Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Rok Klemše
Location: Velesajam / Zagreb
Concert date: 01.06.2016
Ticket price: 30€
Slayer and Anthrax have 35 stormy years behind them, which is undoubtedly a long career. Despite many changes in playing style and lineup swaps, both bands have managed to stick around. Slayer haven’t exactly had the best few years. In 2013 they were rocked by the death of guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who wrote some of the biggest classics of thrash metal in general. But Slayer didn’t give in to fate and carried on anyway. Last year they even put out the album »Repentless«, which got a few positive reviews. After that, of course, it was time for Slayer to hit the road again and try to prove once more that they’re not ready for the scrapheap. After three years, the band, currently made up of Tom Araya, Kerry King, Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt, came back to Zagreb. The Velesajam grounds were full of black clothes and glamour. The hall next door was hosting a high school prom, which made the surroundings undeniably colorful. But let’s get back to the performers.
Anthrax were first on stage, in a slightly different lineup, but probably the most cheering fact is that the legendary Joey Belladonna is back on vocals, the guy the band recorded their most recognizable albums with in the eighties. There’s not much to complain about in the show itself. Despite their age, the band is incredibly energetic on stage, and there were no major slip-ups in the tightness either. Guitarist Jonathan Donais played the solos convincingly, and stand-in drummer Jon Dette had no trouble filling the shoes of the legendary Charlie Benante. The problem was more the sound. The hall’s acoustics are far from satisfying, so earplugs were mandatory gear, and even those didn’t help much. The other problem was the band’s setlist, which was predictable and at times downright boring. They put the overplayed evergreens front and center, like Indians, Caught in a Mosh, Madhouse, Antisocial and so on. From this year’s album »For All Kings« they played the thrashy Evil Twin and Breathing Lightning, while leaving the excellent Blood Eagle Wings on the bench. In short, it felt like the band was afraid to showcase the newer songs more widely, or simply judged from the crowd that it was better to stick to the staples. Anthrax are far from finished, and you’d probably get more out of them if they were the headliners.
There’s probably no need to point out that Slayer haven’t been in top form lately. Still, that’s no reason to write them off completely. The band opened their set with Repentless, followed by a few more new tracks, which they of course mixed in with their standard repertoire. With the new material, Slayer tried to convince everyone they can go on without Hanneman, but sadly it turned out the new songs are anything but a highlight. If Slayer didn’t have the reputation they built in the past, they’d be playing much smaller halls by now. That said, the performance itself isn’t exactly a write-off either. Tom Araya barely moves because of his back problems, and his vocals sound tired too. Even Kerry King, the metal scene’s eternal troublemaker, has gotten seriously lazy and just routinely sways along as he plays. Gary Holt deserves praise, though. He had to step into big shoes, but his playing and soloing are undoubtedly more convincing than King’s. And drummer Paul Bostaph is an old acquaintance of the band, so he handled his part solidly. Nothing has changed too drastically with Slayer: Araya’s banter is still ice cold, Kerry King is still annoying with his soloing, and only the rhythm section somehow still locks in decently. But the whole thing just feels more routine and bored. The fans did get their fix, though, as the band played classics like Reigning Blood, South of Heaven, Season in the Abyss, Postmortem, War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask and so on. They even looked back to the era before the famous Reign in Blood, surprising everyone with Hell Awaits, Fight Till Death and Black Magic. They said goodbye with the classic Angel of Death, during which the banner of the current album was dropped, revealing another banner underneath, shaped like the Heineken beer logo and reading »Hanneman still reigning«. It’s certainly nice that the band paid tribute to the late legend at the end, but you kind of expected Araya to mention Hanneman earlier, whenever one of his songs was played.
Slayer probably only satisfied the die-hard fans with their routine performance. Sadly, the band can’t muster even an average show, while Anthrax, with their energy (the years clearly aren’t such an obstacle after all), proved they’re not ready for retirement just yet. Although you could have expected a bit more from them too, when it comes to song selection. In short, if you’ve already seen Slayer, save your money for a better concert instead.
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