The first band of the night was the band I was more or less waiting to see of the two openers.  Chimaira are a brutal band with Roadruner Records, and this opening slot will do wonders for them.  Slayer fans seemed to be VERY into them, right from the start with "Let Go" all the way through "This Present Darkness" at the end.  Using their time well, they managed to get in a good portion of the songs from their debut CD Pass Out Of Existence.  Including songs like "Sp Lit," "Severed," and "Dead Inside" they found their mark and nailed it.  Quite impressive for opening the show... look out for these guys if you're a metal head.  Like hardcore metal... Morbid Angel or God Forbid would be proud to have them open.

      Then there's American Head Charge.  Right off the bat they turned me off.  WAY too much emphasis on image... Only the bass player (who had a six string bass, and he played four at most) didn't have whacked out hair or something else, and he was bald.  Martin Cock, vocalist, had some sort of goggles on and they seemed to be getting at a sort of post-apocalyptic feel to them. It didn't work.  For one of their keyboardists, that was especially true because his keyboard broke.  The roadie/tech told him it wasn't gonna work and the keyboardist threw a water bottle (with water) at him as he was holding the board and walked off stage.  Umm... right.  I, for one, am abivalent on them.  They weren't horrible... but they weren't good by ANY stretch of the imagination.  So, I block them out and prepare for the aural assault of SLAYER!

     And assault they did.  Opening with the intro and then "Disciple" from God Hates Us All, the new disc, and then wailing into all sorts of old classics such as "War Ensemble," Slayer was right on top the game tonight.  Whether it was doing songs like "Die By The Sword" and "Angel Of Death (the closer)" or "Stain Of Mind" and "New Faith," Slayer made sure that they were heard and understood.  Metal is here to stay.  Times change, but they stay true and the songs still apply.  But, something very good to hear was Tom's constant thanking of the crowd for supporting Slayer since the beginning and still today.  Nothing but love from the boys in Slayer.  Tom Araya's bass-playing, while simple, is fast and consistent. His vocals are clear, if indeed he can't do the high screams of old Slayer circa Reign In Blood."  Kerry King's speed is unrivaled, Jeff Hanneman's ability is unquestionable when he rips into a solo.  And Paul Bostaph... holy shit... the man is a drum machine.  Amazingly fast and accurate as hell.  Only the men who've sat behind Slayer before (Dave Lombardo especially) can equal or best him.  Quite an amazing show... if you are into metal and have a chance to see Slayer, you have NO excuse for not going.  Skip your job, skip school, steal some kid's luch money... do what you have to do.  The roots of 90% of the bands that play metal today have their roots in Slayer.  Those metal bands that don't are poseurs, pure and simple.  Slayer may say God Hates Us All, but they'll love you like family if you treat the family right.