Blood Rains Over Quake City
Jagermeister Music Tour
8mm Overdose, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, Slayer
The Warfield Theater in San Francisco CA 12/14/04
By Mike Vanek
Different people have Different ways of dealing with their problems and releasing some steam. The way I deal with my stress is to go see SLAYER! I had been waiting for this show and ever since it was announced that Slayer was once again headlining the Jagermeister Music Tour the buzz about this show was huge. It was also announced that Slayer would be having this thing called “The wall of blood” that rains blood on Slayer while they play their song “Raining Blood”. When Slayer comes around they play about 100 miles away in San Francisco or some where else in the bay area and it is always a pain in the ass to get there. This time I gt up really early and took the hardcore route and jumped on the Greyhound bus and enjoyed every Slayer cd I have on my discman during the 3 hour journey. I got off the Greyhound in Hayward CA and jumped on the Bart train towards the city by the bay. I met my cousin Jason and we made our way to the Warfield and stood in line. While in line the main topic of conversation was the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell. This would be the main theme of the evening. This was my first concert since the shooting that shook the Heavy Metal world and it was no secret that security was at a all time high for a metal concert. As we entered the Warfield I was searched like never before. Everything was taken out of my backpack and I was pushed aside while trying to put everything back in my bag. Once inside the topic of conversation was once again about Darrell. People talked about seeing Pantera and what he meant to them.
The first band was 8mm Overdose from Honolulu Hawaii. This thrash metal threesome came out in old school fashion and kicked the show in high gear. With their to the point heavy metal this band was full of awesome metal but what surprised me was their chice of a FEAR cover that was really cool. Another thing that was cool about their set is this stripper that danced on the stage while the band played I highly recommend this band if your into the old school thrash sound.
Next was Mastodon. I had never heard this band before but a lot of my friends were buzzing about them. Mastodon came on with a fury and excitement that can only be compared with the hungriest and driven up and coming bands. Mastodon played their set with a fierce manner and an aggression that I can truly say I don't see this kind of drive and talent from a lot of bands coming up through the ranks these days. This is a great band and they are defiantly worth their share of the ticket price.
Next was Killswitch Engage. Killswitch Engage is nonstop metal! From beginning to end this band delivers the goods. Killswitch Engage is one of the most energetic and entertaining bands in the scene and I beleave that this band will be around for many years to come. Killswitch Engage dedicated a song to Dimebag Darrell halfway through their set and the crowd just blew up with a roar that I didn't think could be matched but I was soon proved wrong. Killswitch Engage will be around for a while and if you like them or not you can't ignore their increasing influence on young musicians these days.
Next was the might SLAYER! Between sets you heard the normal Slayer chants but this time there were a few Dimebag chants from the crowd. Slayer opened their set and the whole place erupted when the lights went out. It is very scary & calming for me to hear a few hundred people scream "God Hates Us All". A bearded Tom Araya greeted his faithful followers with his trade mark "Are you ready? There's no turning back now" just before busting in to a spirited version of "War Ensemble" which at that time some kid proceeded to try 7 steal my backpack off my back then ran away when he realized I was standing next to a bouncer. One of my favorite parts of the set was when Slayer played "At Dawn They Sleep" from their album "Hell Awaits" this is one of my favorite songs of all time with it's extended drum solo that just made my heart want to jump out of my chest! It's so awesome to hear all the original members of Slayer back together as a solid unit. After a few songs Tom stepped up to the microphone and made a tribute to Dimebag Darrell dedicating the song "Mandatory Suicide to the fallen guitarist" "Never in my life did I ever think a stage would be the most dangerous place to be" said Araya and at that moment that crowd erupted louder then I have ever heard a concert crowd cheer for something in my whole life! When I got clse to the stage I noticed all of Slayer's members were wearing Dimebag T-Shirts and Kerry King had Dimebag Darrell written in silver on his guitar. I was able to go up to the photo pit during Slayer's last three songs and after "Post Mortem" a red glow took over the stage and roadies scrambled to place panels down on the stage before the epic pounding of the drums that could only mean it was time for "Raining Blood" and The Wall of Blood! I waited through out the song for it to start raining blood down upon us like at Ozzfest during Ozzy's set where a rain storm over took the first 6 rows of the crowd but that didn't happen. During the end of the song a slight shower fell over the band for what seemed to be like 2 or 3 minutes being only a few feet away I could barley see it but at the end of the song they walked up in to the lights and they all were wet. People were saying that they didn't do the wall of blood but I am here to tell the world that it happened but it wasn't as awesome as everyone hyped it up to be. Now don't get me wrong this was an awesome set that capped off a super show but still at the end of the night as we walked out you could still hear people shouting out "Dimebag!!" & "Slayer!!" This was an awesome show and I give props to the people at Jagermeister for putting together another great tour this is my 5th jager tour in a row and they just keep getting better! So I got my Slayer fix I'll see all my faithful Slayer junkies next time in a few months when they tour again. That's the cool thing about the might Slayer they make themselves available to watch live at least twice a year and you just don't beat that!
