass like a madman not stopping for a second; giving the audience every drop of energy he has! As a concert photographer he is one of the hardest (and most fun) performers to shoot. Their set list was a perfect blend of their classics like “Indians” intermixed with songs from their latest album, “For All Kings” (a must have album). They did NOT disappoint!
Then for the night’s final performance: ominous intro music plays while Slayer’s logo is projected onto the curtain. Tension builds so intensely throughout the audience that you can feel it. (Yes, I saw grown men bouncing up and down like little girls). The curtain drops, and the crowd explodes. You’ve got to give it to them – they know how to make an entrance. They kicked off the set with the title track from “Repentless” and never slowed down their audio attack for the rest of the night with the final notes of “When the Stillness Comes”. The air itself seemed to vibrate with the music. Throughout it all Tom Araya bears a huge smile. It’s always refreshing to see the band having fun on stage, and he looked like he was having a blast. And so were we!
As a side bar: I was really excited to see that Slayer’s guitarist Gary Holt brought his very unique guitar to the show. It was hand painted in Gary’s own blood by the amazing artist Vincent Castiglia. So cool to see this incredible piece of artwork in person!
As a side bar: I was really excited to see that Slayer’s guitarist Gary Holt brought his very unique guitar to the show. It was hand painted in Gary’s own blood by the amazing artist Vincent Castiglia. So cool to see this incredible piece of artwork in person!