Slayer & Arch Enemy Live in Cincinnati
By
Tokemaster General,
Contributor
Tuesday, November 18, 2003 @ 4:20 PM
| Slayer and Arch Enemy, With Ha
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REVIEW BY: Jacob Then
Fucking Awesome!
Two of the best metal bands ever playing live before my eyes at my favorite venue: Bogart's. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, is a kick-ass club in Cincinnati. It holds about 2000 people, I think. My friend and I were the first ones in the line, arriving at the venue three hours early. We saw the "SOLD OUT" sign up on the ticket window, which is always a good sign. We picked up our tickets and then hung out in line and talked with some other metalheads, swapping "war stories." Across the street is a place called Sudsy Malone's, which is bar and a laundromat. I only mention this because awhile ago I remember the LA Guns were supposed to play there. Nothing like the laundromat circuit! Ok, anyway... back on topic...
There were 4 bands on the Jaegermeister Music Tour. The first band to come out was E-Town Concrete. They sucked. They are another one of those rap-metal/hard-core outfits that seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days. There were a lot of "I want to see this place go fuckin' crazy" and "I want to see a fucking circle pit" comments. You know, the "our music blows so we hope you mosh because it's heavy." Thankfully, they only played for 20 minutes.
Then, to make up for it, my favorite metal band came out: Arch Fuckin' Enemy! God they kicked so much ass. Unfortunately, because Hatebreed had the second to last spot (more on this later...) they only got to play for about half an hour. Angela was amazing tonight! I saw them in Aurora, IL last year, and it was the best show I've ever seen. They were the tightest band of the night, and the best musically. They played three tracks off their new CD, Anthems of Rebellion, and three off their last release (and one of the greatest metal albums of all time) Wages of Sin. The highlights of the set were new single, “We Will Rise” and “Ravenous.” I even got a high-five from Angela! So HAH! My friend got Daniel's drumstick, too. We were going absolutely nuts in the front row (until Hatebreed came on...) during their set, and I think the band noticed us. Most people didn't seem to know who Arch Enemy was, which is a shame because they are the best thing going today.
Hatebreed blew my ass. First of all, their fans are fucking obnoxious. I mean Arch Enemy had a mosh pit, but its much more fun to just watch them, I think. They're so good and such great performers! But Hatebreed is basically the advanced form of E-Town Concrete. A lot of swearing, a lot of screaming, a lot of the same old tired rhythms and guitar riffs. And their fans are violent. I mean, my friend and I were there 3 hours early, and were the first people into the building. This guy, who had to be on steroids, because no one is that big naturally, came up and literally elbowed me off the barricade. I wanted to be front row for Slayer goddamnit! Then his fat friends came over and took over our spots in the front. The moshing began, and when I started getting punched in the back, I left. I went to get something to drink. Now, obviously I wanted to be up front for Slayer, but I just couldn't handle it. So I got a drink, then followed some Security guys when they went back up front to escort unruly fans out. The crowd just parted for them, so I followed them and got back up to the second row. Hatebreed was thankfully finished, most of the annoying fans left, and only one band was left…
SLAYER!!!
Holy fucking shit! They were so awesome. The light show was killer, with tons of extra lights, fog, strobes. The drumset was huge, I counted at least 7-8 toms. The Slayer banners were dropped behind the stage and the Intro began. The band walked out shrouded in fog (a true metal moment...you know what I mean!) and tore into “Disciple.” The crowd lost it, absolutely lost it! I actually moshed during the Slayer show... and I never mosh! But Slayer fans are more respectful and responsible than Hatebreed fans. Hatebreed fans kick the shit out of you and actually hurt people, Slayer fans do it with a smile on their face and then help you up when you go down.
By this time, the swell of the crowd had pushed me over next to the wall of speakers, and it was definitely the loudest concert I've ever been to. They played the same set that you can read about in other reviews, so I won't repeat it here, complete with the Reign In Blood encore. Highlight of the night for me was “South of Heaven,” which was the song that got me into Slayer. The sound was so amazing, though Kerry King's guitar solos were a little hard to hear. Dave Lombardo is a God. There's a reason why this band has been around so long: they deliver! It was incredible...
My friend caught a Slayer guitar pick, and I got a piece of their set-list. It was amazing how they could package together two of the best metal bands ever with two of the shittiest hardcore/nu-metal bands I've ever seen. That was my only complaint -- if E-Town Concrete would have not played, and Hatebreed would have got food poisoning, then Arch Enemy could have played for about an hour and a half. I've seen them play a headlining show, and they could hold their own even against the mighty Slayer. I mean, they could have added In Flames or Nevermore to this tour, and got rid of the Nu-Metal shit and made it something legendary. But anyway, at least I got to see Arch Enemy again, and see Slayer for the first time ever. If you get a chance, go see this tour!!
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