Slayer playing "old school" set on tour; Black Tusk, Inter Arma, Yakuza & Eagle Claw playing IO-presented FFF Nite show

by Doug Moore

Slayer at Mayhem Fest, 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

Slayer‘s first North American tour since the demise of founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman (RIP) earlier last year draws nigh; its first date is tonight (10/25) in Las Vegas, though it doesn’t start in earnest until its 11/8 Minneapolis date. At this point, only half of the classic Slayer lineup remains. Guitarist Kerry King and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya are still plugging away, while Hanneman has been replaced (seemingly for keeps) by Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. Drummer Dave Lombardo — who quit the band over a financial dispute with his bandmates — is being covered by Paul Bostaph, who spent most of the ’90s as a member of Slayer.

Perhaps in an attempt to dispel any misgivings about the tour, Slayer has announced that they’ll be playing an “old school” set that spotlights material from their first five releases. So says the press release:

“Slayer’s “Old School Slayer Night” set will include tracks from 1983’s Show No Mercy, 1985’s Hell Awaits, the genre-defining and Gold-certified Reign In Blood (1986), 1988’s South of Heaven, also certified Gold, and Seasons.

“The final set list is still coming together,” added Araya, “but we’re going to give the fans what amounts to ‘decades of aggression.’ It’s going to be a great night of music and moshing for everyone.”

Hard to complain about that. Though Slayer will obviously never be the same after losing half the lineup that recorded those classics, Holt and Bostaph are more than competent enough to replicate them faithfully. After all, Slayer have been in working-stiff mode for a decade now; they exist for fan service, and they seem to know it.

Slayer’s tour with Gojira and 4ARM hits NYC on November 27 at the Theatre at MSG. It also includes area shows at CT’s Oakdale Theater (11/26) and NJ’s Susquehanna Bank Center (11/29), and tickets for all three are still available.

Before the NYC-area dates, the tour hits Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest, where we’re doing two FFF Nites shows. One of them is a metal show, presented by our metal blog Invisible Oranges, which doubles as the Austin stop on the ongoing Black Tusk/Inter Arma tour. The show happens on Saturday, 11/9 at Hotel Vegas with the sludgy Black Tusk headlining at 12:45 AM, preceded by the psychedelic black metal of Inter Arma (11:45 PM), Chicago experimental metal band Yakuza (11 PM), and local Austinites Eagle Claw (10:15 PM). I’ve said this a few times, but if you haven’t caught Inter Arma’s live show, you should really do that. Their new album, Sky Burial, is handily one of the year’s best, and their live treatments of it only emphasize its charms. Entry is free with a FFF Fest badge.

Check out a full live set by the current Slayer lineup, a full stream of the new Inter Arma, and Slayer’s complete run of dates with Gojira and 4ARM, below…

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Slayer @ Bloodstock Festival 2013 (full set)

Inter Arma – Sky Burial

SLAYER, GOJIRA, 4ARM – 2013 TOUR DATES
10/25 Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
10/28 Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
11/08 Minneapolis, MN @ Myth
11/10 Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/12 Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
11/13 Dallas, TX @ Southside Music Hall
11/15 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
11/16 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore (State Theater)
11/17 Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion
11/19 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
11/20 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
11/26 Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theater
11/27 New York, NY @ Theater at MSG
11/29 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
11/30 Boston, MA @ Tsongas Arena

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