Slayer (w/ Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, Testament) @ Budweiser Stage (Toronto, ON) on May 29, 2018 [Photos & Review]

Last Tuesday, Toronto’s Budweiser Stage played host to what might prove to be the Metal show of the summer! Godfathers of speed metal, Slayer, who are on their final world tour, headlined a mosh-tacular lineup that included Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, and Testament!

Fans flocked to this show, which kicked off at 4pm with American thrashers Testament hitting the stage to begin the festivities. “Brotherhood of the Snake”, “Rise Up”, and “Practice What You Preach”, were their first songs and the moshing had begun. Next up was Poland’s Behemoth, an extreme metal band that really blew the crowd away. They started to shake things up some with their first songs, “Ov Fire And The Void,” “Demigod,” and “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer.”

Without any room to catch one’s breathe, Anthrax was up next. As always, they had everyone on their feet and the real moshing, circle pitting, and crowd surfing had begun. Their first few songs included “Caught In A Mosh,” “Got The Time,” and “I Am The Law.” Had enough yet? Well, Lamb Of God didn’t think so and took the stage following Anthrax’s rousing set. LOG kicked everyone’s ass and led things off with “Omerta,” “Ruin,” and the hard-hitting “Walk With Me In Hell.”

By the time Slayer finally took the stage, the crowd’s energy was at feverish levels! Amid blinding strobes and massive flames shooting out from the stage, Slayer blasted right into their hit single “Repentless”… it was just amazing. It was FUCKING SLAYER!!! One foolish fan who got ejected early from the show was so distraught at the thought of missing Slayer that he proceeded to try to swim across adjacent waters to get back into the venue. Unfortunately for him, the long arm of the Metro Marine Police Unit was at hand to rescue him from the lagoon. It was quite entertaining.

End of the day, it was a full house, a full moon, and a full-on metal assault!

Slayer’s Setlist:

01. Repentless
02. Blood Red
03. Deciple
04. Mandatory Suicide
05. Hate Worldwide
06. War Ensemble
07. Jihad
08. When The Stillness Comes
09. Postmortem
10. Black Magic
11. Payback
12. Seasons In The Abyss
13. Dittohead
14. Dead Skin Mask
15. Hell Awaits
16. South Of Heaven
17. Raining Blood
18. Chemical Warfare
19. Angel Of Death

If for some reason you already haven’t, check out the “Repentless” music video.