Slayer, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, and Thine Eyes Bleed: Albany, NY 6/29/06

It was a hot one last night in Albany, NY as Amory was really heated up last night when the UnHoly Alliance tour ripped its way though the area. The UnHoly Alliance tour is made up at five of the hottest metal acts, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Mastroon, Thine Eyes Bleeds, and the headliner Slayer. This was every metal heads night to totally rock out and have a good time. What else could you ask for with over five hours of non-stop Heavy Metal? As each band played the crowd got more into each band with anticipation building up for the masters of metal, Slayer. Each band offered close to 30 to 45minutes of music with about a 30 minute set change.

Thine Eyes Bleed from Canada was the first band to kick off the show. There has been a lot of good metal bands from have come from Canada over the years. By being invited onto the UnHoly Alliance Tour could really help bring out this band even more. With a little more time this band could be an easy crowd favorite. Of course, their music was heavy and fast and they tried to get the crowd going, but Thine Eyes Bleed did not seem to be the crowd favorite and hardly got any cheers but again around this time the crowd was smaller as fans still were trickling in around 5:30 on a very hot and sweaty afternoon inside the Armory. Since this was my first time hearing this band I did not know what to expect but I was hoping for a little more melody within their music. It was very straightforward and I was looking forward something different. Their set was very average but it was good to see them now and see what they will become in the next year or two. Like I said, judging by the crowd they were not a crowd favorite.

Children of Bodom were the second band to take the stage and the crowd was very anxious. You could tell that Children of Bodom were one of the crowd favorites and many young fans were waiting for them. They sure worked the crowd as they pounded through their songs. The stage set was very simple and mainly just used lights. Children of Bodom have a darker feel to them and this was the only band that I noticed used keyboards. This band also had more of an 80’s metal sound to them. The guitar and bass players switched back and forth from stage right to stage left making sure everyone got to see them. I was surprised to see them perform after Thine Eyes Bleed, because I feel Child of Bodom had a bigger following.

Atlanta Georgia’s Mastodon was up next. Mastodon was another crowd favorite. They really got the crowd going and involved during the set by creating a huge mosh pit that moved in a circle. They band played hard and give all the fans what they wanted.

Is Lamb of God the new Pantera? With their music in comparison of Pantera and Slayer you can tell that the crowd was here to see Lamb of God and Slayer. With thick blue lights the band pounded their set leaving no time to rest. With a new album coming soon during the summer of 2005, Lamb of God, debuted a few of their new songs. Their set was diverse and progressive. “Lamb of God” could easily be headline any metal show and probably should be one of the biggest metal acts right now.

Over 25 years, Slayer has kept thousands of dedicated fans who love the band for all their trash metal music. Slayer is one of those metal bands you either love or you hate. The crowd that night was dripping in sweat but full of anticipation. Everyone was chanting the bands name, “Slayer, Slayer” with their devil fists.

With the stage all set and the red glow from the lights Slayer took the stage. The band played all crowd favorites and managed to play a variety of songs over their many years as a band. Songs such as “Mandatory Suicide” and “South of Heaven” were some of the classic songs they played. If you have seen Slayer in the past or even watched their DVD you will notice that when they dedicated “Mandatory Suicide” to the troops overseas in Iraq which they also did at this show. Still today in 2006 they still are dedicating “Mandatory Suicide to the troops overseas. Does that say something??

Since this was my first Slayer concert I did not know what to expect out of the crowd, but I could only imagine. Right from the start, the mosh pit formed and everything got crazy. There was even an incident where a fan was trying to get on stage but instead pulled out some wires from the main speaker and everyone had to wait for it to be fixed before the next song. Slayer was the only band that used images and video during their performance. Of course their imagery was dark and when the band came out the background was a bunch of upside down crosses. I also saw a nice dedicated to Dimebag before the band came on to the stage. I feel that Slayer delivered and connected with their fans. It was a great set of songs for a first timer. It also helped that I brought someone along to tell me what songs they were playing etc. I know have a new understanding and appreciation of new and classic metal. Slayer is definitely a metal icon that all bands should look up to and only hope that they can also be around 25 years later and still have the devoted fan bas as these guys do. Slayer was one of the most defined, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands from the 1980s and after seeing them for the first time, I now know why they are so popular among metal heads and even some Goths. Their graphic lyrics deal with everything from death, suicide, hell and to war. Their full-throttle stage show, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful music paint a picture of a chilling background for their obsessive view of the dark side; which has helped Slayer's music hold up still in 2006. This was the metal show of the year for Albany, NY and if you missed it, well, maybe next year. All I could keep thinking was, “Wow, that was 5 hours of intense metal”.