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Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus Play ACL Live

On Tuesday November 18th, PBS stood for Public Bruising Service as The Moody Theater filmed Slayer for another broadcast of ACL Live. Not only did Slayer bring the darkest and fastest songs to ever appear on public broadcasting, they did it with an old school thrasher’s dream lineup of Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies supporting. Fans were treated to one of the best light shows, sound systems and seating in the town of Austin.

Exodus opened the evening, but before walking the steps into the theater, we travelled past a pimped-out Scion custom Slayer car. The black-painted car (what other color would it be?) featured a booming system, Slayer’s eagle symbol on the hood, the pentagram symbols on the head rests, a sword-shaped (die by the sword), ebreak, ghostly skulls and Slayer painted on the doors. It also included a TV screen in the back that played Slayer videos and interviews.

In front of “Blood In Blood Out” banners and backdrop, Exodus opened the show with a six-song, half-hour set. Playing first allowed Gary Holt time to rest before playing with Slayer later in the evening. Of the three bands that played, Exodus had the most recent material with a “new” singer. Steve “Zetro” Souza hasn’t played with the band for ten years, but when he launched into his trademark snarl, it seemed as if he had never left. The band started its set with two tracks—“Black 13” and “Blood In, Blood Out” from their recent recording “Blood In Blood Out.” Both songs sounded great, but the band get its best response when they pulled out dusty, oldies from the cellar such as “Bonded By Blood.” Of course, the pit widened when they played their anthem “Toxic Waltz.” The band ended its set with their speed metal classic “Strike of the Beast,” a song Holt played with Slayer last year at Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Suicidal Tendencies was a blur of movement. The band constantly rotated its members around the stage. Whether skanking, running, or hiding in the corner during a solo, front man Mike Muir was the busiest of the bunch. Once he ran around the stage holding his wrist as if his cat-claws-on-carpet movements were out of control. This was another leg of the band’s “13” tour so much of the material seemed familiar from their tour last year. While there was no “Institutionalized,” they did play several songs from their first two albums such as “I Saw Your Mommy,” “Subliminal,” “Possessed to Skate” and “War Inside My Head.”

Muir introduced “Possessed to Skate” by talking about his brother joining the skateboarding hall of fame. The band received the most crowd participation during their anthem “Pledge Allegiance” with the crowd yelling “ST.” As stated above, they played with a ton of energy. Bassist Michael Morgan proved a good replacement for Tim 'Rawbiz' Williams who passed away earlier this year. Drummer Eric Moore was a trip. He stood up from his kit to whirl his sticks and even left his drums a couple of times. Once, he came up to the mic to stir the crowd. Another time, he grabbed a cymbal and beat it all the way to the front of the stage.

Anticipation was huge for Slayer due to their coming out behind a sheet, which the stage hands maneuvered surprisingly with little effort. Once the sheet was removed, inverted crosses and the Wehrmacht symbol graced the crowd’s vision. Mood lighting throughout the night, especially reds, revealed silhouettes of the band in Four Horseman-like fashion. The band began its hour-and-forty-five-minute set with a newer track “World Painted Blood.” Other tracks from “World Painted Blood” include “Snuff” and “Hate World Wide” and “Psychopathy Red.”

The rest of their set was classic material that everyone expected. Some tracks such as “Necrophliac,” and “Spill The Blood” aren’t common in their set, although I’ve seen the band perform both before. Both track seemingly arrived in an evil mist with “Hell Awaits” and “At Dawn They Sleep” following. Slower tracks “Dead Skin Mask” and “Seasons In The Abyss” showed the band at its most dynamic.

The band closed with an encore of “South of Heaven” and “Angel of Death.” Slayer had changed the Wehrmacht backdrop to their pentagram earlier in the set. When they played “Angel of Death,” they switched it to a banner that looked like a Heineken beer (like Hanneman’s guitar) and read “Hanneman..” Tom Araya’s scream during this last track wasn’t near the pitch on album, but he still has holding power. He’s found that lower octave and perfected it.

Gary Holt, Hanneman’s replacement, played hard, but it’s still not the same seeing Holt trade off leads with King. King’s whammy bars were stunning, as always. It will be interesting to see what Holt brings to the table on the next Slayer record. It won’t be the same, but if he brings some Exodus-type riffs to the recording it could be interesting, it could a refreshing change of pace for the band.

The remaining tour dates are as follows:

Nov. 21 - Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
Nov. 22 - The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
Nov. 23 - The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
Nov. 25 - The Armory, Albany, NY
Nov. 26 - Sands Events Center, Bethlehem, PA
Nov. 28 - The Palladium, Worcester, MA
Nov. 29 - Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
Nov. 30 - Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 02 - Agora Theatre, Cleveland, OH
Dec. 04 - Egyptian Room, Indianapolis, IN
Dec. 05 - The Fillmore, Detroit, MI