Jagermeister Music Tour
Northwest Royale, Mastadon, Killswitch Engage, Slayer
Roseland Theater in Portland, OR
By Robin Steeley
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the Roseland Theater was the line around the block to get in the door. I really wanted to catch Eugene’s Northwest Royale who was opening the show. For once all passes were in order and I was able to get into the venue but I was still too late to shoot pictures for NW but able to catch they’re last two songs. They had a huge crowd with the Roseland packed that night and the audience seemed really into the music. The band is extraordinarily unique and delivers an energetic live performance. Northwest Royale is also a Jager band, and believe me Jager is flowing everywhere here tonight with Jager Stations set up all over the building with ice cold shots.
Before and between the bands appeared the infamous green freak, The Lizard Man. He mental flossed with a condom before sucking it up his nose and spitting it out his mouth and then swallowing it and blowing it out his nose. He actually stuck a drill and a pair of metal scissors up into his nose. It makes you wonder if he did a lot of drugs or just has some crazy body modifications, which include being entirely tattooed green, horn ridges implanted above the eyebrows, and a myriad of other bodily adjustments. He also picked up a crate of Jager with his earlobes and became a human pincushion for dart throwing, an assistant lodging a series of metal tipped darts in his chest. Another sideshow freak came out and inserted metal hooks into his eyelids before swinging a crate of Jager with them. It’s like a train wreck, disgusting but you can’t turn away.
Mastadon is up next with their blistering set and unique style. They are an impressive live act and defy conventional musical and lyrical ranges and styles. The band is touring in support of their latest effort “Leviathan” released on Relapse Records. Leviathan was recently named as Revolver Magazines 2004 "Album of the Year".
Always the highlight of my night, Killswitch Engage is up next and I swear this band gets better every time I see them. They tore up the stage opening with “A Bid Farewell” with its contagious chorus and throat ripping vocals. The pit became a swirling mass right about now and bodies began to surface on top of the crowd. Their performance is amazing as the band rips through a mix of songs including some from “The End of Heartache”. The band is solid, melodic and aggressive and I believe one of the top modern metal artists in music today. My only complaint is that their set could have been longer, I just felt like I didn’t get enough, but what can you do when there’s a thousand blood thirsty Slayer fans in the house? Vocalist Howard Jones wins over the entire house, working the mass into his own breed of chaos.
The biggest heavy metal legends of all time take the stage to thunderous applause. It’s obvious by now that the infamous Slaytanik army is in full force here tonight as the whole crowd screams “Slayer, Slayer”. They played a typical headbanging setlist including the Reign In Blood album but unfortunately there was no blood to be seen tonight since the Roseland isn’t set up to support the rig set up that creates the now infamous Wall of Blood. Overall it was worth every second, this is a band I will see EVERY TIME they come through my area, and after all these years I know they will just keep coming back. They are legendary.
Slayers Set List
Darkness Of Christ/Disciple
Fight To Death
Hell Awaits
At Dawn They Sleep
Necrophiliac
Chemical Warfare
Bloodline
Stain of Mind
South of Heaven
Mandatory Suicide
War Ensemble
Dead Skin Mask
Hallowed Point
Seasons In The Abyss
Angel Of Death
Post Mortem
Raining Blood
