Concert review: Slayer, Megadeth, Testament at UIC Pavilion
Slayer, Megadeth and Testament -- three bands that helped reinvent metal in the ‘80s -- drew nearly a full house Friday inside the steamy UIC Pavilion, defying age and gravity to play sets that hit hard and fast, brutality delivered with a sinister smile.
“They were louder in Detroit,” Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine sneered as the fans shouted a chorus back at him, then broke into a grin when the fans responded to his taunts with even greater gusto. “That’s more like it.”
The three bands share much in common: roots in the seedier, punkier side of California’s metal scene, an emphasis on velocity as well as heaviness; Apocalyptic lyrics about death, war and religious oppression; a taste for street clothes instead of standard rock-star duds; and a disdain for theatricality, frilliness and poodle haircuts.
“They were louder in Detroit,” Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine sneered as the fans shouted a chorus back at him, then broke into a grin when the fans responded to his taunts with even greater gusto. “That’s more like it.”
The three bands share much in common: roots in the seedier, punkier side of California’s metal scene, an emphasis on velocity as well as heaviness; Apocalyptic lyrics about death, war and religious oppression; a taste for street clothes instead of standard rock-star duds; and a disdain for theatricality, frilliness and poodle haircuts.
The audience was a mirror image of the bands: tattoos, studs, and devil’s horns were in full effect, with a little gray here and there to match the silvery thatch sprouting from Slayer singer Tom Arraya’s chin. A shaven-headed fan sitting in front of me stripped off his black Slayer T-shirt to reveal an even more impressive Slayer skull tattoo covering his back.
It was a fitting homage to a band that has remained essentially unchanged since its 1981 inception. Arraya has cut way down on the headbanging, thanks to a recent neck injury, but otherwise the band played with astounding precision and speed. Kerry King, with tattoos snaking up his arms and chains dangling from his waist, played solos that bent and stretched notes into diabolical shapes, while his counterpart Jeff Hanneman conjured visions of screaming poltergeists as his right hand blurred across the strings.
The quartet devoted the bulk of its set to playing its 1990 album, “Seasons in the Abyss,” in its entirety. Ace drummer Dave Lombardo navigated the rollercoaster ride from the fury of “War Ensemble” to the eerie grind of “Expendable Youth.” The only concession to arena staging was a wall of black amplifiers, a Slayer trademark stacked three-high. The band moved from one song to the next without pause; Arraya moved more stiffly than usual but his voice was still pliant enough to pierce through the roaring grid of guitars. An early rarity, “Aggressive Perfector,” was sandwiched between an encore loaded with metal landmarks: “South of Heaven,” which unwound like a snake, the pitiless “Raining Blood” and the outraged “Angel of Death.” Once accused of exploiting their subject matter for shock effect, the songs now play like street documentaries of a world surging into chaos.
Megadeth also performed its 1990 classic, “Rust in Peace,” front to back. Like Slayer, the quartet played with laser-like focus; guitarist Mustaine barely looked up from between golden tangles of hair. Each song began like a starter’s gun going off, and the four horsemen were off to the races, with Mustaine hunched over his guitar in a quest for more speed, more violence, more daring. His rhythm section kept pace, with bassist Dave Ellefson often playing lead melody lines against the double-kick-drum volleys of Shawn Drover. The band was far less impressive though when it slowed down during the encore for "Trust" and "A Tout Le Monde." Fortunately, Mustaine regained his bearings with a closing blitz of "Peace Sells."
Testament doesn’t have quite the notoriety of the two headliners, but the quintet has served nobly in the metal trenches since the early ‘80s. Chuck Billy played the role of a more traditional rock front man (unlike Arraya and Mustaine, who were more business-like in approach). He exhorted the crowd, played air guitar solos on his microphone stand along with the band’s very own guitar deity Alex Skolnick, and orchestrated the mayhem in the vast mosh pit. As the fans sweated themselves into a frenzy, Billy smiled and said, “Thanks for kicking our (butts).” It was one of many codes invoked during the four-hour concert: If the music doesn’t knock you over, it can’t be metal.
greg@gregkot.com
Slayer set list Friday at UIC Pavilion
1. World Painted Blood
2. Hate Worldwide
3. War Ensemble
4. Blood Red
5. Spirit in Black
6. Expendable Youth
7. Dead Skin Mask
8. Hallowed Point
9. Skeletons of Society
10. Temptation
11. Born of Fire
12. Seasons in the Abyss
Encore:
13. South of Heaven
14. Raining Blood
15. Aggressive Perfector
16. Angel of Death
Megadeth set list Friday at UIC Pavilion:
1. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
2. Hangar 18
3. Take No Prisoners
4. Five Magics
5. Poison Was the Cure
6. Lucretia
7. Tornado of Souls
8. Dawn Patrol
9. Rust in Peace... Polaris
Encore:
10. Trust
11. Headcrusher
12. A Tout Le Monde
13. Symphony of Destruction
14. Peace Sells with Holy Wars... The Punishment Due reprise
Greg - it was cool to see you and Bob at the show tonight, smiling and even head banging a little! Great show!
Posted by: Mike | August 21, 2010 at 12:39 AM
A Truly Great Concert, they just don't make them like this anymore!! SLAYER IS THE GREATEST!!! ANGEL OF DEATH...RISE TO THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD!!
Posted by: Ugotz472 | August 21, 2010 at 07:08 AM
Can you put Testament's setlist on here? I missed a couple of the beginning songs. Wish they had played a little longer.
Greg replies: Missed a couple of Testament songs due to an endlessly long will-call line. Any fans catch the whole Testament set and have a set list?
Posted by: Metal Up YOUR A**!! | August 21, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Nice to see real metal getting some long-due respect!
Posted by: Dick Bacon | August 21, 2010 at 11:25 AM
I can see slayer played the whole seasons in the abyss album, and megadeth did the same with rust in peace
Posted by: ricardo lugo | August 21, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Slayer rules. Last night's concert simply reconfirmed that.
Posted by: Dean | August 21, 2010 at 11:55 AM
Amazing show last night. Megadeth killed it!
Posted by: Tim | August 21, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Here's the Testament setlist:
For The Glory Of/More Than Meets The Eye
Dog Faced Gods
The New Order
Practice What You Preach
Into The Pit
DNR
Three Days in Darkness
The Formation of Damnation
They could not have been a better opener. The set was only 40 minutes, but it was great to see them back together with Alex Skolnick.
Posted by: Mike | August 21, 2010 at 01:26 PM
Excellent show. Definitely upload the Testament setlist! They are far more influential than people think. East Bay represent!
Posted by: Phil Gomes | August 21, 2010 at 02:49 PM
The sound was pretty awful for Megadeth where I was sitting about halfway up the lower deck on the side (section 113). Mustaine's vocals didn't come through at all. That was disappointing. But the show was incredible.
Posted by: AnnoyedGuy | August 21, 2010 at 03:00 PM
It really was a fantastic show. These bands still deliver after all these years.
Posted by: Topher | August 21, 2010 at 03:41 PM
Greg, I think there are a lot of us who missed a couple Testament songs, due to the fact that the band started at 6:55! Totally bogus, Testament and Slayer were the main attraction for me -- I am lukewarm to Megadeth. But the ticket I paid money for says 7:00 on it, not 6:55. I stepped onto the floor at 7:03 according to my watch, but by that point had missed Testament's first song. I could understand if the band started at 7:00 on the dot -- I would have no right to complain. But starting at 6:55 when our tickets say 7:00? What's up with that? Any insight Greg, any promoter contacts you could query regarding this?
Slayer was typically fantastic, although I missed hearing "Postmortem" before "Reign in Blood". The two new songs sounded great, would have loved to hear "Psychopathy Red" too. I can't believe they pulled out "Aggressive Perfector", that was awesome.
It's a bummer that Araya isn't allowed to headbang anymore -- doctor's orders I guess. That visual aspect of the show was missed.
Posted by: Rob Schrader | August 21, 2010 at 03:57 PM
My only complaint is that both Megadeth and Slayer should have played around two hours and fifteen minutes, not a hour and fourteen minutes each. Now at long last I have my first Testament concert t-shirt!!! I went to the Dave Mustaine book signing at Borders, and Mr. Mustaine was cool he shook everyone's hand and was one humble dude!!!He talked to all of the fans and pictures were allowed after he signed his autobiography!!!
Posted by: Metal Warrior | August 22, 2010 at 11:07 AM
We went to the book signing also.Dave asked my 15yr old about his guitar playing,then used both his hands to shake Steves and said"Heres some mojo for ya"how cool is that?!Hey GREG-I dont think Slayer played Aggressive Perfector.Maybe we didnt get it cuz Tom was hit upside the head with that water bottle.Thanks for all the positive press and articles in the paper also Greg,Ive enjoyed your stuff for yrs.
Posted by: Mike Hoffman | August 22, 2010 at 02:47 PM
Great show! Mustaine's vocals were all messed up, sound guy should have been fired. How did you not write about that, did you even listen to the show or just get the set-list?
Posted by: Metal Man | August 23, 2010 at 07:23 PM
That show was awesome..Megadeth was absolutely scorching and in my opinion just stole the show....The energy and how tight the band was just blew me away...Slayer and Testament were bad a$$ too...
Posted by: MetalSlave | August 25, 2010 at 08:31 AM
Great to see Tribune review a concert that may have been overlooked in the past.
That crowd was reminiscent of 80s era crowds with the giant circle pit.
Good times...
Posted by: Mike Owens | August 26, 2010 at 06:44 PM