“The Unholy Alliance Was Hotter Than Hell, in More Ways Than One”

The summer seems like a very appropriate time for a “hellbound” tour. As such, “The Unholy Alliance: Preaching to the Perverted” tour has proven to be this year’s hot ticket! Nearly every show was sold out in each port they crossed; they ought to be damn proud of themselves. Let the ticket sales show that time after time, a lineup as solid as this will always be in extreme demand. Case in point, the two shows we attended were both SOLD-OUT! We were really looking forward to seeing this bill considering the last time we feasted our eyes on Slayer was during the Jäger 2004 with Killswitch Engage and Mastodon, the time before that, Tattoo the Earth in 2002 or so. Lamb of God was also a welcomed sight, even though we did catch them last year on the inaugural Sounds of the Underground Tour. In some unrelated news, it was nice to see a couple was able to secure tix from a kid that was not able to attend as they had driven four hours from Eau Claire to see Slayer play. The moral of this story boys & girls is persistence pays off! After the Unholy Alliance tour trounces the Americas, they will then annihilate Europe starting in October: Slayer, In Flames, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, and Thine Eyes Bleed.

Getting back to the title, it was so damn hot at the Aragon (Chicago) pools of sweat collected on the floor of the entire venue. Upon arrival at the Rave (Milwaukee), we should have known we were in for some shit after seeing all of the windows wide open, which meant NO AC! How cruel and unusual of the cheap ass owner to not run it at a sold out show in a 25,000 sq ft wall-to-wall sweat factory! WTF is that about. Erika said it was so wet in the photo pit from the water security sprayed on the audience and condensation that she was suction cupped to the floor most of the time. The sacrifices we make for you, I tell ya! Just a quick note, Chicago’s show is a lot more in-depth than Milwaukee’s brief synopsizes due to interviews, etc.; but here’s the trade off, there are way more photos from the Milwaukee show, so pick your poison. Here’s how both cities stacked up:

Lineup: Justin Wolfe – vocals; Johnny Araya – bass; Jeff Phillips- guitar; Ryann Tunn – guitars; Darryl Stephens - drums

Chicago: By the time we got inside from sorting out accommodations, Thine Eyes Bleed was well into their set… Sorry it is not a comprehensive report but we were trying to catch our collective breath from interviews with Children of Bodom and Lamb of God. From what we caught, it was tight! The crowd’s reaction was very good despite the 25’ long barrier that stood in between the audience, the photo pit, and the band. Did I mention the Aragon has an 8’ stage? Well, it’s still not as bad as the behemoth of a stage at Harpo’s in Detroit. Participation such as hurdling horns and fists were a flying. Pretty damn good effort. Hoping this will not jinx the situation but the fans here in Chicago have gotten better by not standing like a bump on a log when an opening act goes on. We’re proud of ya, keep up the good work, huh!

Eagles Ballroom: Milwaukee was obviously in for a treat, as Canada's Thine Eyes Bleed took no hostages, captivating their audience; they kicked ass! We were excited to see the band considering we missed them last go round when the band was on the International Extreme Music Festival last year. The crowd was into them from the very beginning, which is always good to see. Vocalist Justin Wolfe’s commanding presence was rousing by seeing him work the crowd especially on “Cold Victim”. Drummer Darryl Stephens was most impressive along with his fellow rhythm section mate bassist Johnny Araya…that’s right, you guessed it folks, he is Tom Araya’s brother! By the way, Mr. Araya (as in Johnny) has a ton of talent and does not need to rest on the laurels of his lineage. It’s always nice to hear the bass accompany the drums and not an accessory to the guitar. Speaking of guitars ex-Kittie six-stringer Jeff Phillips and recent addition, Ryann Tunn were brutal. The best sign of all was seeing the crowd get into the new song, “Crystal Shit”, which was harder, heaver, faster than their previous material. After this tour, the band will start working on the follow-up to their 2005 debut disc In the Wake of Separation. Can’t wait!

Thine Eyes Bleed Setlist: Regret Your Fear; Cold Victim; Consequence Unknown; Dark White; Corpse You Up; Crystal Shit.

Click thumbnail to enlarge photo

Lineup: Alexi Laiho – vocals / guitar; Henkka Seppälä – bass; Jaska Raatikainen – drums; Roope Latvala – guitars; Janne Warman – keyboards

Chicago: During the changeover, the venue started to heat up as it quickly began to fill for Finland’s Children of Bodom. The continual chatter got much louder for what seemed like an eternity then all of a sudden, Dr. Demento’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away” starts to pipe through the PA and everyone screamed in unison…Children of Bodom’s set had officially gotten underway. The band immediately ripped into “Silent Night Bodom Night” then straight into “Needled 24/7”. The crowd went ape shit! Their fearless leader, frontman and superlative guitarist Alexi Laiho then addressed his flock, “What the fuck Chicago, what’s going on? We’re Children of Bodom from Mother Fucking Finland! We’re gonna blast beat for you! You know every time we come here, you’re true metal people!” The crowd cheered awhile. Allu continued his dissertation, “Are we ready?”, dissatisfied with the response given he asked once more shrieking at the crowd cupping his ear, “One more time?” The response from the crowd was loud and pleasing. “This one is called “In Your Face”!” After the end of the song, Laiho slapped himself on the face and back of the head five times… Perhaps he needed a wake up from a previous night of partying hard! Haha

Once keyboardist Janne Warman started the intro to “Angels Don’t Kill”, the venue filled with screams…including my own! It was pleasantly shocking to see the band incorporate this song into their set considering tempo is rather slow. On the next song, “Living Dead Beat”, a very large pit erupted in the middle of the floor. At the conclusion of the song, Laiho thanked the crowd, “Thank you so fucking much Chicago! Are you guys having a fucking blast? Give it up for mother fucking Slayer!”, that the crowd did! “I want to thank you mother fuckers for being so cool! This next song is called, “Hate Me”!”, the crowd went into hysterics…so much so three (3)…oh wait FOUR (4) separate pits broke out simultaneously. Funny thing is the outer edges of the three pits almost converged.

“Chicago, throw you horns up right now!”, almost everyone on the floor did as told. Pleased with the outcome, Alexi screamed, “Hell fucking yeah!” The crowd was into “Downfall” from start to finish. The crowd immediately began chanting, “Bodom, Bodom, Bodom”, before the band could exit. An all smiles Alexi thanked the crowd, “See you soon…” yup, they surely will sometime in October. Bassist Henkka Seppälä and Alexi threw out picks then promptly left the stage. Tonight’s show was very good but it lacked enthusiasm not to mention the sound was not that good. No fault of the band, this was a venue issue. Whenever Alexi or anyone for that matter no that I am thinking about it, sounded muddy. Now this makes us look forward to the Milwaukee show more than anything!

Eagles Ballroom: The band sounded amazing and had a better connect with the audience in Milwaukee, go figure! The band did not have to contend with the 8' high stage nor a 6 ½' deep photo pit either. In my interview with bassist Henkka Seppälä, he said that the band adds “Six-Pounder” to their setlist on the nights they are in the third spot. Unfortunately, we departed after “Needled 24/7” due to setting up my interview with TEB’s frontman Justin Wolfe so I cannot tell you much else but, it’s not like other CoB reviews aren’t on the site! J In the meantime, enjoy the photos from tonight’s show!!

Children of Bodom Setlist: Silent Night, Bodom Night; Needled 24/7; In Your Face; Angels Don’t Kill; Living Dead Beat; **Six Pounder**; Hate Me; Downfall.

Lineup: Troy Sanders – vocals, bass; Brann Dailor – drums; Brent Hinds – guitar; Bill Kelliher – guitar, vocals

Chicago: It had to have been the longest layover known to man in between the end of Children of Bodom’s set and the beginning of Mastodon’s in which I shall not tell a lie; I lost all zip. The mounting heat did not help either. During which time, the venue filled up for what seemed tenfold. It started to get hotter, if possible. We seemed to have dropped to the fifth tier of hell. By the time Mastodon made it on stage, I was in bad need of a nap; so you’ll have to excuse me for the sporadic report as I was barely able to focus. Once the band was on stage, vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders introduced the band, “We’re Mastodon from Atlanta, Georgia!”, the crowd went nuts. The band then ripped into “Iron Tusk” as well as the crowd as they threw up their horns during the chorus. The audience really began to get into “March of the Fire Ants”, as well as I.

Troy introduced the next song, “This is a new song, Circle of Cysquatch”. The level of noise died down of the ever-patient audience as if not wanting to miss one single note the band would play. It is one of the best songs heard to date, as it has such a classic Mastodon sounding song. Judging from this, the band has further developed their own archetypal sound. On “Where Strides the Behemoth”, guitarist Brent Hines introed the song; three pits broke out one after another. They rocked this song! Guitarist Bill Kelliher and Hines showed their finely honed skills on their respective six-strings as well as Sanders on his bass. Drummer Brann Dailor should have been VERY tired after the punishment his kit endured. Now on to the next song where Brent’s voice sounded amazing on “Megalodon” as two pits broke out. It was cool to see the swirl of sweaty, sinewy bodies from atop. To conclude their set, Brent said, “This is our last song, we will see you next year! It’s called “Blood & Thunder”!” Talk about excited, of course, I am unable to speak for others, but it was the shot of adrenaline I needed.

Right before leaving Relapse and signing to Warner Bros., we have noticed that the band has changed their image some; they clean up well. This comment was not meant as a slam by any means, bottom line, they looked great, healthier, happier…and why wouldn’t they be?!?! This four-piece put on a memorable show indeed. And speaking of Warner, we definitely are looking forward to hearing the band’s new album Blood Mountain, which is due to drop on September 12^th. By the way, there weren't any photos taken of Mastodon in Milwaukee due to my interview with Justin Wolfe of Thine Eyes Bleed. Yes, it ran long.

Mastodon Setlist: Iron Tusk; March of the Fire Ants; Circle Of Cysquatch** (new song); Where Strides the Behemoth; Mother Puncher; Aqua Dementia; Crystal Skull** (new song); Megalodon; Blood and Thunder.

Lineup: Randy Blythe – vocals; John Campbell – bass; Chris Adler – drums; Mark “Duane” Morton – guitar; Willie Adler – guitar

Chicago: The crowd vociferously shouted “Lamb of God” repetitively before the lights went up. As soon as a completely shaven head, vocalist Randy Blythe’s baritone vocals rang throughout the venue, the entire floor moved. It was insane! The band opened with “Ruin”, undoubtedly a harbinger of things to come as the fate of the crowd had already been decided from the first note played…Lamb of God’s objective was simple – destruction! On the second song, “Hourglass”, the crowd became more riotous…didn’t think it were possible. Maybe it has been forever since we’ve seen Lamb of God but they came out the chute with guns a blazin’ taking NO prisoners!! The floor flowers, which stood on the outer perimeter of the walls, were forced to move even if they did not want to. Speaking of force, Lamb of God’s presence was fiercer than any maelstrom! The band along with Blythe’s vocals were stronger, infused with more passion and longing. These gents have honestly stepped up their game to the next level…not that they needed to! Guitarist Willie Adler and Mark Morton owned the crowd, bassist John Campbell was the perfect accompaniment to drummer Chris Adler and Blythe’s vocals. It was pure metal mastery in the making right before our very eyes!!

“This one is “Laid to Rest”. Open up the dance floor!”, that they did; the middle of floor became a monsoon…rather appropriate analogy considering it was hotter than a Tahitian hut without AC. The prodigious leader continued during the break in the middle of the song, “We are Lamb of God from Richmond mother fucking Virginia! We gave out backstage passes so you could hang out with us!”, the audience roared. “Laid to Rest” was to follow, talk about sweet execution…not the final type but this song was ever so TIGHT! Randy dedicated the next number, “Ashes of the Wake” to his friend Jay. “All right Chicago, open it up!”, the obedient sea of fans parted on the floor. Does this man have über control when it comes to stage presence or what!

“Are you having a good time so far? Give it up for Thine Eyes Bleed…”, marginal cheers ensued. Not happy with the response Randy retorted, “You sound like a bunch of pussies!”, well that was enough to wake the crowd up, suffice it to say, they found their voices that time. “Children of Bodom! Make some noise!! This next song goes out to them “Now You’ve Got…” Blythe was then joined in unison with the entire crowd finishing off the title, “Something to Die For”. It was such a glorious feeling. The entire crowd got into this time honored crowd pleaser. Horns and bodies were flying all over the place. It was a remarkable sight, something to make the austere countenance of General D. Randall Blythe crumble. For the next song, the General stared up the “Be good to others…” speech before introing “Purified”. The band tore the house to shreds with the next number, “Off Ashes of the Wake, “Faded Line”. Get your fucking horns in the air! Every mother fucker put your fist in the air!!”, an invariable amount of horns and fists flew into the air. After the song ended, another pit opened up however this go round you could hear the moshers stomping about in union, the sound closely resembled a wild herd of elephants whilst screaming Lamb of God. It was great!

Blythe introed “Vigil” the next song on tonight’s world wind extravaganza by petitioning the audience to light their lighters; he continued to strategically setup his next set of demands from the crowd, “I wanna see the whole dance floor open up from front to back, from side to side!”, the band then ripped into the song. In the process, the faithful crowd did as instructed as two GINORMOUS pits erupted. Appreciative of his troops carrying out their direct orders, with enthusiasm the General thanked the crowd. “Thank you so very fucking much! We have a new album called Sacrament. Pick it up at the store. We don’t care if you don’t like it, we do!”, Randy entertained the crowd regaling the story about him getting ill, rather puking the night before. “This is “Redneck”!” The crowd quieted down to take in every note of the new song. It was fabulous as the chorus of “This is a mother fucking invitation” rung out. Without exaggerating, it seems the entire world awaits the release of Sacrament follow up to their critically acclaimed 2004 CD, Ashes of the Wake. The crowd ate it up!! The Virginia 5 concluded their blazoned set with “Black Label”. Randy profusely thanked the crowd. All we can say is: WELCOME BACK LAMB OF GOD!! In this case, absence made the hearts and ears of the Aragon Ballroom grow fonder!

Lamb of God Setlist (Chicago): Ruin, Hourglass, Laid To Rest, Ashes of the Wake, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For; Purified; Faded Line; Vigil, Redneck, As Palaces Burn, Black Label.

Eagles Ballroom: Don’t hate me, I was being fan girl tonight and decided to enjoy the show so, sue me! Randy dedicated “Subtle Arts of Murder And Persuasion” to “all the ladies”. It was one of the best shows witnessed this year. The Milwaukee audience must agree considering they held Randy by his calves whilst singing, suspending him in mid air. It's the affect real metal has on you. Other than they kicked ass, we’ll let Erika’s photos speak for what I am unable to.

Lamb of God Setlist (Milwaukee as listed): Laid To Rest; Hourglass; Ruin; As Palaces Burn, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For; 11^th Hour; In The Absence of The Sacred; Ruin; Omerta; Pariah; Faded Line; Bloodletting; The Subtle Arts of Murder And Persuasion; Vigil, Redneck, Black Label.

Lineup: Tomás "Tom" Araya – vocals, bass; Dave Lombardo – drums; Kerry King – guitars; Jeff Hanneman – guitars

Chicago: A packed sweaty house awaited the arrival of one of metal’s finest acts ever to grace a stage, California’s very own SLAYER. This being their 25^th year together, or silver anniversary, this behemoth of a band is poised to unleash another installment of venom on August 8 (with an original release date of 6.6.06) to their anthology; the band’s tenth studio album entitled Christ Illusion. Talk about a living legacy! But then again if you did not know any of this info already, you are indubitably soulless! Back to the damn show, while the crew was setting up the supreme drummer Dave Lombardo’s monster drum machine, the crowd clapped, in fact they bellowed. We were a little amazed at the mad respect the fans had for his kit. Once the stagehands finished constructing Slayer’s home for the next ninety minutes, it was time for the band to take their throne. Once they did, the crowd went wild; the energy was unexplainable, just as scary as the lack of oxygen that failed to circulate in the venue.  Surprisingly enough, the band kicked off with “South of Heaven”. I witnessed a many of jaw drop but the crowd yelled as if their lives depended on it. Vocalist/bassist Tom Araya let the crowd sing the first verse and part of the chorus before he took over. It pleased the band much to hear and feel that kind of love from their fans. Two violent pits broke out simultaneously.

Skipping ahead a skosh, to intro “War Ensemble” Araya addressed his faithful Slaytanic followers, “Are you guys having a good time? Thank you very much for coming out…sold out crowd! Are you ready for more? I said are you ready for more?”, the audience went into hysterics as they began to play. On the video screen on the back wall of the venue over Lombardo’s head played disturbing yet apropos black & white images of marching Nazi soldiers from the WW II days superimposed with other symbols. Between stills of religious symbols and erupting volcanoes on the videotron, it hit me when what the set could really look like providing they had the room. According to one of the LOG crewmembers, he stated told us the Aragon was too small for this tour with four semis, forcing the bands to scale their sets back. At the beginning of "Blood Red", old Slayer logos filled the screen atop a background of skin and blood cells creeping across the screen. What clever buggers!!

To introduce the new song Araya introed it by saying, “It’s kinda how we’re organized right here, this is “Cult”!”, the crowd lost it. To accompany the songs dead masks or heads, all pending on your point of view danced in the background across the screen. What was most disturbing about this new set of gore was that one of the dancing decapitated heads in a river of blood with slashes down its eye was blinking then it panned to a Glen Benton figure with an inverted cross carved on its forehead. Showing the flipside of religious fanaticism, it then shot to a skull with a cross carved on its forehead to an eye peering out of a person’s belly button. On to two bloody mutilated limbs with a Jesus tattoo in the middle of the person’s chest (what appeared to be an ethnic figure like Jimi Hendrix) with 666 scrawled on his upper back and jihad on the small of it. For “Disciple” a depiction of a “devil” Jesus donned a crown of thorns with a superimposed Slayer logo emblazoned on its forehead over a pentagram. Oh did I mention Jesus’ lips were sewn shut?

Because the sound was muffled, I cold not make out the name of the friend Tom dedicated “Mandatory Suicide” to. For our viewing “pleasure”, prisoners of war were executed at close range with rifles to the Unholy Alliance Tour logo to B&W images of more POW being executed against a brick wall; however, this batch of wartime footage was much more disturbing than their colored counterparts. The imagery became more unsettling as time wore on…as if! During “Seasons of the Abyss” the crowd sung the classic “Close your eyes. And forget your name. Step outside yourself And let your thoughts drain As you go insane...insane”… well I am sure you know the outcome! Haha As a reward, Araya had the audience sing the next chorus by themselves. It was great.

The next selection was an absolute treat for many, especially myself. To intro “Dead Skin Mask” Araya spoke to his reverent flock again, “We’re gonna slow things down a little for you guys are a little too metal!” the crowd screamed. “This song’s about a love affair…“Dead Skin Mask”!” To complement the song, photos of mass murder Ed Gein with his fingerprints superimposed over his face to his tombstone. This was powerful imagery!

Speaking of powerful, for “Raining Blood” a pentagrammed horned-goat figure appeared on the screen as all of the house lights went down as red floodlights bathed the audience and the stage. Then a brightly colored inferno erupted, engulfing the horned-goat. Moving along to our last and final selection “Angel of Death” the historical figures that deserve the title was exhibited (Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler with his Reich). Other despicable acts of hatred and violence were shown: burning villages, marching soldiers, concentration camps, scenes of mile high bodies, flying warplanes, WW II soldiers trudging through the trenches running for their very lives...thinking they cover all of the major atrocities to ever be captured on film. Further driving the point home by the metal mind fuck Slayer just gave us, thick smoke filled the venue. Mr. Lombardo fucked the drums up on this song.

They always say hindsight is 20/20, well it really applies in this instance…now as much as this may enrage many of you it needs to be said. Having said that, the visuals were stunning and mesmerizing at the Aragon, which were more enthralling than the band’s performance, to be honest. At first, I was convinced that this show was amazing, that was until the Milwaukee show. Tom’s wife and family attended the show standing stage right for the entire set. Obviously, his attention was diverted all evening as he looked over at every available chance he could; sweet as this may be, it did serve as a distraction. The band in general also just did not seem to be as enthusiastic here as they were in Milwaukee but more on that later. In closing the Chicago show, was very entertaining not dynamic.

Eagles Ballroom: The show in Milwaukee was PHENOMENAL. Talking about scaling back sets, Slayer was forced to dump their visual backdrop, which was too bad. Guess Chicago finally got something over on Milwaukee for once, huh? As far as the band's performance was concerned, King’s solos were on point, Araya’s vocals were searing & his bass was loud and beautifully prominent, Lombardo sounded like the drum god he truly is and Hanneman kicked ass too. Totally fucking amazing, right down to the Marshall amps that were rigged to simulate an inverted cross! This review is short because of the interview with Mastodon’s Brann Dailor. Plus the fan in me took over, surely you can understand that...it's SLAYER!!!!!!!! You do have an extensive account from Chicago, what more do you want? Enjoy the photos!!

Slayer Setlist: South of Heaven; Silent Scream; War Ensemble; Blood Red; Cult; Disciple; Mandatory Suicide; Seasons in the Abyss; Chemical Warfare; Dead Skin Mask; Hell Awaits; Raining Blood; Antichrist; Angel of Death.

Related Links of Interest

• Photos / Review of Lamb of God on the 2007 Sacrament Tour (New)

• Interview of Randy Blythe from the 2007 Killswitch Engage Tour (Newer)

• Interview with John Campbell & Mark Morton of Lamb of God (New)

• Photos / Review of Lamb of God on the 2005 SOTU Tour

• Photos / Review of LOG during co-headlining tour with Fear Factory

• Previous interview with Brann Dailor of Mastodon

• Photos / Review of Mastodon on their 2005 Headlining Tour

• Photos / Review of Mastodon on Ozzfest X (2005)

• Interview with Henkka Seppälä of Children of Bodom (New)

• Interview with Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom

• Photos / Review of Children of Bodom on 2006 headlining tour

• Photos / Review of CoB on 2005 headlining tour

• Interview with Justin Wolfe of Thine Eyes Bleed (New)

“The Unholy Alliance: Preaching to the Perverted” 2006 Tour Dates:

SLAYER with supporting acts: Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, Thine Eyes Bleed

** denotes previously unannounced dates

JUNE
6 Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
7 The Orleans, Las Vegas, NV
9 Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO**
11 East Peoria Convention Center, E. Peoria, IL**
12 Pop's Outside, St. Louis, MO
13 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
15 Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
16 Continental Airlines Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ
17 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA
19 US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH**
22 American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, TX**
23 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX
24 Nokia Live, Dallas, TX**
25 Reliant Arena, Houston, TX
27 HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA**
29 Washington Avenue Armory, Albany, NY
30 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH**

JULY
2 Centre de Foire, Quebec City, Que. CANADA**
3 The Bell Center, Montreal, Que. CANADA**
4 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Ont. CANADA**
6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
7 Eagles Auditorium, Milwaukee, WI
8 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota**
9 MTS Center, Winnipeg, Man. CANADA**
11 Shaw Conf. Center, Edmonton, Alb. CANADA**
13 GM Place, Vancouver, BC CANADA**
14 Qwest Field Event Center, Seattle, WA
15 Salem Armory, Salem, OR**
16 Star Theatre, Spokane, WA
19 HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
21 Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, AZ
22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA

All photos Copyright © 2006. Pictures may not be used without the written consent/permission of FourteenG