WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Halifax, NS
The Metro Centre
June 10, 2004
Moncton, NB
The Moncton Coliseum
June 11, 2004
by Jon Bruhm
I'm not afraid to admit I'm not big on the heavy metal. I am, however, afraid of getting into a mosh pit with a horde of metalheads. I can fend for myself, but in a region of Canada where metal shows are few and far between, I knew that these two nights were probably going to get a little crazy. Slayer, who have been deafening audiences for more than 20 years, are one of the most illustrious North American metal bands of all time. To see them, and Damageplan - the new outfit lead by former Pantera-mates (and brothers) Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell - on the same stage on the East Coast of Canada was a real treat, especially since their Canadian tour wasn't even hitting anywhere west of Montreal this time around.
Sweet, sweet justice for all. For the Halifax show, I took a seat in the stands as Damageplan kicked off the show to roughly 3,000 screaming fans - a disappointing number, but it could have been worse. I had a bird's-eye view of Dimebag, the legendary axe-man, as he gave us all a serious guitar lesson. Before tearing into a cover of Pantera's "Walk," he shared some rather unkind words about the other half of his old band, saying that he and Paul would never turn their backs on the fans. Sounds like there's some bad blood lingering...
When Slayer arrived on-stage, it caused an immediate surge in the mosh pit, with the gates at the front of the stage breaking several times due to pushing, leaving security officials to hold people back by force. Fans were treated to the classic Slayer lineup, as this was the first time in a dozen years that original drummer Dave Lombardo was back behind the skins. Vocalist/bassist Tom Araya seemed to be in a good mood, taunting the fans and giving his trademark bits of banter before "Mandatory Suicide" and "Postmortem." Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman didn't really move all that much, aside from swapping places on the stage from time to time, or rocking out beside one another every now and then. Overall, the entire band stayed relatively stationary throughout the set. Nevertheless, the excellent sound quality and the busy and blinding light show kept all entertained. As promised, Slayer played their entire 1986 classic album Reign In Blood as an encore, hardly pausing inbetween songs, and Araya barely spoke a word until they had finished.
Unfortunately, few people realized this was actually the encore, due to little transition time between the end of the set and the start of the album. Many voiced their displeasure once the lights came on at the end of "Raining Blood," as most were hoping for them to rip into the ever-popular "Seasons In The Abyss." Nevertheless, Slayer rocked out for a full 90 minutes and played most of their hits. Twenty-four hours later in Moncton, photographer Chr!s Sm!th and I arrived 15 minutes late, and ended up missing Damageplan's entire set. It turns out there was only one gate open at the Coliseum and hefty security meant a massive line waited outside while the rock was going on inside. Roughly a third of the estimated 3,000 in attendance missed most of Dimebag and company rocking out, which left a bitter taste in many mouths.
This time, I braved the floor, but stood way back by the sound booth. The small arena looked much more full than The Metro Centre did, but my view from the back consisted mainly of devil horns, clouds of "smoke" and scantly clad women on their boyfriends' shoulders. Although the sound wasn't nearly as clear as it was in Halifax, I heard the music from one of the sweetest spots in the house, and even at the back of the room, Lombardo's double bass drum fills were shaking chests. With members of just about every Moncton band, past and present, in attendance, Slayer cranked out pretty much the same setlist as they did in Halifax. Unfortunately, the evening's vibe was destroyed by the hyperactive mosh pit, which violently squished dozens of people up against the protective gates at the front during several songs, causing the band to stop and the lights to come on until the gates could be repaired. At one point, Araya lost his temper and yelled at everyone to "back the fuck up!" and, like a legion of faithful minions, the crowd eventually obeyed.
And so, once the show was over and the fans had scattered, again disgruntled due to the lack of "Seasons In The Abyss," or of an identifiable encore, but ecstatic that they had just seen Slayer in their own backyard. It's been a long time since Metallica were on the East Coast in (read: in 1993, back when they were still kind of cool) and who knows when another band of their calibre will return. But, with the spirit of metal alive in the air in both Halifax and Moncton, one can only hope that the answer is very soon.