Bleeding Through/Slayer/Marilyn Manson in Atlanta, July 28 Hifi Buys Ampitheatre

I'll start off by apologizing for the lack of pictures in this review.  The staff at Hifi Buys Ampitheatre obviously has no clue what they are doing, and after 25 minutes at Will Call, and 30 minutes of walking around the actual venue to try to find the person with my photo pass, I felt it was time to retire for the evening, sadly without any pictures of the show.  Hopefully something can be sorted out as this is the second time the "professionals" at this venue have let me down.

Anyhow, big props to Bleeding Through for getting me the hookup and into this show.  I would have loved to get some shots of them, but instead I had to listen to their set from the Will Call booth, and from the outer edges of the venue.  If you had to pick a band to open for Marilyn Manson and Slayer, this is the band to do it.  These guys are intense, to say the least.  They put on a really strong set, and I would have to say that the drumming was my favorite part of their act.  The beats were great, and the double bass was absolutely killer.  The crowd was pretty into these guys as far as I could tell.  If you're into heavy metal or just want something to listen to while you crash cars or demolish bulidings, check them out.

Next up was Slayer.  Wow, I'm honestly not sure what to say.  If before this you had told me I would be seeing a Slayer show I would have told you that you were out of your mind.  Slayer is one of those bands you see on Headbanger's Ball or hear Tipper Gore complaining about, but you're not really sure exist because you'll more than likely never see them in person.  First off, as I was walking around the venue when they first started playing, I was maybe 2 feet away from some unlucky dude getting slammed into a wall and arrested.  What a way to start your show, buddy.  I also had two teenage boys jump down from the lawn and land in front of me, throwing up the devil horns and proclaiming "YREAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH SLAYYYYERRRRR!" right in my face.  These guys have some hardcore fans.  There were literally waves of people lined up, just rocking out as hard as they possibly could.  I had a hard time getting my head around what I was witnessing.

Slayer absolutely punished that stage.  The set was a glowing mass of fog and lights.  It wasn't even like there were beams of light, it was just one massive cloud of colorful smoke.  The video screens showed the guitarists going ballistic, and shredding like there was no tomorrow (at this point the show was so insane I am not sure there actually was going to be a tomorrow, this is posssibly what the end of the world looks like.)

They wrapped up their set, and I figured it was time for me to head on out.  I was definitely the most colorful person there (in a blue shirt) and more than likely the only one without any piercings.  I would have stayed for Manson but not having a photo pass and being amidst a sea of evil was starting to wear on me.  From what I hear his set involved a lot of leather outfits, a giant prop chair, and some really creepy samples from Alice in Wonderland.  Thankfully I kept my soul and managed to leave the venue unscathed.

It shouldn't go without saying if you're into heavy metal, you need to see this tour.  Even though it's not my scene, I have to admit it's pretty cool that I got to see Slayer, as they are some of the godfathers of the rock genre, and deserve the respect.  What an evil show this was.

(P.S.  One more big thank you to all the Event Staff at Hifi Buys Ampitheatre who were completely clueless and couldn't find my photo pass.  Here's a shot of will call, since it's where I spent most of the evening.  Thanks guys!)

Comments

[Jenn]

You didn't really miss anything with Manson. Some kid got him to wipe his shirt all over his body and hand it back to him, only to have him just about FAINT with delite. Manson played 13 songs, said nothing individually to the crowd, and walked off stage. Having been a Manson fan for five years, I was even quite dissapointed with his performance.

[Reverend NFC]

Whoever wrote this is a fucking idiot. Oh yes, the BEST band to open for a brutal thrash band is a shitty post-hardcore/metalcore/emo-bullshit. And why the fuck is a metal band playing with the king of poser goths? Jesus Christ. I wanna hit this reviewer.