Almost all Photo’s from Warsawa Gazeta
After nearly thirty long years of calls, prayers, pleads and begging from the metal community, thrash metal’s ‘Big Four’ have finally done it. On June 14th, all four bands appeared on one stage to play together and Tickets There, along with 80,998 other metal maniacs were fortunate enough to witness an event that will go down as one of metals most historical concerts.
The scene in Warsaw was insane. Never before have we witnessed such an incredibly massive gathering of fans from the metal community and we’re unlikely to ever see anything like it again. People had flown in from all over the world for the show, with flags representing every corner of the earth held high amongst the sea of black and denim. People converged on every space of free land for at least a mile around the venue. Bars, restaurants, roads, grassy Knolls, shopping centers, pavements and flower beds were swarmed with all four bands fans, waiting for the tasty cheap and plentiful Polish beers to dry up before beginning the adrenaline filled walk into the airstrip where the show was held.
Honestly we found the buzz a little strange because we didn’t know which band to get excited about in the flood of possible songs and scenarios that might arise during the day. Whatever happened we knew one thing, Anthrax were first and we’d have to sit through them.
Anthrax
We were never Anthrax fans and actually went about avoiding them for as long as possible. We won’t pretend we saw much of them, only enough to say we saw them. They sounded good for what they did but not our thing. Hopefully similar tours could call out Testament or Exodus to fill the gap between Anthrax’s draw and the other three bands. Saying that, Anthrax fans said the set was great we just never got the band. Maybe one day we’ll regret not showing more of an interest.
Megadeth
Just two days after their face melting show at Cork’s Marquee festival, Tickets There was once again fired up to see our personal nominees for Thrash metal’s premier group, Megadeth. The sight of 81,000 fans seemed to reignite Dave Mustaine and co. as they launched straight into Holy Wars, following it with a full performance of their classic Rust In Peace album. Hanger 18, Take No Prisoners, Five Magic’s and Tornado of Souls blew the air strip to pieces as pits erupted all around the stage with Mustaine acting as the chaotic ring master, barley stopping the assault of music to view the spectacle in front of the stage.
After Rust In Peace, the band threw out their latest single, Head-Crusher from last years End Game album, a song that deserves more attention than almost any other release today’s bands have recorded in the past decade. Obviously appreciative of the roaringly positive reaction from the crowd, Megadeth ploughed through Sweating Bullets and the iconic Symphony of Destruction before closing the set with an extended rendition of the anthematic Peace Sell. Delighted with the crowd’s response, Megadeth took a long bow to soak up the fans screams and applause before thanking everyone and wishing us a great day.
Slayer
Anyone who’s ever been to a Slayer show knows one thing, Slayer take the crowd and fuck them up. Despite a blazing sun, the outdoor setting and Tom Araya’s bright red top, Slayers performance is like experiencing a well oiled war, ferociously laying waste to Warsaw (it’s all in the name)
Opening with the title track from their latest album, War Painted Blood, the band ripped through a set that left the crowd tearfully begging for more. New material like Hate World Wide, Beauty Through Order and Jihad stood the test of standing shoulder to shoulder with the bands classics such as War Ensemble, Dead skin Mask, Angel of Death, Mandatory Suicide, Chemical Warfare and South of Heaven before ending their set with one of thrash metals top outputs, Raining Blood.
Despite previous reports about Tom having vocal problems and the obvious concern over his recent back injury, he was able to stand toe to toe with Kerry, Jeff and Dave to deliver as good a set Slayer have preformed in their entire career. Unfortunately there was no room for Seasons in the Abyss but, if they had cranked that out on top of everything else, the necks wouldn’t have been able to take the night’s final act.
Metallica
Like many metal heads, Tickets There’s love for Metallica’s has waned over the past ten years. All the rubbish with St. Anger and Some Kind of Monster really damaged the lads and the promise of great things from Death Magnetic never really delivered and before long the album really proved a tad devoid of life. Still, no metal head can deny the band has produced some of the genres finest albums and for that, they will always be respected.
Taking the stage as the sun started to set over the air-strip, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo arrive in Metallica’s typical grandiose fashion, launching straight into Creeping Death from 1984’s Ride The Lightening and all the bad feelings, past disappointments and negativity immediately vanish. Metallica fire on all cylinders delivering the song with incredible force. No time wasting in this show, they follow with the ear bleeding For Whom the Bell Tolls before tearing the crowd apart with an pyro packed rendition of Fuel.
James, beaming with excitement welcomes the crowd to ‘the greatest metal show on earth’ before harking back to Kill Em All to deliver The Four Horseman, followed by Fade to Black.
While many pondered if this ‘Big Four’ tour would result in all the bands churning out just classics, it seems all are intent to stay away from the ‘Heritage’ section for the foreseeable future and Metallica are no different. New songs That Was Just Your Life and Cyanide may not generate the same reaction as their earlier material but visual aides help make them more acceptable.
Taking a break to reflect on the day, James proudly announces that today’s show is history and how fortunate enough all four bands are to still be together, making the music they love. Oddly enough, he went on to dedicate Sad But True to the other bands but given the good relations we’re hearing so much about, we’ll assume it was all for fun.
The show stopping Sanitarium (Welcome Home) followed, sounding as intense as it did in 1986 before All Nightmare Long reminds fans the new material can’t all be written off. Jaw dropping deliveries of One, Master of Puppets and Blackened bring the main set near its close before the usual Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman end the main set.
With the fireworks out and next day workers and sleepy heads on their home, Metallica return to close the day with a blistering cover of Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy before delivering the final thrash assault of Hit The Lights and Seek & Destroy leaving 81,000 dedicated metal heads feeling annihilated, obliterated and completely satisfied.
To many, this was a show that could never happen even if the bitter feuds that have divided these bands over the past thirty years could be worked out. It was just one of those ‘dream line-ups’ that have rarely come together but on June 14th, 2010 four heavy metal bands proved that childish fights and age old rivalries can be put aside for the sake of their fans and it worked better than anyone could have imagined. Tickets There is sure this won’t be the last we’ll hear of these four bands partnering up and hopefully they’ll make it to Irish shores on the next jaunt.
Anthrax
01. Caught in a Mosh
02. Got the Time (JOE JACKSON cover)
03. Indians
04. Heaven and Hell (BLACK SABBATH cover)
05. Antisocial (TRUST cover)
06. Madhouse
07. Only
08. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)
09. I Am The Law
Megadeth
01. Holy Wars
02. Hangar 18
03. Take No Prisoners
04. Five Magics
05. Poison Was the Cure
06. Lucretia
07. Tornado of Souls
08. Dawn Patrol
09. Rust in Peace… Polaris
10. Head Crusher
11. Sweating Bullets
12. Symphony Of Destruction
13. Peace Sells
Slayer
01. World Painted Blood
02. Jihad
03. War Ensemble
04. Hate Worldwide
05. Dead skin Mask
06. Angel of Death
07. Beauty through order
08. Disciple
09. Mandatory Suicide
10. Chemical Warfare
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood
Metallica
01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. The Four Horsemen
05. Fade To Black
06. That Was Just Your Life
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
– – – – – – – –
16. Stone Cold Crazy
17. Hit The Lights
18. Seek and Destroy
It’s amazing how much has changed in the Slayer camp since this show was announced. Back in March, we were all happy and safe knowing Tom Araya, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo were all happy and.., well happy as in Jeff was in his second year of absenteeism from the band and Dave had just sat out an Australian tour due to a financial dispute with Tom and Kerry. But, when you read Wikipedia, all four members were listed as ‘Current Line-up’. Since March, it all seemed to go a little pear-shaped.
For tonight’s long awaited return to Dublin, Slayer have not arranged support (or even a decent few tunes for the PA while we wait – unless you like awful f**king elevator reggae or whatever the hell that is), but then again – SLAYER need no support. With the band running more than 30 minutes late, you’d expect things to start getting a little tense but everyone tonight is happy to wait. With the air thick with chants of SLAYER, SLAYER – the lights go off and the band are on. Gary, Tom, Paul and Kerry take position and launch into ‘World Painted Blood’. Tom’s smile beams across the room as he takes in the packed venue, even taking the time to remark on the intimacy of the show as the band stampede (I love using that word) through an incredible set packed with favourites, new and old. ‘Hallowed Point’, ‘WAR ENSEMBLE’ and ‘Hate Worldwide’ carry on the thrashing, fuelling a pit that threatens to encompass the whole standing area.
The band look and sound great with Gary and Paul doing their parts to perfection. Tom speaks to the crowd on a few occasions but nothing is really said about Jeff’s passing. Instead, the band are here to show SLAYER is alive and well and they are tearing the Academy a new one tonight. ‘Stain of Mind’, ‘Disciple’, ‘Mandatory Suicide’, and ‘Chemical Warfare’ – one after another the songs just keep pounding out, hitting the crowd like bricks. Although the sound could be described as quiet for a Slayer gig, the bands ferocious presence still dominates the stage …and the beating continues. ‘Seasons in The Abyss’, ‘Dead Skin Mask’, ‘ANTICHRIST’ are all on show – delivered with more intensity and presence than the band’s last trek to Dublin in 2006. ‘Hell Awaits’ and ‘Raining Blood’ bring a tremendous set to its close, the massive pit to its peak and the crowd’s fears for Slayer’s future – to bed!
As the band break, the giant Slayer banner which was displayed all night disappears and a giant HANNEMAN banner in Heineken style lettering appears. In tribute to Jeff, the band return for an encore of ‘South of Heaven’ and ‘Angel of Death’, two of Hanneman’s best known pieces before calling it a night. With a smile, Tom thanks the crowd and says he’ll see us tomorrow. Damn right Tom, see you then and thank you sir!
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