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Wow, what a line up this was.  Charlotte was out in full force at 4 PM on a workday on June 16th at the PNC Music Pavilion, ready to bang their heads to five of the greatest metal bands of all time.  I barely made it in time to catch Testament and I’m so glad I did.  The band never skipped a beat and had a great mix of songs that spanned their entire career.  

Next up was the mighty Behemoth.  If you have never seem Behemoth live, do yourself a favor and check them out.  They were, by far, the most entertaining band of the night.  Very high energy, a lot of crowd interaction, and some of the best metal to ever come out of Poland.  After Behemoth blessed the crowd it was time for thrash pioneers, Anthrax!  It’s amazing how this band still brings 110% after 30+ years.  They thrash through material from Spreading The Disease all the way to For All Kings and never missed a note.  Next we have Virginia’s very own Lamb Of God.  The musicianship from this band has always been amazing and to witness that live it mind blowing.  The guitar work from Willie and Mark is always flawless and Chris is probably one of the best drummers in metal with John’s thunderous bass rounding out the rhythm section.  Then you have Randall Blythe.  This man can control any crowd, and rightfully so.  One of the best frontmen of the new wave of American metal and with many amazing stories to tell, he captivates the audience with his gritty screams and acrobatic stage presence through the set.  

Now for the main event, fucking Slayer!  It was a bittersweet moment when you realize you are about to witness the final performance on a band you grew up listening to.  Just a couple years shy of being together for 40 years, the band still brings it every time I’ve seen them and that was no different tonight.  It’s a major accomplishment to last that long and still create the same style of music through your career.  That, to me, is true metal.  You could feel the emotion from the crowd as the band pummeled through all the classics and literally melted faces with the impressive amount of pyro they had.  They’ve had a great run but something tells me...that we will hear from this band again.  Maybe I’m in denial but I personally feel like they have more music in them.  Please be sure to check out this tour if it comes your way, you’ll regret it if you don’t!