Testament, Megadeth, and Slayer
Sometimes it’s hard for me to suppress my headbanging roots. My friend Craig isn’t any help as every time a classic thrash band comes through town he inevitably buys two tickets, looks at me with his big brown eyes and says, “But dude…I don’t have anyone else to go with.” So there I am, rocking like it’s 1989.
The so-called “American Carnage Tour” (*sigh*) was supposed to come through town back in February, but was delayed due to Slayer’s Tom Araya having back surgery, giving me a stay of execution for around six months. But it wouldn’t be delayed forever – you can’t stop metal, you know – and Saturday night there I was, pushing my way down a smelly corridor, making my way to my seat in the balcony of the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul, about to settle in for nearly four hours of classic thrash. And yes, I said “seat”. I’m thirty-four years old, have two kids, and am about as interested in participating in a mosh pit as I am attending a Justin Bieber concert; which is to say not at all.
In all fairness to the genre and the bands involved, I do hold a soft spot in my heart for thrash metal, if only out of nostalgia. Plus, surviving a Slayer concert just seems like a “bucket list” activity, doesn’t it? I touched on the subject earlier in my Big Four of Thrash article, and after having experienced a taste of it in the safety of a movie theater, seeing it live was too much to resist.
As I took my seat in the dingy auditorium known mostly for boxing events and broken seats, the lights went down. I swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and prepared myself…
I remember very little about Testament beyond vague recollections of listening to their Souls of Black album in the back room of a mobile home and catching their Practice What You Preach video on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. I recalled them having a larger-than-life singer named Chuck Billy and a guitar prodigy named Alex Skolnick. Beyond that, I had nothing. Well, sure enough, there they were: Chuck Billy, Alex Skolnick and the rest of the gang blasting through shockingly bad-ass thrash tunes at lightning speed in front of a backdrop that appeared to depict Castle Grayskull.
Testament came on stage a few minutes before 7pm and nailed a near sixty-minute set, which inexplicably included neither of the aforementioned Souls of Black or Practice What You Preach. For real, guys? You’re opening for Megadeth and Slayer in 2010. Granted, this was a pretty hardcore metal audience. But still, for those who don’t live and breath the genre, you might want to consider at least one or two semi-familiar tunes, especially since Testament wasn’t exactly a household name back in the day.
One final note on Testament: I’m not sure what the deal is, but Chuck Billy has some sort of bizarre fixation with air guitar. He’s one of those singers who walks around with a half mic stand, and when he’s not singing, he’s playing air guitar. With the mic stand. Intensely. It’s very strange and kind of cartoonish.
Oh well. Onward and upward…
Megadeth. Fuck yes. Now this I can get behind.
Last Wednesday, I was sitting on Hilden’s porch (not a euphemism), and he told me there was “some metal guy” signing books at his local Borders that coming weekend. I asked, “What metal guy?” to which he responded, “I don’t know. Some dude with long blonde hair. I think his name starts with a D.” Immediately, I shouted, “Dave Mustaine!” Hilden’s complete ignorance baffles me sometimes. This is Dave-fucking-Mustaine; the greatest metal guitar player of all time. (Don’t argue with me).
So yes, I was definitely interested in seeing Megadeth, despite the fact that their Big Four set felt a little flat. That show featured dying-cat-like vocals, and a rather uninspired trip through a selection of Megadeth classics and a few more recent titles. This night, however, they were set to play through the entirety of their classic album Rust in Peace, followed by a handful of other tunes. And, happily, Dave himself seemed far more enthusiastic and affable than he did during the Big Four show.
The thing about Mustaine is that he’s kind of nuts and you never know what you’re going to get – the crabby and bitter dude with an attitude who barely says a word, or the warm, friendly guy who shares his wit with a smile. Thankfully, it was the latter this night, as he bantered with the crowd and made the occasional funny comment.
They pounded through Rust in Peace, which has always been one of my favorite metal albums, and then played a few newer tunes, most of which were completely unknown by me. Their finale of Peace Sells and Holy Wars was fucking great, though, and I came away far more impressed than I was after the Big Four show.
Here’s a video I took on my phone of Megadeth playing Rust in Peace…Polaris.
And then it was time for the real carnage to begin. Slayer. Dear God, what was I doing here? For those unfamiliar, Slayer is four ugly motherfuckers who play ugly music for ugly people. These guys play fast and loud and with probably the worst technique of any band ever. Except for Dave Lombardo. This guy is the metal drummer. It’s hard for me to decide who’s better: Lombardo or Anthrax’s Charlie Benante, but I’ll leave that up to you guys in the comments section.
Anyway, the first half of Slayer’s set was punishing, and I felt as though I was being punched in the brain sonically. The tunes were unfamiliar and almost indistinguishable from one another. I watched the mosh pit below me, looked around as people randomly shouted the obliatory, “SLAYER!!!” and wondered when it was all going to end. And then they hit the first few notes of Seasons of the Abyss. Look, I enjoy some metal and all, and maybe this makes me one of “those” fans. You know, the guys at the Pearl Jam concert who only perk up when they hear Evenflow. But fuck it, man: Seasons in the Abyss is a great tune, and proof that if those guys put their minds to it, they can come up with a killer metal tune that also happens to have a hint of melody. From there on out, I was sold. They came through with South of Heaven, Raining Blood, and ended with Angel of Death. It’s like I was fifteen again.
I have to note the light show, as absurd as that seems. But the way in which the lighting synchronized and complimented the music was absolutely vital to my enjoyment of the show. I go to concerts all the time where lighting is a mere afterthought; a spotlight here, a bit of strobe there, whatever. But these fuckers had it down and it was amazing.
So there you have it, my night of metal. The only thing missing was Anthrax, who are apparently joining in on other shows on the tour. Figures that my favorite metal band skips the show in my town, but whatever.
Anybody else catching this tour?
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:39 am
My new job has me working till 10pm so I can’t see this tour. :/
I haven’t seen this Megadeth lineup, but I have seen them before Jr returned and that was the best lineup I’ve seen. Marty and Nick are great and all, but the new guys are just better.
Also, don’t bother with Mustaine’s book. It’s poorly written and he spends a lot of his time whining with no reflecting back on his life.
And Seasons is my favorite Slayer song. I just love it. I wish they’d write more songs that strayed away from the 3-minutes-of-fast-riffs-and-2-crazy-solos formula that they have been known for.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:47 am
Right on about Slayer.
Unfortunately, I actually bought Mustaine’s book right when it came out. I checked out a sample on iBooks and based on that, preordered it. The sample was just the chapter about his childhood and seemed kind of interesting. So I assume he goes on to piss and moan about Metallica and how he got screwed?
This lineup of Megadeth is pretty good. Dave E is always great, but their guitar player is really, really good. Not too crazy about the drummer, though. I thought Nick Menza was better.
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm
There is a lot of bitterness and moaning in the book.
And have you listened to Alex Skolnick Trio?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8NJd9fJvhM
August 24th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Great review John. I’ve really enjoyed the concert writing this summer.
Speaking of Mustane, there’s a great moment during the band commentary of Some Kind of Monster, where Lars talks about driving Mustane back to the airport, and a Metallica song came on the radio, making for a very uncomfortable situation. I sort of feel for Dave but also feel like he made his own bed. He couldah’ been a contendah.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Really? I don’t remember that part.
But, in my book, as big a douche as he can be and while I’m sure he was a tremendous pain in the ass in the band, he’s still the best metal guitar player ever (again: IMO). I was just listening to “Killing is My Business…” today for the first time in probably twenty years and god damn…what a great album. So underrated. You can really feel the influence of Chris Poland and Gar Sameulson on that record. Not as much on “Peace Sells”, but definitely on “Killing”. I wish that lineup could’ve lasted.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I popped in Megadeth’s “Youthanasia” today. It’s still a badass album.
Also, John, I know that you came to become a Sword fan after seeing them in concert, and apparently today they released a new album. Have you heard it? It sounds WAY cleaner than the previous two albums. I kinda like the lo-fi sound they had, much like earlier Black Keys records.
Not metal related, but if you like incredible blues rock, check out the Black Keys. I can’t express how much I fucking love the Black Keys sound.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
John, I agree with Megadeth’s debut. You can really tell that Chris and Gar came from the jazz scene, maybe more so with Gar. Infact, It was him that got Mustaine hooked on heroin. Mustaine saw Gar shooting up and Gar looks at Mustaine and tells him “All the good jazz musicians shoot heroin.”
And I too wish that lineup lasted longer. But Chris had to be a dick and sell off the bands equipment for more… you guess it… heroin.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
And Youthanasia is awesome. It’s by far my favorite Megadeth album.