Slayer, Soulfly, and In Flames
The Paramount, Seattle WA
09/14/2002

Firstly let me thank Jill from Nuclear Blast for hooking me up on the guest list for this one, general admission tickets sold out within hours of going on sale. Unfortunately there was a communications breakdown somewhere so the photo pass I was supposed to get was nowhere to be found when I got to the venue. No one I spoke with at the venue was able to help me out so no photos from this one.

Due to hassles in getting my ticket I completely missed the first band, Down by the Sun. This was somewhat disappointing as I heard they were a good live act. I did manange to get in to see In Flames’ entire set though. The sound during the first song was so bass heavy I couldn’t even tell what it was. It was a little better when the second song, “Behind Space”, started but the bass was so high in the mix the guitars were barely audible. I was very happy they chose to play that song in the short set as it’s probably my favorite of everything they’ve done. This was the fifth time I’ve caught the band live and unfortunately the worst performance I have ever seen from them. Sure, they played well but they didn’t have the energy and enthusiasm I’ve come to expect, perhaps due to the thin (compared to Slayer and Soulfly) and mostly unresponsive crowd, the strain (Lunar?) of touring, or knowing that their sound was muddy as hell. They didn’t mention the title of their latest album, "Reroute to Remain", and only mentioned their name at the very beginning of the set, a bad move when playing in front of a bunch of people who are unfamiliar with the band and their music. The worst In Flames show is better than a LOT of bands best shows though! I hope they come back soon, either as headliners or playing with some bands whose fans can actually appreciate them as I know that they can be one incredible live act.

In Flames set list
Bullet Ride
Behind Space
Cloud Connected
Clayman
Pinball Map
System
Colony

Next up was Soulfly, featuring Max Cavelera (formerly of the once-great Sepultura). At risk of showing my age I have one question; what the hell do these kids today see in Soulfly's music? I found them to be highly repetitive with uninspired riffing and a seriously boring rhythm section. They did two Sepultura covers but chose two of my least favorite tracks from the band, “Refuse/Resist” and “Roots Bloody Roots”. To be completely fair, the house was pretty packed during Soulfly’s set and the crowd was extremely responsive. As with In Flames, the bass guitar dominated the mix, making it difficult to hear anything else with any degree of clarity.

NOTE: I have not seen Slayer since the "Seasons in the Abyss" tour. After yawning my way through Soulfly I wasn’t very enthusiastic about seeing Slayer as I haven’t really enjoyed anything they’ve released since “Seasons in the Abyss”. I expected them to play a bunch of stuff off their last couple albums and throw in a few old songs to appease the old school types. After a 35 minute wait they came on stage to a very loud audience and started their set with “God Hates Us All” and another song that I didn’t know. Things quickly changed for the better with the “War Ensemble”, then “Haunting the Chapel” segueing into “The Antichrist”. Returning (just for this tour as far as I know) original drummer Dave Lombardo must not be too familiar with Slayer’s newer material as the set was comprised predominantly of songs from the era he was in the band. Needless to say, that made for a very enjoyable set for your humble reviewer. Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, and Tom Araya all did a great job and put on a highly energetic performance. While Lombardo seemed a little rusty here and again (he seemed to get a bit lost here and again, particularly during "Reign in Blood" and "Angel of Death") he did a pretty damn good job banging out some vintage Slayer tunes on his HUGE drum kit.

Through a good portion of the show they had a large projection screen behind the band displaying video related to the songs; clips from the 1922 version of “Nosferatu” during “At Dawn They Sleep”, Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and lots of bombs during “Payback”, and various bits of old Slayer videos throughout other songs. By the time they were done I got to wondering if people like hearing the bass guitar well over everything else because Slayer’s sound was almost as muddy as the other bands. All things said and done Slayer took home the trophy for band of the night for playing so much old material, it was great to hear so much of it. Who knows, I might just have to check them out next time they come to town!

Slayer set list
Disciple
?
War Ensemble
Haunting the Chapel/The Antichrist
State of Mind
At Dawn They Sleep
Spill the Blood
Post Mortem
Raining Blood
Seasons in the Abyss
Hell Awaits
Dead Skin Mask
Payback
Mandatory Suicide
Chemical Warfare
South of Heaven
Angel of Death
()

Rating: 8 /10