SLAYER - Machine Head
Live Palatrussardi Milano 25 Novembre 1994

THE REVIEW

Twenty plus years have passed and I will have to dig into my deepest and most hidden memories. But it will be a pleasure, even morbid given who I faced, because it was a ferocious concert beyond any limit. I had already seen Slayer in 1990, also at the Palatrussardi, along with Testament, Megadeth, and Suicidal Tendencies for the "Clash of the Titans Tour", but on that occasion, I did not have the courage to dive into the mosh pit: I was still a daring and inexperienced young man who feared physical confrontation near the stage.

The Machine Head opened, whom I had known for a short time since the Californian band had released their debut album "Burn My Eyes" a few months earlier; I don't remember how long they played or the exact number of songs performed. They didn't leave out the nastiest and most stunning tracks from the first album: "Davidian", "Old", "A Nation on Fire", and the guys did their best not to bore us in the audience awaiting (demonically) the headliners. One thing I remember about the singer Rob Flynn: the black T-shirt he wore with the gruesome image of Brujeria's "Matando Gueros" album: a severed head!!!

Then the stage went dark and they came in, Slayer: it was total pandemonium, right from the very first song. They had the courage to start with "Raining Blood" and I immediately dove into the mosh pit without any hesitation. The closer you got to the stage, the greater the violence of the physical clash; like in an infernal circle of Dantean memory. You had to be careful not to fall, you risked getting hurt due to the extremely high number of insane and sweaty bodies colliding with each other. A sort of gigantic and hypnotic collective trance, guided by the group's music.

Behind the drums sat Paul Bostaph who had recently replaced, without regret, Dave "triple bass drum" Lombardo; the two axes wielded by Jeff and Kerry saturated the air with hyper-fast, twisted riffs at an eardrum-shattering volume. With Tom's demonized voice announcing the song titles to further highlight their devastating show. All the nastiest and "bastard" tracks from the early essential albums were performed at an even more furious and lethal speed: "War Ensemble", "Spirit in Black", "South of Heaven", "Seasons in the Abyss" and the inevitable "Angel of Death" which closed the first part of a terrifyingly intense concert.

For the few survivors, who were still clamoring for a second appearance of the band for the final encores, "Hell Awaits" and "Chemical Warfare" were played: those who know the tracks know that no further comment from me is needed...TERRIFYING...I finally arrived home in a wretched state, with every corner of my body covered in bruises: it's the plain truth, believe me!!!

Since that day, I have developed a personal theory on moshing that has been reinforced over the years: if you survive a Slayer concert, you can easily mosh with any band without taking damage. A sort of university exam with 110 honors (satanic).

I have since seen the band on at least five other occasions, but the unheard-of ferocity of that November 25, 1994, as far as I'm concerned, was never reached again. After all, "Satan laughs as you eternally rot."

Ad Maiora.