Slayer’s farewell tour in 2019 marked the end of an era for devoted thrashers. Luckily, last year two plots were devised to revive the spark, a trio of Slayer reunion festival appearances and Kerry King’s solo career launch. With regards to the reunion shows, the band, consisting of Tom Araya, Paul Bostaph, Gary Holt and the aforementioned King, made plans to headline Aftershock, Riot Fest and Louder Than Life. While the latter two performances did in fact take place, with the band notably playing “213” for the first time since 1998 during their Riot Fest appearance, Louder Than Life organizers were unfortunately forced to cancel their Friday sets due to inclement weather. The festival has since announced that they have rebooked the band as headliners for their 2025 edition. On the other side of the coin, King launched his eponymous solo project with the release of his debut solo album From Hell I Rise. Consisting of Bostaph, Hellyeah’s Kyle Sanders, Machine Head’s Phil Demmel and Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda, the lineup is a supergroup in its own right and their performance at the Fonda only solidified that fact.

Kicking off the night, New Zealand groove metallers Alien Weaponry took the stage shortly after Van Halen’s “Jump” blared out from over the Fonda’s speakers. They were met with some early pit action, setting a high energy level for the night to come. Their set was filled to the brim with thunderous tracks that could be physically felt throughout the venue, the floors and walls rattled at the sonic intensity. Something that made Alien Weaponry unique and altogether more powerful was their combination of English and Māori vocals, the latter of which is the Indigenous language of New Zealand. Lyrically, the band brought awareness to the culture of the Māori people, examining their history and environmentalism through the lens of metal music.

Virginia-based crossover thrashers Municipal Waste were met with solid applause and cheers once they took the stage and right from the get-go it was clear that the pit would double as a dancefloor. Their material was solid, no doubt about it and the crowd broke into moshing, crowd surfing and even a bit of stage diving early on in the set. The band’s set was just as visually stunning with glow-in-the-dark barrels of nuclear waste framing the stage alongside some skeleton punks. During a brief intermission, lead vocalist Tony Foresta took a moment to reflect on the state of U.S. politics, notably calling out the absurdity of the anti-trans sentiment swirling in the new administration, “We need to stop worrying about what’s going on in people’s pants and focus on the fact that there’s fucking Nazis in the government.” Foresta also made an inclusive statement about the metal scene at large, deriding the myth of it being “a boys club” and calling for a women-only pit. All in all, Municipal Waste’s set was a tribute to their enduring legacy at the helm of crossover thrash with the band having just as much fun as the audience.

As the lights went out, all chatter seemed to stop and everyone collectively turned towards the stage in anticipation. The opening notes of From Hell I Rise‘s opening track, “Diablo” rang throughout the venue before morphing into “Where I Reign.” The band approached the setlist with no-holds-barred intensity, speedrunning “Rage,” “Trophies Of The Tyrant” and “Residue.” Osegueda’s powerful vocal cadence lent itself perfectly to the earworm-worthy “Trophies Of The Tyrant.” The lyrics couldn’t have been more timely with Osegueda belting “One man to despise / The one with all the liеs / Propaganda and division.” The performances throughout the night carried that same protest theme, whether it be through vocal opposition like Municipal Waste, general discontent like Kerry King or uplifting the marginalized like Alien Weaponry. Osegueda’s monologues before “Toxic” and “Shrapnel” maintained the motif of fighting back, of building community and supporting one another when all hope feels lost and that’s exactly what the audience needed and wanted to hear. What is heavy metal if not for pushing boundaries and breaking the mold? Heavy topics and heavy music are a match made in heaven… or more appropriately hell.

While King’s solo material earned a palpable reaction of its own, what the audience really adored were the Slayer songs sprinkled throughout the set, a taste of nostalgia. This was particularly true of the 1986 classic track “Raining Blood” which had devil horns, fists and phones raised high toward the sky in an unmistakable display of thrash fandom. The pit whirred with intensity, die hard fans shouted along to the lyrics and headbanging was had by just about everyone. As the last notes of the night rung out, it was clear that King and crew brought their A game, letting their musical talents and instrumental mastery take center stage and speak for those who are angry with the state of the world today. What might the band have in store next? Only time will tell…

Kerry King Setlist

1. Where I Reign
2. Rage
3. Trophies Of The Tyrant
4. Residue
5. Two Fists
6. Idle Hands
7. Repentless (Slayer song)
8. Toxic
9. Tension
10. Everything I Hate About You
11. Disciple (Slayer song)
12. Purgatory (Iron Maiden cover)
13. Killers (Iron Maiden cover)
14. Crucifixation
15. At Dawn They Sleep (Slayer song)
16. Shrapnel
17. Raining Blood (Slayer song)
18. Black Magic (Slayer song)
19. From Hell I Rise

Featured image photo credit: Boston Lynn Schulz