Slayer with Carcass and Testament @ the House of Blues, 3/16/2016

There are few bands that have stood the test of time within the world of heavy metal music. Initially thought an outlier (to mainstream metal fans) Slayer has become, over the more than 30 years of playing music, one of the grandfathers of modern heavy metal music (you'd be hard pressed to find a contemporary metal band that doesn't owe them a debt).

In many ways, it is an example of a band being so far on the forefront of a musical movement that culture eventually catches up with them. While once considered extreme metal with lyrics about serial killers, genocide, torture, and general brutality, our current world seems pretty much like a reflection of their music. When Ozzy Osbourne is used to sell cars then you know the world has gone crazy. Thankfully, Slayer has remained the stalwart troupe of musicians cranking out their over particular version of speed, thrash, dark (call it what you will) music. And with the exception of the occasional shift in drummers, that troupe has remained pretty consistent over their 30+ years run. Sadly, founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away in 2013 forcing the band to recruit Gary Holt from bay area thrash band Exodus.

Despite touring with a new album (2015's "Repentless") the show felt very much like a greatest hits tour. The number of classic, mindblowing songs they performed was a revelation. The band has quite a catalog obviously as they have never stopped recording over their long history. Although, to my dismay, "God Hates Us All" (from the album of the same name) was not included. However, you like "Reign in Blood?" Here have some "Postmortem." Loved "Seasons in the Abyss?" Boom! You get "War Ensemble" and "Dead Skin Mask."

The band has always been tight and (relative) newcomer guitarist Holt did a spectacular job of holding up against Tom Araya and Kerry King. The guys put on a show. It was also notable for taking place at a venue that is considerably smaller than they have played historically. Be this due to economic reasons or whatever, it was pretty amazing. There aren't many chances to get close to the stage at a Slayer show and the smaller venues give you that window. The pit itself was fairly small considering how violent Slayer shows can be. But overall, the heavily bearded, middle-aged male crowd was clearly in their element. I did have a moment of "Bear bar or Metal show" about midway through the night.

The opening bands Carcass and Testament did not have nearly enough time on stage. Both bands also bring with them decades of performing and it shows. They need to do their own headlining tour stat. Over all, this will go down as one of the top metal shows of 2016. The lineup and the performances will be tough to bear. Megadeth is coming soon. Lets see if they can bring it as well as their fellow 80s metal brethren.