A monster night of metal awaited those who braved the chilly air and the flying food whilst waiting in line outside the Hammersmith Apollo. First up on the bill was Mastodon. Unfortunately I missed their set along with most of the punters while waiting to get into the venue.

Once inside I settled in to watch Hatebreed. They delivered an impressive set, their material (which I find a bit one-dimensional on CD) taking on new life when delivered in the live arena. Their intensity combined with their impressive playing skill may have just convinced me to give them another go...

Next up, and the true reason for my presence tonight, was the mighty Slayer. As usual, they did not fail to enthral. Kicking off with "Disciple", the band proceeded to tear the Apollo apart! A selection of some of their finest moments was delivered including "War Ensemble", "South of Heaven", "Chemical Warfare", "Seasons in the Abyss", "Hell Awaits", "Dead Skin Mask" and "Mandatory Suicide". Added to this were some unexpected treasures such as "At Dawn They Sleep", "Hallowed Point" and "Fight Till Death". Finishing off with the trio of "Angel of Death", "Post Mortem" and "Raining Blood" Slayer left no doubt that after 20 years they are still entirely relevant, brutal and downright fucking awesome. The twin guitar attack of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King was as brutal and technical as always. Up front Tom Araya delivered his usual brilliant vocal performance as well as his trademark humour between songs. A welcome return to the fold was Dave Lombardo (No disrespect to Paul Bostaph) who kept the whole brutal package together with his frantic double kicking. It was clear to see how far in leaps and bounds his playing has come. I look forward with great anticipation to the band's next album.

Record sales figures and music industry marketing saw to it that this evening the learners would take the stage after the masters. And so it was, after the pre-recorded intro of "Prelude", Slipknot arrived, kicking into "Blister Exits" with the ferocity of a pack of pissed off bulls. From Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses we were also treated to "Three Nil", "Duality" and "Vermillion". But it was the classics that really fired up the crowd, including "Eyeless", "Wait and Bleed", "The Heretic Anthem", "Spit It Out" and "People Equal Shit". All of this made up for a very entertaining and energetic set. I did think at times the sound let them down though. Music of this intensity does require a cleaner mix from the board, which Slayer did have. Perhaps it's much more difficult to mix nine instruments down than four... Despite this, the "maggots" got down into a frenzy to the Slipknot sound, and no one was left disappointed.

And that was it, four bands, and by 11 o' clock it was all over. As for my pick of the night - you knew I was going to say Slayer, didn't you?

Gaw

SLAYER'S KERRY KING

SLIPKNOT

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